Chapter 9

I finish my morning briefing. I make some phone calls. And then I head upstairs to see Lena. I smile as I approach my bedroom. I've never had a woman stay here before. At most, they've gotten a cup of coffee in the morning, and I've sent them on their way. But things feel different with Lena. It's like my grandfather handpicked her for me, as though he knew exactly what I needed in a woman. Had this been his plan all along?

I open the door and look around. No Lena.

"Lena?" I call out as I walk into the bathroom and then my closet. Finally, I glance at my balcony. The door is unlocked. Fuck.

I race to the doors and throw them open. Nothing.

My phone vibrates and I pull it up to see a text from an unknown number.

Unknown Number: She's prettier up close. I'll enjoy making her suffer.

The blood coursing through my veins runs cold. Marco.

I run from the room and down to my security office. "Call Bryce! Call all our security! Pull up the camera feeds now! Marco has Lena!" I yell at Joe.

Joe's eyes widen. "What? The girl? She's upstairs."

"No, she's fucking not, and I just got this," I say, flashing my phone in front of his face. He grabs it and reads the text.

"Fuck. How'd she get out? Did he get in?" he asks.

"I don't know. But I do know that we don't have much time," I say from behind clenched teeth. "So everyone better do their fucking job!"

The next hour is a blur of activity. I pull up our security camera videos. I find where Lena jumped down the lattice and snuck out of the gate. Stupid fucking tesoruccia. I curse at myself. I shouldn't have left her.

I stare at the computer screen racking my brain for what the passcode could be. I've tried every family member, birthdays, addresses, even fucking pet names. Nothing.

I glance at the monitor where Lena jumping from the lattice is freeze-framed. No. No, it couldn't be that simple. My mind wanders to the other day. Their table…they always ate at the number twenty table at Antonio's.

I type Lenatable20. Nothing. Table20Lena. Nothing. No. Something comes over me and I type LenaandRoccoTable20.

The system opens and I stare in disbelief at folders of files on the screen. Holy fucking shit! Vince planned this. It's like he knew.

"Joe! I'm in!" I scream as I begin opening folders. There's enough evidence here on Marco to put him away for two lifetimes. And then there's a folder marked with locations. Marco owns an impressive amount of abandoned buildings.

I call Bryce. "I'm in. I need backup and I'm sending you encrypted documents now. The Feds can have him, but I need the woman, unharmed."

"Got it. We're on it," Bryce replies.

I begin looking at the camera feeds Bryce's team pulled from in front of Antonio's. Marco had stepped off a bus two blocks down. That bus runs past 80th Street and Pier Street, where Marco has an abandoned warehouse, according to these files.

"We're going here," I point to a map on my screen. "Now!"

I grab my gun and put it in my pants against my back. I'm coming for you, tesoruccia," I think as I run to an armored SUV parked in the driveway with our security detail in tow. I just hope I'm not too late.