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“Because I had Grams’ casket on my shoulder. It wasn’t exactly the time or place.”
Rocco paces behind me. My brother shares my frustration. We were close to Elena, raised together like siblings rather than first cousins. In fact, there’s nothing that my brothers and I wouldn’t do for her.
She knew that.
So why did she run? And where the fuck has she been?
“She was disguised as a man,” I mumble, turning to pace the office, as well. “But when she looked up, her eyes gave her away.”
“I can’t believe she could pull that off,” Rocco mutters.
“Where has she been?” I demand, turning back to my father. “Do you know?”
He puffs on his cigar, sits back in his big, black chair, and seems to think it over.
“I thought she was dead,” Rocco adds. “She just vanished.”
“When Vinnie and Claudia died, the family was in chaos,” Pop reminds us.
“Not so much that Elena would miss her own parents’ funeral,” I reply and walk to the window of my father’s office that looks out over the city of Seattle. “We all assumed that she was killed too, and that we’d never find her.”
“Jesus,” Rocco mutters. “Who would have helped her leave?”
“Her grandmother,” Pop says. “She must have helped her hide so she didn’t meet the same fate as Elena’s parents. My mother-in-law was a shrewd woman with a wide array of contacts.”
“We can keep Elena safe here,” I growl and turn back to the room.
“Of course, we can,” Pop says with a nod. “So, we’d better find her.”
“We need Shane,” Rocco says. “He’s the tracker in the family.”
“I’ll call him,” I reply. “In the meantime, we need to step up the search through Grandmother’s things.”
“She lived in that house for sixty years,” Rocco reminds me. “It’s ten thousand square feet containing sixty-years-worth of shit. It’ll be like finding a needle in a haystack—if there’s anything there at all. Grandma knew how to cover her tracks and keep secrets. She wasn’t the wife and mother of bosses for nothing.”
“If there’s anything there, we’ll find it,” I reply.
“What if Elena doesn’t want to be found?” Rocco asks.
“That’s not how this works,” Pop says, his voice like steel. “And she knows it. There’s no leaving the family, and she’s had a long enough reprieve. It’s time we bring her home.”
I nod once. “I’ll go through Grandma’s house myself.”
“One more thing,” Pop says before we can walk out of the office. “Aside from Shane, this doesn’t leave this room.”
“Understood.”
Rocco and I leave Pop’s office, and I immediately reach for my phone. It’s time for Shane to come home, too.
My brother answers on the second ring.
“We need you here, brother. As soon as possible.”
“What’s going on?” he asks.
“Elena’s alive, and we need to track her down.”
There’s a long silence as Rocco and I ride the elevator to the parking garage. “I’ll be there in seventy-two hours.”
“Good.” I hang up and slip my phone back into my pocket.
“She’s going to be punished,” Rocco murmurs, and my gut clenches.
“I know.”
“How could she put us in this position?”
“We’re going to find out.”Chapter 5~Elena~I smell coffee. And bacon.
I don’t have any bacon.
I sit up and blink, surprised that the sun rose before me. The bed next to me where Archer was all night is empty and cool.
And it seems he’s making me breakfast.
I glance at the alarm clock and sigh before rubbing my hands over my face and through my hair.
It’s eight-thirty. I don’t remember the last time I slept this late, especially after the long nap in the car yesterday. But Archer’s Audi was so comfortable, especially with the heated leather seat, and I just couldn’t keep my eyes open.
“You’re awake.”
Archer carries two plates and two cups of coffee into the room. How he’s managing to hold it all is thanks to long arms and muscles for days.
At least he’s dressed this morning. Because a mostly naked Archer is way too tempting to my long-ignored libido.
“I didn’t have bacon in the fridge.”
“A travesty I fixed first thing.” He grins and sets the dishes on the bed, passing me one of the coffees. “I assume you don’t take sugar in it since you didn’t have any down there.”
“Just cream,” I confirm and take a sip, eyeing the eggs, hash browns, and bacon on the plate in front of me. “Where did you get all of this?”
“The grocery store in town.” He digs in and takes a big bite of his eggs. “You didn’t have anything down there. Are you trying to starve yourself?”
“You still have the same appetite, I see.”
He grins and chews some bacon. “Don’t worry, I bought us some stuff.”
“Archer.”
I set my coffee down and turn to him, but he reaches over and picks up a slice of my bacon and holds it up to my lips.
“Eat, E.”
“Ally.” I take a bite and chew, holding his gaze. “My name is Ally.”
