“I don’t want to lose my baby,” I murmur. “And I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. You’re not losing anyone. They’ll come for us; I know it.”
Charlie is blinking back tears, too. We can’t embrace. We can’t do anything but bow our heads together.
“Do you still have your phone?” I hiss, suddenly remembering that I’d seen her tuck it into her robe after the FaceTime was over.
She shakes her head. “It’s still upstairs. I left it on the bathroom counter.”
“Fuck. How did they even get around winery security? That’s the part I don’t get. There are regular patrols around the whole property.”
Charlie frowns. “Patrols? What the hell is going on?”
“Someone’s been threatening the Bellantis,” I admit. “Whoever took out Enzo tried to go after Marco next, but they got…intercepted first. I shouldn’t be telling you any of this, but…we have a whole crew of mafia men stationed around Bellanti Vineyards and the Abbott compound 24/7. They’re supposed to be protecting us.”
“I never saw anyone here while I was setting up earlier,” Charlie says. “You think it’s a problem with shift changes, or is something else going on? This isn’t adding up.”
“I don’t know,” I say, my voice weakening as another cramp rips through me.
Urgent footfalls clomp down the stairs. My body stiffens in reaction, but the thug turns the other way, ignoring us. We’re not making it out of this unharmed. I feel this in my bones. These men won’t think twice about harming my baby or raping Charlie and me. And then they’ll dump our bodies so we don’t become liabilities. Even if they can figure out how to get away with ransoming us, they’ll never actually turn us over in the end. We’re dead.
Rain begins ticking on the roof, a branch slapping against the window. Another man comes flying down the stairs and into the living room. It’s the smaller, stocky one. He grabs Charlie by the upper arm. She shrieks, then recoils as if expecting a slap. His hand is raised, but he doesn’t let it fly.
“Tell me where all the good shit’s hidden,” he demands.
A hysterical laugh gurgles from my mouth as the combination of fear, shock, and rage comes to a head. “You think there’s anything of value left in this house? Our old man sold anything worth the price of a beer.”
Even his own daughter.
“You’re lying,” the man says. “A house like this? There’s money in these walls.”
“Look around! This place is falling apart. We used to have expensive paintings and furniture and family heirlooms, but they’re long gone. Every wall has been stripped,” I tell him, disgust seeping into my tone. “Hell, he even disconnected the original plumbing in the basement and sold it for the going price of copper. We didn’t have running water for three months.”
“There’s nothing,” Charlie adds quietly.
I’m about to tell the guy to let go of my sister and fuck off, but suddenly my stomach cramps again, a fresh well of pain flooding my abdomen and lower back. There’s nothing I can do but moan in agony.
“Frankie!” my sister calls out, but her voice sounds far away.
Black spots dance in my vision as my entire body becomes a world of pain.
24
Dante
I just foundFrankie’s note.
I’d been so mad at her earlier for breaking her promise, and now I find the goddamned note she laid out on the desk for me.
Still, I’m glad she left it. As much as it annoys me that she’s gone out without getting the okay, it’s nice to know she didn’t just disappear into thin air. And this isn’t exactly unexpected—during dinner, I saw Donovan out in the driveway getting the Escalade ready for her, so I’d assumed she was planning another burger run. At least she’s taking protection when she leaves the house. Donovan won’t let anything bad happen to her.
Wandering onto my balcony, I realize a whole mess of dark, angry clouds have rolled in. There’s a mineral scent on the air, a humidity to the breeze that portends a storm. I watch the clouds shift, feeling the first few light drops of rain pelting me.
Now that I’ve had some time to cool down, I feel a little bad about how I acted this afternoon, especially in front of Candi. Frankie reallyhadseemed surprised about her sister planning the babymoon in Montana. But in the moment, I was too angry to reel my emotions in. Controlling my temper is still a work in progress, and all I could think of was Frankie’s apparent betrayal. The way it seemed like she’d lied right to my face just so she could sneak off for a weekend with her sister. But I think I was wrong.
I think Frankie reallydidn’tknow about the plan. That even if Charlie had gotten the chance to spring the surprise, Frankie would have backed out with a polite excuse. She’s worried about her safety—the safety of the baby—too. She wouldn’t have gone. Unfortunately, once again, I yelled first and asked questions later. She didn’t deserve that.
God, I fucked up.
