Page 93 of Daddies of the Underworld

Dante kept his attention on the picture. “We put objects in a row, let her study them, then changed one. She had to tell us what moved.”

Matteo leaned closer to the screen. “She isn’t showing what moved. She’s showing order.”

“Cup, napkin, buttons, bread, spoon,” Luca said, writing.

“That won’t be initials,” Dante said. “She knows objects, shapes, stories.”

I stared until the objects blurred, then forced myself to blink.

The cup was upside down.

The napkin had been folded into a triangle.

Three buttons sat in a crooked line.

The crust curved like a crescent.

The spoon pointed to the right.

Luca tapped the pen against the table. “Tell me if I'm on the right track. I see a rower. Roof. Three stones. Moon. Road.”

Marco made a harsh sound from the doorway.

I turned on him. “What?”

“Moon road.” His fingers tightened on the frame. “Viktor had a property near Monte Luna. It was an old watchtower he remodeled. It has a three pointed roof like the napkin.”

Matteo was already reaching for another phone. “Where?”

“Outside Matera. It wasn’t in the files because he never owned it directly.” Marco swallowed. “I was there once.”

Dante grabbed the map. “Show me.”

Marco crossed the room on unsteady legs and drilled his finger into the satellite image Luca pulled up. I pressed both hands over my mouth to keep the sob in.

My five-year-old had been stolen by monsters and still remembered the game her fathers taught her.

Matteo turned from the map. “We move with two teams. Dante leads entry. Luca runs intel and communications. I command from the forward site.”

“I’m coming.”

All three of them turned like I had fired a gun.

I could not let them do this without me. “You love her, but I carried her. I made her lunches and slept with a knife under my pillow because keeping her alive was the only thing I had.” I pointed at the screen. Sofia stared back at us, small and scared and brilliant. “She left that clue because she believes we’re coming. I am coming.”

Matteo stepped closer. “If something happens to you⁠—”

“Then make sure nothing happens to me.”

Dante’s hands curled into fists. “I cannot breach a building and protect you at the same time.”

“Then don’t let me go in helpless.” I looked at each of them, one by one. “Give me a vest. Give me a gun. Put me where I won’t slow you down, but do not ask me to sit in this house and wait while Viktor has my child.”

Luca dragged both hands over his face. “She’ll follow us. You know she will.” Pride shone in his eyes when he looked at me.

“Obviously.” I gave a snort that sounded so much like him that he chuckled despite the situation.

Matteo’s jaw flexed. He looked at the screen, at Sofia’s little row of objects, then back at me. “You stay with me. You follow every order. No exceptions.”