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A shuttering breath left my body as I braced myself on the chair in front of me. It sounded too good to be true.
When I looked up again my eyes felt hot. I should have trusted my friend. But hind sight was twenty-twenty, no point in dwelling on the past. Now more than ever it confirmed that Matteo was the greatest friend any man could ask for. I not only betrayed his leadership but our friendship as well. And that gutted me more than anything.
“I’m sorry brother.”
Matteo rounded the desk, embracing me in a rare brotherly hug.
“Thank you.”
“Thank Arianna.”
BAM! BAM! BAM! The door raddled on its hinges as someone hammered on it.
“What the fuck?” Matteo growled moving towards the door.
When it opened my eyes tried to fly out of my head. Steven stood in the doorway with fresh blood trickling down his face. He looked between Matteo and I, his expression filled with terror. What the hell? The hairs on the back of my neck rose.
“Boss. Luca. We have a serious problem.”
“What the hell is going on?” Matteo demanded.
“Serena took Becka.”
Dreadful fear gripped my body, a sizzling spike of adrenaline zipped up my spine. “WHAT?”
“She was here? The bitch knows she is not welcome in my house after what happened at the wedding,” Matteo fumed.
Steven shook his head. “Somehow she got in one of the side entrances, they probably didn’t know not to let her in. I was on patrol downstairs when I caught her in the hallway by the bathroom. I told her she was unwelcome and I would be escorting her out. When I turned around she hit me with something. I woke up in the closet. I couldn’t have been out for more than a few minutes.”
“So why do you say she has Becka?” I was beside myself with rage at the thought of what Serena would do to her.
“I checked the outside video. A big guy, I assume her driver, was carrying Becka’s unconscious body over his shoulder while another waited by her car outside the kitchen service entrance.”
“There is a man stationed at every entrance. Where is the guard?” Matteo barked.
Steven swallowed hard, wiping some blood away from his eye. “We don’t know.”
Nico came rushing into the room. “We found the guard. Throat slit. Most likely the driver did it. We rewound the video further, it shows Serena luring him from his post into the shadows and then a big guy came out and took his place to make it look maned, another followed her inside. They happened to time it just right that the feed wasn’t on screen at the moment. I think more luck than planning. The front gate let them roll out thinking it was just someone leaving the party.”
My insides were a mix of churning sickness and uncontrollable rage. She was taken right out from under our noses. It could have only been accomplished by someone who knew the house layout and been seen at previous functions. Serena had counted on that to get in and out without much resistance.
Serena, for all her craziness, was smart. She had been to Matteo’s house a few times before and taken a grand tour with Arianna the first time visiting the residence. She had a memory that rivaled the supernatural. Probably part of the reason she could never let anything go, holding grudges to the bitter end.
Everyone knew Serena was psycho but things were quiet for so long she had fallen out of sight, out of mind. Another mistake on my part. A crushing hatred for myself bubbled to the surface.
“What’s going on?” Arianna’s worried face appeared in the doorway.
“Serena took Becka,” Matteo stated with reservation.
Arianna gasped, throwing a hand over her mouth, tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Matteo moved to hold her as she fell into his arms.
Unable to move, I cursed myself for being scared into uselessness. It was the same feeling I’d experienced when I heard Becka was missing all those weeks ago. Only now, amplified beyond comprehension. Overwhelming the ability to make my body function.
I should be moving. Asking questions. Anything!Instead all I could do was stand there and try to get ahold of myself.
Matteo started spouting orders.
“We need to find out where Serena is taking her. We’ll go to the security room and get the license plate number. Make a call to our guys at the Boston PD and have them track it from the traffic cameras. Luca. Luca!”
