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Teo
Isat in my father'sparlor, downing my third whiskey in hopes that it would help drown out the pain. I hadn't slept at all in two days, and I barely managed a couple of hours here and there in the week that Mia had been missing. Even in my grief-stricken state I knew that I needed sleep if I was going to think and act clearly and find Mia before something terrible happened. Whoever was responsible for her abduction had gotten Gabe to take her, so chances were that they wanted her alive but for how long I wasn't sure.
And even if they planned on keeping her alive indefinitely there was no telling what Mia was going through.
My sleep deprived mind wandered back to the moment I found out that Mia had been taken.
"Okay, I'm in the car, we're headed back to let a doctor take a look at me, now tell me what happened.”I looked to Alessandro, demanding answers.
“Okay, but I need you to stay calm. And remember you gave me your word that you would get checked out before we do anything to find Mia. You're no good to her if you keel over in the process.”
“I gave you my word now tell me what's going on?”
Alessandro had taken a deep breath before beginning. “Everything was going smoothly and was on track for the wedding. The girls talked to Mia about a half an hour before she went missing. They were supposed to be meeting at the front stairway to have their photo taken and Mia asked for a few minutes alone. A little while later, Courtney saw Mia and Gabe coming down the back stairs near the kitchen. Mia told Courtney that she would be there in a few minutes for the photos, and that she just had to take care of something first, but Courtney said that she didn't seem overly anxious, and she just chocked it up to pre-wedding jitters.”
“Mia has always been calm under pressure,”I said with a hint of admiration in my voice. For someone who hadn't grown up familiar with the life that we live, Mia had a way about her. She was able to stay calm in the face of danger in the face of threats, she could think, and act as poised as someone who had been raised their whole life to prepare them.
"So, either she didn't know that she was in danger, or she didn't have a choice. If that son of a bitch did anything—"
"Don't go there,"Alessandro had said firmly."The guys are already out chasing down leads. Luca and Dario are heading to the club to question people that worked with Gabe to see if they have any idea who he might have been involved with or if he started acting strange over the past few weeks. We've got our guys at the airports and docks keeping an eye out for her.”
“Good.I want to question Courtney myself since she was the only one to see the two of them together. We need to have the Monticelli security team start pulling footage and see if they can piece together anything. Dante's already got someone on that. I'm not sure who we can trust anymore. We need to keep our circle tight and make sure that we don't make any mistakes like we did with Gabe. Speaking of, get me his wife. I need to have a chat with her as well.”
“I figured you might. Nick and Enzo are on their way to pick her up now. They'll be meeting us back at the vineyard.”
“The vineyard? Why not the compound?”
“The vineyard’s where it happened so, I figured that it would be best if we stay around there just in case it helps jog anyone's memory or we find any new evidence.”
“Sounds like you've really got a handle on things. Thank you for your help.”
“It's no problem at all you know I'd do anything to help you and the family.”
“I'm going to call my guys and see if they can hack into the traffic cams around where the accident happened. I want to see who ran me off the road and if they could possibly be connected with Gabe and Mia's disappearance. The timing of both of these attacks is something more than a coincidence. This was a planned attack.”
I'd spent the next week scouring every corner of Northern Italy. I spread the word to the Monticellis and Venturis to search both of our territories and sent teams of my men led by those that I trusted most to all the other major cities and towns but the main person I was focused on was Andrea. He had taken her once before, and I had no doubt that he could have been the one who took her again.
My men and I raided the Romano compound but there had been no sign of Mia or Andrea. I’d called in every favor I had, every ally, anyone that I could bribe. I even called the senator to get him to pull strings with the authorities to try to find Mia. I was desperate and running out of leads.
A knock on the Parlor door drew my attention from my thoughts and I irritably called out, "come in."
Lucia walked in looking as weary as I felt. She was close to Mia, and I hadn't even considered that she was probably going through hell worrying about her and there she was having to work. I needed to give her time off. Bianca and the other housekeepers could pick up the slack. The only reason Lucia was even working there was to have someone that Mia was comfortable with.
