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If I’m going to the grave, then I’m going kicking and screaming.
16
SALVATORE
Matteo’s car is pulling into my driveway as I kick Brielle’s door in. Anger rolls through me as I storm through the house, searching every room for her. I look up and down, checking the closets and in any place she might think she could hide.
I can’t fucking believe she left me.
“Want to tell me why you’re breaking into Brielle’s house?” Matteo asks as he appears in the kitchen. “Where is she?”
I take a deep breath and look around the kitchen again, my heart pounding in my chest. If I could make her appear in front of me, I would. She should be here.
“If I knew where she was, I wouldn’t have to break into her house.”
“Why don’t you know where she is? I thought you were supposed to be babysitting her.”
“Yeah, so did I,” I say, my voice hollow as I run my hand through my hair.
Matteo nods and stands in front of me. “Alright, well, where do you think she is? If she didn’t come home, she has to be somewhere.”
Brennan’s bedroom.
I race down the hall and lunge into his closet, dropping to my knees in front of the safe. My hands shake slightly as I spin the combination, stilling when I hear it unlock. As I pull open the heavy door, I feel like I’m going to be sick.
If the fake identities are in here, there is still a chance she hasn’t fled the country. However, if they’re gone, she’s never coming back.
I don’t know which option I prefer.
When I peer into the safe, the fake identities are there in a pile. Nothing looks like it’s been touched since I checked the safe. As soon as Brennan told me about the safe, I had taken the first moment I could to check the contents.
Everything is there which means that she didn’t run. She could have, but she didn’t.
Matteo enters the room as I get to my feet and slam the safe shut again. “Is everything alright? What’s going on?”
“Brielle’s been taken, I think. If she was going to leave, she would’ve had to come back here for her fake identities so she could disappear. If these are still here, then she didn’t leave on her own.”
“So, she’s been kidnapped. Now what are we going to do?”
“I want you to go to the mall. Across the hall from the camera store is a washroom. She went in there. See if she left anything behind. I’m going to call Sofia and see if she knows anything.”
My hands are still shaking as I pull out my phone. Matteo takes off running and I hear the roar of his engine as I select Sofia’s number and hit the call button.
As I listen to the ringing on the other end of the call, my stomach is tossing and turning. I feel weak, though I’m doing my best to hold it together.
The only other times I’ve felt like this were when I’ve thought that I’d lose members of my family.
Though I have never liked living in the shadows of my brothers, I know my life would lose all meaning if I lost any of them.
“Hey,” Sofia says, the sound of children shouting filling the background. “What’s going on? Aria’s here with me if you want to talk to her too.”
“No. I called because I need to talk to you. The cartel still has people out here. Can you reach out to them and see if they’ve heard about Brielle?”
“What’s wrong with Brielle?” Sofia asks, worry clear in her voice. The sound of children shouting in the background fades.
“I think she’s been kidnapped. I was with her at the mall and then she was gone. I thought that she had run away, but everything she would have needed to run away is still waiting at her home.”
“Alright, well, I’ll get in contact with my people and let you know if I hear anything.”
