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“Call him. I’m gonna get with Enzo, talk about which safehouses Ricardo could be in,” Romeo said. “Give me fifteen minutes, and I’ll come up with a list.”
I nodded quickly, walking out onto the terrace, and for the second time that month hoping a cigarette would fall from the sky. It was an old habit and a bad one, but with Allegra and Matteo kidnapped, I didn’t know how to act without it. I stared out onto the grounds, and hoped to a God I’d never truly believed in that Allegra and Matteo would be okay.
23
ALLEGRA
I didn’t stop screaming until Ricardo hit me, breaking open the skin on my cheekbone. Matteo was sobbing in the backseat, and I didn’t want him afraid, so after Ricardo popped me one and it took my breath, I stopped yelling. I looked at Matteo, my hands tied behind my back. He had a bag over his head, and Ricardo put one over mine as well. It smelled of burlap and tobacco.
“Why did you do this?” I asked Alberto miserably. I thought he had been my friend all these years. I’d known him since I was a kid. He’d always been so good to Matteo, too, and I couldn’t believe he’d betrayed us. Alberto didn’t answer.
“Pipe down, sweetheart, or I’ll hit the kid, too,” Ricardo barked, and I kept my mouth shut.
I didn’t know how long we drove, but it seemed like hours. When I was finally forced out of the car, Matteo had fallen asleep, leaning his covered head on my shoulder. This was exactly what I never wanted to happen. I didn’t want Matteo to be part of this life, to have the trauma I did, but that was exactly what was happening. As we were led out of the car, the sack was removed from my eyes, revealing a dimly lit, run-down warehouse. This wasn’t one of Enzo’s fancy safehouses, and that filled me with terror. If Rocco and my father didn’t know where to find me, we might be here for a while.
The air was heavy with the scent of oil and moisture. Ricardo gestured for me to follow him, and Alberto trailed close behind, his voice devoid of any emotion. I leaned against Matteo protectively and he stared up at me with wide, scared green eyes. Ricardo led us deeper into the warehouse, navigating through abandoned crates and old discarded machinery. The sound of dripping water echoed. I scanned our surroundings, desperately searching for any opportunity, but between Ricardo, Alberto and the men they probably had outside, there was nothing I could do.
Finally we reached a secluded room, probably one that used to be an office. There was a desk and one chair and nothing else. I nudged Matteo to the chair. They hadn’t bothered to tie his hands, thinking he wasn’t a threat, and so he clutched at me. I stayed close to him, leaning my hip against the desk. “You don’t have to do this, Ricardo,” I said finally. Not being able to help my voice from shaking, I looked at him with pleading eyes. “You know I like you anyway,” I lied. “I would have married you without all of this.”
Ricardo scoffed. “You really think I’m stupid, don’t you, chickie?” he snarled. “You really think I believe you? Alberto told me about the kid, and he told me about you and Rocco, too.”
I gasped, looking over at Alberto. He wouldn’t look at me. He’d barely spoken to me in years, but clearly his voice worked better than he’d led us to believe, if he was able to tell Ricardo everything. I couldn’t believe he was a rat.
Ricardo leered at me. “I’m about ready to have some fun with you, chickie, but first I need to secure the area.”
“They’ll come after me,” I warned him.
“So what if they do? I’ve got five men outside, and Alberto’s no slouch. You know that from experience,” Ricardo drawled. “I’m not worried about your old man and Rocco fucking Moretti.”
“Rocco’s stronger than you think,” I defended him, but Ricardo just snorted.
“He’s injured,” he said. “My men got the drop on him twice, and he just won’t fucking die. He’s like a cockroach,” he muttered.
“That doesn’t tell you he’s strong?” I asked defiantly, and then Ricardo hit me again. Pain bloomed across my face, blood trickling from my cut cheekbone. Matteo screamed and the sound filled me with fear.
“Shut that kid up!” Ricardo shouted.
“He’s scared!” I yelled. “What do you expect?”
“Shut himup,” Ricardo said again, stepping menacingly closer.
I swallowed hard and looked down at Matteo. “It’s okay, baby,” I murmured. “Just calm down, stop crying, okay?” Matteo sniffled and hiccupped, trying to stop, but he didn’t scream again. Ricardo snorted and left the room, leaving Alberto to guard us.
“Alberto, don’t do this,” I pleaded, but the man wouldn’t even glance in my direction. “You’ve been with our family for years,” I continued. “You love Matteo. You wouldn’t want him hurt.”
“He’s not going to hurt him,” Alberto said hoarsely, and I couldn’t stop barking out a bitter laugh. It was the first time I’d heard his voice since I was a teenager, and I couldn’t believe this was the circumstance.
“You don’t know him, Alberto. You don’t know what he’s capable of.” Alberto’s eyes darted to mine, just for an instant, and then he looked at Matteo, who had his head in his hands, crying softly. “So you lied to us for the last fifteen years?” I asked softly, hoping to throw Alberto off-guard. “You’ve been able to talk just fine all this time, and you were just waiting for a moment to betray us?”
He cleared his throat. “I don’t have to talk to you,” he said, looking away from us.
“You don’t want to do this, Alberto. I can tell. I can see the uncertainty in your eyes.”
“I don’t have a choice,” he choked out, his voice raspy with disuse. I wondered how badly his injury had really been and how much he’d lied about. I guessed it didn’t matter. All that mattered now was Matteo.
“Do what you want with me, but leave him alone,” I said quietly, hoping Matteo wouldn’t hear. He didn’t, his face screwed up, sobbing quietly.
“I’m not going to do anything to you,” Alberto said. “I’m just guarding you until Ricardo gets back.”
