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“It’s him,” I said, answering the call.
“So you got all your family to rally together and sign off on the sale that quickly, eh? They must really love you,” Tony said.
“Just get to the point, Tony. Where do we meet and when?”
“Tomorrow. I’ll text you the address of my lawyer. He has the paperwork ready at his office in Chicago, and he’ll be ready to see you first thing in the morning.”
“We’ll be there,” I said. “But you know I’m going to need some reassurance from you that our girls are okay.”
“Of course,” he said.
He turned the camera on and I watched as he walked into a room. He flipped the camera toward two cribs along a wall, where a woman was tending to one of them. He spoke to her in Italian and she stepped out of view so he could step closer.
Bella was beside me again, watching. Roman, Dante and Ava were on the other side of me.
Ari was fast asleep, peacefully it would seem. Seeing her curled up in a stranger’s house, in a crib that wasn’t hers, pained my heart.
Lucy was awake and fussing a bit, the woman had been tending to her. She looked fine otherwise. Still, it killed me that they were right there, yet so far away at the same time. Bella let out a muffled sound and covered her mouth.
He pulled the camera back, and I got a glimpse of the room, including a window along the wall with the cribs.
“She’s fine, just a little grumpy,” Tony said before flipping the camera back to himself. “We have nannies to feed and care for them, they are safe. Just keep your end of the bargain tomorrow so that it stays that way.”
The call ended abruptly and the room was quiet, it seemed no one knew what to say. I pulled Bella closer to me and just held her.
A second later, an address came through for a law office in Chicago. An appointment was scheduled for eight a.m.
I checked the time. It was just after midnight but I knew none of us were going to be getting any sleep that night.
“I think we should head into Chicago tonight.”
“I agree,” Bella said.
I looked at her. “You don’t have to go.”
“Yes, I do,” she said and stared at me with a look of fierce determination. I knew there was no way I was talking her out of it. I kissed her forehead.
Glancing at my siblings, I could tell by the looks on their faces that they were all in. I felt a warmth spread across my middle.
“I’ll ride with Dante and Roman,” Ava said.
Dante nodded.
“Sounds like a plan. Bella and I can follow in my car, it’s useful to have multiple vehicles, just in case.”
“In case of what?” Bella asked.
I shared a look with my brothers. They knew that things could go south very quickly, and if so, I needed to be sure Bella and Ava got out of there. The boys needed her.
“Just in case we want to go our separate ways later,” I said.
Bella looked at me as if she didn’t believe that was the real reason, but I couldn’t bear to tell her the truth. Because if shit went south, it could mean the worst for our baby girls, and my heart couldn’t take even imagining that. I knew hers couldn’t either.
“It’ll be fine—we sign the paperwork, get the girls, and everything will be alright,” I said, wrapping an arm over Bella’s shoulders.
It had to be fine.
I had to get my family back together.
