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“What’s wrong?” Samantha goes pale. “Is Izzy in trouble?”
“We don’t know.”
Samantha sucks in a shaky breath. “Her uncle… He scares me. I didn’t question him that night when he picked up her things. He said she was in his car, and she didn’t want to face me to say goodbye. It sounded strange, but the way he looked at me… If I questioned him… God, I should have, right?”
“No,” I say firmly because I don’t want to tell any woman to purposely get in the way of a man like Dante Caruso. “He’s your… He’s Gabriel’s underboss. Questioning him would have gotten you hurt.” I stroke her arm, containing my fury, even though I want to rip the world apart. “Don’t worry. We’ll get her. She’s coming home with metoday.”
Samantha nods. “She missed you. So much. I’m pretty sure she was days away from calling you. She wanted to be with you.”
“Aye, me, too.” I give her a hug, unable to hear more. We both made mistakes.
Rior, Lach, and I dive into the elevator, and when we’re back in my Range Rover, with Lachlan driving, I say to Balor, who stayed on the line, “Go on, Bale. We’re heading back to Astoria. Get your guy to text Lach the address.”
“Sent. So… According to Ivan’s texts, he drove by the Parisi compound the day of the explosion to make sure Isabella was out of the house.”
My breath sticks in my lungs. “She was at the courthouse. I saw her myself.” That day rams back into my brain. I quirk a bittersweet smile in the midst of this madness, remembering how she acted, ordering her guards around.
“Ivan didn’t know exactly where she was, according to his texts,” Balor says. “He and Dante went back and forth that day.”
“Aye.” My bella didn’t look like a princess who reported her whereabouts to a Russian bagman. Especially if she didn’t have any real feelings for him.
My brain finally pieces together what Balor is telling me. “So, if Ivan wanted to make sure Isabella was out of the house, then heknewhis uncle planned to blow it up.”
Balor shakes his head. “Nothisuncle.”
My blood runs cold. “Wait, what?”
“Dante and Ivan were working together to take down Gabe.” Balor talks fast now. “Gabe was supposed to be home that afternoon, not his wife, Maria.”
“No one knew Isabella had that court date,” I mutter. “She…snuck out.” She didn’t want her father to know she had a speeding ticket because she probably wasn’t supposed to be driving herself around in the first place. That ticket saved her life. She’s alive because she rebelled.
“Holy fuck,” Riordan says, brushing a hand down the back of his neck. “Am I the only person who’s figuring out what thisreallymeans?”
“Dantewanted Gabe dead,” I say, going numb because nowI’mready to start a war. “It actually explains fucking everything. Koslovdidn’tbomb Parisi. That’s why Dantedidn’tmobilize a response. All he wanted was to head up the Cosa Nostra. Not start a war with the Russians, which would be expensive and bloody as hell.”
It doesn’t bring us any closer to finding Stasia, but I got my own princess to fucking find right now. “And we were all sitting here wondering how the fuck a Russian bagman could marry the Italian princess.”
“Dante arranged it, as far as Ivan,” Riordan echoes my assessment out loud. “He convinced Ivan to court Isabella.”
“But if he meant to keep Maria alive…” I stop myself, realizing that was Dante’s sister.Shewas the obedient wife who wouldn’t have questioned anything. The wife I thought I wanted. Now, nothing is farther from the truth. “Where’s Gabe right now?” I ask Balor with a tight throat.
“Can’t locate him. Another team is tracking him down. His phone is off. Not pinging.”
“To sum things up…” Riordan takes out his Desert Eagle, checking the clip. “What we’re walking into… Dante wanted Gabe dead, and now we don’t know where the don is.”
“And Dante has my wife in a house with Ivan, who tried to abduct her from me twice.” For a second, I consider stopping at our armory to pick up more weapons. But every minute counts.
“If Dante is still planning his coup, he needs Isabella out of the way.” Balor’s voice is somber.
She left me, so Dante will pressure her to marry Ivan. Which I doubt she will. She’s headstrong and independent. She’ll push back. Leaving Dante no choice but to…kill her.
“Step on it, Lachlan!” I yell.
I really could use that fucking helicopter right now.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Isabella
