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“Is the room ready?” I asked. The new house had a six-car garage and a secondary RV garage. Stefano and Carmine designed the remodel with specific needs in mind.
“It’s not finished, but the drains are in.” A cement room with soundproof walls like the one on the Bruno estate.
“Boss, careful on this one. Ferraro isn’t a low-level businessman who would disappear without notice. He’s international.”
I nodded. “We’ll talk to him first. If more lies leave his lips, he won’t be leaving his club tonight.”
There were only a few cars in the club parking lot. Ant walked a step in front of me, willing to take a bullet meant for me. Stefano and Carmine protected my rear.
At the door, I pressed the buzzer, announced myself, and waited. “Marco Bruno for Alex Ferraro.”
A moment later, the door opened. Before the bouncer could speak or deny my entry, Stefano had him pushed against the wall and a gun in his side. “This isn’t a social call. Where is your boss? My boss would like a word with him.”
“In his office.” The bouncer nodded toward a polished black door.
Carmine held his gun in his right hand and opened the door with his left.
“After you,” Stefano spoke low and controlled to the bouncer. “We’re here to speak with your boss, but my boss doesn’t bring me with him for my great conversation skills. So don’t be a fucking hero. This is a private matter that doesn’t concern you. Don’t involve yourself.”
Inside the office, there were chairs in an open area. Beyond the seats, Alex sat behind a desk in a glassed off area. As soon as we entered the room, he stood, holding out his hand to his business associate to sit back down.
Stefano shoved the bouncer into a chair. “Wait here.”
He nodded. Ant opened the inner office door, and I stepped into Alex’s office. We stared at each other.
“You know why I’m here.” I sat in the chair across from his desk. Stefano stood next to me, his gaze focused on the other man. I’d met him before, Ronan.
“I do,” Alex said and sat behind his desk. “But I still don’t have anything else to say to you.”
I leaned back in the chair and wrapped my hands over the edge of the armrests. “That’s disappointing.”
Ant closed the door, leaving Carmine with the bouncer.
“My associates can be persuasive.”
Alex leaned forward and rested his clasped hands on his desk. “I was alerted to the security breach the moment your guy hacked into my system. Nash wanted me to tell you, your guy needs to update his steganography system. Your tech is good, but mine is better.”
“I’m looking for a killer of a man who isn’t dead! I’ve been lied to by you, and by your associate,” I said, indicating Ronan as he leaned against the wall with a stoic tilt to his lips. Not to mention the Italian woman and her biker husband. “I failed to impress upon you the consequences of fucking me over.”
Ant pulled his gun but kept his arm at his side. Stefano simply smiled in a way that would make most men nervous.
“I’m not your enemy, nor am I one of your associates. After our last conversation, I made a few inquiries into your holdings. Don’t fuck with me. I might not carry a gun, but I never go into business without knowing the players.”
“This isn’t business,” I seethed. “If you are as good as you say, then you had to assume I’d find the girl.”
Alex arched a brow. “And if you found the girl, you’d find Luca.”
The secondary door to his office opened, and two men entered.
Breath rushed from my lungs. Like a constrictor had coiled around my throat, I couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t find words.
Luca…and Carlo, his best friend and confidant.
“What the fuck?” Stefano straightened. A suffocating cloak of silence descended on the room.
“Stef,” Luca said. “I’m surprised he pried you out of your dungeon.”
“I’m surprised we’ve found you in yours.”
