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Cinque De Bellis whiskey is the only legitimate business my brothers and I own independent of our father. As much as he tried to take over the idea when we were developing it, we all stood firm on the fact we didn’t want his filthy hands touching what was ours.
Our old man might be a great businessman. After all, no one gets to the position he’s at without having some smarts about him. But he has this uncanny ability to turn everything dirty. And I’m certain he would have found a way to use our whiskey to benefit him and his other business dealings. The ones that happen under the radar.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re just as involved in that side of the family empire as our father is. But it’s not like any of us had much of a choice. The day we turned thirteen, we were all handed a gun, put in front of a man, and told that it was him or us.
Father of the goddamn year right there.
Gio and Santo did everything in their power to try to keep us younger kids out of it. Tried to convince our father that he didn’t need all of us to work for him, but my older brothers were young themselves at the time. Even now, I don’t think the old man would ever listen to them. It’s always his way or the grave. You either fall in line or earn your spot at the morgue.
All of our phones sound out through the otherwise silent room at the same time. I pick mine up off the table.
VIN:
Dad’s acting stranger than usual.
I look up at Gio and Marcel. “What has he done?” I ask, knowing in my gut that the disappearance of our brother has to have something to do with our father.
Gio shoots off a text, and I wait for Vin’s reply.
GIO:
Define strange? What’s he doing?
VIN:
He’s pacing around, asking where Santo is and mumbling about how he better not be late to the ceremony.
“What the fuck? He didn’t even want this wedding to go ahead to begin with. Why would he be worried about where Santo is now?” I ask Gio. The wedding is supposed to start in two hours. Although, at this point, I doubt there’s going to be a ceremony at all.
“We have to find Santo. He wouldn’t just up and leave or run off without telling one of us,” Gio says.
“Which means he’s still in the city,” Marcel adds. “Has anyone tried Shelli’s sister?”
Then it’s like a light bulb goes off in my head. Why didn’t I think to call Shelli’s sister?
Probably because they’re estranged, and the woman wasn’t invited to the wedding. But, still, if Santo’s bride has ran off, maybe someone in her family would know where she went.
I find the old contact in my phone and dial the number. “Gabe, what can I do for you?” the familiar voice asks through the phone.
“Have you heard from Shelli?” I question her.
“No, I think I’m the last person she’d reach out to,” Kristen says.
“Any idea where she’d go if she were to say… get cold feet or something?”
At this, Kristen laughs. “Shelli would not have cold feet, and there is no way she’d ever run off on Santo. Why? What’s going on, Gabe?”
“They’re both MIA. Shelli and Santo. No one has seen or heard from either of them since last night, and we’re about two hours away from the wholeI dopart of the day,” I say. “Look, Kristen, if you have any idea at all where she’d be, or where they’d go, I need to know.”
“There’s a cabin. It’s about an hour’s drive from the venue. It was our father’s. He left it to me and Shelli. I don’t go there but I know Shelli and Santo used to visit heaps when we were younger. I’m sending you the address now.” Kristen pauses. “When you find her, let me know, please.”
“I will.” I disconnect the call, then quickly turn to my brothers. “Let’s go. It’s a long shot, but they could be at Shelli’s dad’s old cabin. Did anyone know she had a holiday cabin?” I ask them, and they both shake their heads at me.
ChapterFour
Cold. Everything is cold. I let the chill freeze me from the inside out. Basking in the numbness it leaves behind. I need it. The numbness. I need it to not feel anything else. Because feeling this is too much.
I look down at my fiancée’s lifeless body as I hold her close to my chest. Today was supposed to be the start of our forever, the rest of our lives. The beginning to our end.
