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He shakes his head. “She’s gone.”
Gone? She can’t be gone. I glance at the ambulance, and that’s when I see the covered body on the gurney. My knees buckle and black spots dance before my eyes, but a strong hand on my shoulder brings me back.
Nico’s face is inches from mine, and his lips are moving. It takes me several seconds to make sense of his words, and when I do, my hands ball into fists. “She’s alive, West. She went to her mom’s hotel. We didn’t think it was a good idea for her to be here when the cops showed up.”
“Jesus fucking Christ! She’s fine?” My lungs burn as I remember how to breathe. “Lead with that next time, asshole.”
“Sorry, buddy.” He laughs nervously, and his hand falls from my shoulder as he takes a tentative step back. “It’s been a hell of a day. She used my phone to call you. I thought she left you a voicemail.”
“A voicemail?” I glance at my cell but there’s no voicemail notification. Then the rest of what he says registers in my brain. “Her mom’s hotel?” I thought her mom died when she was a baby. Have I stepped into an alternate universe?
“Yeah, her mom. I told you, it’s been a day. The Fontana. Biggest on the strip. You can’t miss it.”
I know the place. And I know who owns it. Jesus fucking Christ, Lily. “Who’s that then?” I jerk my head in the direction of the ambulance.
He bows his head a little, playing the grieving son with the cops around, but I don’t miss the way his lips curl up. “Dear old Dad.”
“My condolences.” Then I add, quietly, “Should I be thanking you?”
He shakes his head. “Wasn’t me. You need to ask Lily what happened. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all myself. It seems my sister is a whole lot tougher and smarter than I’ve given her credit for.”
Damn right she is. His sister is the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. “Yep. She’s something else.”
He rubs a hand over his jaw and hums his agreement. “But know this, West.” He gives me a hard look, and I see all those years of Mafia service in the set of his jaw. “As tough as Lily is, she’s still my sister, and if you ever break her heart…” He glances over at Xander and Zeke. “Any of you.”
“We’d never hurt her, Nico. She means everything to us. I might consider putting her on a leash after this little stunt she just pulled, but I’d die to protect her.”
His eyes narrow. I’m not sure he appreciated the leash joke, but then the corner of his mouth curls up in a grin. “She’s sure going to keep you all on your toes, West.”
God, I sure fucking hope so.“I promise I’ll never break her heart.”Ever again.Shaking off the lingering guilt over the worst mistake I’ve ever made, I glance back at the battered old minivan, then take in the mansion in front of me. I need to see my girl right fucking now, and that piece of shit isn’t going to be fast enough. “You got a car we could borrow?”
“Sure. Garage is in the back. Keys are hanging by the door. Take whichever one you want.”
* * *
“So you’re tellingme that Lily’s mom is the head of the Mafia? Like the whole Mafia?” Xander leans over the center console from the backseat of the Lamborghini Urus I borrowed.
“If she owns this hotel, that’s exactly who she is.”
“This situation keeps getting weirder by the minute.” Zeke frowns. “Why hasn’t she called us and let us know that she’s safe?”
“What if she doesn’t want to see us?” Xander asks, and the atmosphere in the car changes on a dime.
“Nico said she tried to call me. He thought she left a voicemail, but she didn’t.” We all glance at each other before I turn my eyes back to the road.
“Of course she wants to see us. She loves us,” Zeke mutters. “And I don’t give a fuck who her mom is, we’re taking our girl home with us.”
I bring the Lamborghini to a screeching halt and toss the keys to the valet as we run into the hotel. We don’t know what room she’s in, and there’s no way a halfway decent hotel would hand a woman’s room number to three strange men. This hotel is a shitload better than decent, and the woman in question is the owner’s daughter, so I have no idea how we’re going to find her, but I do know that nothing will stand in our way.
But before we can come up with a plan, we’re approached by a smartly dressed guy with a shaved head and the squarest jaw I’ve ever seen. “Sirs, I believe you’re looking for Ms. Constantine?”
Who the hell is this guy, and can we trust him?
Without waiting for a response, he tells us to come with him and walks away. With no other way to find Lily, we follow him through the lobby to a large private area. Finally, he stops outside an ornate black door and knocks softly before pushing it open without an invitation. Swallowing a ball of dread along with the acute concern that we might get our heads blown off, I follow him inside. We should have brought one of the dozens of weapons that were stashed in the back of the minivan, but it wasn’t exactly feasible to sort through grenades and semi-automatics with the cops hanging around.
“West!” Lily’s voice is like music to my ears. “Xander! Zeke!” She launches herself into my arms, and I bury my face in her hair, squeezing the life out of her.
“Thank fuck, princess. Are you okay?”
