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Every minute he was gone felt like hours as I finished one bottle and opened up another. I had a high tolerance for alcohol, but without any food in my stomach, and starting out slightly on the dehydrated side, I could feel the warmth seeping in even deeper with every swallow.
As I picked up the phone to check it one more time, it rang in my hand.
It was an unknown number, but I just knew it was Joey. It had to be. “Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
“Oh, isn’t that sweet? You already have pet names for each other.”
“Who is this?” Even as I asked the question, I knew the answer. And it fucking killed me. I didn’t know what was worse, having Joey with the Mennettis or with his birth family.
“Allesandro, don’t you recognize your own father-in-law’s voice? Tsk, tsk, tsk. That’s not exactly a good way to start off our new relationship.”
“Where the fuck is he? If you touch one hair on his head…”
Santo laughed, a dark and evil sound that made my stomach clench even more. “Youwon’t be doing anything. Unless you actually want my son back, and in that case, you’ll be dropping off a very large sum of money to me. Tonight.”
So many conflicting thoughts and emotions flowed through me. Joey left me, and now his family wanted money. Was he part of some elaborate plan all along? It didn’t feel right, but nothing actually made sense anymore. “Let me talk to him.”
“Oh, I don’t think he wants to talk to you. After all, what was he doing alone in a motel on our side of town? If you gave a shit about your new husband, wouldn’t you have been with him? Leaving him unprotected was the wrong move.”
My stomach roiled, barely keeping all the booze down as I pictured Joey scared and alone.
“Why weren’t you watching out for him? When he called and told me you were married, he also said your family would be protecting him from now on.” He hummed his disappointment, and I could picture him shaking his stupid head. “That was only a few weeks ago, Allesandro. What could’ve possibly made you want to give him up so quickly?”
“Put Joey on the phone or there’s no deal.” I needed to hear his voice, to know he and our baby were okay.
There was some noise in the background, and then finally, the sweetest sound filled my ears. “Andro?”
“Yes. Joey! Where are you? I’ll come get you right now.”
“I’m–” There was a yelp, and I saw red.
“Nope. He doesn’t call the shots. I’ll tell you how this is gonna go. Two hours, at the Starfish Casino. You know it?”
I scoffed. Of course I knew it. My family was an owner of the place. Silent partners, but partners nonetheless. Then again, Santo probably didn’t know that. He was a small fish playing in the big bad ocean. I was a fucking shark. “Yeah. We’ll be there.”
“You. Just you. None of your brothers, none of your bodyguards. And I want cash.” He named an amount, and I rolled my eyes. A lowball number. Either he was dumb and didn’t realize how much I valued my husband, or he had no intention of taking the money.
“I’ll be there,” I said.
Santo hung up before I could demand to talk to Joey again.
I called my brothers back to the house. We had limited time, so they needed to hurry.
I went to my office where my dad was currently stationed. Nil trailed behind me, along with my two guards. We had upped the security detail since the Mennettis first came at us. “Who do we have working at the Starfish?”
“I don’t know.” Nil flipped open his laptop and started digging.
My father did the same while I filled them in on the phone call I’d just received.
Within twenty minutes, my brothers arrived and were briefed on what we knew.
“Orsino, go to the Starfish and find out if any of the Santoros have been around there. I want to know why they picked that location. Find a way in that isn’t obvious.”
“I’m on it.” He hadn’t always been Joey’s biggest fan, but he’d do anything for me and my family.
After a few minutes, Louie asked the question we were all thinking. “How do we know this isn’t a trap?”
I didn’t have a good answer, so I went with the truth. “I have to assume it is, but I don’t have a choice. I need to get Joey back.”
