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Chapter Ten
Gianna, the oldest Di’Carlo daughter, had been going crazy worrying about her youngest sisters. She felt absolutely responsible for them in her brother’s absence. Bella hadn’t made that easy. When the phone rang, and she saw Bianca’s number, Gianna picked up the phone immediately.
“Where the hell are you? Is Bella with you, and where the hell have you been?” Gianna ran the questions together. She was relieved and pissed at the same time. “We’ve been worried fuckin’ sick about you two.” We, she said, meaning herself and their sister Alessa. Bianca knew who she meant. She expected the concern and the backlash.
“Let me explain, okay?” Bianca reasoned, talking softly and respectfully to her oldest sister.
“I’m listening,” Gianna quipped. She was still fuming. Her pinched nose flared as she listened. As Bianca spoke, informing her as to what was going on, Gianna’s look shifted very little. Although she understood her youngest sister’s motives, she knew Bella hadn’t fully considered the consequences of her nascent plan. She was putting what was left of her family in serious jeopardy.
“Bella’s in over her head,” Bianca admitted. “We’re in trouble, G.”
The car ride between Mustapha and Zander was a bit tense. Mustapha broke the silence.
“How come we’ve never met you before? How come Zsanine has never brought you around? You obviously know her. You’re a friend, right?”
“You tell me.”
There was another awkward silence. Mustapha thought about the familial conversations that could preclude Zsanine from being willing to talk about a relationship. He saw it as protection. He never wanted to see his sister hurt. Mustapha knew how guys could be, and he didn’t want Zsanine to bear the brunt of any man’s foolishness.
“Just know, I care very deeply for your sister,” Zander said. “I would never hurt her, and I won’t allow anyone else to either.”
Mustapha didn’t know Zander, but he heard conviction in his voice and believed him. He had to move outside his comfort zone, to trust and have faith in order to get his sister back. The men rode the rest of the ride contemplatively quietly. They arrived at Zsanine’s office. When they walked in, each of them instinctively looked for her. She wasn’t there, which was a painful reminder that she’d been gone too long. Zander decided once again to stand back and allow the brothers to interact with Zsanine’s staff.
There wasn’t much more information shared than had been the first time.
“Have you learned anything else about who called?” Brigham inquired.
“Not really,” Fatima admitted. “The number I gave you was pretty much all we had. After I talked to you all, I was finally able to get in touch with the girl who took the call. I told her the situation and asked her was there anything else she could remember, whether the caller said anything else that could possibly help find Ms. St. Laurent.”
“And did she remember anything else?” Mustapha asked.
“She mentioned BJ Principle,” Fatima replied.
“That’s who called?” Mustapha followed up.
“Yes,” Fatima answered.
“Zsanine has GPS on her car, doesn’t she?” Shareef asked.
“She does,” Brigham replied, “but I’m not sure how to track it. I guess we’d have to contact the company or something to figure that out.”
“What company, though?” Shareef asked.
“Go back,” Zander said, stepping forward. “What’s the client’s name again?”
“BJ Principle,” Fatima repeated.
Zander stroked his beard, thinking, trying to put it together. Then after he thought about it, there was a light bulb moment. The name clicked for Zander.
“I know who has her.”
“Who?” The brothers asked almost simultaneously.
Zander didn’t reply. He was already on his phone dialing the Don.
“It’s the Di’Carlo’s. They have Zsanine,” Zander said as soon as Nicholas answered the line. He was furious but controlled.
“Zsanine’s brothers heard the conversation but had no idea what that meant. They were still stumped as to how Zander figured out who had their sister.
