Page 87 of Righteous Enforcer
To his credit, Alessandro doesn't flinch. Even with a look of murder in my eyes, he remains cool. “You remind me of Luca when he learned about Enzo.”
“Yeah, well, fatherhood will do that to you.” I suck in a breath, needing to get my bearings. "I'll tear apart every city, every country until I find them. And when I do, Eva will learn what it truly means to fear a Dante."
But even as the threat leaves my lips, I wonder which emotion drives me more. Rage at her betrayal or terror that I might never see either of them again.
“Alright, you can find your daughter, but let me be clear," Alessandro says, rising from his chair. "When you find them, I don't want Eva back in this house. The woman is poison."
I nod. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm going to find her and get my child. Eva is on her own."
Alessandro studies my face, searching for weakness. "I'll arrange?—"
"I'll handle it myself," I cut him off. "This is personal."
I leave his office without waiting for a response.
In the hallway, I pull out my phone and dial a number I rarely use but always keep close.
The line connects after one ring. "Gabriel."
"Mr. Dante." His voice is smooth, professional. Gabriel isn't family, isn't even Italian, but he's the best investigator money can buy.
Ex-FBI with connections everywhere and a moral compass that points directly toward whoever pays him.
"I need you. Now." I keep walking toward my room, already mentally packing. "Eva Santoro. She's taken my daughter and disappeared."
“Eva… do I know her?”
When she disappeared the first time, I didn’t know Gabriel. If I had, he’d have probably found her.
“No. Her father worked for us.
She’s been on the run for four years but was just found by Ivan Vasiliev.
She escaped him and I found her with my daughter. Now she’s run again.”
“How much head start does she have?”
I check my watch. It’s now nearly eight thirty. “Six to eight hours. She has just over four-grand in cash.”
“Any idea where’d she run to?”
I scan my brain for any information she might have given me about friends or other family, but I’m certain she never mentioned any. Her father was killed not long after she went missing.
My father said it was the Bratva, but now I wonder if it was him since he’d had Eva on his list of suspects.
“She ran to Boston last time, but I doubt she’ll do that. She’s smart enough to try and hide her tracks, but she’s no match for the Bratva who is also hunting her.”
“Or me. I’ll check buses, trains, rentals… the whole deal. If she has a kid with her, she shouldn’t be too hard to miss. Do you have a description?”
“Of the child?” I ask.
“Both.”
I give a description of Eva and Mirabella and even include one of the stuffed unicorn.
"I'll start now. I assume time is critical?"
"Every second." I pause at my bedroom door, seeing the rumpled sheets where we made love hours before. "And Gabriel? When you find her, call me directly. No one else."
