Page 2 of Between Control and Chaos
Moreno silently exchanges a look with Dante that makes my stomach roil. Bile rises to my throat, and I swallow the burn back down.
It takes me only a second to recall the information. “Last Saturday. Can you comb through receipts?”
“I’ll look into it. I might have to drive over to the bar—” Moreno says.
“Why was your wife drinking on the job?” Dante’s question comes out more like an accusation. “Was it a slap in the face for making her work for me?”
I scoff at his suggestion and back away from him. “Not everything is about you, father.” The words come off snide and with disdain.
He’s certainly not my favorite person, and he’s not even making my top five.
“We will find Harper; after all, she’s family. We don’t leave our own behind.”
I can’t help but flinch at the realization that he now considers her family.
Mafia.
“Do whatever is necessary to find her,” Dante says and waves his hand, dismissing Moreno to go and work.
“Wait! She told me his name.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, my eyes slam shut, trying to remember what she’d said. “It starts with a J?—”
Jeremy.
John.
Jacob.
“Jayden!” My eyes flash open as I meet my father’s stare.
He flinches and grimaces.
“Does that name mean anything to you?” I ask, but already, there’s a hint of recognition and anger, his hands balling into fists.
“Fucking Jaxson Monroe,” Dante growls and storms toward his office.
Who is that?
The name means nothing to me.
“What’s next? I can’t just sit around and wait for a ransom demand.” My breath catches in my throat, my world spins wildly on its axis, out of control.
Dante opens the office door. The room feels suffocating, and I back up a step. “Are we sure the police didn’t show up? Maybe she was arrested?” For some reason, that would be the easier solution, the happier ending, which doesn’t seem happy to me. But I could hire her a lawyer, and at least I’d know she’s safe. Alive.
“Jayden is behind this mess. I can feel it.” Dante glances at Moreno. “Go find him. I don’t care if you have to wake all of them and interrogate them, find my daughter-in-law.”
He gestures for me to step into his office, and I relent, trudging inside. I can’t sit. I’m filled with nervous energy, and I stand behind the office chair, my hands on the back of the chair while Dante comes around to sit behind the desk.
“What would Jayden want with Harper?” I ask, completely unaware of who he is and why he would go after my wife.
Dante huffs under his breath, the answer to him, simple. “To get to me.”
“Harper wouldn’t betray you,” I say, confident that after what happened with Santino, she’d have zero desire to spill any of the family’s secrets or turn on Dante. She’s too heavily involved now after killing Santino; it would only incriminate both of us.
His jaw is tight and his eyes flicker. “She’s not stupid enough to rat you and herself out, but she might betray me.”
“She wouldn’t,” I say, instantly defending my wife. “Harper knows to keep her mouth shut because all of it ties back to us. She’s learned her lesson, understands her place in the business.”
Dante stares at me, raising an eyebrow, seemingly unconvinced. “Does she? Harper hasn’t been working for me for very long. I’ve had men with more years under their belt betray me.”
