Page 72 of Because I Need You
“Yo.”
“The vault was broken into.”
“What?” My stomach dropped. Every head in the car turned in my direction. I looked at Tony and pointed at the nearest empty spot along the road. “Stop the car. Park right there.”
Once he did, I got out of the car in a hurry, trying to breathe. “When? What did they take? Who did they steal from?”
“They didn’t take much. They had no time. I had it set up so that it would ring the cops immediately. They must’ve seen the address and been around since they got here at record speed.”
“Who did they steal from?” I asked again.
The vault was where all five families kept their shit. The important shit, anyway. Art, mink coats, jewelry, personal items no one wanted to lose. I’d heard Charles even had slabs of actual gold and endless diamonds in his, amongst other things. I had cash in mine. A lot of it. I’d put it in there for safekeeping while I opened a new bank account and had yet to go back and get it. My father had nearly everything he owned of value in there. The vault was basically a robber’s wet dream, but only the five could get in there. We were the only ones who knew the location and had access to it.
“They went into your stash and Silvio’s,” Mike said after a moment. “I looked at the cameras. It happened half an hour before I got here. It was a rushed job, but whoever it was knew and knew the place well.”
“How did they fucking get in there?” A different kind of panic rose inside me. A series of things flashed in my head all at once. Whoever did it was also most likely counting on the fact that we’d be on this fucking scavenger hunt. Whoever did it, knew our movements. My heart beat even faster. I asked again, “How did they get in there, Mike?”
“It was open. The vault was left open.”
I let those words sink in as I tried to think about what I had in there. What we all had in there. My father was going to fucking…I didn’t even know what he’d do. I didn’t want to think about it. Few people had the code to our safe. We shared ours with Costello. I said this to Mike.
“Some of the Costello stuff is also missing, but not much. Not enough time.”
“Fuck, Mike.” I ended the call and gripped my temple with my thumb and pointer as my headache grew.
I wouldn’t be surprised if my head exploded like a grenade, that was the size of the headache I had. It also might very well be the best outcome, because a lot of people were going to start pointing fingers quick.
30
ISABEL
It had been three days and Giovanni hadn’t come home. He hadn’t called or sent a text or any kind of sign that he was alive, but Petra told me. Not outright, but she’d mention him in passing when I was in the room, so I knew he was okay, at least. I’d spent two days packing up Dad’s house and figuring out where to donate all his furniture and clothes. I hadn’t even looked through the rest of the contents in the briefcase since I’d spent the two days reading his letter over and over and crying until I was too exhausted to do anything else. Yet, I’d woken up every single night, looking at the empty space on the other side of the fortress of pillows I’d set up between us. Each time, wondering where he could be. Was he with another woman? It was plausible and I really shouldn’t care, but the mere thought of that made my stomach twist painfully.
Tonight, I’d decided to take melatonin and go to bed early. I couldn’t keep re-reading the letter or looking for Giovanni and hoping he’d be beside me when I opened my eyes. I didn’t even know why I wanted him to be beside me, considering I’d told him I didn’t want him to touch me, and I meant it. I still meant it. Once this was over with Dad’s house and whatever else was done with Dad’s involvement in their organization, I would go back home. I’d get a new place and live on my own. I’d go back to school in August and continue living as if nothing had happened and he’d continue on with his nightclubs and his model girlfriends. That was how it all played out in my head. It sucked, but it was for the best. We weren’t meant to be together. Technically, we weren’t even meant to meet.
I wasn’t sure what time it was, since I’d been sound asleep, but suddenly, I felt the bed shift beneath me. For a full second, I panicked, but then I remembered where I was and who they’d have to go through to get to me. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes to adjust to the darkness, and saw the outline of his lean frame as he sat on the other side of the bed, his back turned toward me.
