Page 113 of When She Loves
I grab my purse and dart out of the shop. Loretta calls after me, but I ignore her. My feet hit the pavement, and I’m off running.
“Cleo!” Sandro shouts from somewhere behind me and a car door slams.
I ignore him too. My sneakers slap against the street as I sprint to the location Vale mentioned in her message. The thought of Gemma being hurt or of her losing her baby nearly makes me stumble. This can’t be happening. Not when Gem is finally doing so well.
My lungs burn from exertion. I don’t think I’ve ever run this fast. I cut across the street, and cars grind to a stop and honk all around me. I sprint to the corner Vale said she’d be at. There’s a black limo waiting there. The door of the car opens, and I throw myself inside. It shuts right behind me.
“What happened?” I pant. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the car.
When they do, it isn’t Vale staring back at me.
It’s Papà.
He smirks. “Hello, daughter.”
Something pricks against the side of my neck, and then everything goes black.
CHAPTER35
RAFAELE
I’m aboutto drive home after sorting out a situation with one of the concrete businesses that pays us protection money, when my phone buzzes. An unknown number shows up on the caller ID.
I pick up. “Hello?”
“How are you, Rafaele?”
My blood ices over. Garzolo. He’s finally decided to make contact, and he sounds too fucking cheerful for a man in hiding. A bad feeling swirls inside my gut.
“Where the fuck are you?”
He chuckles. “You sound stressed. Must be hard running two families at the same time. Ah. Well, you won’t be busy with that for too long now.”
“What do you want?” I growl.
“What do I want? The question, actually, is what doyouwant? Your wife dead or alive?”
My pulse skitters. He’s fucking with me, but my hands still strangle the wheel. “Reconsider what you just said.”
“I’m afraid that’s just what it is, my boy. If you want Cleo back, you’ll do as I say.”
He’s bluffing. He has to be. Cleo is at work, and Sandro knows better than to leave his post. There’s no way Garzolo has her.
“You’re lying.” I put him on speakerphone and pull up the locator app I use to track Cleo’s phone.
“Go ahead. Check for yourself,” Garzolo drawls, guessing at what I’m doing.
Her dot isn’t showing up. I tap on her name. Tap. Tap. Tap. Nothing changes.
She’s gone.
A glaze of cold sweat breaks out over my skin. “If you touch a hair on her head, I’ll kill you.”
“Come to this address within the next twenty minutes. 9001 Hopkins Road. I want this over with quickly.”
“Let me talk to Cleo.”
“She’s somewhere else. Somewhere you’ll never find her. Bring one fucking soldier with you, and I’ll give the order to kill her. You come alone. You understand?”
