I settle on one of the pallets and prepare myself to wait. I am hoping Ennio will show up and something will finally happen.
But half an hour passes, then an hour. I bite my fingers nervously, still… nothing happens.
Am I crazy? Why not just call the police?
As I am preparing myself to call, I see two men come out of the warehouse, pushing something that looks like a cart, but I cannot tell what is on it because it is covered with a dark tarp.A horrifying thought flashes through my mind that it might be a body.
Fuck…
The two men head toward another smaller warehouse, marked C35, about forty yards from C34. They enter it together with the cart.
My nerves are stretched to the breaking point. I try to take pictures of everything, but the distance is too big and my phone cannot zoom in enough to catch anything clearly.
I sit and bite my fingers, and finally make the decision to call the police. Obviously Ennio has been ignoring this situation.
The moment my finger hangs over the call button, I hear a car approaching behind me.
I press myself against the pallets, trying to stay invisible. The car stops behind the long warehouse I am hiding next to, a good place from which you can watch both warehouses from afar, 34 and 35.
A new wave of stress hits me, because from that spot someone could see me too, if they looked closely at the pallets.
From the front it is not safe either. Some alpha guards are now standing in front of the first warehouse.
Just when I decide to retreat somehow, the door of the new car opens and, to my huge relief, Ennio gets out.
The first thing he does is head in my direction. I guess my hiding spot was not as good as I thought, duh.
I bite my lip and climb out from behind the pallets.
Ennio’s face looks tight and sour.
"You must be out of your mind for coming here, Alex. You are seconds away from getting yourself killed," he mutters through clenched teeth.
"I could not just leave this alone," I protest. "Lake Nolan is Bay’s dad, I do not understand why these people would kidnap him. I am not going to just go away and pretend nothing ishappening," I mumble stubbornly. "Or should I call the police after all?"
Ennio huffs. "I told you I would take care of it." His black eyes narrow in a cold stare.
"And how exactly do you plan to take care of it?"
"This is not your business. I said I would handle it. You need to get out of here right now."
I lift my chin.
"No. I cannot leave Bay’s dad. That would break Bay’s heart. Lake is—"
Ennio leans over me, grabs my shirt at the chest, and says sharply, "I said I would handle it. Get out."
I wince and free myself from his grasp.
"Fine, fine, you handle it. But I’m going to sit here and watch how you do it," I say through clenched teeth.
Ennio does not answer for a moment.
He looks at me for a few seconds, then finally says,
"Whatever happens or whoever shows up, you stay behind these pallets. Don’t move, no matter what. Understood?"
"I will try," I force out, teeth still clamped tight.
