“I never said it was a good idea,” I responded, “but it’s the only one I’ve got. Go. Get out of here. If things go south, I don’t want you getting caught in it.”
“You want me to leave you?” she said. “I can—”
“I know, Callista. I know you can take care of yourself, but this isn’t about that. Dad and Art are already off with Denise, and I honestly don’t know what the outcome of all of this is gonna be. We need at least one Carducci to hang in there. Just in case.”
The way she looked back at me told me that she was well aware of the fact that I wouldn’t hesitate to kill Arturo or my dad, especially if they hurt Denise. “Okay,” she responded. “Please be careful.”
“I will. I promise.”
With that, she rolled up the window and pulled off down the road and out of sight. I turned and faced the Costa estate with my heart rattling all of my bones. There were few things dumber than walking up to the front door of your sworn enemy, but we had someone in common. I could only hope that if I offered them a sweet enough deal, they would help me save my wife. Maybe, just maybe, there was someone in that house that loved her enough to want to do it for nothing.
I approached the security booth situated outside of the house and knocked on the window. The man inside looked up, and then his jaw dropped. “Ashton Carducci.”
“I’m here to see Illiana Costa. You can tell her who’s asking, and you can have her send armed guards to escort me in. I mean no harm. I’m here to make a deal.”
His eyes were wide and shocked, but he slowly turned to face his tablet and pressed a few buttons on it, keeping his eyes on me the whole time. After a few seconds, a woman’s voice rang out. It was proper and refined. It was what I might expect from the queen of the mobster world.
“Hello?” she said. “What is it?”
“Uh…” He swallowed hard. “Ma’am, Ashton Carducci is here to see you. He says you can send armed escorts out to lead him in. He wants to make a deal.”
There was no response. The guard in the box sat waiting, as did I. With each second that passed, I got more and more afraid that I was losing Denise, so I finally bent down to scream through the window. “My father and brother kidnapped Denise, and I think they’re going to kill her. I have no way to track them, but I know you’re good at that. Please. If you help me, I’ll help you.”
“Let him in,” she responded.
“Ma’am?” The guard seemed truly shocked. “Just…let him in?”
“Let him in. He’ll behave himself,” she said, and there was a click signifying that the line had gone dead.
She wasn’t wrong. With Denise hanging in the balance, my only option was to play nice, so as the guard pressed the button to send the gates creaking open, I lifted my hands high above my head and walked through.
The front door of the estate opened, and three people stepped out and kept their eyes on me as I moved. I was careful not to move too suddenly or do anything that might make someone jumpy. The three people—two men and one woman—I imagined were Denise’s siblings, Carmine, Cherri, and Bennett. At least, Cherri and Bennett were her siblings, but the third was still a giant question mark. All three of them had guns in their hands and were standing and waiting as I made my way up the stairs and over to them.
“We’re heading up the stairs and to the right,” one of them, the tallest and oldest-looking, said. “Any sudden moves, and we’ll turn you into swiss cheese.”
I nodded, and they parted so that I could pass them. The heat of them all closely following me with their guns drawn clung to me as I made my way up the steps. I turned to the right and noticed a door open at the far end of the hallway with its light on. I imagined that if that wasn’t where I should be headed, someone would stop me if I went too far, so I carried on, and when I got to the room and looked to my left, Illiana Costa was sitting inside, calmly sipping a cup of tea and smiling back at me.
“Well, this is quite the unexpected visitor. Come in. Sit.”
I did as I was told, but I didn’t wait to cut to the case. “I’m sorry, but this is an emergency. If we don’t hurry, my dad is going to kill Denise.”
The man who’d addressed me earlier was halfway around the desk. He turned to look back at me, shocked. “What? Someone has Denise?”
“My brother, and soon, my dad. They’ve wanted her dead for a while now. Please. If you can get me to her, I’ll gladly help you kill my dad and brother. I’m planning to do it anyway.”
“Where’s your phone?” The man stuck out his hand. “Give it to me. I can track them.”
Illiana clicked her tongue at him. “So anxious. I’m glad you love your sister, but let’s be rational.”
“I’m being rational,” he spat back. “This is our chance to get Anthony. He’s not expecting that his son would come to us. If we strike now, there’s no way we don’t win.”
“He’s right,” I said. “Arturo attacked my sister just to get away, and my dad left in just as much of a hurry once we realized he was gone. Neither of them is thinking rationally, and they have no backup.”
She looked at me, then over at the man, and she tipped her head in his direction. He rushed out of the room, and Illiana looked across the desk at me. “You two are a bit of an unlikely pair, you and Denise.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“There’s never any telling where her true allegiances lie,” she said. “I should know. I raised her that way.”
