I followed Sal’s breathing until the pressure in my chest began to lesson. Tears spilled down over my cheeks. “My mom, Sal.”
“I know, caro.” One of Sal’s hands slid over the top of my head and then down to the nape of my neck. He gave me a gentle squeeze. “I’m going to find her, Lany. I’ll bring her back to you. I promise.”
I knew he would. In all of our years together, he had never broken a promise to me. He certainly wouldn’t start when my mother’s life was in danger.
“The team is on their way here, as is your father with the kids. As soon as they get here, we’re going to head out and go after your mother. Lyn is already tracking her. We just need to wait until everyone gets here.”
“I want to go.”
“No, Lany, you—”
“I want to go,” I said more firmly.
Sal’s lips thinned.
“I have to go.”
His shoulders slumped as if he had just lost the battle for the universe. “It’s dangerous, Lany. We don’t know what we’re walking into. You could get hurt.”
“I won’t jump into the middle of a firefight, but I need to go.”
Sal’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’ll have to stay with Marcus and Dmitri.”
“Done,” I answered instantly.
It would be stupid to leave their sides, especially in a situation like this. Their sole job was to keep me safe. Yes, I sometimes snuck away simply because I grew frustrated from time to time, but in general, I knew that they were just trying to keep me safe. They couldn’t do that if they weren’t with me.
“All right, you can go, but you will not leave Marcus’s or Dmitri’s side, and you will do exactly what I say when I say it. No going off on your own. I can’t concentrate on rescuing your mother if I’m worried about you.”
“I know how important this is, Sal.” I held up three fingers. “I promise I’ll be good.”
We both knew I meant that promise, but we also both knew the situation could change in an instant, prompting me to act out. In a dream world, we would go in and get my mother and arrest the bad guys. Unfortunately, this was not a dream. It was the real world, and it was dangerous.
“Make sure you have an earpiece,” Sal directed as he stood. “I want to be able to communicate with you at all times.”
“Are you really going to take him with you on a rescue?” Uncle Jerry asked. “Do you realize how insane that is?”
“He’d just sneak out and follow me after I left anyway,” Sal replied. “I might as well take him with me where I can keep an eye on him.”
I pressed my lips together when Uncle Jerry grunted and looked away. Sal knew me well, but so did Uncle Jerry, which was why he didn’t argue. They both knew I couldn’t just sit at home and wait for this all to be over.
“Dad, Papà,” several voices called out from the study doorway.
They knew not to enter the study until we gave the all clear. If we were doing a storyboard, there were certain things we didn’t want them to see. Luckily, this time, there wasn’t anything on the storyboard that could emotionally scar them.
“Come on in,” Sal called out.
I quickly got to my feet and then spread my arms wide, knowing I was going to get hugs from all of them. I smiled when a warm presence pressed against my back. Four kids of varying ages and little ol’ me? That was a disaster waiting to happen.
I grunted when they all hit me at once. If Sal wasn’t standing behind me, propping me up, I would have been flattened on the floor.
“How was school?” I asked after hugging each of them.
“Grandpa pulled us out early. What happened this time?” Emily’s brow was furrowed when she looked at me, her gaze intent as it went up and down my body. “You’re not hurt again, are you?”
“I’m not hurt, Emily.” At least not physically. “There’s been a situation, and a man that your dad and I put in prison a few years ago might be after us. We wanted you to come home where we knew you’d be safe.”
“I want you guys to go upstairs and hang out with Jenna,” Sal stated. “Your papa and I have some work to do to catch this guy.”
