The initial panic at Aron being gone from the bedroom resurfaces, and I leave the doctors without another word, eager to find my boyfriend.
Our next stop is the surveillance room. With the systems we have in place, I should be able to see him wherever he is on the estate. I pour over hour after hour of recordings, fast forwarding frantically through the videos, but there’s no sign of Aron leaving the mansion. No sign of him getting in any of the cars outside, not even any vehicles missing from our extensive collection.
More disturbingly, I note several gaps in our camera coverage that shouldn’t be there, enough gaps that a person could slip through, maybe even two or three individuals, if they’re careful.
Only someone on the inside could have done this.
I’m seconds away from ordering a mass search of the property when Jules taps me on the shoulder.
“What?” I snap.
Jules leans close. “No offense, Don Matteo, but you might want to consider backing off on the search for Aron right now, or at least hide your panic. I know what happened in the woods, but the others … they might not be as, er, tolerant of that.”
Fuck. He has a point. If I seem scared or anxious, that doesn’t track with the “ruthless don” façade. I’ve got to come up with a plausible reason for me to be upset at Aron’s disappearance.
The twins, who have been tiring away in the server room next door, poke their heads around the corner. “What’s going on?” Holly asks as she chews loudly on a stick of gum. “Something wrong with the monitors? We just checked them yesterday.”
Showtime.
I storm across the room and grab Holly by the throat. “Did you create the gaps?”
She shudders in my grasp. “Wh-what? N-no! They were already there. Hank and I assumed you wanted some areas of the mansion where there was privacy. Y’know, for secret mafia stuff.”
Shoving her back with a snarl, I whip around to the closest associate who happens to be walking by.
“You! Lorenzo! I want this mansion locked the fuck down. Javier’s son has disappeared, and if he’s still on the property, I want him found.” Lorenzo’s eyes widen, and his Adam’s apple bobs as he gulps. “If he’s escaped, heads will fucking roll. Oh, and Lorenzo?”
“Yes, Don Matteo?”
“I want Aron brought in alive. He’s mine,capiche?”
Off he goes with a few other, more senior Syndicate officers on his heel, all looking quite confused. I suppose I understand. I went from praising Aron’s loyalty to ordering a manhunt for him less than twelve hours later. If there’s anything I’ve learned fromwatching Dad all those years, though, it’s that the don doesn’t have to make sense.
Since I don’t have my usual guard, Jules stays with me. We move on to my office, where Cinder and Gia have been waiting for me to start the day’s business. Jules stands guard outside while I slam the door shut and start seething and pacing.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Cinder asks, still in character as my supposed girlfriend.
I look at Gia, who gives a silent nod. She’s checked the office and found no listening devices. I stop pacing and stand behind my desk.
“Aron’s missing.”
The two women gape and exchange worried glances. “Is there a ransom?”
“If Javier’s people took him, there won’t be one.” I slam my fist on the desk. “Fuck! I should have known he’d come for Aron. The only person I’ve known to be more of a controlling freak was Dad. Javier probably thinks he can convince Aron to switch sides.”
Cinder puts her hand on my shoulder. “No one could get Aron to leave the Syndicate. That man has it bad for you. He’d never give in.”
“You don’t know Javier. He once tortured a rival boss to within an inch of his life, and until that guy got blown up the night of the attacks, he was as loyal to Dad as anyone. Javier has some nasty tactics. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, and I wouldn’t put it past him to use some of his tricks on Aron.”
“But Aron has the benefit of knowing his dad’s tricks,” Gia points out. “He’ll be even harder to turn.”
I wish I could be as optimistic as the girls. Of all my dad’s associates and enforcers, Javier was the most ruthless. He would stop at nothing to achieve whatever goal Don Tito set for him,and oftentimes anyone who resisted his, er,charmswould find themselves at the bottom of the nearest river.
Not that Javier was a bad father. Far from it, in fact, but things have changed. This is no longer about sleepovers and kids playing in the park. This is about power and control, two things I suspect Javier is unwilling to let go of now that he has them.
He’ll be unwilling to let Aron go as well. No amount of begging, pleading, or bargaining on Aron’s part is going to get Javier to release him.
While my men search the estate, Cinder, Gia, and I brainstorm ways to find and extract Aron. Though we know where Javier’s staying, that doesn’t mean he took Aron home with him. He could be holding my boyfriend hostage in a warehouse, abandoned building—anywhere, really.
