Sloane nestles against my side with my arm thrown casually over her shoulders as we chat with our friends. I love how easily she has slotted into my life. Gia, Elisa, and Sloane get on famously, and it makes me happy to see her making friends. Hopefully, in time, she will realize she has more than just Elio and me. There have been moments where she’s slipped away from me, lost in her troubled mind, but I’ve been keeping her busy and distracting her.
Gia gets up when her cell rings, leaving for a few minutes to take a call. Concern is transparent upon her face when she returns. “What is it, love?” Joshua asks, instantly pulling her onto his lap. His fingers smooth the creases in her brow.
“I have an update on those European women.” Gia stares at me before her eyes flicker to Sloane. “Do you want to talk in private?”
“We can talk here.” I didn’t say anything to Sloane the other night because she’s got enough on her plate, but I won’t disrespect her by leaving the room as if I don’t trust her enough to hear this.
“It’s not good news, I’m afraid.” Gia drags her hands through her hair.
I sit up straighter. “Don’t say they are missing too.”
She nods. “They’re all missing, Cristian. Someone is targeting them.”
“Who could know?” Caleb frowns, shaking his head as he plays with Elisa’s hair. “We only know because Cruz told Valentina. It’s not like he was broadcasting his plans.”
“I’ll need to update Fiero. Valentina will want to check on Leandro.” Her son with Cruz was adopted in Sicily. After finding him safe and well cared for, she chose not to come forward and upset his life. But Fiero hired a couple of local guys to watch over the family in secret for this very reason.
Joshua nods, swallowing a mouthful of beer before speaking. “We can’t know for sure Cruz wasn’t broadcasting his plans. Think about it,” he adds after a few beats. “Cruz was a narcissist through and through. Of course, he’d brag about it. He couldn’t do it withinCosa Nostrafor obvious reasons, but he could totally boast about it to outsiders. It’s not impossible that somehow someone who shouldn’t know knows.”
An awful thought pops into my head, and my stomach twists into knots. “What if it’s the cartel?”
“What if what’s the cartel?” Sloane asks, lifting her head from my shoulder. “What are you talking about?” She nibbles on her lip and knots her hands in her lap.
Putting my beer down, I haul her into my lap and wrap protective arms around her. This is all new to her, and it’s no surprise she looks frightened. Talk of mafia and cartel would be scary to anyone not brought up in our world. “We found out after my brother died that he had purposely knocked up different women as part of a plan to infiltrateLa Cosa Nostrawith his offspring.”
Her eyes blink successively, and fear gives way to shock. “What the fuck?” A strangled laugh bursts from her chest. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish I were.”
Horror washes over her face. “It’s like this documentary I saw on Netflix last year. This sperm donor deliberately impregnated hundreds of women all around the world. All these kids have siblings everywhere, and it could have serious implications.”
“It’s why we’re trying to find these women and children,” Gia says.
“How many are there?” Sloane grips a tight fistful of my shirt.
“We don’t know,” I explain. “Gia has only started investigating. We recently found three women who had children with DNA that matched mine.”
“We were planning on talking to them,” Gia continues. “But they’ve all gone missing.”
“Oh God.” Sloane is shaking and pale. “That is awful. What—” She breaks off, looking sick to her stomach.
Maybe I should’ve spoken to Gia in private. As shocking as this is, it’s not the worst thing we’ve all dealt with. Perhaps we’ve become immune to the horrors taking place in the world today because we’re confronted by so much of it. To an innocent like Sloane, this would be a massive shock. It’s no wonder she looks ready to pass out.
She clears her throat before speaking, looking directly at me. “What do you think has happened to them?”
“We don’t know.” I hug her tighter, resting my chin on her head when she presses her face into my neck.
“It’s nothing good,” Gia says, and I shoot her a warning look. “But don’t worry, Sloane. We intend to find out, and if anyone has hurt them, trust that we will make them pay.”
37
SLOANE
“This. Is. Awesome!” Elio races around the playroom Sunday evening with his eyes bugging out of his head. Having arrived back at the penthouse a little after four, I had just enough time to finish the space station before Cristian returned with his son. “This is sooooo cool.” Elio stops beside the flag with the rocks. “Daddy, take a pic of me and send it to Nonna and Nonno, and Grandma and Grandpa.”
Cristian chuckles as he takes out his cell phone.
“Hold that thought!” Pressing my mouth to Cristian’s ear, I whisper, “I’ll get the astronaut costumes.”
