He steps in front of me, eyes blazing. “She’sdead, Tommy! Aurelio had her killed, and you know it—”
“Shut up.”
“Listen to me—”
“SHUT UP!” I whirl on him, grabbing his collar. “I will tear this fucking island apart with my bare hands before I leave her here. She’s here. She’s fucking here.”
Vin watches me with a mix of irritation and pity. I hate it so much, I look away. Trudging back out to one of the houses we cleared early on, I step over the broken boards through a busted wall and stand in the middle of what was probably once a living room. Vin clomps in behind me and stands there with me, surveying the space.
He sighs. “Tommy, I’m not trying to be a dick, but—”
“Fucking stop! If you’re not going to help me, then get the fuck out!”
“I’m trying to help you, bro. This place isn’t going anywhere. We need to rest—”
I stop mid-step and whip my head toward Vin. Did he hear that, too? He stops talking, his brow furrowing. I gently bring my foot down to the wooden floor. It creaks beneath me.
And then I hear it again, so faintly, so softly that it sounds like the house has a heartbeat.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A pause. Then again.Knock. Knock. Knock.
My heart lurches into my throat. That’s our knock. That’s my girl. I fucking know it.
Vin frowns. “Tommy, that’s nothing. That’s just the house—”
“Quiet.” He opens his mouth to speak, and I shove him back. “QUIET!”
The knocking is faint but steady. Three knocks. Pause. Three knocks.
It’s her.
“Keep knocking, Giovanna,” I call out, my voice cracking. “Don’t stop, baby! Keep knocking!”
We run from room to room, pausing in each one to see if the knocks are louder or softer. I stop and listen, pressing my ear to walls. There it is again, this time louder. It’s on the other side of this wall, but there’s no door, no hall, nowhere to go.
I pound my fists into the damp wood until blood runs down my arms. Vin joins in, using the butt of his gun to beat holes in the boards and pry them loose. The wall cracks, splinters. Dust fills the air.
Behind the destroyed wall is a hidden door. It’s locked.
I kick it once, then again. The third time it flies open with a splintering crack.
And there she is.
She’s on the floor next to a filthy mattress, her hair hacked short, her body so small and thin she looks like a shadow. An oversized t-shirt hangs on her frame, nothing else, and her hazel eyes are dull, but they find mine, and they don’t waver.
A woman I didn’t notice at first jumps in front of Giovanna, waving her arms like I’m a bear about to attack.
“You leave her alone!” she screams. “She’s not for you. Get OUT!”
I backhand her, sending her flying into the wall. No one is coming between me and my girl.
Vin grabs the woman and drags her out into the other room, his radio crackling as he puts the word out on the radio to our men that Giovanna has been found.
I close the distance between us in a couple of steps and drop to my knees. My hands shake as I touch her face, as if she might vanish, then scoop her up in my arms. Her weight is practically nothing, and she trembles against me, turning her face into my chest. I step carefully around broken boards and shattered windows, heading toward our chopper. She doesn’t speak.
I hug her to me. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you. I’m never letting you go again.”
