“You got it. Thank you, Vanessa.”
He smiles at me before getting up and leaving the room. I start to clean up, gathering the used gauze and tape and tossing them away.
I hear footsteps and turn to see Gino in the doorway.
“Hey, Ness…” He stops, waiting.
I look up and see how exhausted he is. Juliet said he’s been sleeping in his office, and I can see it on his face.
“Thank you,” he says with a softness in his voice.
“That’s what I’m here for.”
“Let me help.”
He steps farther into the room. Over the last few months, he’s called me down here often enough that he knows the routine and how to help. We work in quiet sync, and when I reach for the disinfectant to wipe down the table, Gino gently takes the bottle and cloth from my hands and finishes it for me. When we’re done, we head upstairs together.
No matter how upset I am with my brother, he always knows when to step in, when I need him. That’s how we’vegrown close. He knows what to say and when to say it. And when he tells me he’s doing everything he can to find Mateo, I believe him.
Once we reach the first floor, Gino leaves and heads to his office. No one is in the kitchen, so I stand there for a moment, just looking around. I grab an apple from the fruit basket Juliet left on the counter. As I take a bite, I decide now is the time to go upstairs and ask Gino the questions I’ve been holding back.
I’m a woman on a mission, so I completely ignore Jake, Alonso, and Drew as they walk into the house calling out to me. I head straight for the stairs and go right to Gino’s office. The door is half open, and I can hear him on the phone. I stop just out of sight and listen, hoping to catch something.
“Listen, Lorenzo, I don’t give a fuck what you think. I’ve given you everything you wanted so far. You wanted drugs, I gave them to you. You wanted money, you got that too. What’s next?”
He pauses, listening.
“That’s not fucking happening. I am not ripping up a contract we already agreed to. You fucking asshole, just give him back. There’s no point in dragging this out any longer.”
Another pause.
“I swear to God, Lorenzo, if you keep this bullshit up, I’ll send my own people over there to find him and bring him back. The only reason I haven’t is because I don’t want to start a war in another country.”
He listens again, then snaps, “Fuck you. I’m done negotiating. I’m going to find him myself, and I’m done with your demands.”
I hear him drop into his chair and throw his phone onto his desk. Maybe confronting him right now isn’t the best idea, but I need something to hold on to for my own sanity. I knockon his office door.
“Yeah,” he calls, and I step inside. He looks up at me, exhaustion etched across his face as he drags his hands through his hair.
I take a seat across from him. “I’m not going to lie, I heard most of that conversation. Do you think he’s still alive?”
“Yes, I do.” He lets out a long breath. “They wouldn’t keep making demands if he wasn’t.”
“Have they given you proof of life?” I ask, hopeful.
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
“I don’t think that’s the best idea.” He’s got a somber look on his face.
“Why not?” I say, raising my voice.
“Because it isn’t pretty, and I don’t want you to see him like that.”
“Seriously?” Now I’m getting angry.
He stands and comes around his desk, stopping in front of me. Leaning back against it, he crosses his arms, the way he always does when he’s trying to make a point.
