“He wants you to pay for making him look like a fool. For killing his father and for delivering the evidence against him. You thought he wouldn’t figure it out? Bad decision.”
Oh, I wished he would figure it out, especially after what his goons did to me.
I cock my head to the side. “And what do you get from this other than money?” I see two cars catching up with us.
He laughs. “You should know by now. Your father was responsible for the death of my parents. For my expulsion to Italy.”
I smile. “Federico. I think I can call you Federico. Your parents embezzled money from my father; that’s why they were punished.” His eyes fill with rage. “And you, Federico Sabatini, were sent to Italy so you could learn a lesson. Maybe be a better man than your father. I guess you're worse than him.”
“You little bitch.” He leans in to hit me, but I expected it. I grab his hand before I lunge at him, twisting his hand behind his back. I pull the seat belt and wrap it around his neck, making him gasp for air. The driver moves the car to the side while driving, pointing his gun at me. I duck down as he fires. The bullet passes me and hits the window behind me, leaving a hole in it. Sabatini reaches for the gun as he struggles for breath. I knee him in the back, and he loses the grip on his gun, which slips under the seat. As I struggle with my grip on Sabatini, the driver shoots again, and the window behind me shatters.
Sabatini’s elbow lands in my ribs, and I fall to the side and forward. My back hits the seat. He lunges at me, grabbing my throat. I gasp for air, clawing at his hand. My training kicks in, and I pull my legs between us and use all the strength I have to push him off me. His back lands against the door, his head smashing into the window. I use his disorientation to attack him,hitting him in the face. With one blow after another, I pummel his face, splitting it, breaking his nose. The rage and adrenaline inside energize me. I hit until all I can feel under my fist is blood. Shots are fired around me, and the car wavers to the side, colliding with the wall, and I’m thrown off Sabatini onto the car floor. My eyes land on the gun, and I take it and point it at the person who opens the door, and without a second thought, I shoot.
thirty-seven
Gabriel
Max collected everyone he knows we can rely on. If we can find Nico, we may also find Valentina. And finding her is my priority. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to live with myself if anything happens to her.
My hands shake, and I fist them at the thought of it. I need to stay calm and find her. That is the only way.
“Dante has picked up Naomi,” Marco says on the other side of the phone. “What do you want us to do?”
I think about my options. If I had any bit of sympathy for her, it was gone the moment Marco tracked Valentina’s movement, and the last place she had been was the same hotel I had woken up in. “Whatever he needs to do to get the truth out of her,” I say. “Any luck with Nico’s phone?”
“That was easy and strange.”
“Explain.” I run a hand over my face.
“Patience. I sent you an address. He’s in an apartment, and I managed to enter his camera. He’s playing with a five-year-old.”
“What?”
“Maybe he’s a father and we didn’t know.” I doubt that. The man has been out of the country for years.
“Thanks. Let me know when you find out more.”
I end the call, pull up the address he sent me, and send it to Max.
He looks at me, confused. “This is the address pinging Nico’s whereabouts. According to Marco, he is playing with a five-year-old.”Mack crosses his arms in front of him. “How does he know that?”
“He hacked into his phone, didn’t he?”
Max smirks. “Nice. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“So, what’s the plan? Are we just going to barge in there?” Mack asks.
“No,” I say. “Max, take Mick with you and go inspect the area so we know what we’re dealing with. I will follow Mack and the other men. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
“You heard the man. Let’s go,” Max announces.
We round the block, looking for anything that could draw our attention, and none of us comes up with a solution. I’m starting to get more frustrated when Nico exits the building, followed by Max and Mick.
“Drive to them,” I say to Mack, who has been driving me around. As soon as the car stops in front of Nico and I open the door, exiting the vehicle, the smirk on his face disappears.
“What are you doing here?” He looks at me.
I lean on the car. “What am I doing? You weren’t kidnapped?”
