I hadn’t noticed that Larson took his seat belt off and he lunges at me so fast, snatching my phone. He, of course, knows my password (I really need to change it) and starts to scroll through my phone. I jump out of my seat and am met with large hands holding me down. Fucking traitor.
“Who’s Alaric and why was the coffee spilt?” He makes googly eyes as he reads over my messages. “Is he why you were late this morning?” He wiggles his eyes.
“I met him at a coffee shop and we ran into each other and coffee spilled everywhere. That’s it.” I wiggle out of Antonio's hold, pushing him where he almost falls over the seat.
“Oh, really? Do you always call your new friends ‘good boy’?” he teases, tossing my phone back at me.
I flip him the bird as I’m moving from my seat to grab my laptop out of my bag. Once back in my seat, I place headphones in my ears to drown out the two idiots in front of me, checking my new emails for the day.
Nine hours later, we finally land in Italy. Thank God, because those two were driving me insane with their bickering. I was able to get all the work I could get done on the plane and also did some research on Mr. FBI agent. I had time to kill so why not do a little background check.
Turns out he’s thirty-two, from Dallas, Texas, and raised by military parents. He served as a Navy SEAL and when he got out, he went to school for criminal justice graduating top of his class with a 4.0 GPA. He moved up pretty quickly at the agency in Dallas, solving cases in record time. He was then transferred here to New York City with a new shiny title. Supervisory Special Agent Alaric Solace. His history is quite hot, may I say so myself.
Leave it to me to be infatuated by an SSA who profiles for a living catching the criminals. Hopefully our date goes horribly wrong and I’ll never have to see him again.
Pushing my thoughts to the back of my head, I stand up as the flight attendant opens the door and the stairs lower to the ground. Antonio and Larson make their way down ahead of me making sure it’s clear. Approaching the door, I take a deep breath and take in the warm Italian air. I’ve always loved it here with the smell of amazing food, the culture, and the beautiful language rolling off their tongues.
Men greet us with hard expressions as their eyes are attentive to our surroundings for any threats. Black tinted SUVs line up behind them ready to escort us back to the Villa.
“La mia bella nipote!”My beautiful niece.A man in his late fifties approaches us with his arms up for a hug. “It’s been so long, Celeste. My, my, how you’ve grown.”
“Uncle Giovanni! It’s so nice to see you again. Thank you for meeting us.” I join him for a hug before he pulls away, kissing both my cheeks.
“I’m sorry for your loss. My brother was an extraordinaryman. Please know that your Aunt Nora and I will always be here for anything you need. My brother would want to keep our family close.” His beautiful accent smooths out the nerves I had coming here. Italians have very strong family bonds that are unbreakable.
“Thank you, I appreciate it. We should get going. The meeting is tonight and I’d like to get some rest before we meet. I would like you to join us tonight. If they see our family united as one in support of my leadership, they’ll take me seriously.” Looking down at my watch, I give a soft smile before walking towards the SUV. He nods in agreement.
As we make our way to the villa, the stars shine in the early morning dark skies. The stone buildings with lanterns line the city giving it a beautiful glow. There’re so many stories that make this place so interesting and so full of life. We pass over a bridge with boats and gondolas tied off the docks. The city soon fades as we round the mountain to beautiful farmland and vineyards. I really need to stock up with their fine wine before we leave. Nothing beats family-owned vineyards with rich wines you can’t get at the grocery store.
About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the beautiful villa. Vines drape over the two-story walls, flowers line the gardens and a gorgeous fountain in the middle of the driveway. We’re greeted by the staff smiling brightly as we exit out of the vehicles. Their eyes are full of adoration for a little girl they used to chase around who’s now all grown up. Coming back here reminds me of all the memories I had with my father. He always told me we would come back home. No one warned us that he would never return with me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALARIC
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." - Willian Shakespeare
After the new information we received, we spent the rest of the day trying to find as much information on Ollie that we could. It was a little difficult considering the church didn’t keep records of their community, and if they did, it was the old-fashioned paper and pen. It appears the community is stuck in the old pilgrimage ways, or they have something to hide. My gut believes the latter. The way they reacted to us appears to be out of fear.
The only person we found close to Ollie was Oliver Stetson. Forty-four years old, lives alone and has no known living family. He’s originally from North Carolina, son of a preacher. Was never married nor had any children. Was diagnosed with Schizophrenia and Obsessive Disorder which is treated with medication. His background is clean with no priors. What we don’t know is why he moved here, where he’s living, orwhere he works. It appears he may be living under the safe haven of this very tight-knit community.
There’s no reason to believe he would be our suspect solely based on his diagnosis as there are many people who live normal lives with what he has. Our concern is the community which is very secretive and the woman who brought him to our attention. It’s the only lead we have and doesn’t hurt to look into him.
“Ah, Solace? You need to see this!” Beckett yells from his desk.
“What is it?” Getting up from my desk quickly, I walk up behind him, peering over his shoulder. “Where’s Monroe?”
Looking around, I notice she’s nowhere in sight. She doesn’t take lunch, so I find it weird, not that I really give a shit.
“She had to run an errand but this video just came in from an unknown source. It’s addressed to us.” He moves his mouse over the play button and clicks to start.
“Agent Solace and Beckett, now that I have your attention, your time is running out. Tick Tock. Tick Tock. The demon inside this girl has yet to make its departure. It won’t allow her to repent for the sins she’s made. You see, it’s a sin to sell your body and give yourself to men who are not your spouse. The demon uses her body as a temptation to men, seducing them to sin.”
What the fuck! How does he know who’s on his case? His voice is disguised and his face is covered by a burlap sack with holes for the eyes but over those holes are a black mesh to shield any indication of eye color or shape. He’s much more disturbing than his last video. He appears to be more agitated and becoming impatient. He moves out of the shot presenting the same girl we saw in the earlier video. She’s tied up at the wrist and ankles. Even from the view of thecamera, they look raw from the ropes. She’s naked, trembling on the floor with matted hair, and a cloth is tied in between her teeth.
“As we are men of God, we must rid this demon at all necessary costs. It’s our job to protect the people. You must understand as you wear that badge. Help me, brothers, clean up this city. I’m not the one you should be looking for. You should be expanding my work.”
He cackles through the computer causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.
