"There's no fucking way they just disappeared," I snap, slamming my hand on the desk. "Search every property under the Lionetti name. Every single one."
Jace doesn't even look up. "Already on it, boss."
I pace. I can't stand still. My mind is racing, running through every scenario, every possibility. Lionetti is methodical. Calculated. He doesn't make moves like this unless he's already ten steps ahead. And that's what's killing me—we should've seen this coming. We should've been ready.
I pull up the CCTV feed from the Lionetti mansion. Nothing. Just maids moving through empty rooms. It's 2 a.m., and if they're not home by now, it's because they're dealing with shipments. Or worse.
"Fuck this," I mutter, grabbing my jacket. "I'm going to find Lionetti and squeeze the location out of him till his fucking head pops."
Jace is out of his chair in a second, blocking my path. "Boss. Stop."
"Get out of my way."
"No." His voice is calm, steady. "You know acting irrationally is going to fuck everything up. Wewillfind them. But not like this."
I want to slam him into the wall. I want to tear this whole city apart until I find her. But he's right. He's always right.
I force myself to take a breath. To think.
"Five hours," I say quietly. "It's been five hours, Jace."
"I know."
I turn back to the desk, to the files we've been collecting on Lionetti for years. Folders. Pages. Books. Properties he owns under his name, his daughter's name, known associates. I've already sent men to every location we know about. Nothing.
This was calculated. He knew what he was doing.
And I didn't see it coming.
I should've seen it coming.
My mind spirals. What if I'd shown myself earlier? What if I'd approached her, told her the truth? What if I'd beenthe one following her, keeping an eye on her, instead of keeping my distance?
She'd be home right now. Safe. Warm by the fire. Having drinks with Inez. Laughing.
Instead, she's out there. Somewhere. And I don't know if she's hurt. If she's bleeding. If she's—
"Boss."
Jace's voice cuts through the noise in my head.
"I found something."
I'm at his side in two steps. "What?"
He pulls up a list of properties. "There's a few under Cesario Leavey. Lionetti's right-hand man." He points to the screen. "This one. It's in the city, a few miles from Lionetti's office. It's listed as a bar."
"A bar?"
"Yeah. But we've been by there. There's no active bar in that area."
I stare at the screen. And then I laugh. It's a bitter, humorless sound.
"That smart bastard."
Jace looks at me.
"After the last raid," I say, "Lionetti started moving assets. Putting businesses under his second-in-command's names. He knew we'd be watchinghim."
