I nodded.
We climbed out of the car, the cold air biting at our skin as we gathered our weapons.
Once we neared the dumpster, we strategically separated. Lo, Luca, and Matteo, moved toward the rear, while Alphonse and I approached from the front.
“Do you smell that?” Alphonse whispered, one black glove already covering his nose.
“Death,” I replied grimly.
We ventured deeper into the church and came across what appeared to be a mutilated torso with a missing head and limbs.
“It looks like whoever did this was unforgiving,” Alphonse stated, stepping closer to the body. He knelt and pointed to the bottom of her torso. “See these ridges? She was alive when they cut her up.”
I glanced around and saw that the chairs where they had kept Davina and Lana were still secured with ropes. Fewer pews than would normally be found in a church were present, creating additional space in the nave. I looked upward to check for cameras but couldn’t determine if any were present.
The radio crackled in my ear. “Boss, you need to see this,” Luca said, his voice taut with urgency.
Alphonse and I stepped through the door and walked outside. We rushed around the side of the building and spotted the guys huddling in front of the dumpster. They had their backs turned to us, their shoulders tense and squared aggressively.
“What’s going on?” Unease settled like a weight in my stomach.
Luca moved aside, and that’s when I saw what appeared to be Lana’s head, legs, hands, and arms. But what caught my attention next was the phone, ringing incessantly inside a plastic bag near her limbs.
Lo reached for it, but I shot out a hand to stop him. “Wait!”
He paused, confusion flickering across his face. “Why?”
“It could be a fucking bomb,” Matteo hissed.
“Everyone, take a step back and get to the car,” I ordered, my heart pounding as I glanced around, assessing our surroundings. But just as we began to retreat, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I hesitated for a moment, then slowly pulled it out. A blocked number. A knot tightened in my stomach as I realized exactly who was calling.
I answered the call.
“I see you found Lana.” The voice slithered through the speaker, cold and mocking.
“You want my thanks?” I said sarcastically.
He laughed, a dark, empty sound. “Be thankful it’s not your precious Angel’s body parts, though that could change with the snap of my fingers.”
His threat struck me like a punch to the gut, leaving me momentarily paralyzed.
“Put me on speaker, Nico,” he commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“I don’t take orders from you,” I sneered.
“Is that right? Well, you will if you don’t want what happened to Lana to happen to Gigi,” he countered.
His words struck like a bolt of lightning as the reality of his threat hit home. I couldn’t bear the thought of Gigi ending up like Lana.
I pressed the button with a frustrated sigh and submitted to his demand. “Speak.”
I was going to enjoy gutting this motherfucker like a fish once I found him.
“We’re at the finish line, Nico,” he said with disdain.
“What was the point in all this?” I said as Luca tried to track the call. “Why kill Davina and Lana?”
