“They were a liability. Casualty in a war.Ourwar.”
“Get to the point,” Alphonse snapped. “What the fuck do you want? Where is my daughter?”
“I want to restore the balance as it once was. As for Gigi, that will depend entirely on you.”
Dread pooled in my stomach, and the look on Alphonse’s face said he felt the same way.
My heart thundered in my chest as I braced for the worst.
“The cellphone in the bag in front of you will give you the coordinates to where she is,” he said.
Matteo grabbed the cell phone and removed it from the bag. He stared down at the screen, his expression turning to stone.
The asshole on the phone laughed like a deranged lunatic. “Did you honestly think I was going to make it easy for you? What would be the fun in that? I’d say you have twelve hours before your Angel runs out of air. Oh, and Nico,” he added with a sinister glee, “you’ll need a shovel.”
The line went dead.
As we veered off the main road and followed the snowy path into the woods, the trees loomed overhead, their branches intertwining like fingers. The coordinates led us to a remote area about ten miles from where we found Lana.
After driving for about half a mile, we reached our destination. We parked behind a thicket of snow-covered trees.
Alphonse leaned forward, his brows drawn together. “Are you sure this is going to work?” he asked with a slight frown.
Luca’s gaze remained focused on the screen. “Trust me. I’ve done this a hundred times,” he replied with confidence. He jerked his head up, scanning the darkened field outside. “I found three cameras on the property. If I can freeze the feed, we’ll have a small window to slip in unnoticed.”
With a series of rapid keystrokes, Luca pressed a button, and a soft beep echoed in the cramped confines of the car. “It’s working. The cameras are frozen.”
“How much time do we have?” I asked, keeping my tone steady despite the adrenaline surging through my veins as I loaded my handgun.
“We have exactly seven minutes before it goes back on,” he said.
“And what happens if it goes past that?” Lo chimed in.
Luca locked eyes with each of us, his gaze intense. “Get ready to run,” he replied simply.
As we stepped out of the SUVs, Alphonse’s guards emerged from their vehicle, each adjusting the straps of their tactical gear and weapons to have them at the ready.
“Stay here and keep watch,” Alphonse commanded them. “If anyone shows up that’s not us, take them out.”
“Understood, boss,” they responded in sync.
Before we had a chance to move, a black car crept up behind us without its lights on.
“Who the fuck is this?” I hissed. We aimed our weapons at the car.
The car rolled to a halt and both doors swung open.
“Don’t shoot. It’s Dante and Liam.”
I narrowed my eyes and stalked toward them, hands clenched into fists. “What the hell are you two doing here?”
“We’ve been following you.”
I reared back in disbelief.
“Don’t give me that look,” Dante said, rolling his eyes as he shut his door with a dull thud. “If you’d just keep us in the loop, I wouldn’t have to follow your asses.”
Liam stepped forward with his hands raised in a placating gesture. “We just want to help, that’s all.”
