“I pay every debt I owe I promise and if I owe anything I didn’t know I can pay it right now if you hand me my purse.” The long rambling sentence. A classic.
“I know. You’re a good client. But that’s not why we’re here. Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Alessandro Leone and you’re going to help me find the person I’m looking for, your brother.” If she wasn’t pale before she damn sure is now. “You see the importance here. Good. Now, where is your brother?”
“I can pay whatever my brother owes.” One track fucking mind.
“This has nothing to do with money! This has to do with Elio giving me what’s mine and that involves you telling me where he’s living. Unless you want to be twins with your uncle, I’d suggest telling me what I need to know. ” Her eyes blow wider than before when I flip my phone her way, showing her the result of Antonio and my conversation.
“Wyoming! About an hour outside of Casper. He has a small piece of property he lives on that he inherited.” Sang like a fucking bird.
“Thank you for accommodating my demands. I do have to say, I am disappointed in both you and your uncle. Family is always number one, and you two gave up Elio easier than I expected. And you did with no extra persuasion. Never say I’m not a fair man though. For your cooperation, I’ll put $50,000 in your account to use how you please.” I stand, going to walk out of her apartment, a sense of hope radiating out of me for the first time since before Luci left.
I make three phone calls as I race to the airport, too impatient to wait for Marco, Enzo, or Domenico to join me, and get on the first flight to Casper.
1. To Geno, letting him know I’ll have Luci in less than a day.
2. To Giuseppe, telling him to get the fuck out of my house.
3. To Marco, leaving him in charge while I’m gone. And to help kick Giuseppe out of my house.
The flight into Casper is far too long and the line to get a rental is even longer. In all fairness, most of that was probably in my head.
An hour later I pull onto a dirt driveway that leads up to a modest farm-style house, the one Luci is hiding in. I notice three cars in the driveway, all with Wyoming plates which must be the way Aldo got Luci out without anyone knowing.
I grab both of the guns I purchased here while getting out of the car, heading to the door separating us and gently knock. I’m hyperaware of everything that happens in the next few moments. The sound of feet against the old wooden floors inside. How the door creaked as it opened. Most importantly, the gasp that left the man’s mouth on the other side of that creaky door.
“Hello. You must be Elio. Do you mind if I come inside?”
He’s frozen with his mouth agape until he processes what’s going on and can speak. “No. You need to go.”
“Oh, I’m sorry I don’t think you understand. I was only asking to be polite. It wasn’t a question but more of a request.”
Footsteps come from farther back into the house before another voice pops up from behind Elio. “Elio who’s at the— You!”
“Hello, Aldo it’s nice to see you in person instead of over my security cameras walking away with the mother of my child.” Their stoic faces attempt to hide the panic in their eyes when they realize I know. “You didn’t think I knew. I know everything that happens in my home. Now, where is she?”
Aldo and Elio both guard the doorway, trying to block me from entering. I lose patience with their silence and shove through them into the house, going from room to room trying to find where Luci is. I rush back down the stairs into the kitchen where Elio and Aldo are still standing.
“Where the fuck is she?” I pull both the guns from the back of my pants, pointing at them as I wait for a response. They have about five seconds to tell me what I need to know before I kill them.
Aldo breaks the silence, Elio still stunned by my sudden presence in his home. “She’s not here.”
“No shit she’s not here. Where. Is. She?” Their silence is what makes me lose it and before I know it I’m pointing both guns at the ceiling shooting them off in warning.
The door slams against the wall and I notice two additional bodies standing there in the corner of my eyes. One body is several inches too tall to be Luci, and the other has gray streaked in her hair. Neither is Luci. I’ve never lost my patience like this. I need her. Her and our baby.
“Where the fuck is she!”
I hear her before I see her when she shoves herself through Caterina and Stella.
“You found me.”
I turn my head, guns still pointed at Elio and Aldo, and notice Luci and how beautiful she is. Running in here must haveopened up her coat and I notice the swell of her stomach. I shove both guns in the back of my pants when I head her way, embracing her stomach in my hands as I kiss her.
Our foreheads touch as I whisper against her mouth. “Of course I found you.” When I pull away from her, she inhales sharply, nervousness in her eyes. “What’s wrong? I came for you, mio premio. I came to take you home. You and our baby.”
I see the change in her as she steps away from me, fidgeting with her hands behind her back. She refuses to keep eye contact with me as she stutters, unable to get any words out.
“What’s wrong Luci?”
