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A muscle ticks in my jaw as I fight to keep my tone even. This is what he goddamn called for? A fucking text would have sufficed.
“I’ve got more important things to deal with right now than trying to find a fucking ghost.”
There’s a pause on the other end before Uncle Vinny speaks again. “That’s interesting because Scarlett said she had dinner with you and your cousin, Maria, last night.”
My heart plummets into my stomach. Oh, God. I never should have taken Alexis out. I swallow hard. “Maria’s a cousin.”
“Is that so?” Uncle Vinny’s tone makes it clear he doesn’t believe a word I’m saying. “Funny, I don’t recall any Marias in the Iacopelli family fitting that description. Scarlett said she has short black hair, a real ugly thing.”
Irritation courses through me at Scarlett’s description of Alexis. Of course the vain bitch would play down Alexis’s looks just to make herself look better.
“She’s a cousin on my mother’s side,” I remark coolly, ignoring Nat and Edo’s wide-eyed stares.
The line crackles with irritation as Uncle Vinny’s voice takes on a sharper edge. “You listen to me, Damian. I don’t give a shit about your wop cousin, Maria, or whatever game you’re running here.”
I bristle at my uncle’s dismissive tone, anger flaring hot in my chest. I open my mouth to protest, but Vinny bulldozes on, his words laced with venom.
“Mario’s been riding my ass about this Alexis Hartley situation for weeks now. He wants updates, he wants results, and frankly, I’m running outta excuses to give him.” My uncle’s gravelly timbre descends into a threatening growl. “You get your head out of your ass and find that girl before this whole clusterfuck blows up in our faces. Capisce?”
The line goes dead, leaving me staring at my phone in bewildered fury. I look up at Nat and Edo’s questioning stares, my brow furrowed in consternation.
“Seriously, what is his fucking deal with Alexis?” I mutter, mostly to myself. “Since when does Vinny take orders from Mario Rafa? And how the hell does he know so much about what’s going on here?”
Running a frustrated hand through my hair, I pace the room in agitation. “I don’t give a flying fuck what Mario wants right now. Alexis is my priority.” I wheel on Nat and Edo, eyes blazing with renewed determination. “We find her and bring her back. Then we deal with Uncle Vinny and Mario.”
An uneasy silence falls over the room as we try to process the situation and figure out Alexis’s potential whereabouts. I rake my hands through my hair again, frustrated.
“She couldn’t have gone far,” I mutter, mostly to myself. “Not on foot, at least. Edo, do you know what time she left?”
“Cameras show four thirty a.m.,” Edo responds.
Anger courses through me. Where the fuck were the guards who were supposed to be patrolling that area?
“So she has a one and a half hour head start,” I say.
Edo nods slowly. “You think she’d risk going back to the Carters’ place, though? After everything?”
Nat fixes Edo with a withering glare as she opens up drawers. “Of course she would. Where else would she go?” She throws up her hands in exasperation. “You two are so dense sometimes. Look around—everything is exactly as she left it. She didn’t pack a goddamn thing.”
Realization dawns on me and I curse under my breath. Nat’s right—Alexis’s room shows no signs of a planned escape. Just a spur of the moment decision to flee.
With that goddamn rope ladder again. When I get her back, she’s not going to be allowed any bed sheets or towels. She can freeze for all I care.
“She’s still in Chicago, then,” Edo says thoughtfully. “Probably trying to get her bearings before making a move.”
“No thanks to this asshole,” Nat sneers, rounding on Damian. “You’ve been so awful, so monstrous to her. Can you really blame her for wanting to get away? To go back to the fucking Carters instead of enduring one more day with you?”
The accusation pierces my heart like a white-hot blade. I recoil as if struck, Nat’s words rendering me speechless. A part of me wishes she had simply punched me instead. Physical pain I can endure, but this?
This cuts deeper than any fist ever could.
“You have no idea what you’ve done to her,” Nat continues, her eyes full of disgust. “You weren’t there to see her crying over you, wondering why you didn’t get rid of Scarlett. You fucking asshole. If The Brotherhood gets her, I’m personally coming after you.”
I already loathe myself for this nightmare. I don't need Nat driving the knife deeper into my gut. Swallowing hard, I give a sharp nod.
“Let’s go. We hit the Carters’ place first. If she’s not there, we widen the search.”
We scramble into action, a towering sense of dreading hanging over me. Please let her be okay, I pray silently. I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her.
