AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes. Is something wrong with Lana?”
“Can I speak to him?”
She hesitates. “I don’t know that he’ll be willing to speak to a cop?—”
“It’s life or death. Lana is in danger.”
I can hear talking in the background. Piper telling Elio I’m on the phone and Elio’s skepticism of me.
"What do you want, Lutz?" Elio's gruff voice comes through, tense and suspicious.
"Lana's in danger."
"What game are you playing?” he snarls. "Is this some kind of trap?"
I suppose I don’t blame him for this hostility and distrust. After all, cops have kidnapped his sister. Very likely, they killed his brother.
But he’s Lana’s best hope, so I press on. “No game. No trap. Your sister’s been taken by corrupt cops.”
“How can I know you’re not setting me up?”
“Lana is missing,” Piper says to him. “She left to go help Matteo… or that’s what she was told.”
“What?” Elio asks her.
I’m approaching Peter’s lair and don’t have a lot of time for explanations.
“Mr. D’Amato?—”
"Start talking, Detective. And if I smell even a hint of bullshit, I'll?—"
"I don't have time for threats," I cut him off. "Every second we waste arguing is another second Lana's in danger. Are you going to help me save her or not?"
“Why would a cop give a shit about my sister?” Elio demands.
“She loves him,” Piper says.
“What?”
I’m thinking the same thing.Lana loves me? Did she tell Piper that?
“She didn’t want me to say anything, but she and the detective have been seeing each other,” Piper explains.
“Who told you that? Him? It’s bullshit.”
Fucking hell, I don’t have time for this.
“She told me, Elio. She wants to tell you as well but knows you won’t take it well.”
I want to feel good about what I'm hearing, but it only makes the situation more desperate. If Piper is right, Lana loves me and wants Elio's okay to be with me.
“Listen,” I bark into the phone. “We don’t have time for this. Lana is in danger. She’s the target of a cop who likely killed yourbrother. I’ll explain everything and endure whatever torture you want to inflict on me, but only after we save Lana.”
"How do you know this?" He sounds less confrontive, like he’s beginning to believe me.
"I've been investigating Lazaro's disappearance. Are you going to help or not? We don't have much time."
There's a moment of tense silence. I can almost hear the gears turning in Elio's head as he processes this information.
