Shouldering the door, I slipped inside. I should have passed at least two security guards by now. “Security is gone. I can’t reach Maurice or Nora.”
“Fuck,” he breathed. “Okay, me and Luis are on our way with backup.”
Icy cold fear trickled in my veins as I reached Nora’s floor. It was silent save for the gentle hum of the strip lighting overhead. I crept close to Nora’s apartment, silently praying that she was still inside, sleeping.
I gently tapped my knuckles against the door, waiting. “Come on, Gattina. Where the fuck are you?” I murmured to myself. Scrolling to her name, I hit call, hoping to hear it ring.
Nothing.
Fuck.
I dialed Maurice again. At first, it just rang out. But then I heard it, the faint familiar music of his ringtone. Moving closer to Luca’s apartment, anger like I’d never known it swelled inside me.
They were at Bianco’s?
What the fuck were they doing over there?
I knocked loudly, my body trembling with fury. If Luca had touched her, touched my Nora, I wouldn’t be held responsible for my actions.
But no one answered.
“Yo, asshole, open up,” I yelled, uncaring if I woke up the whole building. All kinds of scenarios ran through my head, but I needed to try and stay cool. “Luca!” I banged again. “Fuck this.”
I pulled out my knife and wedged in into the door jamb, leveraging the door open enough to crash through the damn thing.
The apartment was empty. But I knew I’d heard Maurice’s ringtone. Quickly, I dialed his number again and sure enough the noise rang out. I followed it through the apartment to a closed door.
I didn’t want to open it, didn’t want this nightmare to be real. Reaching for the handle, I slowly pushed it open. Maurice was laying there with a halo of dark-red blood surrounding his head.
“Fuck,” I growled, dropping to my knees to check for his pulse.
He was unconscious, but I detected a faint pulse. Maurice needed medical attention and he needed it now, so I knew I had no choice but to call it in.
“Fuck!” I stood up and dragged a hand down my face, trying to figure out what the fuck to do. Luca was gone… Nora too. But I think I’d known the second I couldn’t get a hold of her that something bad had happened.
The VCTI wasn’t just another break-in, it was a diversion…
But Luca?
It didn’t make any sense.
I sent an SOS message to Nicco and Matteo. They would both understand what it meant. If I didn’t want another soldier to die right in front of me, I had to call nine-one-one. We’d have to worry about the consequences later.
I called it in, keeping the details as vague as possible. I needed to try to piece together what had happened here.
I needed to find Nora.
Fuck. Nora…
Pain ripped through me, and I staggered back against the wall. If she was hurt again… or worse…
I knew this could happen. I fucking knew and I still left her.
What the fuck was I thinking?
If anything happened to her…
I would never forgive myself.
Nicco and Matteo arrived just as the EMTs were wheeling Maurice out of Luca’s apartment.
“Fuck,” Matteo breathed, his expression clouded with concern. “Is he going to be okay?”
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” I said, grimly.
“Mr. Marchetti,” Philippi Dante, one of our friends from the local PD approached us. “Do I need to be worried?” he asked quietly.
“We’ll handle it.”
“I already told them what I know,” I said, shooting Dante a warning look.
“I think we’ve got everything for now. But I won’t be able to bury it for long.” He glanced around the room before leaning in. “You’re going to have to give me something.”
“Dante,” Nicco said, “walk with me.”
The two of them followed the EMTs out of the apartment deep in discussion, and I knew my cousin was probably trying to avoid a scene.
“What do we know?” Matteo asked the second they were gone.
“The security footage was cut about three hours ago. Right after I left.”
“So what the hell was that at the VCTI?”
“A decoy.”
“Fuck.” He scrubbed his jaw. “And we think Luca took her? But he was vetted, man. I double checked his file myself.”
“You did?” I jerked back. I knew he’d asked Maurice, but I didn’t know he’d pulled Luca’s file.
“Figured we should know who was hanging around your woman.”
The words made my chest tighten.
“We’ll get her back, Enzo,” he said, laying a hand on my shoulder. “And our guys?”