Valentino sighed dramatically. “You’ve taken up too much of my time already. I don’t need more hassle from you sharing gossip about me. I accept your terms. We will stay out of your business, and you will stay out of mine.”
“Where’s Julian? The deals off without him. And I expect Tony returned as well.” My voice shook just the slightest bit. I wanted to believe he hadn’t noticed.
He raised his brows. “Tony?”
“Don’t play games. You’ve done your research on me.”
“Oh, the little monkey. Sadly, he is no more.”
Anguish radiated through me, but I would not show it. The worst thing I could do was show weakness in front of this man. Dax stepped up behind me and laid a hand on my back. I knew he was reminding me to keep it together. “Where is Julian?”
Valentino looked around making a dramatic show like he was trying to find something. “Oops. We forgot to bring him.”
“Where. Is. He?”
“What would be the fun if we told you that. Find him, and he’s yours.”
I would make him pay. I would make him beg me to kill him, but right now, what really mattered was Julian. “I’ve had enough games. Tell me where he is.”
“I’m not going to do that. I promise you he’s unharmed. You’ve got three days to find him. That’s about how long he can go without water.”
My hands ached to reach for Valentino’s throat. I didn’t care that I wouldn’t survive an attack on him as long as I could choke the life out of him before I died.
No! Julian needed me. If I sacrificed myself, I couldn’t help him. I swallowed hard, forcing my rage back down.
“I’ll even give you a hint.” Valentino smiled, and I hated him even more than I had before. I didn’t respond. I wasn’t about to ask him for any more help. “He’s closer than you think.”
I refused to acknowledge the hint, simply glaring at him. He held his hand out. “The necklace.”
Once I’d handed over the box, Valentino inspected it, then waved a hand to his entourage. “Time to go.”
Dax shoved our prisoner at them. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Valentino lifted his gun and shot his cousin through the head. “I don’t have any use for men who fail. Don’t worry. I also hate men who break their word. I never do. I’ll stay out of your precious territory, but if you set one foot in mine, you’re as dead as Davide.”
I pressed my feet into the ground, knowing I had to stand there and face him stoically. I couldn’t show my desperation and fear for Julian. This was as good a deal as we were going to get. We were walking away with our lives and a promise the Carlottis would stay out of our business. Our sources all said Valentino was a man of his word, but I knew we hadn’t seen the last of him.
I didn’t move or speak until the Carlottis were in their cars driving away. Once they were gone, I turned to Dax and Ambrose. “Let’s go back to my place.” I started walking toward my car. Corbin and Remington met me there.
“We’ll find him,” Remy assured me. “Tell us where to start looking.”
“I don’t know. I need a few minutes to think.” Time mattered, but somehow I seemed to have stepped out of it. Nothing felt real. Julian was somewhere alone and afraid with no food or water, and Tony was…
What was I going to do?
36
Julian
I had no idea how long I’d been there, but I’d decided what felt like hours ago that it would have been a hell of a lot better if they’d left me tied up. At least I would have been able to focus on trying—probably unsuccessfully—to break out of my bonds. As it stood, I was free but not free. There was space for me to walk around, but there was absolutely nothing I could use to get out. I was already hungry and thirsty—I wished to hell I’d eaten my lunch instead of spending my break fooling around with Lance—and I knew that was going to get so much worse.
What would I try when I got more desperate? Would a surge of adrenaline allow me to dig out a cinder block or rip the door off its hinges? I wanted to believe that would happen, but the small efforts I’d made so far told me how impossible that was.
I needed a miracle.
I needed Lance.
I needed him to find me, but I didn’t know where I was, so I had no idea whether there was any chance of that or not. Was this a game where there was no chance of winning for me or for Lance? Or was Valentino Carlotti the kind of man who really wanted to see what his opponent was made of?