35
Dante
“What do you mean you lost her?” I clutch my cell phone to my ear as I pace the hallway outside of my office.
I can’t seem to sit still long enough to get any amount of work done. I’ve been this way since I let her leave.
“Vance picked her up. I’m guessing she called daddy dearest,” Moreno says.
That’s all I need to hear. My feet pound the floor, and I toss open the door to my office. I hit the light switch, and my eyes squint from the bright blinding halogen overhead lights. I should have them replaced.
I slump into my chair behind my desk and yank out the tablet that is wired to the video surveillance at DeLuca’s place.
Leaning back in my chair, one hand clings to the tablet and the other to my phone. “Well, she’s not home yet.”
I flip through a half dozen screens with multiple angles and viewpoints inside and out of Gino’s property. I should get a decent view of her arrival, if that’s where Vance is taking her.
A pit forms in my stomach.
What if they send her back to the compound and terrorize her all over again?
Thinking such horrid thoughts will only cause me unnecessary concern. If it wasn’t for my child that she’s carrying, I’m not sure that I’d be quite so adamant about chasing after her.
Is that the only reason that I want her here, with me?
“I’m tailing Vance, but it looks like they’re heading back to Gino’s,” Moreno says.
“Come back to the compound. There’s no sense in you following them any farther.” I keep a watchful eye on the tablet, scrolling between screens, just in case there’s something worthy of investigating.
“Sure thing, Boss.”
I end the call, and the phone tumbles with a thud onto my desk. It takes every ounce of strength not to throw my phone across the room.
My fingers itch with anger and anxiety. I ball my hands into fists and exhale loudly through my nose.
The office is hot.
Stuffy.
With two hands, I grip the tablet, staring at the screen and the multiple camera angles from different nearby locations at the DeLuca property.
The only room that has a wire is Gino’s office, and it’s empty.
I flit through the video footage, looking for anything that could give me an advantage.
Gino stands on the porch, his arms folded across his chest. He’s waiting for Nikki to arrive home.
I flip through two more camera feeds and catch sight of the gate opening. Behind it, an SUV waits to enter.
I can’t see the driver, let alone who else is in the vehicle, but I surmise it’s Nikki, and soon enough, I’ll know without a doubt.
The SUV halts abruptly at the front entrance, and the passenger door of the vehicle swings open. The video flickers but comes back as quickly as it glitched.
Nikki climbs out of the SUV and is standing in front of her father. He’s taller than her, even more so with him standing on the step just above her.
Her shoulders are slouched and her head down. I can’t read her lips, let alone see them from my current angle.
There are no hugs. No warm greetings from what I can make out. The video is top notch, but it’s still not perfect. There’s sunlight interfering, and their positioning doesn’t give me any advantage either.