“I don’t know.” At his pause, my anger turned to fear in my gut. “We can’t find her.”
“What do you mean, you can’t find her!”
“She’s disappeared. Don’t worry, Elio, we’re on it. Just get there safe.”
I knew he could hear the screeching of my tires as I drove like a madman. I would break every single bone in Stefano’s body but his neck. He would suffer pain like no other, and my face would be the last thing he would ever see.
I took the main road, riding the shoulder most of the way. Cars honked, but nothing registered. My mind swirled with horrible scenarios. Did someone take her? Could she have been so hurt and afraid she started running?
I could barely think straight when I skidded to a stop at the Hill House. The door flew open, and Mama came out with my papa right behind her.
“Hang on, son.” He threw up his hands to stop me as Mama dabbed her eyes. “Let me tell you what we know.” He stood in front of me to block my path. “Jimmy had just stepped out of the coffee shop, and she met him, then the car exploded. Witnesses say the smoke was so intense that you couldn’t see anything, and once it cleared, she was gone. Jimmy is getting checked out now. You need to take a moment and get yourself together for Sienna’s sake.” He held my arm. “Son. Before you rush off, let’s get the footage. I have soldiers scouring the streets as we speak. The footage should be arriving any minute. Let’s be smart about this before you rip this city apart.”
He was right, but it didn’t tame the rage inside. I headed for the door, hearing my mother’s worried sobs behind me.
“Out.” I ordered the kitchen staff to disperse as I grabbed a water from the refrigerator and downed all of it. I wanted something stronger but knew I couldn’t risk clouding my judgment. I tossed the plastic bottle and took a moment to steady myself. Then I pictured her in her blue dress, and I could see her eyes as I’d last looked into them at my uncle’s house. They had been a darker shade than usual, and then I remembered she’d seemed rattled. I wished I had pushed my frustration at the meeting away long enough to have asked what was bothering her. I wasn’t used to checking in or calling when I worked. I was learning what it meant to have her back in my life again.
“Elio,” Francesco appeared on the other side of the island, “your father needs five minutes before you go anywhere. He said to show you this.” He held out an iPad. “It’s the footage from the corner store, next to the coffee shop.”
I pressed play and watched the video feed of Sienna sitting at a table in the market. Vinni joined her and pointed at Jimmy. I sped up the footage, and heat radiated through my core as I saw Sienna, a while later, have to go and look for Jimmy, and then seconds later the car exploded and they both flew backward. I backed up and replayed the video again and again as I studied the area around the car.
A man could be seen. He bent down as he neared the car, then he quickly walked away.
Wait.
I backed up the footage and saw Jimmy check the time on his watch. He glanced at the coffee shop and left the car. Immediately after he left was when the mystery man planted the device.
I tossed the iPad on the counter and spun to face the wall, infuriated by Jimmy’s obvious lapse in judgement. His training should never have allowed him to leave the vehicle unattended.
“Take a moment here, Elio,” Francesco said calmly, but I could tell by the white around his mouth that his anger was equal to mine. Sienna might be one of us, but she was the only one who didn’t deserve this. “If itisStefano, flipping out on a murderous rampage is exactly what he would want.”
“Who else would it be?” I hissed.
“Here’s my problem with what happened.” Francesco took a seat on the stool and waited for me to join him. When I didn’t, he held up the small notebook taken from Stefano. “Stefano’s notebook has all these little S marks.” He opened the book to a marked page. “Look, the S’s are for Sienna. He’s been following her since she arrived here. See, here and here, they are all times when Sienna was there.” He pointed to another scribbled location and the letter S.
“He might be planning something, but the timing of a hit on her right now just doesn’t make sense. Unless I’m missing something in the bigger picture.” He lowered his voice as he glanced at the door. “However, you did get in someone else’s way today, remember? Mariano isn’t one to overlook. Jealousy and love can make a person do crazy things, but drugs, jealously, and love, well, that is a cocktail for disaster.”
I lowered myself to the stool and let that sink in. Was this my fault? We all had agreed that we’d play the next few months as normal with Mariano, but my head had been so messed up with Stefano that maybe I hadn’t played the cards correctly.
“I know you and I have been off lately,” he continued, “but despite what your feelings are about her mother being here, it’s time for some truths to come out. The good and the bad.” He twisted his hands together. “You have my word, if I’d known she was coming, I would have said something. It was a shock to me, too, and I’m still unsure how it will all play out. But it is what it is, and we need to be strong enough to weather this storm.”
“Tell me something.” A dark hate lined my soul. “How do you know what happened today wasn’tbecauseof her mother?”
“Because I have eyes on her too.” He held my gaze, and I believed him. “She hates the family, but it’s because she believes we killed her brother, Angelo.”
“Did we?”
“No, but she was fed full of lies while she was mourning him, and it did a lot of damage. Some of it was repairable, but some of it, not.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the counter, and held my thumping head.
“You know Sienna better than anyone,” he whispered. “Where would she go if she needed help?”
Suddenly, the restaurant where we had our first date popped in my head. She didn’t know many people here, but she had really liked the owners. “Tell Papa I can’t wait.” I grabbed my keys and raced out.
“Ouch.” Pain flickered across my eyes as I tried to pull myself from a groggy sleep. My entire body felt like lead, and when I tried to move, the pain that shot from under my right lung made me gasp and break out in a sweat.
With all my might, I pushed the heels of my hands into the hard mattress, and I pulled myself up against a wooden headboard.