Made of Steel

56. Meeting with the enemy

Adriano Di Lauro

I check the stock market's value because I need to make a risky investment. The investigation hasn't progressed very far and I'm having a hard time keeping my composure. I have more than half of Italy looking for the guilty without results.

My best friend gives me a dirty look as I rub my temples. He starts to hurt my head.

"You should go home," he suggests.

"Have I a new babysitter and I haven't heard about it?" I question with a raised eyebrow. "Have you solved your problem?

"Something like that," he replies. "We need to set the date."

"Why haven't you? Soon it will start to show."

I don't need a verbal response, because his expression says it all. The top priority now is the investigation into my bombing. Pietro Varca is an annoying jerk, but he has always been there for me. He has sometimes put me above his own family.

I see him turn his eyes to his mobile and then his appearance changes completely. From here I can feel the tension.

"We've got something," he announces, "and you're not going to like it."

"Don't dwell on it, Pietro," I urge him to continue.

"Dean Frost is in Florence."

I slam my fist into the month before getting to my feet. I knew it...

"Give me an address."

"That's the funny thing," he lets out a strange grin. "He just walked into your wife's old apartment."

"Make sure Cassandra is in the hospital," I order, then I bolt for the truck.

Despite being banned from Italy, the idiot has gone undercover.

'I got you, you son of a bitch'

It doesn't take long for us to reach the building and I don't even wait for the elevator, but go straight up the stairs.

Being a few feet away, I can hear what sounds like a loud fight.

However, when I open the door I find myself with a rather confusing image.

Devil Frost's lips meet those of my wife's best friend and seconds later, the latter breaks away from her to give her a good slap.

"Asshole!", she yells at his face. "You're a...!", she trails off upon noticing my presence. "Adriano?"

"I'll give you two minutes to explain what's going on, Leah," I demand in a calm voice. Coldness right now is my best resource.

"Excuse me?" she huffs. "You're my friend's husband, not mine. I don't owe you an explanation."

"I need to know why my wife's best friend is in a rather compromising situation with the main suspect of my attack," I declare casually shaking my suit as Pietro arrives and the Devil reddens with fury. Someone is not happy to see me. "Is that argument worth it to you?"

"How?" Her face breaks down before he focuses his eyes on the American. "What have you done Frost?"

"If I want to kill someone, I do it with my bare hands, face to face and through the front door," he hints, then confronts me directly. "You're looking in the wrong direction, Italian man."

"I don't think so, Frost," I counterattack, moving closer until I'm only a few inches away. "You are done."

"What will be your maneuver now?", He dares to challenge me with an evil smile that leaves me indifferent. In this world I fear nothing and no one except losing my family. "Build skyscrapers around the world? I doubt you can win this game, in that field I am second to none."

"We'll see", the cell phone vibrates in my pocket and I bring it to my ear without taking my eyes off his.

"Mrs. Di Lauro is not in the hospital," the bodyguard announces on the other end of the line, "she has disappeared, sir."

I squeeze the phone with all my strength until I hear the 'crack'. So, I pounce on my opponent. I take him by surprise with my punch and he ends up falling onto a couch.

"Where is she?!", I let out a low roar like a beast unleashed. "What have you done with her?!", I attack again, although this time he hits me back.

I stop paying attention to the female shrieks along with the calls to focus on pounding him. I'll render it unusable until there's nothing left of the famous Devil. However, my intentions are thwarted when several men grab me from behind.

I'm furious and they can't beat me, but in the end they outnumber me. That pisses me off even more.

"Adriano, calm down!", my lawyer demands.

"Cassandra is missing!", I explain between bellows. "Where do you have it, you bastard?!

"What have you done!" The nurse rushes to attack him with repeated tapping on her shoulders. "How could you?!"

"It wasn't me?!", the demon explodes, interrupting the crying fest. "It wasn't me! Do you hear me?"

"I don't believe you," I interject, trying to break free of the grip to no avail. I'll kill him, these idiots won't be able to hold me forever.

"I don't care what you believe or not!", he refutes. "But time is running out for you, Di Lauro. Your wife may be going through God only knows what kind of trouble."

"We better go," Pietro hisses. "We can find her with the tracker."

"Go ahead," he encourages us in a very imbecile way, "although with my help you could speed up the process."

I let out a loud laugh as I clench my fists with all my might. I must establish priorities, Cassandra is maximum one now.

"We'll settle accounts, Devil Frost", I assure before turning around to leave. However, I stop midway because of his words.

"I'll be waiting, Di Lauro," he counters. "Are you sure you don't want my help?"

'He knows something'

I spin on my feet to return to face him.

"What do you know? Speak now!"

"You need to be nicer," he scoffs.

He raises his hand to start another confrontation, but Leah Falco's scream stops me midway. "Enough! All men are idiots!", She curses quite pissed off. "Can't you see beyond your own nose?"

"You," she points her index finger at me as she intrudes between the two of us, "back off," I raise an undaunted eyebrow. We used to hit it off a little bit, now I'm starting to dislike her. "My friend is missing and we need to find her, so back off."

I snort in frustration before complying with her order. I can't stay here, I have to look for my wife. Internally, I applaud myself for the idea of ​​putting a tracker in the engagement ring.

The girl turns to my enemy immediately.

"You, say what you know, now."

Seeing him sigh, I am aware that he will speak and that puzzles me. I can't believe the guy was intimidated by an annoying little girl.

He stops paying attention to the brunette to address me.

"Tell me, Di Lauro, does the name Luigi Bonura mean something to you?"

The last two words feel like a stab to the center of the stomach.

'It can't be'

Ghosts from the past return to haunt me and mingle with my present to unleash chaos.

I search for the GPS location without success. The subject is intelligent, before any suspicion he has chosen the right ground.

They say that in this life everything you do is returned to you multiplying by a hundred. Well, whoever invented the saying is right.

That fucking name comes back into my life and this time, he will keep his promise. He will be the one to take away what I love the most.

'Over my dead body'

I'll find you, cara, even if it's the last thing I do.