Mafia Fall-Out

Chapter Eleven

Luca

"How long?" Every muscle froze in my body as I stared back at Charlotte. I dreaded this day from the very second I found out about Layla all those years ago. We had enemies across the globe that were disgustingly ruthless, and they wouldn't care that Lucy was only a baby. All they would care about was causing me as much pain as possible, kicking me right where they knew it would hurt the most.

"I don't..." She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't know. I was just outside. I didn't leave her very long, Luca. I swear. We were right outside. I could hear everything."

She sobbed, dissolving into my shoulder. This was her worst nightmare, exactly what she had been afraid of from the very beginning. "I know, baby. It's not your fault, okay? We're going to find her. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding. Did your mom come get her?"

As hard as it was, I had to keep my composure here. If I lost my cool, it would only rile Charlotte up even more, and I need her to have a clear head.

Charlotte shook her head violently. "No. I called her first. She's not with my mom and she's not with your mom and she's not here. Someone took her, Luca. Someone kidnapped Lucy."

"Okay." I stroked the back of her head, wrapping my mind around all of this. She was nearly sending herself into a panic attack. "Okay."

"You have to do something." She begged, her pleas muffled against my chest. "You've got to get her back."

"I'm going to get her back, Charlotte. I swear. Just take a deep breath for me, okay?" I pulled back, wiping the tears on her cheeks. "I need you to focus."

She nodded, her body heaving from how hard she had been crying. I wasn't prepared for just how much it would hurt me to see her like this — shattered and terrified and feeling completely helpless. I hadn't been around to see her when she thought I was dead, but I imagined it was something like this.

"Why aren't you morons looking for my daughter?" She hissed towards the guards.

"Ma'am, we need to figure out what happened before we can do anything. We have some questions we need you to answer." One of the men said.

"I'm not answering your fucking questions. My daughter is missing. What more do you need to know?" She lashed out.

"Charlotte..." I cautioned, putting my hand on her knee. "They're doing their best. We need to tell them what they need to know so we can bring Lucy home safely."

"I don't want to talk to them, Luca." She kept her voice low. "I want you to take care of this."

I leaned forward, pressing my lips to her ear so only she could hear me. "I know, baby. And I'm going to, but we need to look like we're cooperating. We need to answer the security guards' questions so they'll leave us be and I can do what I need to. Just be honest with them, okay?"

She nodded again.

"That's my girl." I kissed her cheek before standing up. I couldn't have Charlotte blowing up and getting the security guards or police more involved than I wanted them. Whoever dared to come after my daughter would pay dearly, and that would be hard to make happen with interference. I needed space to work.

"Is the resort shut down?" I asked, standing up and facing the guards.

"We're working on that. Right now, we're trying to establish a point of entry. There was no sign of forced entry, but your wife swears she locked the front door." They were already skeptical of Charlotte. Her breath smelled like alcohol, and I knew they were zeroing in on that. She could hold her alcohol well, and I knew she was just distraught, but to someone who didn't know her, she looked like a drunken mess. That wasn't good.