Mafia Fall-Out

Chapter Twelve

Charlotte

I kept thinking that this was all just a bad dream. That any second I would wake up in a cold sweat, lying in our hotel bed. I'd look to the left of me and see Lucy, safe and sound, asleep in her bassinet. I'd breath a sigh of relief and then turn over, draping my arm over Luca and drifting back to sleep, knowing that we were all safe. The longer this went on, though, the more I was coming to the realization that this wasn't just a nightmare. This was real life, and my sweet baby girl was gone.

How long had it been since I had seen Lucy? Like actually physically seen her? The detective's words rang in my ears like a broken record as I tried to figure out the answer to that question.

A little while after Gabe and Seth cleared the room and took every shred of evidence they could from it, Luca and I came back in. The real police officers showed up soon after and began questioning me under Luca and Angelo's watchful eyes. They hadn't been nearly as accusatory as the hotel security, but I could tell they had their doubts about my story. What kind of mother left their child in a hotel room alone, no matter how close I was? How had I not heard anything? How much was the alcohol in my system affecting my memory of the entire thing? That's what they were all thinking, and honestly, it's what I was thinking myself. How did I let this happen?

Over and over again, Luca and Angelo and Marco and my mother all tried to convince me that this wasn't my fault, but I would never forgive myself for this. Even if we brought her home safely, I'd never let it go. Angrily, I had lashed out at Luca, blaming this on him going back to the mafia, but in reality, if I had been with her instead of out on the patio with my friends, none of this would have happened. I could have stopped it. I could have saved her. Now, instead, we were ten steps behind these guys, relying on officials in a foreign country to make sense of it all.

I glanced at Luca, who gave me a reassuring smile, putting on a brave face. To anyone on the outside, Luca was the definition of calm and collected, moving with purpose and determination. How many times had he gone after someone who was being held hostage? Hunted down an enemy and made them pay for their crimes against the family? It was a typical case for him. Except this time, it wasn't.

This was our daughter, and no amount of experience or knowledge could prepare you for something like that. He was quiet, not barking out orders and taking charge like he usually would. There was a soft shadow in his eye, and he kept chewing on the inside of his lip. Things someone else might not notice, but I knew every intricate detail of Luca Catalano and the way he was acting made me nervous. His confidence was shaken, and he was worried. I knew he would stop at nothing to bring our daughter home, but that was part of my concern. Luca let his emotions run wild when someone he loved was threatened or in danger, and would fight all nine circles of hell to save her, no matter what danger that would put him in.

I trusted him, though. With every cell in my body, I trusted him.

The cops left us alone for a little while as they began working on the leads they had, which weren't many. The maid was the only viable thing they had going right now, but we knew that even if she was involved, this ran deeper. Luca folded the note I gave him up neatly and put it in his pocket, never once sharing it or mentioning it to the investigators. What he planned on doing with it, though, I had no idea.

He and his men moved like a well-oiled machine, and I was kept outside the loop, being coddled by my mother and friends, who were acting as if I may fall apart at any second. Luca checked his guns for ammo, shoving spares into his waistband and ankle strap. He mumbled a few things to Angelo now and then, and I could tell they were preparing to leave. After everything we had been through, it was irritating me that Luca was keeping me at an arm's distance.