Mafia Fall-Out

Chapter Twenty Four

Luca

As much as I didn't want to it admit it, Charlotte might be better at this job than I was. Her idea to place a bounty on the kidnappers had proved to be more lucrative than we ever could have imagined. Marco and Angelo had put together a list of big players in the area, and after the appeal Charlotte and I had made to them, the calls started to flood in.

Over the last several hours, we had been sifting through calls, trying to decipher what was important and what we should act on. Not only had her idea been rock solid, Char had a keen ear for the callers, picking out contradicting details and the ones who were full of shit pretty easily. So far, we had four solid leads that I felt like needing to be checked out, which was more than the police had come up with in the last few days. The only problem was that we were getting a lot of vague tips and information that was going to take time to piece together.

I felt like one of these would result in bringing Lucy home, and we were more optimistic than ever. For the first time in recent days, I felt confident and collected and I had my wife to think for that. She really was incredible and the more I saw her work, the more in awe of her I was. I hadn't been giving her enough credit, and if anything was clear, it was that after all of this, things were going to be changing.

I ran my fingers through my hair, looking at the list in front of me. "So Marco, you'll check out the mechanic, I'll go to the house on fifth street, and Angelo, you've got the club over on Main Street." They both nodded, sitting on the bed and making sure their guns were loaded and they had everything they needed. We had to move quickly, so we were all going to be working on our own. As much as I hated the idea of it under regular circumstances, we didn't have much choice. We were spread thin and time was running out. "And Char, you keep working on the calls. We'll call in as we clear things for new tips to check out."

"Okay." She nodded, jotting something down on her scratch paper. "And what do you want me to do if someone calls and says they've actually got the people?"

I hesitated for a second. "Call me immediately. We'll all come back here and go together. Don't go anywhere by yourself? Am I clear?"

"I won't." She said flippantly.

"You swear?" I narrowed my eyes at her.

She rolled her eyes as if I was being overprotective, but it wasn't about that. I didn't want anyone walking into something serious on their own. Not me, not Marco or Angelo, certainly not Charlotte. The leads we were looking at were a few of those vague ones, and I didn't expect any of us to check these places out and find Lucy right away.

"Yes, Luca." She said in frustration.

"Okay." I said, grabbing my own things. I pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Be safe you guys." Charlotte cautioned, waving goodbye to us.

"I love you." I glanced back over my shoulder, waving at her.

"I love you too." She smiled and shut the door to the hotel room behind us.

"You guys good?" I checked with the boys before we went our separate ways.

Marco nodded. "All set. We'll stay in touch, but if either of you gets a bad feeling, just wait. We're in a rush, but we can't make stupid mistakes. They'll be deadly."

"Right." I agreed, letting out a heavy breath and turning to Angelo. "You're sure you're up for this?"

"Yes, I'm fucking sure." He growled. "Now, let's go get these sons of bitches."

Marco and I both chuckled. "See you on the other side."

_________

Charlotte

The slam of the door behind Luca and the guys made me jump. It was the first time I'd truly been alone in the last few days and it made me anxious. It made me even more anxious that I was sending the three of them off on their own.

I had enough to sort through to keep me busy though, and as much as I wanted to be out there looking for Lucy, I knew this was where I was needed. We hadn't expected half the response we got when Luca and I recorded our video. We'd explained who we were and what had happened to our daughter. Luca promised not only money, but future support to the gangs for any information that led us to Lucy. He also offered three million dollars who could lead us directly to the kidnappers, as long as they were alive. The temptation was just too big for some of the gangs and they had started turning on each other. Some of the information was legitimate, and some of it was just a ploy to get a little of money out of us. We knew that would be the case, but it was vital that we sorted those tips out as fast as possible.

I sat back down at the desk and let out a heavy sigh, beginning to sift through the papers. The calls had slowed down, but the transcripts were piled high and that was what I needed to focus on. I wrote the important details out of every single call, and now I had to go back and see which ones had cracks. After about another hour, I had looked at so many of these that my eyes were almost burning. I had a headache and backed away from the table for a brief break. When the phone rang again, it was a welcome relief. I answered it quickly, expecting it to be one of the boys checking in and ready for the next location.

"Hello?"

"Do you want to see your daughter again?" A distorted voice was on the other end of the line.

The blood in my veins turned to ice, and I immediately tensed up. There was something about this caller that struck me. I knew it was the man. "Who is this?"

"Let's get one thing straight. I'm the one in charge here. I won't answer any of your questions. Am I clear?" The voice was robotic. I was sure they were using some kind of disguiser, but it was deep enough I could tell it was a man.

"Yes." I whispered, clutching the phone as if my life depended on it. There was a faint sound of crying in the back, and I immediately recognized it as my daughter. "What do you want? We'll pay anything. Please, just tell me she's okay."

I wanted to throw up, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to keep my composure. I could hear Luca's voice in my head. Stay calm. Remember the details, keep him on the line.

"Bring $100,000 to the warehouse on the corner of Tenth and Park. Show the money to the guards and they'll let you in. If you bring anyone besides you or Luca, we'll kill all of you, and then we'll kill Lucy. Do you understand?"

"Yes." I said, scribbling down the directions as fast as I could. I didn't want to miss a single thing or mess this up in any way.

"You have an hour." The call dropped.

Damn it.

I hadn't realized I had been holding my breath through the entire call. My head was spinning as tears streamed down my face, trying to make some kind of sense of this. I was going in a million different directions and had no idea where to start. I had to go. I had to get the money. I had to get to that warehouse and find my daughter.

I grabbed the phone quickly and dialed Luca's number. It rang several times before going to voicemail. "Damn it." I cried, falling to my knees in front of the bed. I made Luca a promise that I wouldn't leave here without him, but he wasn't answering and I couldn't take a chance of not getting there in time. I had no idea what to do.

Operating on pure adrenaline, I ripped a bag out from under the bed and grabbed a bunch of cash out of it. I counted out the $100,000 and put it into a smaller bag I could take with me. Trying Luca one more time, I paced back and forth across the hotel room floor.

No answer.

This time, I left a message. "Luca, call me as soon as you can. I talked to them. I know I told you I'd wait, but I have to go. We don't have enough time. She's at the warehouse on 10th Ave and Park St. Please, please meet me there."

I hung up, wiping the tears off of my cheek, and heading out the door.

I was on my way to bring my baby girl home.