Maria wasn't there when I got back. I stood there for while, but she never came. After a couple minutes I tried texting her, and when she didn't reply I started toward the private jet thinking maybe she went on without me. That wasn't like Maria though. She wouldn't just get bored and leave me alone.
My heart sank when I made it to the private gate and she wasn't there.
"Where's Maria?" Adrian approaches me with a kiss on the cheek. I glance past him at Christian who clicks off his phone and puts it in his pocket, "Katelyn?"
I cross my arms nervously, "I-I don't know." I stammer.
"What do you mean you don't know." Christian spoke up, joining the conversation.
"I-I went to the bathroom, a-and then I..." My voice grew thicker as I realized how bad this all sounded, "I went to get a coffee, and when I got back she was gone. I waited for her to come back, but she never did." Christian's brow furrowed, and he looked livid. It honestly scared me a little.
"Are you sure she didn't just... leave." Adrian asks me. I glare at him.
"I told her to stay there. Maria would never just leave." I look down at my feet, "Especially since she doesn't like left alone places."
"We'll find her, right Christian?" Adrian glances back at his cousin as he sets a hand on both side of my arms.
Christian doesn't answer for a minute, glaring at me, "I have to make a call." He ignores Adrian and takes out his phone. Tough crowd.
"This is all my fault..." I trail off.
"It's not your fault you had to pee." Adrian gave me a look making me roll my eyes.
"Babe, I meant I shouldn't have gotten that coffee. I shouldn't have left her alone for so long." I furrow my eyebrows, "What if something terrible's happened to her? What if-"
"Nothing bad has happened to her alright, and if something has, Christian and I will take care of it."
"What does that mean?"
"We'll take care of it." He repeats, making me suspicious. I pull away from him and turn around.
"Fine, but I'm going to go look for her." I start walking back to where I last saw her, and I hear footsteps behind me.
"I'm not letting you go alone." Adrian follows me. I roll my eyes in return.
We head to the spot where I lost her, but she was still no where to be found. We look everywhere, but still can't find her until we stop at the entrance where two discarded suitcases are sprawled across the floor. Something inside me breaks when I see them. It looked as if she was dragged away... I let my best friend get dragged away.
My hand shakes as I cover my mouth, tears pooling at the edge of my eyes.
"Kate, this doesn't mean anything-"
"What do you mean this doesn't mean anything! This means everything!" I start sobbing as I grab the suitcases laying on the floor.
I look around to see how no one cared. No one cared I was crying in the airport. No one cared there were two unclaimed suitcases laying in the middle of floor. No one cared Maria was taken, and no one even tried to help her. I wasn't even there help her. For some reason I felt like this was my fault.
"Can we just go back." I tried to calm myself down, "Let's just go back and see if Christian has a plan." He nods and throws an arm around me before we head back to the private gate.
Christian perked up when he saw us approaching and took note of my tear stained cheeks. He looked a little disappointed, terrified even, and from what Maria told me, I didn't think he cared that much about her. Now, even if she hadn't seen it, I saw he cared a lot more for her than he let on.
"I made a few calls. I've got men searching every Romano hideout we know about. I'm going to find her." He says once we were standing in front of him. I nod.
"Romano? Perché diavolo sarebbe stata con Romano, cugino?" Adrian whispers to him in Italian, leaving me in the dark. (Why the hell would she be with the Romano's, cousin?)
"È una lunga storia, Adrian." Christian replies, "La vogliono indietro." (It's a long story, Adrian. They want her back)
"Cosa intendi con 'la vogliono indietro'?" Adrian shot back quickly. (What do you mean 'they want her back'?)
"Hai fatto un controllo dei precedenti, Maria?" Christian asks Adrian who glances down at me and tightens his arm around my shoulder. (Did you do a background check on, Maria?)
"No."
"Bene, mio padre l'ha fatto." (Well, my father did.)
"What are you saying, Christian..." Adrian trails off, finally saying something I can understand.
"Non si chiama Maria Wilson. È Maria... Maria Romano." Christian admits unwillingly. Adrian stumbles back a bit and have to throw an arm around his waist to keep from falling over. (Her name isn't Maria Wilson. It's Maria... Maria Romano.)
"What did he say, Adrian?" I murmur, glancing up at Christian. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was staring down at his feet. For once the big tough guy persona he always held was gone and I could see the conflict in his eyes.
Instead of Adrian, he was the one who answered, "I know why Maria was taken."
