Page 46 of Bulletproof Baby

She nods. "How much does Lia know about this?"

"She knows that I'm doing everything I can to keep her and her family safe, but she doesn't know where the bodies are buried or anything like that."

"Are you going to tell her?"

I shake my head. "I don't think she wants to know that."

"Valentino, I'm telling you that if this is the woman you love?—"

"Fuck, Armande has a big fucking mouth."

She smiles. "It's okay to love people and to let people like you, love you, Valley. If this is the woman you love, if Lia is this person, you have to be honest with her in a way that's beyond intimate. The ugly side of who you are as Don Barrone and as the CEO of Barten. This corporation's money may be clean, but its hands are fucking filthy. We do a lot of rough and tough shit, Valley. Don't keep her in the dark too much. Spare her the guts and gore, but bare your heart and soul."

"Listen to you sounding like a fucking Hallmark card. I'm going to tell her. I have to get out there today anyhow. I've been so busy making sure this plan goes off without a hitch, I forgot to leave her with a phone out there."

Cecilia swirls her finger in the air as a signal to drop the secure protection around the office. She pulls out her phone once it's done and frowns. When she glances at me, I feel a pit forming in my stomach as I pull out my phone from a drawer in my desk.

Fourteen missed calls.

"I have three missed calls, and like a hundred text messages from Armande telling me to get you on the phone," Cecilia says with mild panic in her voice.

"I got it. I'll take care of it. Don't worry. It's nothing but a Monday," I assure her as she gets up from her seat to leave the office. I know it's more than that. I just hope it's work related and nothing to do with Lia.

"The minute I call Armande, he's out of breath. "Don't be mad."

Rage initiated.

"Go."

"She's gone," he says.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Armande pants into the phone as if he's running a marathon. "The guys on the boat? They told the guys on the street to go for breakfast and that since you told her not to leave the house, it would be fine."

"That's not how we do things. They're being paid to do a job."

Armande groans. "Valley, I know that, but they thought it was personal."

"It was and is."

"They thought she would stay put. The ’69 Camaro is gone and so is Lia."

I push myself out of my chair, grab my keys, and rush out of the office. There's no way I'm going to sit around and wait to hear some awful shit like Saul Caputo actually found her. Why the fuck did she leave in the first place?

"Do we have eyes on her apartment? Or her parents' house?" I ask.

"I'm pulling up to her parents' house now. Shit. I found the Camaro. I'm going inside," Armande says. I can hear him arming himself and busting through the front door. "The place is cleared out."

"I know. I had a team put everything in storage for them after they took off with Jeff on Saturday. Is Lia's car there? It was in the driveway."

"No, your car is in her spot. Did we have a GPS put on her car?" he asks.

"No, but I have a feeling I know where she went. She'd go somewhere she felt safe and not alone. I can't believe I fucked this up."

"You didn't fuck anything up, Valley. Tell me where to go. Where am I meeting you and do I need to bring my cleaning supplies?" Armande sounds like he hasn't had enough yet. Even though I know he's spent the better part of the last thirty-six hours dismembering Jimmy.

"The cousin's place. Bring something to get that door off the frame. Shit is sturdy."

---