Page 29 of Winter Love

“We just got a call that the cashier at McDoodles is serving William and Richard,” Jared tells us. “I asked the manager that called to stall them as long as they can.”

“Let’s go!” I yell.

“No, you stay here. Let us do this part. Noah, Galen, Celestino and Mitchell, get over there and follow them. You know what to do,” Enea says to them.

“Sì, Papà. We’ll call when we know something.”

“Wait. I need to go with them.” I frown.

“No. You need to stay here and let us do this. What happens if you see them and go after them? Sure, you’ll feel good about getting your hands on them. But that doesn’t mean they’ll tell you where Emma is. And that is what we need to know. Where they’re keeping her. So my boys will follow them and find out where they’re going.”

“I need to be there when you take them,” I say to him.

“You will be. You just have to be patient for a little while longer. You said you trusted us, I need you to keep trusting us.”

“I do. It’s just so damn hard to do this. It’s my Emma and I don’t know what they’re doing to her. What if?—”

“Don’t do that, figlio. Those ‘what ifs’ will drive you crazy. And you don’t need that right now. You need to focus on when we find her. You have to be ready for anything.”

I know that Enea is right. The problem is, I don’t know how to just sit and wait. He says try not to think of the ‘what ifs’, butit’s all I can do. I should never have left her three years ago. Then she’d never have met this asshat. And we wouldn’t be in this situation. I can’t help but feel like this is my fault.

Waiting feels like an eternity. In reality, it’s been about an hour. Celestino finally calls.

“You’re on speaker, figlio,”Enea answers.

“It’s definitely them, we followed them to the other side of town. I think they rented a house, I texted you the address. We’ll stay here and watch. Galen and Mitchell are walking the neighborhood.”

“Okay, keep me posted. We’ll check out the house and be there ASAP. Be safe.”

“Sì, Papà. See you soon.”

“I’ll map the house and then we can leave,” Francesco says to us.

I watch all the guys getting ready. Giacomo tosses me a kevlar vest. I don’t say a word, I just put it on and follow their lead. It’s impressive and a little scary how they work in sync.Like one cohesive unit. Listening to their stories is one thing—but watching them in person? Damn.

“Looks like it’s one of those vacation rentals. Salvatore, can you find out who owns it and the rental details?”

“Yeah, let me make some calls.”

The rest of us keep getting ready as we wait for Sal to make his phone calls.

“Your job is to find Emmanuelle. Noah, Francesco and Antonio will be with you. The rest of us will take William and Richard. We don’t have all our equipment so we’re going in blind. You do everything—and I meaneverything—they tell you.”

“I promise. I won’t do anything unless they say I can. I just want Emma back.”

“Okay, it’s definitely William and Richard renting. I called the owner and we got lucky. He’s got a floor plan he’s sending to me now. So we’re not going in blind,” Salvatore says to us.

Chapter Sixteen

Lukas

We all study the layout of the house that the owner sent Salvatore. It’s three levels with a basement. It also looks like there’s only three ways in or out. The front door, back door and the attached garage. So Enea and Giacomo are making sure we’re all situated at one of the three exits. And where each of us need to go.

“Francesco, Carmelo, Rhett and Salvatore—you’ll go in the back door to the basement. Leonardo, Armando and Mitchell will take the second floor, through the front door. Giacomo, Galen, Carmelo and I will take the main floor though the garage door. Antonio, Celestino, Paxton and Sebastiano are the outside watch. Felicity, I need you to stay here. I know you want to be there too. But please, stay here and be ready to meet us at the hospital if we need to take Emmanuelle,” Enea tells all of us.

I can see the defiance in my sister’s eyes, but she finally nods at Enea.

“For the record, I don’t like it. You’re right, I want to be there and I don’t think this is fair.”

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