Page 30 of Cruel Redemption

“I thought we could use it to get started.” I quickly jotted down a list of places where I had looked for Enzo. I stopped scribbling. “These are the places Katya has been able to cross off.” He peered at it. “She visited locations that Enzo frequents. Like I said, it’s a start.”

Ciro walked closer to the whiteboard in my office. He grabbed the eraser off the ledge and wiped down the board.

“This is shit. We’re going to have to start over.” He tossed the eraser on a table and picked up the marker. I didn’t like the possibility that Ciro’s renewed energy came from the knowledge that I hadn’t proposed to Amara yet. It fueled him somehow and that was going to be a problem for us working together.

Seventeen

Luka

We had been at it for over an hour. It was an hour I didn’t have to give. I knew the stopwatch was ticking away. Enzo’s parents were likely at the police station by now. Ciro hunched over a map of the city. He had stretched it across the top of my desk.

I poured a drink, but I couldn’t touch it. The idea that my head would be anything less than clear if Amara or Katya needed me wasn’t an option. I had to stay sharp. Focused. Alert. I left the glass of bourbon on the counter.

I wandered to the bare bedroom. I sat on the bed, letting the heaviness of defeat sink down onto my shoulders. I needed a fucking minute away from the body man. He grunted. Sniffed through his nose. Stomped his foot every time he picked up the damn marker. I needed space.

Nikoli continued to call with updates, but there were none. My Brigadiers were in the city, scouring for leads. Talking at the docks. Roughing up anyone who looked suspicious. They were frustrated and angry. But no one questioned why we were searching for Enzo Barone. They took the orders, like they took their vow to me—faithfully.

My phone rang. It was Katya.

“I don’t have any updates for you,” I explained before she even said hello. I stood from the bed and walked over to the window.

“Luka, shut up and listen to me.”

“What is it?” She had my attention. I moved the curtain to the side, watching a couple walk

“I’m in the car. I’m on my way back from mom’s. We met there for lunch.” She was talking so quickly I was afraid I’d miss something. “Luka, she was happy.”

“And?” I questioned the anecdote.

“She is not a happy person. She was also sober. Not a glass of wine. Nothing.”

“What? So?”

“I think you should go over there. Go see her. I think it means she knows,” Katya spat the words quickly.

“What are you talking about?” It was an absurd thought.

“It’s just…she was so different.”

I couldn’t leave now. I needed to get back to the cabin soon to be with Amara.

“She was smiling. Laughing at lunch. Talking about the baby and Andrey,” Katya went into more details about their lunch.

“Isn’t that what she is supposed to do?” I asked. “She’s about to be a grandmother. Inna was the same way last night. Grandmothers do that kind of thing I’ve heard.”

My sister groaned. “It is what she’s supposed to do, but she’s never done it. Not since I announced my pregnancy. You have to go see her. I think there’s something going on with her. And she mentioned a guy.”

The last few times I had seen her, she was plastered. She wasn’t sober enough to organize a kitchen drawer. She couldn’t execute any task other than pouring another glass of wine.

“A guy? What the hell does that mean?” I balked.

“It was a slip. I’m sure she didn’t mean to tell me. But I think she’s dating. Or she has been dating. I don’t know,” she revealed.

Dating? What the fuck would my mother be doing dating? The flowers hadn’t taken root on Papa’s grave yet. “Okay. I can stop by. Only for a minute,” I caved.

“Thank you.” She exhaled.

“Don’t call her. Let me handle it,” I warned. The last thing I needed was Katya stirring up something that didn’t exist. Our mother was unpredictable now and I had to control the variables in front of me.

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