Page 31 of Cruel Redemption

“I want him back. I didn’t sleep. I can’t do anything like this. I need to know he’s okay,” she pleaded. “I need him, Luka.”

“I know you do.” I paused. “Did you hear back from Enzo’s parents?”

“I got a text from his dad this morning. They went to the police department. I couldn’t stop him.”

Shit. “It’s better you didn’t try too hard. That looks suspicious enough. Why wouldn’t you want him found?”

“Of course I want him found!” she shrieked.

“I’m talking about what it looks like on the outside,” I reminded her. Enzo’s parents would be looking for any speck of dirt that was out of place. They weren’t detectives, far from it. They were parents looking for their son, and that made them desperate.

“Sorry,” she lowered her voice. “It’s like I need to get out of town, but I can’t leave. I need to be right here for him.” There was a long beat of silence. “Luka, I know you think I’m crazy right now. I realize it sounds crazy. I hear it, the crazy in my voice.” She paused. “But, I don’t think I’m wrong. Even if you’re just patronizing me right now, go. Get over there and find out what she knows about this.”

I cracked the bedroom door. I saw Ciro leaning over the map. “I’m on my way,” I reported. “But it could just be Anna being Anna.”

“I know, but thank you for going anyway. If I’m wrong, then that’s one last thing to worry about.”

“We’re going to find him. Something will surface. We know he didn’t vanish.” I was trying to make her feel better, but my stomach only began to churn the more I talked. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back.” Ciro was staring at me. Something didn’t feel right.

“What is it?” I strolled out of the master suite, closing the door behind me.

He raised his phone. “There’s a missing person’s report.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. “The parents?” The Barones had made quick time with the police.

He nodded. His dark eyebrows seemed even thicker when he was concerned. “This is a problem for the boss. For the company.”

“For all of us,” I growled.

“Where is she?” he asked. “She would want to be out in front of this story. You need to take me to Amara.”

“She has people to handle this kind of stuff for her,” I argued.

“Yeah, people like Enzo.” He bared his teeth. “This the kind of stuff Enzo does for her. It’s why she hired him and trained him.”

I shook my head. I refused to go back this fucking male posturing. I had a new problem—my fucking mother.

“This is going to be picked up by every news outlet in Louisiana, probably into Texas.”

I slid my hands in my pockets. “Look, I have to go check on something.”

“And Amara?”

I wasn’t about to let him catch a glimpse of my cards. “She’s safe.” It was all I was willing to share. It was a power play.

“What is she going to do when she sees this press conference?” He pointed to the live feed on his phone of Enzo’s parents behind a podium outside the station. It didn’t matter what they said now—they had gone public.

“She’s going to do what she always does—lead her family out of the crisis.”

“But you’re controlling how she does it,” he snarled.

My jaw locked. “I don’t control Amara. No one does.” The instant he implied it I wanted to rip his throat out.

“Then where are you keeping her?”

I ran my palm against the side of my face. I hadn’t shaved this morning. It felt rough and untamed. “I am controlling what I have to,” I huffed. “If it keeps her safe, then I’m good with it.” I turned for the door. “Lock up when you leave.”

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