Page 93 of Sins of Bliss

“We don’t know he took?—”

“Yes, I do,” I say with pure confidence. “They’re at the docks. They have to be.”

Luciano and I make eye contact, and he nods before taking his father off speakerphone. “We’ll meet you there.”

I’m already halfway to the door when Raina yells, “Wait up!”

“No,” I say over my shoulder. “Joseph is dangerous. You’re staying here.”

“You can’t expect me to just wait here—she’s my best friend!”

“And she’s my wife!” I say firmly, turning on my heel to face her as I swipe my keys from the entryway table. “What kind of husband would I be—manwould I be—if I allowed my wife’s best friend to be put in harm's way? Stay here, Raina. Stay with Cecilia. Sully, Enzo, and Nix will wait with you.”

“Like Hell I will,” Nixon grumbles, striding through my living room. “Let’s go, I’m driving.”

“This is bullshit,” Raina complains again. I’m about to retort when Luciano steps close to her, engulfing her with his size.

His voice is low when he says, “Vinnie will be happy to know you’re here, safe. For once in your life, don’t be a pain in the ass, Raina. Stay for her.”

Quickly, she wipes away another tear, and I can’t help but notice the way Luciano’s fingers stretch out by his side, as though he wants to reach up and wipe them for her.

Then he turns and stalks toward where Nixon and I stand. “Let’s go find my sister.”

As we approach the building Luciano points out as the one belonging to his father, Nixon cuts the lights, drenching my SUV in total darkness as we park several yards away. “We should go the rest of the way on foot, so we have the element of surprise.”

“Has your father responded about whether la polizia is on their way?” I ask, looking at the building to see if there is any movement.

“He says they’re five minutes out.”

“And where is he?” I ask, noticing a shadow through a closed window shade directly ahead. Reaching forward, my hand clasps the handle of the passenger door, my instincts kicking over into high gear to go investigate, just as a small knock comes from the window.

Turning, I see Maurizio standing there, along with the butler—who is also his head of security—Capaul, and another man I don’t recognize.

Pushing open the door, they step back to give it space, and I get out. “He’s in there,” I tell them with urgency. “I saw his shadow.”

“We still don’t know it’s Joseph,” Maurizio states. “The police are on their way, let’s let them handle this.

“The way you handled Joseph at the dinner? You barely said a word when he began yelling with great hostility, and now that he’s taken Vinnie, you want towait?”

“It seems a little peculiar that you’re so keen on proving that it’s my son in there. Maybe I should be wondering why that is.” The accusation in his tone enrages me, and it takes everything I have to not lose all control.

My hands ball into fists by my side, and I slam the car door shut. “If you are so uncertain of my intentions, then explain to me why someone with the Lucchetti name would go to such lengths to protect aPaladino. The moment Vincenza entered my life, she became my priority, and I will not stand here while you accuse me of having ill-intentions.” I push past him with a rough bump of my shoulder.

Behind me, the sound of two car doors closing reverberates through the night, and gravel crunches beneath the footsteps that follow.

“Then wait for the police and let them handle it,” Maurizio hisses as he stumbles behind me.

“I’m not wasting another second, Maurizio. My wife is inside there—yourdaughter. Don’t you value her safety?”

“Of course I do,” he snaps.

“Then act like it,” I snarl, quickening my pace. My eyes are trained on the window of the warehouse, watching for any more movement. I’d be shocked if Joseph can’t hear us coming with how loud this argument has become.

“Don’t be reckless. Those are my children in there,” Maurizio says with exasperation.

“Nowyou believe it’s Joseph? Which is it, Maurizio? Did he take her, or did he not?” I argue, my voice in a whisper as we get closer to the window I saw movement in.

“Shh,” Nixon commands, pressing his body against the side of the building. His gun is in his hand, ready for anything.

---