Page 103 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
Luca rushed to her side. “Kayla! What the hell happened? Where’s Maria? Where’s Matteo?”
Her voice cracked. “He knocked me out. I passed out. He took him. Enrico took Maria’s son from me.”
I went still. Matteo. Our son. I saw red for a second.
Luca helped Kayla onto the bed while I paced like a caged animal. Everything in me was screaming to punch something, break something, and tear the entire place apart just to feel like I was doing something.
Luca turned to me, face grim. “We need to find them.”
“No kidding,” I snapped, then caught myself. I took a breath. “Sorry. It’s just that this is all too much.”
He didn’t respond. He just gave me that same stare. The one that used to make me want to prove something. Now, it just made me tired.
We searched the house for clues. Drawers were pulled out, and papers were scattered. Enrico was looking for something or trying to make it look like a robbery. I found Maria’s phone on the kitchen counter with the screen cracked.
Luca held up a broken earring. “This is hers.”
I nodded, my jaw clenched. “We have to think. Where would he take them?”
Luca rubbed his face with both hands. “He wouldn’t take them somewhere random. He’s not stupid. He wants something.”
“Leverage.”
We both looked at each other, the same thought hanging in the air.
“Luca, you think he’s going after you next? All that bastard ever wanted was the inheritance, and he tried for years to keep you two away from it.”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
My brain was spinning, checking every location I’d ever seen Enrico in. The businesses. The private clubs. The old wine cellar he used to take guests to.
“Wait.” I snapped my fingers. “The warehouse.”
Luca looked up. “What warehouse?”
“The one outside the city. It’s abandoned and near the old dock. You remember? He used to take deliveries and late-night drop-offs there.”
Luca narrowed his eyes. “You think he’d take Maria and Matteo there?”
“If he wanted privacy? Yeah. It’s perfect.”
Luca nodded slowly. “Then that’s where we start.”
We barely spoke as we got in the car. I thought of calling for backup, but this was still an unconfirmed location. So, I decided to wait till we had confirmed the location. I texted Dante to have my men on standby and be ready to move in case I needed them because we had no clue what we were walking into. The silence was thick and tense. But for the first time in our lives, we were on the same side. We were two men who loved Maria and needed her safe. And there was a boy who meant the world to both of us.
I glanced at Luca while he drove. “You ever think we’d end up working together?”
He let out a dry laugh. “Honestly? No. I thought I’d knock your teeth in the next time I saw you.”
“Still might. Depends how this ends.”
“Fair enough.”
I rubbed my hands together, staring out the window. The city lights blurred by. My chest was tight, and my breath was shallow.
“You really love her?” he asked again, and this time, it was not from a place of spite like he had done earlier. It was more of him needing some sort of assurance or maybe clarity from me.
I turned to him. “More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
