Page 155 of Matteo
“Fair enough, sir. Just let me live so I can recover and live the remainder of my life with your daughter. Withmywife.”
“I’ll think about it.” Dad pinched the bridge of his nose and released a heavy sigh. “Now let’s turn our focus to finding Hannah.”
I felt the same worry in the marrow of my bones and I stilled my spine, sending a silent prayer that Gianna would forgive me for what I was about to do.
“There is something I have to tell you,” I started hesitantly. His expression softened as it locked on me. “Our cousin could be responsible for erasing Hannah’s and my tracks.”
His brow furrowed. “What are you saying? Your uncles were worried out of their minds, just like us. None of their children—your cousins—would?—”
I shook my head. “No, not them. Mom’s other brother’s son.”
Dad stiffened and his hand curled into a fist. “How do you know about him?”
I inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly. “Remember Gianna’s kidnapping?”
As if anyone could forget it.
Dad pushed his hand through his hair. “I do.”
“Of course, silly question,” I mumbled, shaking my head. “Anyhow, the man who kidnapped her… he’s our cousin. Marco King’s son,” I clarified.
“Why didn’t you tell me before, Arianna?”
“I’m telling you now. Marco King’s son…” My voice got stuck in the back of my throat at the sheer memory of it, and I cleared it. “He kidnapped Gianna. I didn’t know he was our cousin until recently.”
Matteo and Dad were stunned into silence, my husband’s jaw flexing.
Dad’s expression turned thunderous. “I’m going to murder him and all the men that work for him when I get my hands on them.”
I shook my head. “There’s one man you can’t hurt.”
“What?” Dad and Matteo questioned at the same time.
“There is a man who had helped Gianna and I escape. You can’t kill him.”
“What’s his name?” Dad grunted, clearly not happy about sparing anyone’s life.
I hesitated. “Well, I’m not… sure.”
“What does he look like?” Matteo chimed in.
I chewed on my bottom lip before answering, “I ran into him recently.”
“Yes?” Dad encouraged.
I took a deep breath before releasing it slowly.
“Agent Lloyd… He’s the one who helped us escape all those years ago.” I met Matteo’s eyes. “I didn’t know who he was until that night of the fire.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Matteo’s voice came out raw. “Agent Lloyd is working undercover.”
Dad nodded. “The agency must have been aware of organ trafficking for a lot longer than us.”
“You guys know him?” I asked, flabbergasted.
“I don’t,” Dad retorted wryly. “But I would very much like to meet him and at least thank him for saving my daughters. However, the priority is putting a stop to organ trafficking.”
“Ditto,” Matteo agreed.
