Page 66 of Throne of Sin

I turn and slam the door closed. A nearby nurse jumps at the sudden noise that echoes in the hall.

“She’s not here,” I say to my men, who are listening through my Bluetooth.

I walk out of the hospital with purpose, but it’s all for show. My heart cracks more with each step. I think back to all our conversations and find one common topic in each one: she wants to make it on her own. This is her doing that. She took her daughter and left at the first opportunity.

My heart sputters, it’s like a knife has been jammed into it and it’s trying to work but slowly it’s dying…

It won’t be long until I’m dead inside once again.

Chapter 34

Demi

Jamesondrivesusbackto my old home before opening the van door and pointing a gun at me. “Time to reunite our happy family,” he sneers.

He walks into my mother’s house and Oakleigh comes and gives me a big hug. “I missed you so much, mommy!” she declares.

I kiss the top of her head, holding her tight. “I missed you more. Where’s Grandma?”

“Sleeping, upstairs.”

My eyes glance at the dark stairs that lead to the small hallway up there. “Why don’t you go watch some TV, while Jameson and I talk.”

“Okay.” She walks to the side room where the TV is.

“Hello, Demi.” I look up, seeing a large man round the corner from the kitchen. It’s the same man from the auction and the fundraiser, Capella.

“That’s right, you two know each other. No introductions are needed,” Jameson drawls. “I’ve decided to keep our daughter. You, on the other hand, have been a very naughty girl, and bad girls get punished.”

“Dante won’t let you get away with this,” I declare.

Both men laugh, then the large man pulls my hair and I stumble into him. He pulls his phone out and takes a picture.

“A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s time that Dante learns his place.”

Dante

I walk around the car Demi left my house in.Was it all an attempt to make it harder for me to follow her?I shake my head.This is a good thing.She’ll do great things without me. The pit of my stomach refuses to allow me to believe she would run away without a word. It’s happened before…but even back then she had a valid reason. What is her reason now?

I get back into my car, heading back home. She doesn’t even have a cell phone to track.

I call Max through my Bluetooth. “Can you get surveillance on the children’s hospital? And get me a location on Demi.”

Max chuckles, the sound grating in my ears. “What is it with us Mancini men that makes it almost impossible to hold on to our women?”

A traffic light turns yellow and I gun my car through it, the light turning red as I’m passing through. I don’t want to stop until I get home.

“Is that a yes or a no?” I ask, feeling defeated.

“I’ll get on it.”

I press end, turning up the music until its bass is vibrating through my entire body. When I stop, I’m in my driveway, not remembering the drive back.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it. Instead of going inside, I round the side of the house and go into the backyard. I never come out here except for fight parties.

My phone buzzes again. I pull it out and contemplate tossing it in the pool. I now get the allure of going off the grid like Max and getting away from everything.

My phone goes off again, Max is calling for the third time and a text message from a number I don’t recognize. I click on it, and am met with Demi’s scared face staring into the camera.

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