Page 7 of The Veiling

His gaze flickered to Laura, then back to mine. He opened his mouth to speak.

My sister rested a hand on my leg. “Val—”

“Laura, not now.”

Sighing, she withdrew her hand, sipping her hot beverage in silence.

DING!

The elevator announced someone’s presence from the foyer. Moments later, Alessandro marched in. “I got here as fast as I could.”

“How did you find out?” I sprang from the sofa. “I didn’t ask you to come.”

His lip curled in disgust. “Excuse me, but my future sister-in-law is missing and—”

“I asked him to,” William announced as he descended the stairs.

All our gazes stalked him as he came to a stop at the bottom. He lifted his chin at me. “Noah’s been texting everyone and there’s something you need to know.”

Hand patting my suit pockets, I searched for the only vice that would keep me sane at the moment. “Merda.”

Noah stepped over, reached inside his jacket, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He handed them to me. I slid one out, pinning it between my lips, ready to light it. The thought of Isabelle scolding me for smoking indoors ran through my mind. I jerked my head toward the stairs. Alessandro, Noah, and William followed me up to the hidden door at the end of the hallway. But they had already left it open.

“Is Joseph up there?”

“Yeah,” William replied.

We filed through the corridor, illuminated by rows of LED lights and up another staircase leading to the roof access. I pushed the door open. The moment we stepped out, and it closed behind us, I lit the cigarette, then gave Noah the pack with his lighter.

Propped on his palms, Joseph leaned on the edge of the building, looking out over the city. A faint cloud of fog from the rooftop vents blew through the air with a cold night breeze. Inhaling a drag of my cigarette, I approached him with the others at my side.

“Noah,” Joseph pivoted around, “did you tell him yet?”

“I was about to.”

“Tell me what?”

“Mr. Gre—”

“Fuck formalities.” A cloud of grey smoke twirled around my head as it left my mouth.

“Okay.” Noah pinned his own between his lips, lighting it. “Whoever took Isabelle wasn’t Felipe.”

“What do you mean?”

“Felipe was there, but Joe and I had hotel security look more extensively through the footage and we didn’t want to say anything until we had confirmation.”

Joseph nodded in agreement as they exchanged a concerned glimpse.

“Felipe fled the scene after Isabelle was taken,” Noah continued with worry on his face.

“Maybe they took separate cars,” my brother added with an eye roll.

We all glared at him for a moment before William chimed in, shaking his head. “No. Someone was helping him into a van while he was bent over, holding himself. He appeared extremely injured, and he was limping.”

“A van?” Alessandro snorted. “That doesn’t check out.”

William narrowed his gaze on him. “Your sarcasm isn’t appreciated right now.”

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