Page 76 of The Secrets We Keep

“Nothing happened to me.”

“Something did. This is not the man you were before you walked out on us, on your birthright. This”—he gestured up and down with his finger—“is just a younger, more sober version of our father. And we both know how people felt about him.”

“I am not Father,” Matteo bit off. “I’m trying to put everything back together. I’m sorry I’m not doing it in the way you expected it to be done. But it’s happening, and that’s all I really care about.”

The sound of someone running down the hall in high heels drifted to his ears seconds before Carina burst into the room, chest heaving with the effort.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” she panted, crossing the room to grab the remote for the TV off the corner of Matteo’s desk. “Answer your fucking phone.”

She pressed the button to turn the TV on and changed it to a local news station. A woman with perfect hair and a professional blue suit was talking about the weather while pointing at a map, but the ticker across the bottom announced some kind of explosion in Catania.

Alexei appeared in the doorway and moved to stand next to Carina. He reached for the remote and changed the channel. Images of a burning building filled the screen.

Luca rushed forward, stopping inches in front of the TV mounted to the wall. The building looked like Sienna’s apartment. He searched the screen for any identifiers, but everything was in flames, and the shot was zoomed in too tight.

He willed the camera to pan out, but it stayed tight on the inferno. The reporter appeared on screen, a talking head in the bottom corner. He heard her report in fits and starts, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest.

A residential building in Catania. Near Catania’s business district. A gas leak led to an explosion a few hours ago. Firefighters on scene were having a hard time controlling the blaze. Most residents had been evacuated, but some were still unaccounted for.

No. He took a step back from the screen, shaking his head. Then the shot switched to an aerial one, and he nearly fell to his knees. It was her building. He’d visited the area often enough in the last few weeks. He’d recognize it anywhere.

It couldn’t be. She couldn’t be gone. She had to be okay.

Whirling away from the TV, he closed the distance to the couch in quick strides, tossing cushions and pillows to the floor in search of his phone. Digging it out, he pulled up Sienna’s number and pressed it to his ear.

She was fine. She had to be. Sienna would answer the phone and tell him everything was okay. Tell him she hadn’t been at home at nearly midnight or that she’d gotten out.

The sound of her voicemail punched his heart into his throat. He hung up and dialed again. Two rings, three rings, four. “Hi, you’ve reached Anna—”

He hung up and dialed her number a third time. This time when her voicemail picked up, he heaved his phone at the wall and watched it splinter into pieces.

“Luca…”

Carina laid a hand on his arm, and he jerked away. He had to go. He would not abandon her like he did last time. He would do everything in his power to get to her. Until he laid his own fucking eyes on her body, she was alive.

“How long has it been?” Luca said, his voice thready and hoarse.

“We just saw the news as we were leaving the casino,” Alexei said. “But the explosion was almost three hours ago, according to the first report I saw. I have no idea how accurate that is,” Alexei said.

“I have to go there.” Luca spun for the door. “I have to see for myself.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Matteo demanded, following Luca into the hall behind Carina and Alexei. “It’s just a gas leak and explosion. Three hours away.”

Luca sprinted up the stairs to his bedroom, retrieving his gun from the top drawer of his dresser and fixing it into the waistband of his pants. Grabbing his keys off the top, he took the stairs down two at a time.

This was the possibility she’d warned him about yesterday. That Drago was suspicious of her, and her time was running short. He just never imagined it would run this short.

He should have insisted she come back with him the minute she told him she could run this surveillance on Nero from Palermo. Why did he let her stay? Why the fuck didn’t he help her pack and insist she come with him so he could protect her?

If she was gone for real this time… No. He shook the thought from his head. He couldn’t go there. Not until he knew for sure.

“Someone should go with you,” Carina said, jogging to keep up with his long strides toward the front door. “I’ll feel better if you take Alexei.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Not a babysitter,” Carina insisted gently. “Backup.”

Luca struggled into his jacket, trying to fight off the rising panic. The drive was too long for him to lose his shit now. He needed to hold it together. Sienna would need him when he found her. He had to find her. He had to bring her home with him.

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