Page 51 of Forbidden Bond

I clench my jaw. No wonder they’ve been so worried. Especially Christian. Fuck, this must be eating at him.

“You think it’s connected to the family?” I ask my brothers.

Christian shakes his head. “No. There’s no trouble in the Cosa Nostra right now. There haven’t been any demands and currently, there’s no one acting maliciously toward me. It’s been radio silent.”

“There’s a slight possibility she chose to disappear,” Carlo says.

Christian glares at our eldest brother. “Why would she do that?”

“I’m just saying. You’re so insistent on believing the worst-case scenario. Maybe Stacey’s okay somewhere.”

Christian doesn’t say anything for several moments. I sigh softly. “I’m sorry,” I say to both of them. “I didn’t realize anything was up. I would have—”

Christian interrupts. “You would have what? Not spent the past few weeks gallivanting around the city with Katherine Malone? Stacey’s case is about to be handed over to the FBI. Once they find out about her connection to our family, James Malone will get involved. Which means the situation’s muddy as hell right now, Toph.”

“I understand,” I tell him with a nod. “I’ll stay away from her.”

Carlo gives me a look. “We’re not forcing you to do anything, Topher.” Christian rolls his eyes at that but my eldest brother continues. “If she’s making you happy, we’ll figure shit out on our own.”

“No need. She and I don’t have anything to do with each other anymore,” I state.

“Really?” Christian drawls. “Because you looked ready to punch me a few minutes ago when you barged in here.”

I shake my head. “That’s nothing. Just stay away from her, Chris. I mean it, both of you.”

“You got it,” Christian states, moving behind his desk.

“Does Mamma know about Stacey?” I question.

Christian’s eyes darken. “No, and you’ll keep it that way.”

“Understood. Just call me if you need anything.”

He nods once. I ask him about Daniella and my nephew, but it’s pretty clear he wants to be alone right now. Carlo follows me as I step out of the office.

“Is he going to be okay?” I question.

Carlo rubs his jaw, staring forward. “You know Christian. He thinks everyone’s his personal responsibility. It must be killing him that he wasn’t able to protect her. Especially her.”

“Who would do something like this, Lo? If they wanted to get back at us for something, I never would have thought Stacey would be their first choice. Only a few people know whose daughter she is and why she’s so important to our family.”

“Yeah, it’s really concerning. Christian has called every Don and boss out there. When it didn’t yield any answers, he turned to the police to see if their investigations had brought in any information. I honestly don’t think it has anything to do with us. She could have been a victim of a random crime.”

“Kidnapped by who? And why? If it’s a kidnapping, we should have gotten a ransom call by now.”

“Or she ran away with a boyfriend or something,” Carlo mutters. “She could also be dead.” His jaw tightens as he says the words.

He’s already preparing himself for the worst-case scenario. And how Christian will react to it.

“You sure Chris will be able to handle that?”

“He will, because he’s the Don and he’s strong. But I know it’ll hurt him a lot. He has Daniella, though. She’ll get through to him.”

I make the drive to the repair shop on autopilot. I can’t stop imagining Stacey somewhere, chained up and terrified, or worse, dead. I didn’t even know her that well but I’m worried regardless. Who knows what she’s going through? And if I’m worried for her, then Christian must be going through hell right now.

Cara and Ellis are still hard at work as I walk through the open garage door. As soon as I do, Cara beelines toward me, a determined expression on her face.

“It’s been a week,” she starts and I arch an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate. “Katherine. She’s been gone for more than a week. What happened? If you were going to fire her, the least you could have done was let me know.”

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