Page 38 of Fierce Hearts

"You think he's here for her?" I asked, reaching for my phone.

"I don't know, but it can't be anything good."

"She hasn't been answering my calls." I dialed her number again, listening to it ring until her voicemail picked up, ignoring the intrigued look Leo was giving me. "Fuck."

"I'm going to see what's going on," Leo was already on his phone, and he began speaking rapidly to someone on the other end.

I listened in, my chest tightening when Leo repeated Marco Savoca's name, and asked for a confirmation. That wasn't a good sign.

"What is it?" I asked once he hung up, not liking the slightly bothered expression he wore.

"Marco Savoca is dead. Ambushed and killed outside his own restaurant not that long ago."

The pieces clicked into place. That was why she'd been so distant. She'd said patients had died, but had that call in my car been…

I fired off a text to her, saying I was worried, praying she'd respond quickly and I just needed to know she was okay.

Why couldn't she answer the damn phone?

"You seem rather bothered, Gray," Leo said carefully.

"She's Meredith's best friend, she's family," I shot back.

"Right." He didn't sound convinced, but I didn't care. "Let me find out what's going on."

Had she been dealing with this alone? Was that why she'd pulled away? The thought of her facing her family's drama without support made my chest tight. She was so independent, but right now, this was not the time. I knew she'd been close to Marco, that he was the reason she was out of the family. We'd done our checks when she'd first come into Meredith's life.

I looked to Leo, who was checking in with his security team. It sounded like he was being transferred to Jackson, who was with Meredith today as her driver and guard since Roman was here downstairs.

"You've got news on Sofia Savoca?" Leo got right to the point, nodding as I waited for him to share what he was learning, wishing I could hear.

Thankfully, my phone sounded off, and I glanced down at the text.

I'm fine. I just need to deal with some things.

The message should have eased me, but it only worried me more.

"Got it, thanks. Make sure you hang around and be on the lookout. The Savoca family is up to something, and I want them both watched." Leo ended his call and focused on me. "Sofia's at home. I'm assuming safe if she's just called Meredith, who's headed over there."

I was already dialing my sister's number before he'd finished speaking. She answered on the third ring to my relief.

"Gray? I'm kind of busy right now."

"You're going to Sofia's."

Her voice changed to one of surprise. "How did you know that?"

"Leo told me. Jackson's driving you, right?"

"Yes, we're almost there. What's going on?"

I leaned forward in my chair. "Has she seemed off to you lately? Since the wedding?"

"Yes. She's been distant, distracted. I thought maybe she was just busy with work." Her voice was off. She knew something and she wasn't sharing.

"What do you know, Meredith? A Savoca family member was seen in the city, the Donatis need to know," I said, my voice tight as Leo's brow furrowed. He wouldn't be pleased if she'd not shared something important like that with him, but she also knew better. I had to assume she didn't know.

"Fuck, one of them is here? She didn't say anything about that. It's her cousin. Marco's dead, she's been grieving and dealing with it, she only just told me this morning. She's asked me to go over, that she just needs someone to talk to about it all."

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