Page 98 of Merciless Monster

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“First off, I’d like to apologize. You must be so angry with me.”

“I’m not, Mia. I…”

“Wait. let me finish.”

“Sorry. Carry on.”

“I had to do it, Dante. I was afraid that your lifestyle would harm our son. And now I realize it was all for nothing. I should have listened to you and joined you in Rome. But it’s too late.”

“What are you talking about? Why is it too late?”

“They know, Dante. They know.”

“Mia, you’re not making any sense. What are you saying? Who knows what?”

“You enemies, Dante! They know who I am and where Angelo and I are. They threatened our son’s life! They just took him. They took him…”

Mia is crying. I can barely understand what she's saying. My stomach is in a mess. I feel sick. All I heard was that my family is in danger.

“What?”

“They took Angelo from school and then I found him unconscious at my front door a few hours later. I’m so scared, Dante.”

“Mia, where are you? I’m leaving right now. Tell me where you are.”

“They want you to come here. They want to set a trap so that they can kill you. This is a lose lose situation. Either you die or our son does.”

Mia is positively sobbing now. My heart aches for her. I wish I could wrap my arms around her and make her feel safe.

“Mia. Listen to me. Don’t worry about a thing. I’m going to get you out of this. I promise. You have to trust me. Please tell me where you are so I can fix this.”

“Okay.”

“Where are you?”

“In Texas. I’ll send you a pin location.”

“I’ll leave as soon as I can.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Mia. I’am sorry this has happened to you. I truly am. I swear I’ll make this right.”

I’m up and ready within the hour. There’s no time to waste. I make a few calls before I leave the house. The first one I wake up is Elio.

“Brother, I need you.”

“It’s 3 a.m. What is it?” he groans.

“Yes, I know it’s early. Mia is in trouble.”

“What? How do you know?”

“She just called me. It seems that whoever was working with Kyle tracked her down somehow. They took my kid, Elio! My fucking son!”

“Fuck, Bro. Is he okay?”

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