Page 69 of Broken Mafia Bride
“Mio Dio,” Isabella exclaims, doing the sign of the cross.
“You know about them?” she asks.
“Who doesn’t?” Isabella exclaims. “Everyone in Sardegna knows about them. And they’re not just local to the island. They’re popular in other places in Italy.”
“A pack of money-hungry bastards who treat people like livestock,” I tell Giulia. “Are you sure about what you saw?”
She nods. “I know exactly what I saw. It was the sign for La Rete Rossi. I’ve seen it in several places around Sardegna—it’s the same one. Lucio’s been tearing the island apart searching for her, since it’s their base, but there’s been nothing. It’s like they took her and vanished.”
“That’s not possible,” I tell her. “This isn’t random. I don’t believe for one second that they took Noemi because she wasconvenient. This was a targeted move, and the question is, why do they want her?”
“I’d have said money, but it’s been weeks, and there’s been nothing from them,” Giulia adds. “I’ve kept my phone glued to my side so I won’t miss a ransom call.”
I don’t think it has anything to do with money, either. Trafficking is where even a lot of men in the mafia draw the line—even though it’s one of the most profitable businesses in the world.
La Rete Rossi may be a powerful group, but there’s no way they aren’t aware that Noemi is connected to a man like Re Ombra, and know the risks of messing around with him. Generally, different organizations or families in the same area try as much as possible not to step on each other’s toes.
There’s a balance to stuff like this, and it’s disastrous when it gets disrupted.
“I’ve called my father too,” she sighs. “He’s going to help.”
Ah yes. She’s called everyone to help except me. I almost say as much, but decide to swallow the bitter words instead. This isn’t a competition of who finds her first or anything like that.
We’re all going to have to be a team, for Noemi and Giulia’s sakes. The sooner we find the girl, the better. I don’t even want to think about how terrified she’ll be right now without Giulia.
I step closer and grab her hand tightly. “We’ll find her together. We’ll bring Noemi home.”
The tremble in her hands gradually fades, then stops completely as I hold them. She watches me in silence, eyes fixed and intent. After what feels like hours, she nods.
I reach forward and brush a loose tendril of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She sucks in a breath when my fingers brush against the shell of her ear, watching me with a quiet yearning.
It would be so easy to seal the distance between us, take her into my arms, and comfort her.
The pain, the heartbreak, the misery, none of it matters right now. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for her, how helpless she must feel. It’s an echo of how I’ve felt these past few years, blind hope and pure spite urging me forward every time I tried to give up.
It’s only when Giulia’s gaze shifts to something beyond my shoulders, and guilt washes over her expression, that I remember we’re not alone.
I reluctantly step away from her. Giulia has nothing to feel guilty about—it’s not like her cousin and I are a real couple.
I think about confessing my drunken mistake, but stop myself.
It was a mistake.
One that meant nothing.
There’s no use digging up things better left buried.
“I need to talk to Re Ombra, see what he’s heard so far,” I say. “I’ll pass his findings to Matteo and see what he can find.”
“Thank you,” Giulia tells me earnestly.
With a nod, I begin to make my way toward the door. Isabella’s gaze tracks my exit, and there’s something in them, something that makes a cold shiver run up my spine. I blink, and when I look at her again, she’s offering Giulia a soft, supportive smile.
I must have imagined that look.
I’m not leaving until I find my daughter, and when I find the bastards that took her, I’ll make sure there’s nothing left of them to bury.
Nobody fucks with my family and gets away with it. Absolutely no one.
