Page 15 of Capone
“Oh my God.” Giovanna placed a shaky hand over her mouth.
“Did you or Derek have problems with anyone leading up to his murder?”
“No…I mean my father never cared for Derek, but I don’t think he would be capable of kidnapping his own granddaughter.”
I watched as Cara kept switching the angles of the surveillance from the kidnapping. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to see if I can get a glimpse of something that can identify who took Gabrielle. They were smart enough to wear all-black baggy clothes, so I can’t pinpoint if this is a man or a woman.”
“You think a woman could be behind this?” Giovanni asked Cara.
“I don’t know, but I’m not ruling it out either. There are a number of reasons it could be a woman. Your husband was responsible for putting dangerous men behind bars. Anyone could be capable of seeking out revenge.”
“But what does that have to do with, Gabi?”
“It doesn’t. But some people don’t care. And I’m not saying that’s why this happened. It’s just a theory.” Cara froze in her seat as her eyes went wide. “No fuckin’ way!” she shouted.
“What?” Sara asked, standing up, followed by Tech, Giovanna and me.
“Look at this.” On one of the screens the footage began to play. We watched as the assailant pushed Giovanna into the trunk and walked around the car. They squatted down to the ground after opening Gabi’s door. They were no longer in sight at the moment. I was confused as to what Cara wanted us to see until she zoomed in on the window of the car next to Giovanna’s.
From the reflection of the window, you could see that the person has raised their mask, but you couldn’t see their face because their back was to the window. However, Gabrielle’s face was visible. Her face lit up into a bright smile as she held a conversation with this person. She seemed familiar with them. Too familiar.
The assailant unbuckled Gabi, and she launched herself into their arms. After Gabi was settled into their arms, they pulled the mask back down. Quickly, they made their way to the car.Gabi didn’t put up a fight and she held on tightly to the person. Once the car pulled away, Cara stopped the footage.
She turned around and her face matched the shock on all of ours.
“Are you trying to tell me Gabrielle knew her kidnapper?” Giovanna sobbed.
“From the looks of it. That wasn’t just recognition. She was happy to see this person. I know you said your father would never do something like this, but I have to ask, are you sure?” she questioned gently.
“Gabi has never met him.” Giovanna shook her vehemently as she continued to weep into her hands.
Cara sighed and rubbed her temples. She turned to Sara. “Call Mercury. Tell him to bring Danny. He and Derek were thick as thieves. If Derek was having problems with someone, he would know.”
I pulled Giovanna into my arms, and she welcomed the embrace. This case just went from bad to worse. Someone who knew her daughter was not only responsible for her kidnapping but her husband’s murder.
I didn’t know what all would come to light, but I prayed we got to Gabi before any harm could be done to her.
Chapter Seven
GIOVANNA
I’ve been locked in Capone’s arms for some time now and I still wasn’t ready for him to release me. I could hear the small chatter going on behind me, but it all sounded like gibberish. I was in another world. I would haveneversuspected that Gabi would know the person who was responsible for all my pain.
I was going crazy trying to think of who could have done this. I didn’t have any friends and the only family I talked to daily was my mom and my siblings. So, I knew for a fact no one in my life would do this.
To know that Gabi had been around her kidnapper often enough to make her smile the way she did made my stomach turn. My baby was innocent. She had no idea what was happening when they took her. Whoever this person was obviously had some kind of vendetta against my family. To go as far to kill Derek and now take my baby, none of this was making sense. I just hoped Danny could give us some answers because I was drawing blanks on who could be behind this.
The more I thought about this whole situation, the more my body shook with tremors. I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself, but that only made things worse. All I could see was Gabrielle clinging to her kidnapper as they got into the car.
My chest tightened as my breathing became shallow. Capone squeezed me harder and rocked our bodies from side to side. “Calm down, Sugar. Listen to the sound of my voice. Take a deep breath for me like you did yesterday.” Instantly, my body followed his command before I realized what was happening. “That’s it. Good girl. Now let it go.”
He did this for a couple of minutes until I fully relaxed. His fingers raked through my hair, causing me to shudder. He lightly scratched my scalp, almost making me want to take a nap.
I didn’t know what it was about being in this man’s arms, but I felt cared for and safe. I needed that right now. Every time I was on the verge of losing it, he somehow managed to pull me back. I truly didn’t understand how I had developed these kinds of feelings for a man I met yesterday.
A knock on the door broke my thoughts. I pulled away from Capone and peeked around him to see Viper standing in the doorway.
