Page 3 of Little Deer
“They grabbed her from the street?” I ask, surprised. “Fucking ballsy of them considering how busy this city is and all the cameras.”
“They probably figured out who she was, saw her and took the opportunity since she was out in the open,” Alonzo replies. “She never stood a chance to get away from them.”
“How long ago did they take her?”
“They tried to wipe the camera, but the time stamp says over twenty-four hours.” There’s a small pause. “Almost thirty-six now.” A well of pity fills his tone. “The camera at the warehouse showed her unconscious and being carried, but from the angle and lighting, I can’t tell if she was injured or not.”
Shit. We have to hope that they’ve kept her there and not moved her quickly. I can’t dwell on that now though. I have to focus on the details. The sooner we find her and get her out of there, the better.
“She has to live somewhere close by. Zeno, check that area as well in your search, might help things narrow down. If you’re walking in this city, you don’t have to go far to get something, and in casual clothes, she’s not going to work,” I add.
“Already on it, but this city is so fucking big,” Zeno huffs. “Urso is working on trying to hack into Leonardo’s system to see if there is anything that’s being said between him or his men, but they’ve hired more people to keep us out so it’s not going as quickly as before.”
“He knows that we’re going to find out, so he wants to make sure that he has a chance to get her away from us,” Alonzo mutters. He glances over at me. “He probably already has someone lined up to marry her or just straight up take her out of the country so we have a much harder time finding her.”
“Esposito only has one other son and he’s not old enough for marriage yet,” I remind him. “So it would have to be someone outside of their alliance.”
“Once we get her, we’ll have to look into that possibility,” Alonzo agrees. “We don’t need any other fucking problems with any other families coming in.”
On that we both agree.
“We’re about ten minutes out from the warehouse,” I announce, looking at the GPS and the surrounding area gettingmore rural. “Alonzo, when we get there, you take point on the distraction?”
“Got it.”
“My goal is to find the girl and get her the hell out of there as fast as we can.” I glance in the back at the three men with us. “Tony, you’re with me. Alvize, Armand, you’re with Alonzo. Keep him alive or his lady will have my balls for her dog.”
All three men nod and smirk to each other. I glance at Alonzo who shoots me a glare. Despite all the women we’ve been with throughout our adult lives, I know that there has never been one who’s kept him on his toes like Aurora—Rori—O’Brien. “Fuck off,” he grits out, eyes stormy.
“Be nice to have them here right about now,” Tony says casually. “The dog could help us take down anyone stupid enough to get too close.” I see Alonzo shoot Tony a death glare, not that Tony seems fazed. Alvize and Armand both grin at each other knowingly.
It’s a good thing that these men work so closely with us on a normal basis and Alonzo is used to their ribbing, because I’m pretty sure he’s about ready to kill them from the fire in his eyes.
Before I can change the subject, I hear a shout through the phone. “I got her!” Urso yells excitedly before we can hear him rushing forward and Zeno letting out an angry sound in what I can only assume is him being shoved out of the way. “Her name is Lucy Taylor. Twenty-five, lives in Queens about two blocks away from where they grabbed her. She even looks like Gia and Sienna down to the dark hair and eyes. Fucking De Lucas and their genes.” He makes a sad sound before adding, “Recently widowed. Her husband passed away eight months ago in an accident at his job, and she works at a bookstore also not far from where she lives. Maiden name was…Delgado. One sister, named Kida, age twenty-three. Family is from the mid-west, and they both grew up there until Lucy met her husband and movedto the city for him. Kida only moved about two months ago but moved in with her.”
My heart goes out to her. Fuck, that must be hard to handle, losing your husband and in a city so far away from your family and support system. And now, she’s been taken and is probably scared out of her mind. Not to mention, if she has a sister that lives with her, then she’s probably freaking out trying to find her too. Which could be a problem if she gets the cops involved. “Zeno, find out if the sister has filed a missing person report. If we have to deal with the cops, we need to make sure they’re kept busy elsewhere while we handle this.”
“Already on it,” Zeno mutters absently and grumpily.
“Good. If she did, find out everything you can, and then get Nico to call any of his contacts there to make sure they stay out of our way,” Alonzo says as he makes another turn, tension making his jaw tight and his expression harden.
“Urso will do that,” Zeno assures him. “He’s taken it on himself to be the pain in the ass around here.” I smirk when I hear Urso tell him off. Those two have always been close, but they love to egg each other on as much as possible just because they can. Probably because they’re both the youngest out of the two families.
“We’re getting close to the warehouse. Get any important information to us in the next ten minutes. Make sure that the doctor is there and ready when we get back,” I order.
“I’ll have Sofia ready too,” Urso offers. “This entire situation is probably going to have her freaking out, and maybe having a woman around will help.”
“Good idea,” I agree. My gut churns at the thought of what she’s been subjected to, but I don’t allow myself to dwell on it. We’ll handle whatever it is. “Keep your phones on you and get ready to send back up if we need it.” I hang up and look overat Alonzo. “We might be walking into a trap,” I feel obligated to point out.
Alonzo grunts. “Already considered it. Leave it to me. I’ve got a plan for a distraction. You and Tony just make sure that you find the girl. I can keep them busy for at least fifteen minutes before you’ll have to worry.”
“You think I can find a hidden entrance in fifteen minutes?” I scoff. “I’m good, but I don’t have fucking x-ray vision.”
“Told you the woman and dog would have come in handy,” Tony mutters, but then goes quiet when Alonzo shoots him a look in the rearview mirror.
By the time we reach the road leading to the warehouse, we’re all silent and the tension is thick. We’re only a small group, and we don’t have a lot of time to get this done, but we’ve been through worse. Sure, not on American soil, but it’s no different in my mind.
Get in and get the girl. Simple.
