Amore (65 page)

“They don’t come back with her in a hour, I’m going out there to find her myself.” Giovanni said. He glared at Dominic. “It’s Kei. He took her.”

“We still don’t know—”

“I KNOW!” Giovanni shouted. “I feel it. Every minute that goes by I feel it. We have to find her, Domi. No matter the sacrifice. I’ll do whatever it takes. Do you hear me?”

Dominic looked back at the closed door. He left several men outside of it so no one would be close enough to hear Giovanni’s rants. He nodded. “I’d die for her, Gio. For our family, and every man under you would. But you have to be our leader. Every move you make will be watched and analyzed by friends and enemies. Take a breath and calm down.”

“My Bella. My Bella is out there…” he panted and paced. “My sweet Bella. I’m her husband! She needs me!”

“She needs you strong, and clear headed. And she needs them, Gio. Half of our men are in jail cells. The other half are dead. We’re crippled. We need the clans to unite with us. Now is not the time to divide us.”

Giovanni sat. He looked at his busted hand. “I always tell her to carry her gun. I tell her to keep it with her. She’s so fucking stubborn! She never listens!”

“What if we’re wrong about Santo? He could very well have saved her life.”

“My Bella won’t give up. She’ll fight them all,” Giovanni said.

“And we’ll find her. I promise,” Dominic agreed.

Sunrise—

Mirabella turned over and gagged. She grabbed her throat and her lids flashed open. She was desperate to breathe. It hurt to swallow. She sat up and felt the sheet slip away. Nothing made sense. Her body was achy. It felt as if someone had taken a hammer and beat her across the head, chest, and legs with it.

“Gio?” she looked around. Her vision blurred and then cleared. It made seeing impossible, with flashes of images her brain couldn’t discern. She put a hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. “Gio, where are you?” she asked in a shaky voice.

Nausea hit her and she nearly spewed in her lap. She raced from the bed to the open door. Thankfully it was the bathroom. She went to her knees and hacked up her stomach contents. She hacked so hard she thought she vomited a lung. With teary eyes she pressed the button to flush. Mirabella turned and sat on the cool hardwood floor. She put her face in her hands. And as soon as her breath regulated, her memory returned. Every terrifying moment, including the syringe going into her neck, returned with clarity. She struggled to stand. She grabbed the sink and pulled herself up. She hit the light switch on the wall and looked at herself. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her lips were dry and chapped. A small bandage covered the bruise on her forehead. She turned her neck and saw the bruise on her throat.

“Oh shit,” she said.

She heard the door to the cabin open. Mirabella stepped back and realized she was naked. Naked? She panicked. She looked around and found a towel and covered herself. The door opened. Kei looked inside. He looked her over and then smiled. “Get dressed and come up for breakfast.” He threw a kimono at her. He turned and closed the door.

“You bastard!” she screamed at the door.
Why was she naked?
What happened to her after he poisoned her? The heavy drugged feeling washed out all other emotions. Her body was weakened with trauma, but she didn’t feel the familiar signs of sex. She grabbed some toilet tissue and wiped between her legs. She sniffed the tissue and smelled herself. There was no discharge. But she and Gio had had sex earlier in the limo. She couldn’t tell if she was attacked.
Please, God. Please don’t let him have raped me. Please!

The boat stopped moving. She could feel it. She reached down to pick up the robe. When she held it out in front of her the towel dropped, as did her heart. The black kimono with the red dragon was exactly like the one that was given to her as a gift in Milano. “No. No!” she dropped her head and wept. “Oh my God. Help me please!”

The Return of the Dragon

Marietta woke. She turned over and found she was in bed alone. Lorenzo had failed to deliver on his promise. She wasn’t surprised. Putting her hands to her head, she tried to soothe the ache she felt throbbing in her temples. Her mind refused to release her from her actions.
She shot someone.
She didn’t know how badly the woman was hurt. She couldn’t imagine that her rage would push her that far. What had she done?

There were times when she had suffered deep depressions where she fantasized about ending her life. But that was before she met Lorenzo. Before she found reasons to live. She was scared how far her anger and hurt pushed her. And the worst part of it, she didn’t feel better.

A loud pounding on the door rattled her troubled thoughts. She frowned and sat up. Before she could grant permission for the person to enter, Catalina charged inside. Catalina looked grief stricken.

“What? What is it?” Marietta asked.

Catalina burst into tears. “Mira… she’s missing!” she screamed.

**

“How long before he wakes?” Giovanni asked the doctor.

“I had to put him on a sedative to stitch him up.” The doctor answered.

“What? I told you not to give him anything!” Giovanni shoved the doctor. Lorenzo put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. It wasn’t enough. He felt his nostrils flare and knew his blood pressure skyrocketed. In fact the fever was in his blood. He was sweating and breathing hard. He hadn’t been this sick with fear and anger since the Russians gunned his father down in the street. He couldn’t save his father. He had to suffer days holding his mother and sister’s hands as they waited for him to die.

“Don Giovanni, he has a concussion, maybe even a skull fracture. I don’t think his jaw is broken, possibly dislocated, as his shoulder was. You won’t know for sure until he wakes. Either way he needs a hospital. I’ve done the best I can. There could be internal injuries. I just don’t know.”

“I need him awake. I need information!” Giovanni hissed.

“How long before the sedative wears off?” Lorenzo asked.

The doctor wiped at his brow with his handkerchief. The man’s hand shook. He looked away when he spoke. He was afraid of the answer. And Giovanni’s stomach clenched with dread. Bella had been gone for over nine hours. She could be in China for all he knew.

“Two hours, maybe three. I’m sorry. When he wakes he will be in pain. If he doesn’t get treated for his jaw, you risk problems of him bleeding to death.”

Giovanni turned his gaze to Lorenzo. “I don’t give a shit if he lives or dies, but you get answers out of him.”

“You know I will,” said Lorenzo.

“Gio, we need to talk,” Domi began.

Giovanni threw up his hand in refusal. He turned his gaze back to the doctor. “Benicia? How is he?”

“He’s lost several teeth and has deep cuts to his face and throat, several blood vessels burst in his eyes. He should be fine. He’s asked for you,” The doctor said. The man checked his watch. “I have to return to my clinic.”

The doctor tried to step forward and Giovanni blocked him. “You are going nowhere. Stay with Santo and wait for him to wake. Do whatever you need to do to keep him conscious and giving us answers.”

“I—” The doctor started to object. He looked from Giovanni to Lorenzo, and then to Dominic, and then thought better of leaving.
“Sí, signor. Sí.”

The doctor went back into the room. Giovanni closed his eyes and began to massage his temples.

“I’ve called home and told Catalina. She’ll make sure no one leaves and no one visits,” Dominic said.

“How is Renaldo?” Giovanni asked.

“We found him. He’s alive. I’m sorry, Gio, but his injuries are severe. He made it through surgery. It’s a waiting game for him. I made the call to Kyra and his mother. They are on their way to Napoli.”

“How many dead?” Giovanni asked.

“So far the number is between sixteen and twenty-three. Could be more.” Dominic answered. “Can’t get any number on how many are in jail from our clan or the others. They’re rounding our boys up. That new Chief Inspector is on a witch-hunt. The media is all over this.”

“Bella? Does anyone know?” Giovanni asked.

“So far not a word of it from the press. But they are going through the footage. Her photo was taken so they will know she was there.” Dominic advised.

“I don’t want the
Carabinieri
involved. Those fuckers will get her killed. No one is to know that Bella was kidnapped,” Giovanni paced.

“Good idea. We keep the hounds out of it and we buy more time,” Lorenzo chimed in.

“China? Any way to know if any flights left for China? Out of the private airports in the
Campania
?” Giovanni asked.

“I’ve already put our people on it, Gio. It’ll take time,” Dominic said. “Manifestos are costly.”

“If he took her by sea like Lorenzo said, then he’s out there still,” Giovanni said.

“Why stay?” Lorenzo asked. “If this is the Triad, the best defense is a good offense, Gio. He’d take her back to China.”

“He wants more. He wants revenge. We need to know what Santo knows. That’s how we’ll find her.” Giovanni sighed. “I’m going to see Benicia.”

“Wait!” Dominic put his hand to his chest. “Let’s not strain that relationship further. He’s calm and so is his brother.”

“I don’t give a fuck about straining anything. I need everyone behind me. And whoever isn’t needs to know the consequences.” Giovanni walked down the hall to head to the room where Benicia was being kept. The Vendittos had closed their establishment for the day. The only people allowed in were
la Camorra.
And far as he was concerned he owned all of them.

“Do something,” Dominic said to Lorenzo.

Lorenzo shrugged. “What am I to do? I agree with him. This is Mirabella we’re talking about. If that fucking Chinese cocksucker has her we don’t have much time to play nice. Either you stand with us or get the fuck out of the way.”

Dominic wiped his hand down his face. “We have to talk about—” he looked up into Lorenzo’s piercing stare. “If we don’t find her or if she’s dead, we have to prepare Gio.”

“Don’t say it.” Lorenzo stepped forward. “Don’t even fucking think it. We’ll find her. And we’ll protect him. We’re his brothers.”

With tears in his eyes Dominic nodded that he agreed. “I’m going to try to get those flight plans. I need to do something.” He walked off. He glanced back to see Lorenzo staring. They wouldn’t say it aloud again, but they both knew the bitter truth. If Mirabella dies then it’ll destroy them all.

**

Mira stepped up to the upper deck. It was surrounded by tinted windows, which allowed for sunlight to be cooled before it poured in from every angle. She could see nothing but the ocean all around them. She held her kimono closed at the neck. Her dress was missing. She had no undergarments.

Kei looked up from his breakfast. He sat back in his chair. He reached for the glass of champagne with his iron glove. She convinced herself of what to say and do to survive this. But the moment their eyes met she wanted to attack. She actually looked at the knife next to the plate of food waiting for her, as a good choice of weapon.

“Join me,” he ordered.

She walked over to the chair and pulled it out. She sat down.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Kei—”

“You should eat. You need something on your stomach.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

Kei smiled. “Why? Again with the whys. You act as if you never knew this day would come.”

“I didn’t,” she replied. “Tell me why you would come after me and do this? Drug me? Hurt me? Why?”

He glared at her. “For the past two years I’ve said that word over and over in my head. Why? Why did she betray me? Why did she leave me to die? Why wasn’t my love enough for her? Why? Why? Why?”

“I loved you. You know that. We just… things happened.”

“Things happened, Mirabella? Things?” he chuckled. He picked up his champagne and sipped.

“What happened to you?” she looked at him with genuine concern.

“Now this story I want to tell. Let’s see. I was arrested…”