Chapter 6 - DARKNESS
Emergency lights should have activated instantly.
They did not.
The Rossi mansion disappeared into darkness.
Nico drew his weapon.
“Stay here.”
Lorenzo was already moving.
“Leo.”
Hunter ran beside him.
They reached the third-floor stairs as an alarm finally screamed through the house.
Red emergency lamps blinked on.
Hunter rushed into the nursery.
The crib was empty.
For one second she could not understand what she was seeing.
Then she screamed.
“Leo!”
Dr. Halloran lay on the floor beside the crib.
Alive.
Disoriented.
Nico knelt beside him.
“What happened?”
Halloran touched the back of his head.
“Someone came in.”
“Who?”
“I didn’t see.”
Hunter looked at Lorenzo.
His face had turned white.
Not angry.
Terrified.
A guard shouted from the hall.
“Movement at the east service exit.”
Lorenzo ran.
Hunter followed.
“Stay upstairs.”
“No.”
“Hunter.”
“He needs to eat.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
That ended the argument.
They reached the east wing.
One security camera had survived the outage.
Nico pulled the feed onto his phone.
A figure in medical scrubs pushed a covered bassinet toward the service elevator.
Hunter leaned closer.
“Celia.”
Lorenzo's expression sharpened.
“But she was locked downstairs.”
Nico checked his radio.
“Someone let her out.”
The elevator opened on the garage level.
By the time Lorenzo's men arrived, the bassinet sat abandoned beside a black SUV.
Leo was gone.
Hunter touched the empty blanket.
It was still warm.
Her knees weakened.
Lorenzo caught her arm.
She looked at him.
“They took him.”
His voice became terrifyingly calm.
“I know.”
A phone rang.
Lorenzo looked down.
Sophia’s old number appeared on his screen.
Everyone froze.
He answered.
Dante spoke.
“Cousin.”
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
Dante continued.
“You should have left dead women alone.”
“Where is my son?”
“Alive.”
Hunter stepped closer.
“Let me hear him.”
A pause.
Dante laughed.
“So she’s with you.”
Hunter's skin crawled.
Then a weak cry came through the phone.
Leo.
Hunter pressed both hands over her mouth.
“He needs me.”
Dante replied.
“He needs to survive another hour.”
Lorenzo's voice dropped.
“If you touch him—”
“What?”
Dante interrupted.
“You'll kill me?”
“You’ve been doing that for twenty years, Lorenzo.”
“You just usually let someone else pull the trigger.”
Lorenzo went silent.
Dante continued.
“Boathouse.”
“Come alone.”
“No Nico.”
“No doctor.”
“No army.”
“Bring Sophia's memory card.”
Lorenzo looked at Nico.
Dante added one more thing.
“And bring Hunter.”
“No.”
Dante laughed again.
“She opened the box.”
“She comes.”
The line disconnected.
Hunter looked at Lorenzo.
“I’m going.”
“No.”
“You heard him.”
“I heard him ask for something he won’t get.”
“If Leo needs to feed—”
“I will get my son.”
Hunter stepped directly in front of him.
“You spent two months solving pain with guns.”
Lorenzo stared at her.
“How did that work?”
Nico looked away.
Hunter's voice trembled.
“You killed the people you thought took Sophia.”
“You still didn't get her back.”
“Now someone has Leo.”
“If you go down there planning only to kill Dante, you may lose your son too.”
Lorenzo's jaw clenched.
“What are you asking me to do?”
“Think like a father.”
“Not a boss.”
The words struck him.
Hunter held his gaze.
“Leo doesn't need revenge.”
“He needs you to bring him home.”
Lorenzo looked toward the dark windows.
Beyond them, waves crashed against the cliffs.
The boathouse stood nearly half a mile below the mansion.
Finally, Lorenzo turned to Nico.
“Can you get men there unseen?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
“We have seven.”
Nico nodded.
Lorenzo looked at Hunter.
“You stay behind me.”
“No heroics.”
“You’re saying that to me?”
“Yes.”
“You aimed a gun at me six hours ago.”
“And I missed.”
“You didn't fire.”
“That’s why I missed.”
Despite everything, Hunter almost smiled.
Then another weak cry echoed from Lorenzo's phone.
The smile vanished.
May you like
They headed for the boathouse.
Neither of them noticed Tommy Vance slipping out of the unlocked guest room behind them.
