But I can’t tell her that.
She can never find out who I really am.
Kristina would never believe that my true intentions are to slay the devil.
She’d only see me as his pawn, the one who gained her trust and then betrayed her before shoving her straight into the flames.
Her bright green eyes darken, a flicker of surprise glimmering in the depths.
She wants to ask the questions I know I can’t answer honestly.
What about me?
How do I fit into her life?
How does she fit into mine?
Do we fit at all?
“Massimo,” she says softly. “I need help and I don’t know who to believe here. Can you ever—?”
My cell phone buzzes on the bed next to me and I grab it, staring at the screen.
Quinn.
I stab the Accept button, thankful that he interrupted Kristina’s next words. “Yeah, Q? What’s going on?”
A sputtering cough fills my ear and I shoot up from the mattress, sitting straight up. “Q?” I say again.
“Mas,” he gasps. “It’s Sofia. She’s gone.”
Chapter Thirty-One
KRISTINA
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘she’s gone?’” Massimo yells, a vein in his forehead throbbing. His face floods with a deep red color, his fist clenched tight around the phone. “Where did she go?”
“Who’s gone?” I shout, grabbing the phone from his hand and stabbing the speaker button. “Quinn! What happened to my sisters?”
“It’s Sofia. She was walking out of the school with some dorky kid. Two guys showed up behind them, pounded the shit out of the kid and snatched Sofia. I jumped out of the car with my gun and ran to them but there was a third guy behind me. Knocked me out with Christ only knows what.” He coughs again, wheezing slightly. “They snatched her before I could get to my feet. They dumped her in the trunk of some blacked-out SUV and took off.”
“Oh my God!” Kristina shrieks, jumping out of the bed. “What about the license plate? Did you get anything?”
“No,” Quinn mutters. “It was covered.”
Massimo’s forehead creases as he rakes a hand through his hair. “Quinn, how the fuck could you have let this happen? Again? Are you ever gonna learn to keep your fucking eyes open?”
“Hey, I just got my ass kicked doing a favor for you, Mas. Don’t give me a goddamn lecture.” He coughs again. “I’m gonna grab Maria and get her back to the house. The kid Sofia was with is gonna help me find her. Some guy named Wade. Says you know him.”
“Yeah,” Massimo says in a tight voice. “Do me a favor and check the house out first, will ya?” Massimo’s jaw tightens and he tugs the bedsheet so tight, he almost tears through the fabric. “Make sure nobody is there waiting for you.”
“I’m gonna see if the school has any security footage out front that we can use.” He pauses. “Kristina, I’m really sorry. And I’ll do whatever I can to help get her back.”
I clutch my heart, a sharp pain exploding down my left arm. A few deep breaths does nothing to slow the hammering beat against my ribcage, and I know I am on the verge of having a panic attack.
But that’s not going to help me find Sofia.
I pull on my leggings and my sweatshirt, a sob rising in my throat.
I have to be strong, dammit.
I cannot crumble. Not now. Not when my sisters need me.
I dial Maria’s number, my fingers shaking over the screen. She answers in a whisper after a couple of rings.
“Kristi? Are you okay?”
“Sweetie, I’m in the city, but we just got a call from Quinn. He’s coming to find you in the school. Sofia was taken from the campus a little while ago,” I say, trying to keep my voice from quivering. “Have you heard from her at all?”
“No,” she cries. “Oh my God, who could have done this? Why didn’t Quinn stop them? Isn’t that why he’s here?”
“Yes,” I snap, glaring at Massimo. “It is. And they evidently beat him enough with a baseball bat to get her into the trunk of some car.”
“What are we going to do?” My heart clenches when I hear the sob burst from her chest and I’m not there to wrap my arms around her to tell her everything will be okay because I’m here with Massimo getting fucked six ways from Sunday after opening her up to a brand-new threat.
“We’re going to find her, Maria. And I am going to put an end to this nightmare. I promise. I am going to find the people who are terrorizing us and take care of them myself.”
“Okay,” she says, sniffling. “I’m going to call Sofia. Maybe she can get to her phone.”
“No, don’t,” I say. “Because if she tries to answer and they catch her, they might hurt her.”
“Right, right,” she murmurs. “I’m so scared, Kristi. When will you be back?”
“I’m leaving right now,” I say, nodding at Massimo who is just slipping his feet into his sneakers. “Quinn is going to get you and take you home.”
“Is that such a great idea since he let Sofia get away?”
I grit my teeth. “He’s all we have right now.”
“What about Uncle Frank? Should I call him?”
I tap my fingertips on the phone. He’d be pissed off that I called in yet another bodyguard for my sisters before coming to him, but it’s still better to have an angry uncle in the wings as opposed to nobody.
“No, I’ll call. You keep your phone close. I’ll talk to you soon.” I pause. “I love you so much, sweetie. I promise this will be over soon.”
“I love you too.”
Tears sting my eyes and I click to end the call, all of the anger knotted in my chest erupting fast and furious, spewing out of me like I’m Old Faithful. “How the fuck could he have missed those guys coming, Massimo? I thought he was supposed to be the guy you trusted your life with?”
He rubs the back of his head. “Look, I know you’re upset, but—”
“But what? Because your guy couldn’t defend himself, my sister got kidnapped. This was your guy. And he failed miserably!”
“It was a dumbass move to keep his gun in the car,” he mumbles.
“Oh, you think?” I snap. “God only knows who took her and what they’re doing to her. And even if security can get a look at the car and the faces, there’s no license plate to trace. How are we going to find her? The school isn’t the fucking FBI.” I pace the hallway. “We need to get back to Syosset as soon as possible. I’m calling my uncle.”
He rolls his eyes. “And you think he’s doing a better job of protecting Maria?”
“Well, it seems as though your ineffective buddy Quinn needs some backup, too. And having my uncle around is better than risking my other sister getting snatched.”
We leave the apartment and take the elevator down to the basement level, running over to Massimo’s truck. I was dancing on clouds only ten minutes earlier, and now my insides feel as if they are being shredded with rusty nails.
One…two…three…