•
"Via? This you?"
"Hi." She sat up and put on her headset, her heart skipping a beat at the sound of the guy's distinct voice.
It was deep and manly like Théo's, quite intimidating, but Raffaele sounded friendly tonight. To some degree at least.
Or perhaps it was just her feigned optimism making her think so. "Are you in Italy?"
"No. Why?" Raffaele yawned on the other line. "Are you guys in Asia now? Busy touring again?"
"Yeah." So he was still keeping tabs on her. Why? Veronica held her breath and glanced around. She wasn't alone.
Dan and Yanniz sat in the dim backseat of the van with Jay, their manager. They were on their way to the airport after another successful show, but she'd informed her bandmates that she had to meet up with Théo in Italy.
"Just a little emergency," was her excus
• Tuscany, Italy •"See you soon?""Yeah.""I'm serious.""I know." Théo smiled at the pouting brunette standing in front of him. Anastasia already hugged him twice, but it seemed she wasn't done bidding him goodbye. Their dinner with Enzo had been private but rather fun, even though it didn't even take an hour. "I wish you and Via could drop by during the reception at least.""We'll see." Théo put on a quick grin. "I have work commitments that month, like I said. And her band's gonna be busy touring till next year, so..."Ana sighed. "Okay." Her lean shoulders drooped."I'll tell her you said hi.""Only if...she's in a really good mood." She made a face, seeming bothered by the thought. Her bodyguard stayed close to her and kept glancing around while holding the car door for her.Behind the guy stood Enzo, her brother's best friend and business partner.
•The overt warnings didn't scare him. It only worsened his curiosity, naturally, but it didn't make him piss his pants in utter fear. He wasn't scared of overprivileged assholes like Leandro Tomassini constantly parading their ill-gotten wealth and acting like they could buy off everyone and get whatever they wanted with little to no effort. Théo walked out of the parking lot, alone and restless, thinking of what to do next.The solitude and silence of the night gave him some privacy to deal with his convoluted thoughts.The more sensible side of his brain was telling him to cut and run before the scum could catch up and find him. But the vengeful idealist in him didn't want to cower out of this crime-infested country without putting up a fight.Like Enzo said, it would be in his best interest if he flew out of Italy the soonest possible, with no intention of ever coming back. Enzo didn'
•It didn't take another day for him to get a taste of the cruel mobster's wrath. A little after sunrise, Leandro Tomassini arrived at the scene with another bunch of gun-toting goons. No masks this time. Like they couldn't care less that it would make it way too easy for him to identify them in a police line-up. Stupid pricks.Wearing a tailored three-piece suit as dark as his soulless eyes, Leandro walked right in with a gun strapped to his hip, his jaw-length hair all damp and shiny, like he just finished his morning shower.With his pricey-looking leather shoes and immaculate outfit, the asshole looked seriously ready for a board meeting instead of a spur-of-the-moment drop-by in a well-disguised torture chamber. The place didn't quite resemble an old dungeon, though.Théo squinted at their surroundings. Damp and cold walls. Decrepit building. Rusty, old machinery and he
• Italy • When her long night turned into a new dawn full of impatience, hours of waiting and anxious thoughts, Veronica now felt like the odds were going against her. The situation was getting more complicated by the hour, to her frustration. Or it could just be her deteriorating peace of mind. She reclined in the backseat, sulking in the darkness, the view outside the windows only consisting of wet pavement and some lights. The airport didn't look so busy at this hour. Commercial planes, shuttle buses, and private jets continued to come and go around them. The heavily tinted windows and locked doors muted most of the noises outside, though. Knowing her current companion's family background, she would bet the private plane they used and even this vehicle were bulletproof all over. Just perks of being the firstborn from a wealthy
• Information. It was pretty much all he came here for. Intelligence. As much as he could get. As in-depth as possible. More intel on the Tomassinis and Valtieris, preferably. It was what he needed to complete his last mission. Finish what he started. This shitshow needed to end. These billionaire crooks should be stopped. Concede to the fact that they weren't above the law. That having money and power did not always wipe out accountability. If that required getting martyred for an assignment he wasn't even part of anymore, so be it. At least his mother would know he did his best to finish the job. That he wasn't a failure. Or a coward. Then Veronica and his family would know that he didn't die for nothing. That he did this for a good cause. That he only came here to try to put an end to it. To help put evil people in
• Stay out of Tuscany? No way. No freakin' way. They were so close. Perhaps just miles away. Théo could be stuck somewhere near, just patiently waiting for them to find him. Thank heavens for his mother. Claudia was doing her best to find her son. She must be feeling the same, convinced that Théo got into serious trouble again. But leave Tuscany now and just hope for the best? Veronica couldn't help but frown while she stared at the text. "So? You want us to drop you off a hotel? Via." "We can't just leave." She glanced at Raffaele. "He can't be that far. We gotta find him now." Veronica sighed, torn between the safe thing to do and what her heart dictated. She wanted to take heed of Claudia's advice, but she didn't want to leave and stay out of Italy, just waiting for news to surface. They were already so close. Anastasia had already
•About half an hour of begging and tears eventually granted her wish. Raffaele obviously hated to say yes to her request, but he gave in when she didn't stop pleading for him to take her to Castiglione.Such an impulsive decision on her part—a choice that might put her life in serious danger, but she just couldn't stay behind. Wait. Do nothing. No thanks. She had to be there. See Théo with her own eyes.This would be the last time she would be risking her own safety for him. Seriously. The last time. Her mother didn't even know she was back here in Italy, begging for help from strangers just to find her ex. Raffaele didn't treat her like a stranger, though. For the past 24 hours, he had been indulging her, consoling her, helping her to the best of his ability as though they were old friends.Did it mean he already forgave Théo? F
• "Aya! Don't even... Argh! Cazzo!" "No, Aya!" Veronica could only stand and watch as Raffaele ran after his pregnant girlfriend. He rushed out of the SUV the second Alodia started running for the tall gates. They were wide open, almost too tempting to ignore, which eventually convinced Alodia to step into the property amid the ongoing standoff. "Please don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Alodia kept screaming as her tears ran down her pale cheeks. "He's... He's not himself! Please! I'm begging you. Don't shoot him!" She was all eyes on Leandro while begging for the authorities to spare the guy's life. Before she could even reach the parking lot surrounded by Italian cops and their heavily armed tactical team, two taller guys clasped her arms, effortlessly holding her back, keeping her stuck and sobbing beside a police car. Raffaele didn't get that far. Three cops blocked his way before h