He was my drug, my addiction and I needed another hit.
“Yeah.” I sprang up and followed him out the door. I clutched my phone in my hand as I shrugged my jacket on.
We hopped in the car and I vowed to pay attention from there on out. I knew I would have plenty of time to talk to Nikolai later that night. But I only had so much time shadowing my dad and I needed to be present, I needed to focus.
This was the important stuff, part of the reason I was there. It was even possible that I got some of the answers I’d been hoping for, so I needed to keep a sharp eye.
“First up, we have a meeting with Cassio and Marco. Just like you, Marco is shadowing Cassio - but of course, he’s been doing that for years. After that, I’ve got some paperwork at the office that I need to go through. Then we have a few hotspots to check on, routine stuff which we can do on the way home.”
Well, shit.
He signaled and turned onto the main street. I stayed silent as he continued talking but a thrill went through me at discovering we’d be meeting with Cassio and Marco. The closer I could get to them the better, and I supposed it was also the most dangerous place to be. For me, anyway.
When a member of the Bellucci puts out an order to kidnap a child, it’d be ludicrous to assume that they wouldn’t do the same for an adult. I knew when I came here that the person that took me away could very well try to do it again, or I could’ve been worrying for nothing. With so much time having passed, maybe they’d died, maybe they’d moved on. They could possibly not care about my return at all.
Instead of thinking it through, I’d known that I didn’t have a choice. I had to be here, I had to find out who put the target on my head. If it came to it, I would have to find a way to silence them. I would not risk losing Nikolai, or any of his brothers, because someone was after me. Nor would I spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.
But I needed to know who it was. And then I would decide how I would destroy them.
If curiosity killed the cat, I could understand why the cat didn’t back down. The need for answers consumed me.
I was delightfully surprised when Kaleb pulled into a parking spot on the main street, right outside of a classic Italian cafe. My stomach churned as I thought of food. Lunchtime was rapidly approaching and my body was all too aware of that. I tried not to get my hopes up as we climbed out of the car after all a lunch break was not mentioned on Kaleb’s itinerary.
As we approached the cafe, Kaleb handed me his day planner and a smart black notebook. “I want you to take notes today,” he said curtly. “We’re not here to eat, we have a meeting.”
Kaleb headed into the cafe first, holding the door open for me to step inside. He walked directly to a small table where Cassio and Marco sat.
Both men stood as we approached and the four of us exchanged pleasantries. Marco even leant over to kiss my cheek. I was surprised but didn’t back away. I’m sure it was just for show but again I wondered if he was actually buying the bullshit that I had been selling. Who knew maybe deep down he did have a sweet side.
As the thought entered my mind, Marco smirked and threw a wink my way. Nope, first impression was right, and it made me want to get the hand sanitizer out. He finally moved away, back to his seat but his expensive cologne lingered in the air as he sat back down.
On the table, there was a pitcher of ice water and two baskets of bread. Cassio’s glass was nearly empty, so I took the chance to top up all our glasses. I sipped at the water for a second as Kaleb joked with Cassio over something I couldn’t decipher. I felt my stomach rumble as I looked longingly to the bread. I clasped my hands tightly together in my lap to keep from reaching out for a slice.
“Thank you dear,” Kaleb said, finally noticing the glass of water in front of him.
He looked pointedly at the notebook that rested on the table in front of me, I took that as a hint that the ‘meeting’ was about to begin. As they talked about shipping charges and moving their cargo, I took notes. There were a few things that I’d picked up on while shadowing Kaleb and Rachel that I managed to link to what they were saying, but most of it just went in one ear and straight onto the paper. Across from me, Marco mirrored my image, pen in hand taking leisurely notes in a neat but blocky print.
I still couldn’t understand what taking notes about shipping and suppliers was going to teach me. Most of what they said was common sense anyway, it wasn’t like being a criminal was hard.
I looked over the table at Cassio as he clicked his fingers at Marco. His son produced a large envelope. Cassio slid the cream colored envelope across the table to Kaleb and I stole a glimpse at the writing on the front. The exact same writing as the elegant cursive on the front of the envelope I had received.
Fuck!
I resisted making any sudden movements. Everything inside of me screamed at me to run, fight, yell — do something! My hands began to
