He listens again. “Have the chopper ready.”
Lombardi coughs, it’s loud and rumbly, deep from his chest. Carlo’s eyes rise to him and he walks over and gently hits Lombardi on the back to help him get his breath. An intimate act that depicts their closeness.
Lombardi is dying.
He keeps coughing, struggling to regain control, and Carlo takes the cigar from him and puts it down in the ashtray as he talks on the phone.
“Have a nurse on the chopper,” he says calmly, he pats Lombardi’s pockets and pulls out a bottle of pills, he takes two and passes them to Lombardi who swallows them whole.
Fuck.
Lombardi really doesn’t have long.
He has nothing to lose, that makes him more dangerous than ever.
“I’ll be going ahead with stage three.” He smiles darkly as he listens. “I will, don’t worry.” He listens again. “I’ll call you when it’s done.” He hangs up.
Stage three? What’s stage three?
I watch him, I’ve never felt so betrayed.
Anna.
Dear God, Anna.
The gorgeous man who Anna loves…is pure evil.
Carlo kisses Lombardi on both cheeks. “You are in safe hands; another team will be here soon. I’ll be back when it is done.”
“When what is done?” I ask as my eyes flick between them.
Carlo’s cold eyes meet mine and he smiles darkly. “My first task as the Lombardi leader.”
What’s that?
My eyes search his.
He walks up close, leans down, puts his mouth to my ear and whispers, “I’m going to kill your beloved Giuliano.” He grabs my face and licks it. “Now, while he trusts me.”
Oh no….
Giuliano does trust him.
I struggle in my chair to get away but I’m tied in place. “No,” I cry. “You can’t. Please. Don’t touch him.”
He gives a nod to the other men and then walks toward the door.
“What about Anna?” I cry. “She loves you. How could you do this to her?” His step falters and I know I just hit a nerve.
Maybe the only nerve of decency that he has left. Still facing the door, he says, “I’ll be back for Anna.”
His silhouette blurs.
“I look after mine,” he replies coldly before walking out the door, it slams behind him with a bang.
Giuliano
I look around the mountaintop, searching for an answer.
“What the fuck is going on?” Alex cries as he looks around in horror. “Bruno.” He drops to his knees to check for a pulse.
Our other guards walk around, guns drawn as they search.
The snow is coming down and while Valentino weeps over the body of his girl, I know I don’t have much time to work out what went on here. Falling snow is about to cover everything. My eyes skim over the surface of the mountain in search of clues.
Footprints.
There are a group, they were standing here.
I look over to where Bruno and Giovanna lie, this is where they stood when they shot them. There is a large dent in the snow with blood, as if someone was hit and knocked over. I study the size and shape of the hole in the snow.
Francesca.
From there, I can see there was a struggle, she put up a fight as she was dragged up the hill. I survey the whole area, six sets of footprints in total.
I look out over the snow-covered mountain and then follow the footsteps up and over the mountain. There I find the chopper rail marks, there is no snow on the trees around here, the chopper blades have blown it all off. I get a vision of the horror that went down here.
Francesca.
I run back to Valentino. “We have to find phone service.”
“I’m not leaving her here,” he cries. “This is all my fault.”
My heart breaks for him. “You stay with her. I’ll send someone.” I turn to the guards. “Stay here with him.”
“But you….”
“He needs you more. They’re gone. I’m safe,” I yell, I turn and begin to run down the mountain.
I slip and slide and somersault and fuck me…I hate fucking snow.
I roll my ankle and near knock myself out. I have to zigzag down the mountain, it’s too slippery to go the quickest route.
Why the fuck didn’t I go skiing with her?
My hands are burning from the ice…and why the fuck aren’t I wearing gloves?
I slip again and fall hard and flat on my ass. I try to get up and fall again, I try again and fall even harder.
Fuck!
I pant as I lie in the ice.
What the hell are these stupid fucking shoes I’m wearing?
On my hands and knees, I crawl down the mountain, every second longer I take I know that Francesca is more at risk.
I hear screaming and I look up to see Alex trying to follow me and being absolutely smashed as he somersaults out of control down the mountain. He crashes at high speed into a tree.
This can’t be fucking happening.
I finally get to the bottom and run into the hotel to see Lorenzo in the foyer, his face falls when he sees me. “What’s happened?” he cries.
I’m panting, gasping for air, and I point to the top of the mountain. “Call for backup. We…need….”
“What’s happened?” he cries again.
“Lombardi has Francesca.” I put my hands on my hips to try to catch my breath, I can’t even speak. “And Carlo…took them in a chopper.”
I put my hands on my knees, fuck, I’m about to have a heart attack.
“Where’s Val and Alex?”
I point up the hill. “Giovanna is dead and Bruno too,” I pant. “And probably Alex has now fallen to his death in the snow on the way down as well.”
“Oh, dear God,” he cries, he takes out his phone and dials. “We need help. Shit’s gone down.”
Far, far away on a Caribbean Island.
Enrico
I sit on the deck and watch my family.
Olivia and our five children are walking along the beach with our dog.
We’ve been here on our island in paradise for ten years now, it’s been the happiest time of my life.
I’ve given my children something that I never had. Something that I never knew I was missing.
My undivided attention.
We have two sons and three daughters, and Olivia is my queen.
I never knew that love could be like this, not until I met her. I wanted to give her more from life than being in a Mafia family in Italy. She deserved more.
My phone beeps, notifying me of a text, and I get up to check, it’s from Lorenzo.
Francesca has been kidnapped
I pick up the phone and dial his number.
“Hello.”
“What’s going on?”
“Lombardi has Francesca.”
“How?”
“We are in Switzerland, she and Giuliano were getting married on Christmas Eve. She was skiing and a chopper landed and killed her guard and Valentino’s girl.”
I close my eyes, the horrific scene playing out in my head. “Fuck.”
“I have to go, I’ll keep you posted.” He hangs up and I walk into my office and turn my computer on. I drop into my seat and with my heart hammering in my chest I do something I have never done before.
I click on the program and hit,
Activate Satellite
I wait, the program zooms out and a map of the world comes up.
“Please work.” I close my eyes and say a prayer.
When our father died, I put a microchip in a diamond necklace and gave it to Francesca in the instance that something like this ever happened.
“Please still be wearing it.” I close my eyes, if this doesn’t work…. “Please, please, please.”
A red light comes up with a beep that sounds like a heartbeat. I watch it flash as it comes to life.
I zoom in on the picture and lean into my computer screen as I concentrate.
Switzerland
“Bingo.” I sit back in my chair. “Got her.”
Enrico
“No,” Olivia snaps. “You’re not going.”
I glance up from the suitcase that I’m packing. “I wasn’t asking for your permission.” I walk into the bathroom and retrieve and then throw my toiletries bag into the suitcase as it lies open on the bed. “I’ll be gone three days…tops.”
“You left that life behind for a reason,” she snaps. “What are you going to do?” She throws her hands up in the air in disgust. “They have a million fucking guards at Ferrara, Enrico. If they couldn’t keep her safe, what in the hell makes you think that you can?”
I throw my shoes into the suitcase with force. “Don’t.”
“Don’t?” she cries. “Don’t?” She puts her hands on her hips. “Don’t you dare don’t me!”
I grab her by the arms. “Listen to me. Francesca is my baby sister and I left her there unguarded.”
“She has guards,” she spits.
“None that can watch her like I do,” I growl.
“So…you’re going to put yourself in danger to try and save her?”
“I have to try.”
“What about your children, Rico. Who will guard them if you die?” Her voice cracks, betraying her hurt. “I have not lived here hidden away for ten years for you to risk your life at the first thing that goes wrong back home.”
I throw a stack of shirts into the suitcase.
“She is my sister.”
“They have a leader, Giuliano. Let him do his job.” She begins to pace, her hand on her forehead as she processes what I’m about to do.
“He is too close to her to be of any use.”
Her eyes nearly bulge from their sockets. “And you’re not?” she screams.
“I’m just going to Milan to help strategize.” I throw in a pile of pants, I go to my drawer and grab a stack of boxers and socks, I throw them in too. “I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
“Going home is stupid!” she cries. “I don’t want you to go. You’re not going!”
I zip up my suitcase. “You have no choice.”
Her eyes well with tears as she stares at me. “Please,” she whispers. “Don’t do this.”
I pull my suitcase off the bed and stand it up. “I have to.”
Her face screws up in tears and she turns her back to me, she crosses her arms, she walks over to the window and looks out and watches the children as they play downstairs in the yard.
I walk up behind her and put my hand on her shoulder and she flicks it off.
“I love you…” I whisper as I stand behind her.
Silence.
“Olivia….”
Silence.