Luca's pov
"A week, Luca. That's how long you're required to rest." Dominic nagged even as he helped me sit up like I ordered him to.
"When did you say Grigori was arriving?" I threw at Dominic, ignoring his previous statement. My mind was occupied with thoughts of Cara and what new discoveries Grigori made that had him sounding so out of breath when we spoke on the phone earlier.
I couldn't wait to hear what he had for me.
It's been four days since I woke up from my cursed coma. And Dominic and Alfonso have been on my neck about how fast I was taking things. I knew they were only worried about me but it annoyed me nonetheless.
Cara's been out in the wild with no protection, it killed me more not knowing where she was and if she was safe. Demanding answers from her friend hadn't helped, Diana had sworn she had no idea and from the scared and worried look she had, I could tell she was telling the truth.
Cara told nobody where she was going.
Dominic assisted me as I slowly slipped into the loose dress shirt my sister had fetched from my wardrobe earlier on. Save for the thick gauze wrapped around my midsection, I've been shirtless for days. A short stab of pain coursed through as I pulled an arm back to adjust the shirt and I cursed.
Alexei is a dead man when I catch him.
Dominic sighed before responding. "In ten."
Slowly, I rose to my feet, holding the bedframe for support. Even breathing hurt, but it wasn't the physical pain that gnawed at me. It was the simmering panic Cara's disappearance caused. "I'd meet him in my office."
Dominic rubbed the back of his neck with his good hand. "Why don't you let me take care of everything; focus on recovering?"
I shook my head, "No. Cara is my business alone." I couldn't trust anyone other than myself to bring her back safely. Especially when no one did a thing when she left.
I dragged myself to my office, refusing to let Dominic assist me or hold the wall for support. I was shot in my midriff, not my goddamn legs. I could fucking walk.
It came as a surprise to find Grigori already waiting in my office, his eyes alight with that excitement he got whenever he found something really big. Yet, there was this seriousness to the rest of his features, his mouth a straight line. He had brought news and whatever it was, wasn't good.
"Glad to see you alive and well, boss." He said, giving me the once-over and allowing himself a soft smile.
I acknowledged him with a nod. "Thank you, Grigori." Jumping right into business, I said, "So did you find Cara."
Grigori scratched his nose, adjusted his gold rimmed glasses and hurried over to the clusters of sofas.
Dominic and I followed after him, watching in curiosity as the investigator clumsily pulled out a slim folder from his bag. It's been a while since I've seen him this animated and my agitation heightened.
I carefully drop into one of the sofas which was pointless because my wound still hurt anyway. I ignored the sting, reminding myself it was fine as long as it doesn't rip open. I definitely do not want to wait around for a new set of stitches to heal.
Grigori sat across from me, his earlier excitement now gone from his eyes, leaving them focused and steely, a stark contrast to my current state of agitation.
"What did you find?" I asked, my voice gruff from days of restless nights and unanswered questions. "Did you find Cara?"
Grigori shook his head slowly, a shadow passing over his face. "No. The Signoria is still missing, but I've got something else. Something bigger." He reached into his folder pushed a couple of photos across the table.
My eyes narrowed and I reached for them at once. The first one contained a series of photos and with every new flip, my blood grew hotter. My gaze snapped back to Grigori. "What's this?"
He said nothing. And he didn't need to, the photos were enough answers. Something burned violently inside me and no, it wasn't my gun wound but a rising fire of fury. My jaw tightened as I stared at the images of a familiar figure lurking near Cara's condo building.
"I've been looking into it for months now. I thought I recognized him, but he's always been good at staying off-grid. Until now," Grigori said, his voice low, deadly serious. "That's Cara's abuser. He's been keeping tabs on her, lurking around her condo, watching her."
The photo in my hold wrinkled as I clenched my hands into fists, rage boiling inside me.
Diego.
Cara's abuser was none other than the man she called brother.
The man she had grown up with, a man who'd found it easy to subject her to years and years of abuse. The man who had made her life a living hell before I ever laid eyes on her. My heart pounded and I thought of my woman, alone, unaware that the man who had tormented her was still out there, waiting.
I flinged the photos back on the table and jumped to my feet, not caring the pain that shot up my torso.
"Isn't this…" Dominic's question went uncompleted, his eyes widening as he glared at the photos I'd discarded. "What the fuck?!"
I paced the length of the mediumly large office, wincing with every step. My side ached from the strain, a sign to take it easy but I couldn't stay still. The information Grigori had just dropped on me had my blood boiling hotter than the pain could register.
I no longer cared about my stitches ripping at this point.
"Diego…" my jaw ground with the cursed name. I clenched my fists harder, the image of Cara's abuser suddenly clear in my mind. Diego, the man I'd been looking for all this time, the one responsible for breaking the woman I love, was now within reach.
"Where is he now?" My voice was low, dangerously calm. It was the kind of calm that threatened an explosion.
Grigori cleared his throat. "He's off-grid. Disappeared again after those photos were taken. I suspect he knows he's being watched. My men can't track him, and I've tried every lead."
I slammed my fist into the wall, the sharp sting in his ribs doing nothing to quell my fury. Diego was going after Cara. I know he was. A man like him would use her to protect himself.
"He might be going after her." Dominic echoed my thoughts. "How are we going to find him before he gets to her?"
His question left me bitter. We still have no idea where Cara was and our one trail-Diego, has disappeared. Dispatching bounty hunters after him would only consume more time and give Alexei the distraction he needs to get away–
I froze, in thought and in body, something tugging at the back of my mind. A memory…
The watch.
I whirled around and matched back to the sofas, my pulse drumming with new found adrenaline.
"There's a way." I sounded breathless, hopeful.
Grigori and Dominic shared confused looks and Dominic asked on their behalf. "What way?"
"Where's my phone?" I asked, impatient. "Get someone to fetch my phone."
Dominic reached into his pocket and dialled someone. A few minutes later, one of my men, walked in with my badly cracked phone. Thankfully, it still worked.
Joy permeated my chest when I opened the tracking app connected to the watch I'd bought Cara months ago and found the location pin blinking.
She was on the move.
"I'll find her," I said, my voice suddenly cold and calculated. I didn't elaborate, didn't mention the tracker, just gave both men a solid look.
Dominic raised a brow but didn't press the issue. "You're sure?"
"I'm sure," I replied, already formulating a plan. "Stay on Diego. As soon as you get a lead, you let me know."
Grigori nodded, though his eyes were skeptical. "We'd start one from where he was seen last."
I glanced down at the map on my broken screen, the location pin fuzzy between the cracks. "Ready enough men, we need to get to her before anyone does." I hadn't forgotten about Alexei being after Cara as well. "We leave in twenty minutes."
Dominic rose to his feet and rather too enthusiastically. "Yes, boss."
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room, more hurriedly than I expected him to have. Earlier, he'd seemed fine with Cara's disappearance, relieved even. It made me wonder where the new found regard for her had come from. I didn't think it was because of what we learned about Diego, a cold bastard like my friend still wouldn't have cared. Except, he felt responsible in some way-guilty.
My brows furrowed.
"Do you want me to simultaneously look around for Alexei as well?" Grigori piped, putting a halt to my thoughts.
I shook my head. Finding Cara-protecting her-was all that mattered now. "Save that for later, just focus on finding Diego."
And if the bastard was foolish enough to try anything, I was going to worsen the hell I plan on putting him in. I will make sure the man regretted every second he'd spent breathing.
I swear it on my late father's memory.