Chapter 98

Marabella’s POV

It’s only been twenty minutes since Luca jumped out of bed, got dressed and raced to the docs. My heart and head will not settle as I pace the kitchenette. “Bella, you mustn’t fret, Luca always sorts it out”, Ma said, as she rinsed some dishes to place in the dishwasher. It wasn’t that easy though. Luca has gone out before on dangerous expeditions, but something about this doesn’t feel right.

The doorbell rang, making both ma and I jump. As I walked to the front door, I heard an unfamiliar voice speaking. “Mr. Barello called and asked that I come and take a gander at building something”, the man said. As I rounded Rex, an older gentleman stood at the door.

His white hair stood out, even in the night. “Oh, Mr. Beasley, it is so good to see you”, Ma chimed, as she walked into the foyer. “Mrs. Barello, what a pleasure to see you again”, Mr. Beasley greeted. “What does my son have you out here to build now?”, Ma asked, taking the man by his arm and leading him towards the kitchen.

“Well, I am not quite sure. You know how your son is, he waits until I am present to inform me of his newest crazy idea”, Mr. Beasley chuckled. “Of course”, Ma laughed. “I have the blueprints for you actually. Unfortunately my husband is not here at the moment, but I can get you started. If you’ll just give me one moment, I will join you in the kitchen”, I said, holding my head high.

“I was unaware that Mr. Barello got married”, he said stunned. “Oh yes, you will love Bella. She is the absolute sweetest”, Ma said. “Mara”, I corrected, “My apologies only Ma can call me Bella”, I smiled. “Fair enough”, he nodded, allowing ma to lead him into the kitchen.

I turned towards Rex, all playfulness wiped from my face. “Get me an update on Luca, Now”, I growled. “Yes ma’am”, he nodded, turning and taking off out of the house. I don’t know where he is going, but I don’t care as long as he brings me back some information on Luca. Telling me whether he is safe or not. That’s all I am worried about right now.

I walked into the kitchen where ma, and Mr. Beasley are talking, catching up with one another. “Bella, tell us what it is that Luca wants built, please. The suspense is killing us”, Ma said, pouring three cups of coffee. I smiled brightly at ma. She has no idea that I finished the blueprints for her garden and she is going to be so excited.

I pulled my laptop closer to Mr. Beasley and pulled up the blueprint I had drawn out. I slid the computer in front of him so that he could study the plans. He nodded as he looked over them. “Who drew this up?”, he asked, his voice sounded almost stunned with a mix of condescending. “I did. I am an architect major”, I said proudly.

“This have to be the most detailed yet simple plans I have ever seen. I have to say, I am going to love doing work with you. I can have this finished by tomorrow evening, if I start this evening”, he said, looking over at me. “You have permission to begin whenever you feel fit”, I said.

“Oh my! How wonderful, Bella. Is that for me?”, Ma asked ecstatically. “Yes ma, it is”, I smiled, hugging her. I heard the front door open and heavy footsteps. My head begged for it to be Luca, but my heart knew it was not. A panicked Rex rounded the corner, his big round eyes found mine and a silent plea was made.

“Excuse me”, I said, nodding at ma and the guest. I followed Rex out of the kitchen into Luca’s office. “He’s gone, Mrs. Mara”, he breathed out. “What do you mean gone, Rex?”, “He took them. He took Mr. Barello, and Mr. Sergio”, Rex was disheveled. Pure panic began to take over me.

He’s gone. Franky took him. How am I going to find him? Do I have enough soldatos to do so? Can I trust the soldatos that I have, not to turn their backs on me? Can I do this without getting Luca or Sergio killed? All of these questions ran through my head. Cal walked into the office, just as panicked as the rest of us.

“What do we do, Mrs. Barello?”, he asked. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Luca’s beautiful gray eyes formed in front of me. I need him. I need his energy to stay calm for this. His whole crew will be looking to me for guidance, and all I want to do right now is sit down and cry my eyes out. My husband is missing.

I looked straight to Cal. “Call Trey”, I said, “Tell him to find him, that we will be there soon”, I ordered. “Yes ma’am”, he responded. “Take me to him”, I demanded. I followed Rex and Cal out of the office and to the car. My heart beat wildly in my chest. How am I going to successfully pull this off without Luca or Sergio dying? We can’t lose Luca, nothing would be the same after that. And we can’t lose Serg because Luca wouldn’t be the same after that.

My mind was scrambled as we raced to the compound where Trey was located. “Do you have a battle plan?”, Cal asked from the front seat. I looked up at him with despair. “Working on it”, I responded. He nodded, understanding the dilemma I was in. “Do you know who we can and can’t trust yet?”, I asked Cal. That was the most important question at the moment. The last thing I need is to be right in the middle of the rescue mission and half of my team turns on me.

“I have determined a handful to be loyal so far”, he answered. I nodded, “Gather them, they will be needed”, I instructed. “Yes ma’am”, he answered. “Ma’am if I may, without over stepping. It’s not my place to say. But I believe you should sit this one out. I know Mr. Luca will not be happy that you are putting yourself in harms way”, Cal said cautiously.

Anger struck me at his comment. “You’re right. It’s not your place to say”, I growled. He nodded his head and remained quiet. I understand the sentiment, but my husband and brother-in-law’s lives are on the line right now. I could give a rat-ass less about my own life, as long as they return home safely.

When Cal stopped the vehicle, Rex jumped out and opened my door before I could even reach the handle. Cal lead us inside while Rex picked up the rear. I have not been to this building yet. It was smaller and only consisted of about ten rooms. “This is our security building. Trey is the head of surveillance security. His office is right this way”, Cal explained, as we walked to the office at the very back of the building.

When we walked into the room, a young blonde guy sat behind a computer, typing frantically on the keyboard. He looked up briefly and made eye contact with me. His eyes grew wide, “Mrs. Barello, I am looking for him as we speak”, he said, looking back down at the screen.

I walked around the desk to lay my eyes on the screen. Lines and lines of numbers filled the screen. I am not a tech genius, however, I do believe he is hacking a system at this moment. I took tech classes in college for a semester. Until I realized it was not the profession for me.

A text message from an unknown number dinged on my phone. ‘Come get him. 158 Whitson drive’

Trey looked over at my phone and froze. “That’s the address I just found on him”, he whispered, looking at me, stunned. “Then that is where we are going”, I announced.