Page 39 of Heart's Temptation
“Find anything yet?” Antonio asked as his eyes glanced over the files spread across the table.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “No.”
“Mind if I take a look?”
“By all means.”
I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair. I was tired, beyond tired, running on coffee and energy drinks for the past week. Marko and I had been busier than usual between the clubs, the theater and our nightly extracurriculars with Niki.
We hadn’t had time to discuss our reunion with Niki beyond our first night at the Vitale household, but each kiss was a promise of more, and while more was the only thing on my mind, I needed to deal with the now.
“Can I see the footage from Empire?”
I opened my eyes, peering at Tony. “Trust me, there’s nothing there.”
“So you say, but I have a hunch. Let me see.”
I pulled up the footage on the big screen and handed him the remote.
He watched for a bit and then froze the screen. “Ha! I knew it!”
I sat up straight. “I don’t see anything. What are you looking at?”
He expanded the image. “Do you see that formation?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, it’s a return air vent.”
“No, it's not, but that’s what you’re supposed to believe. You see, Empire Ballet resides within an old building in Manhattan that was originally a small garment factory in the early 1900’s. You can see there are many doors in the place. That’s because in the basement they had a prohibition-era speakeasy. What you're seeing is the old air shafts for the tunnels, not return air vents, which obviously weren't invented yet. Because technically the theater has been a landmark since the 1940s, structural renovations were limited. I bet that is how your bad guy managed to move about the place without ever being detected. Even a kid could figure out the blank spots of the security cameras limited scope.”
I looked at my twin brother from another mother, impressed. “How the hell do you know all that?”
Antonio suddenly looked a little pink in the cheeks. “I like history, no big deal.”
“But it is.” I rose to my feet. “You're a genius!” A disturbing thought stopped me from ringing Romeo. “Antonio, the I-Rock, does it have anything similar?”
His eyes widened. “Oh shit!”
Looking at the time, I phoned Amergio, my cousin and Niki’s driver. He didn’t pick up. Cold prickles raced up my spine. My phone rang shrilly. The caller ID showed me it was Bruno, so I answered.
“Niki is gone, boss.”
His greeting made my blood run cold. “What do you mean gone?” I yelled into the receiver.
Tony grabbed the phone from me as Simo and Romeo entered the war room.
“What’s going on?” Romeo asked.
I didn't want to answer, I wanted to take off for the theater and find Nicolette.
Tony hung up and handed me back my phone.
“Apparently Remo was standing guard outside her room. After a few minutes, he knocked and she never answered, so he kicked in the door to find her makeup table pulled away from the wall revealing a tunnel, and Niki missing. Bruno and Remo have the place on lockdown so we can go and question everyone. Someone had to know that tunnel was there.”
“And our cousin, Amergio?” I had to ask.
“Also missing. But don’t jump the gun thinking he’s our snitch. The kid loved Niki and there is no way he’d let her come to harm if he could help it.”
“I gotta go and find her.”