Page 19 of Desolation
Taking her hand, we headed down to my dad’s office. Evan is in there when we get there. This must be about the no contact order.
“Hi Elodie,” Evan says. “The court granted the no contact order. However, they haven’t been able to serve the papers to your parents. There was no answer at their door when the police went there. Now, it could be that they were gone, or they just didn’t answer. But they are pretty sure the place was empty. Do they normally leave?”
“Not usually. But with me being missing, who knows?” she says. “Usually they’re too high or drunk to even make it off the couch, so that is a little weird. Has anyone heard from Reba yet?”
Dad and Evan both shake their heads.
“So Reba is missing, and now my parents aren’t home either. I guess at this point it’s pretty safe to assume the two are probably connected?” she asks.
My Dad pauses, but eventually nods his head. “Marco called me a few minutes before Evan got here. Reba went to the diner, got the others working and gave them instructions for the next few days and then left. Her car is parked at her place, but she isn’t there. No signs of a struggle. He is going to send a newbie to go around to a couple bars in the area and see if he hears anyone talking about it. We’re pretty sure Dominic has her at this point.”
El gasps and turns to me eyes wide. “What are we going to do? I have to get her back. I don’t give a shit what happened to my parents. They are probably hiding somewhere. But I’m not going to let Reba get hurt because of me. Why is he even doing this anyway? I don’t understand.”
Looking at my dad I raise my brows in question. He sighs. Folding his hands in front of him on the desk he says, “This is going to sound pretty crazy, but we think your parents sold you to Dominic at some point.”
El looks like someone pulled the rug out from under her. Which he just did. Shaking, she looks at me. “What do you mean sold me to Dominic?”
“The Petrucci’s are involved in human trafficking. We don’t do that just so you know,” my dad says. “Either they sold you as a bride or to traffic you. We don’t know for sure. But either way we aren’t letting them get their hands on you. We have extra guards stationed here now too. I’d like to ask you to please not go anywhere. I’m not saying you are a prisoner here. It’s for your own safety. The fact that they most likely have Reba will be enough for them to figureout where you are. Dominic’s grandfather is the one who killed Eddie. So they know that we look out for Reba.”
“I don’t want you guys to get into a war over this though. I don’t know how all this works, but I know it would just be easier if I turned myself over to them so they’ll let her go. This is too much. I’ve caused too much trouble for you already. They’re going to know you went to my house to get me, which means they know you went into their territory. I won’t be responsible for fighting,” she says.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I say with a growl. Standing, I walk over to her and squat down, grabbing her hands. “We knew what we were getting into when we did this. We’ll get Reba back, without you giving up yourself to do it. I don’t give two fucks what they think about your parents selling you to them. You can’t just sell people. I won’t let you go. Don’t try me, El.”
She searches my face. I put every bit of love I feel for her into my features, along with my determination to fix this. She looks at my father and he nods in agreement. Looking back at me, she swallows.
“I’m not going to make any promises I don’t know if I can keep. What I will do though is give you guys two days to figure it out. If you can’t get Reba back by then, I’m leaving. I’m not waiting any longer than that. What if they killed her or sold her? I’m not going to be responsible for that,” she says, looking into my eyes with panic all over her features.
“Okay El. But you won’t leave by yourself. I promise you that,” I will go if I have to. But over my dead fucking body will she leave here to turn herself over to those fucks. Looking over at my dad, I see the same on his face. Good, we are in agreement then.
Evan clears his throat. “Here’s the Order of Protection, Elodie. They’re all signed and stamped by the judge. Whether they talk to your parents in person or not, it will stay in effect. Gwen wants you to call her later. She said she gave you her number earlier and Gio told me you have a phone now. Call her. She knows how you feel, not because of her parents obviously, but she’s been where you are right now. Relying on strangers, not knowing how much to accept from them or not. But I can also say that I have known these guys forever and they will keep you safe if you let them.”
Elodie nods and takes the envelope with the paperwork. She looks down at it almost as if it’s a snake about to bite her. I’m sure that’s how she feels. There will be more retaliation. The question is when, and how?
CHAPTER 14
ELODIE
It’s been two days. They still haven’t found Reba and I’m getting really antsy. I told them if she wasn’t found in two days I was turning myself in to Dominic somehow. The question is, how am I getting out of here without Drake seeing me? I’m going to have to get really creative.
My injuries are healing slowly. I’ve mostly been sleeping while Drake has been meeting with Gio and Anthony tryingto figure out where Reba is. I’m getting restless and find myself needing to move around some.
I decide to head down to the kitchen to grab a snack and scope things out. I haven’t seen Drake for a few hours so I am hoping he might be with Evan or something. When I pass one of the guards in the living room I ask where he is. They confirm that he’s at the office with Evan.
While I’m eating, I look up book stores nearby that have a back entrance for deliveries. The only way I am going to be able to get away is by giving one of the guards the slip. Finishing up my snack, I look around for the guard I need. Walking over to him I ask, “Can you take me to the bookstore please? It’s just a few blocks away and I’d like to walk to it. I need a break from here for a little bit.”
He looks nervous, like he’s about to refuse, but Gio walks in.
“It’s okay, Leon. You can take her, but stay close and don’t be gone longer than an hour or I’m coming to find you,” he says, looking pointedly at me. Pretty sure he thinks he knows what I’m about to do, but he can’t deny me because he told me I’m free to come and go.
Nodding my head, I walk to my room to get ready.
Sliding on a pair of leggings and a light sweater, I grab my phone and my wallet. I only have about $20 but it’s not like I’m actually going to buy anything anyway. But I need to make it look good. Slipping on my shoes I look around and decide I’m ready. When I was in the kitchen, I took a knife from the drawer. It isn’t a great weapon, but it’s better than nothing.
I’m terrified. Hands shaking, and stomach queasy, I meet Leon by the elevator and down we go. It’s a long drive to New Rochelle from here and I have no idea how I’m going to get there. ShouldI try Reba’s phone? Gio said it was going straight to voicemail but I’ll have to give it a try. Otherwise, it’s like a seven hour walk. Which is insane, but I’ll do it if it means getting Reba back.
When we get to the front door of the building I can see it’s bustling with people outside. Good, that will make it easier to get lost in the crowds when I do go out the back. I feel bad for Leon, because he will likely get in trouble for this, but I’m fairly certain they won’t kill him.
Or at least I hope they won’t.