Chapter29

RPOV

I continued to hold Steph's hand and stroke my other hand down her head to her back. As her grasp on my hand released, I knew that she was asleep, and only then could I try and figure out what the fuck had happened. A message on my phone told me that Santos was outside the room and that he would remain there giving me some semblance of relief as I recounted the events from yesterday.

I'd been parked down the street from Scintillante and had watched Steph as she'd waited for Tomas. As soon as I'd seen the red Miata pull into the parking area I'd recognized Allegro, though she hadn't look as well put together as I remembered from any of the photos that I'd seen of her. I knew that Steph would need to comfort her and had listened to their conversation. As they'd walked into the building I been annoyed that Tomas hadn't arrived but as if on cue I'd received a text from him saying he'd had car trouble so would be late.

Listening to what Allegro had told her employees I could empathize with what was happening. I knew too well how easily a rumor or even a poor judgement could finish a business, remembering the time when we were experiencing those break ins and it took Steph to track it back to those kids. We were being threatened by clients leaving us but fortunately due to Steph we'd been able to dodge that bullet.

Changes in the voices alerted me that Steph must have walked away from the group of people talking but after a few minutes of silence there were other voices coming over the mic. Unfortunately, they hadn't been as clear as I would have liked, maybe where Steph was had had an effect on the reception.

"What happens now?"

"It doesn't affect what . . . . . . . . is determined to . . . . . . . . . .with our enterprise"

I'd been aware that there were two male voices and that one had an accent, but I'd had to concentrate to hear exactly what was being said and only caught some of the conversation.

"Let her know . . . . . . . that she wanted, is she still . . . . . . . .that warehouse?"

"No. It's too . . . . . . . now. She's going to . . . . . . where else"

"Dario . . . . . . . bastard"

"I know. I never had any inkling of what he was up to. I hope he rots in jail"

Steph must have moved because the conversation had seemed clearer but I'd been at a loss as to what they were talking about.

"Can he do us any damage?"

"No. He has no idea what Allegro is doing. Stupid bastard took one of the replicas with him on his last trip. Though seeing as his properties have all been searched that's probably a good thing"

"What about the woman he took?"

I'd tensed as I'd realized that they were talking about Steph. What was so important with Dario taking a necklace, though it did confirm for me that the one that Tomas had shown to me was likely to be the diamond necklace.

"She doesn't . . . . . She was focused on stopping Dario"

As the talking had continued, I'd realized that their voices were getting quieter and when I'd heard a door close was sure that they must have left by another exit. It had been quiet again until I heard running water and had realized that Steph must have been in the rest room. A few minutes later and I was hearing a woman's voice addressing Steph

"I was looking for you"

"Just in the powder room. What happens now, I know that you had orders and exhibitions?"

"Orders that have been paid are being honored but everything else has been cancelled. I'm sorry Stefania. What will you do now?"

"Go home I suppose. It's not your fault Allegro. To be honest I always saw me being here as some sort of dream, an illusion that seemed too good to be true"

I'd actually heard as Steph swallowed so knew the mic was working better so assumed that Steph was back in the main room with Allegro.

"What will you do Allegro?"

"I'm good at making and designing jewelry so I'll probably fall back on that. No one will want to touch me now. Maybe I'll move down to Rome where no one knows me"

That was when I'd seen another vehicle pull into the parking lot and I'd watched as Tomas had got out of the car and rushed into the building. He had been late and he would have been no help to Steph in trying to determine if anyone else had been aware of what Dario had been doing, though from what I'd managed to hear it hadn't sounded like there was.

"What about Lucio, I haven't seen him?"

"Lucio is with Niccolò. They have a property up in the mountains, so he'll probably stay there. He's devastated and also extremely pissed off, like me, but he's said that he wants us to liquidate the business and take his share. I have no idea what he'll do"

I'd already known that because I'd had Santos track him down. The man Lucio had seemed totally shocked by what Dario and Lando had been doing and he was another person who was probably feeling guilty that he hadn't noticed anything. Was his career finished? I had no idea.

"Talking of money, I have your cards in my office, I'll go get them"

"Steph, sorry that I was late getting here. I got caught up in traffic"

Tomas had obviously just joined them, but I was trying to work out why the tone of Steph's voice had sounded so stilted, as though she was annoyed maybe that he was late?

"That's okay. Allegro turned up just after I did so I came up with her. What will you do now Tomas?"

That hadn't been a question that I expected Steph to be asking him and had been keen to hear what he would say.

"Well, I suppose look for another security job, though Allegro is keeping me on until all of the properties are empty"

"If I'm going to be heading home, I'll need to collect my clothes and belongings from your apartment Allegro"

That had surprised me slightly because I wasn't aware of anything that Steph would need. Her wallet and phone had been stolen so what would she have needed? Then it had occurred to me that maybe she would be wanting to find her passport, yeah that would be handy to have but not as important as she thought. I knew that I was suddenly frowning because for some reason Allegro had reverted to Italian. Would she do that so that Steph wouldn't understand what she was saying?

"I'm heading back to the apartment, it should only take me about twenty minutes. I'll park down in the garage"

Now why would she have had need to say that to Tomas in Italian? It hadn't make sense to me.

"I'll take you now. There's not much that I can do here now anyway"

I wasn't expecting that to happen, but I suppose it made sense. Steph would be able to collect her things though I would need to somehow pick her up. Maybe I'd just go up to the apartment and surprise both of them. I'd watched as Steph and Allegro came out of the building and got into the Miata. I'd had the engine started and was about to follow the car when I'd seen Tomas pull out as well. I might have been interested in where Tomas was going but Steph had been my priority, so I'd made sure to keep the red car in view. Tomas had turned off onto another road so I continued to follow Steph.

"How's Gaia?"

"Not good. She doted on Dario. I think she's still in the land of denial, that maybe there was a mistake. She's spoken to Chiara. That girl is a mess and has moved back to her parent's. Mama reckons that she's already filing for divorce and has asked Mama or anyone else not to try and talk to her"

I'd expected Allegro to be a faster driver with having that sports car but she'd driven almost sedately, hesitating at roundabouts and junctions. What should have been a fifteen minute journey took nearly thirty minutes.

"I don't want to use the main entrance because I need to avoid the reporters that are camped out there"

I'd pulled to a stop on the street opposite the building and watched as the car went through the barrier and then down into the basement parking. That was when all I could hear through the earbud was hissing and realized that I'd lost the signal from Steph's mic. I'd watched the group of people stood outside the building jostling with their cameras to be at the front by the door. A poor delivery boy had had a hell of a job getting inside but was saved when the concierge came out and retrieved the box in his hands.

I'd waited unsure of how much time to give Steph before I went inside, then again maybe I'd have to be more creative with how I would get inside because I was sure getting inside that building at the moment wouldn't be easy. Getting out of the car I'd locked it and then walked across the street toward the entrance to the underground parking. Ducking underneath the barrage I'd followed the entranceway as it circled down into the parking area, my eyes adjusting to the low lighting. I'd had to admit that I could never understand why these basement parking areas were kept so dark because they were prime areas for someone to be assaulted.

Hearing the elevator doors opening I'd waited and watched as an older couple had started to walk across to where their car was parked. Only after they had driven out had I realized that there was a separate exit from the parking lot. I'd made my way toward the stairwell door and begun to climb, going on the assumption that most people would use the elevator. It was as I'd reached the first floor that I'd felt it, a shaking that seemed to pass through the whole building and that was when the noises had started. Alarms had started to ring out and lights had flashed on telling me that there must have been a fire in the building. Blind panic had engulfed me and I'd been running up the stairs trying to avoid the crowd of people coming down. The alarms hadn't stopped and the further I'd climbed the more worried I'd became.

As I was between the fourth and fifth floor that was when I'd realized that it wasn't just a fire that had caused the alarms to go off. Concrete had fallen from the ceiling of the stairwell and try as I might I couldn't open the fire door that led out of the stairwell on to the fifth floor. Either something was blocking it, or it had automatically locked, no, it was a fire escape, so something must have been blocking it.

I'd used my shoulder and with every muscle straining pulled against that door until it gave a fraction. Smoke had billowed through the small gap and that was when every nerve in my body pulsed through me. My Babe was beyond that door, and I had to get to her, I had to get her out. Sounds below me of footsteps and shouting had alerted me that help was on the way and I'd watched as firemen surrounded me and elbowed me out of the way. The word explosion resonated through me. Why would there have been an explosion on the top floor?

After they'd used axes and donned breathing apparatus four of them had entered into the hallway and given me my orders.

"You can't come any further. The floor is unstable, and the top section has collapsed"

More men had arrived and with two of them guarding the door I hadn't known what to do. I had to get past them so while one of them was busy talking I'd pushed the other one to the side and forced my way through. The air had been thick with smoke, but I wasn't going to be stopped until I found Steph. A look through the open doorway to the apartment had had my heart almost stopping. The windows were blown out which at least helped to disperse the smoke but that only gave a clearer view of the destruction, There was no fire raging but as I'd been told, I could see the gaping hole above me and the slant of the floor that had suggested just how precarious the floor was.

"There's a woman outside in the hallway being treated"

Had given me hope as I'd continued to the end of the hall. Short spikey hair had told me that it wasn't Steph, Allegro maybe? She was wrapped in a foil blanket and as she'd turned and looked at me I could see the debris from the explosion in her hair and on her face.

"Steph?"

I'd asked hoping that maybe the fire department had already moved her to a local hospital. I'd sunk down to the floor when Allegro had just shaken her head at me, the tears rolling down her cheeks streaking the dirt on her face.

"She went inside ahead of me carrying a box that had been delivered. I hadn't even got through the door when the explosion happened and knocked back into the hallway"

I'd covered my face with my hands trying to argue with myself that Steph couldn't be dead, I would have felt, it wouldn't I?

I'm not sure how I ended up back outside on the street but knew that Santos had been with me. He'd just held me as the tears welled up and flowed freely. Steph was my soulmate and I'd only just acknowledged it, how could there be a god if he'd decided to take her away from me now?

"They found the remains of a woman upstairs but aren't sure who it is. Apparently, the police received an anonymous call claiming responsibility, something about retribution for missing girls and that someone had to pay for it"

I couldn't believe that someone had killed Steph in the name of the missing girls when she'd been the one to unearth the whole ugly mess. I'd almost felt like going over to those reporters and telling them just that. I didn't though, Santos wouldn't let me, but he knew just how devastated I was. I'm not sure how long we stayed outside that apartment block for, I don't even know why. Maybe it was because it was the last place that Steph had been, and I needed to cling onto that and felt as though I would be betraying her if I left. What would I do now when my life had been shattered into a million pieces?

I eventually allowed Santos to drive me back to the house but as soon as I stepped into the upstairs bedroom I'd fallen apart. I could still smell her there, see her clothes on the chair and remember making sweet love to her in the bed. I'd gone back downstairs and was raiding the drinks cabinet when I'd been aware of a car pulling up outside. Maybe my heart rate had increased because I'd been praying that it was someone there to tell me that it hadn't been Steph inside that apartment, that she was alive and okay and would be here soon.

Instead, I was looking at Brown and Hector stood on the doorstep wondering why the hell they were here.

Did I agree to being knocked out? No, but I welcomed the numbness and solitude. It hadn't stopped the dreams though and of course they'd all focused on Steph. Her eyes and face and the expressions that she would use. How she would say or do something that would make me smile or her comments that were sassy and pointed that would make me realize just how human I was.

At least whatever Brown had given me didn't knock me out for hours or leave me feeling disorientated.

I'd been pleased that Brown had brought Steph's medical records with him because I'd woken up with such a strong a strong feeling that she wasn't dead, that she hadn't been inside that apartment. Those records would prove that even though the men around me were convinced that I was wrong but at least they were prepared to do as I asked for fear of me totally seeing red with them.

We'd taken two cars and those records into the city. Brown was going to be visiting the mortuary and speaking to a coroner while Santos and I were going back to the apartment. Hector was going to be staying at the house and hacking into any and all cameras around the apartment, just in case.

The call had come mid morning as Santos and I were about to leave the car and head into the apartment. I'd looked at the id and seen that it was unknown so had used an Italian greeting.

"Ciao"

"Ranger"

My heart had picked up speed as I'd heard my name and recognized Steph's voice.

"Babe, where are you?"

I'd looked to where Santos was stood watching me and could see the questioning look that he'd given to me. All I'd needed to do was to nod my head for him to know that the conversation was important.

"Hospital"

I was quickly opening the car and getting into the driver's seat, Santos had caught up with who was on the phone and even he had a huge grin across his face.

"Stay on the phone Babe. Do you know which hospital?"

"Center of Milan, I think"

I'd turned to Santos now because I'd wanted him to call Brown and let him know that he didn't need to bother the coroner, because Steph was alive.

"Call Brown, tell him Steph just called"

That had had me worrying how hurt she was. If she'd been near to that explosion, then I had no idea how bad her injuries would be.

"Are you hurt Babe?"

I'd waited for her to answer just praying that she wasn't seriously injured and then realized that had she been then she wouldn't be talking on the phone.

"No. I just need you here"

"On my way"

Hearing her breathing had soothed my already raw nerves and I was already racing through the streets. The main hospital was in the center of Milan so that was where I had headed for. I'd left the car for Santos to deal with as we approached the main A & E entrance, though I'd had absolutely no idea where she would have been in the hospital. The place had been fairly quiet as I'd walked up to the reception desk, and I was calm and civil as I'd asked about the admittance of an American woman with blue eyes and curly hair. I hadn't been sure what name Steph might have given to them so hadn't wanted to confuse the woman as she'd looked through the computer system.

Five minutes later I was in a cubicle in A & E just staring at Steph as she lay asleep on the bed. I'd removed a phone from her hand that was under her head and passed it to the nurse who was stood watching me unsure of what her injuries were.

"Quali sono le sue ferite?"

"Nessuno, forse lividi. Chiamami quando si sveglia perché il dottore vorrà visitarla"

No obvious injuries, maybe bruising and I knew that the doctor would want to check her over when she woke.

I was so relieved that I'd found my Babe and hadn't even thought to ask her what had happened. It took all of my patience to stand up to her in ensuring that she allowed the doctor to check her over.

Now as I sat there with my thoughts I was once again pondering what I'd learnt in the past hour. That Steph had mentioned Grant surprised me and almost had me wondering if she had in fact been knocked out and was concussed. Then there was that item that had been taken out of her arm. I'd been so worried that it was my fault, that we'd missed a second injury when we'd found her in Saudi. I knew blood poisoning could be serious but had avoided saying that directly to her so that she wouldn't worry. Now though I had the tendrils of worry wriggling around in the pit of my stomach. I had no idea what had happened to Steph and I didn't like that feeling. I needed to be in control and I wasn't, not being sat in the A & E of a large hospital in the middle of a city.

Walking to the door I'd attracted Santos's attention.

"Is she okay?"

Yes, Santos would always ask about Steph first and what I wanted to do was to make sure that she remained safe.

"Go and bring the car to the entrance and call Brown. Have Brown tail us. I'm getting Steph out of here"

I knew that Brown could oversee Steph's arm and any injury to her shoulder, though the doctor hadn't been too concerned with that. I just had to get her out of the hospital and to somewhere safe. Looking at Steph I could see the T-shirt that had been cut by the nurse and the bruise forming on her shoulder so on an impulse I removed the shirt that I was wearing and very carefully maneuvered Steph until she was wearing it. I had a black T-shirt on so wouldn't attract attention and was carefully placing my arms under her thighs and shoulder to lift her to me. I heard her sighing and moaning so held her closer to me being careful that her arm was over her stomach. And just like I walked away from the curtained off area. No one seemed to take much notice of me, probably because of the influx of patients into the department. I was just waiting for the glass doors to slide open when a man stopped in front of me.

I recognized him as Detective Enzo Perreti, the man who Steph had been dancing with at the launch and someone who she wasn't sure if she could trust or not due to his close friendship with Dario and his family. I had hoped that he wouldn't recognize Steph but with how he stood and stared at me I was pretty sure that he had.

"What are doing with Stefania?"

"Taking her somewhere safe"

Yeah, that wasn't what he expecting to hear.

"I'll clear the way for you"

Now it was my turn to look surprised.

"I need to check on the id of a patient and set up a guard for him. Call me, we need a conversation"

As he side stepped me I saw Santos stop the car so was out through those doors and getting into the back seat with Steph still in my arms.