Forgivable Sins (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 2)

Unease slithered up my spine, the unquestionable sense that something was wrong.

But all I could do was wait.

"Is everything okay?" the new manager, Armando, asked with a glance at my phone.

"No." It was all the answer I gave, and he didn't push for me to give him more information as my head bartender ran him through the inventory while I watched, marking down the number of bottles of each kind of alcohol and matching it up with the records the bartenders kept.

I felt nauseous.

When my phone rang, I put it to my ear. "Samara?"

"She's gone, Sir. Rowe says she told him she was going to grab a snack from the third floor, but they haven’t seen her." My ears rang with fury, knowing the timing was too suspect for it to be a coincidence that she wasn’t where she’d said she would be. Whatever Mia had told her, it couldn't have been true, and if her lies cost me the love of my life I’d kill her myself. There was nothing I'd done to make Samara try to leave me.

Even if I had, I wouldn't let her go. I'd follow her wherever she went and bring her back to me.

But I never wanted to hurt her.

"Does Rowe have security tapes with audio up there? I want to know what the fuck she said to her." There was a moment where Emilio must have muffled the phone as he spoke to Rowe.

"No, Sir. Just video. Rowe tried calling her, but her phone is on her desk."

I nodded my head before I realized he couldn't see me. My fury spiked, even as I abandoned my manager in training and stalked for the front door. "Fuck! She left the fucking phone where I planted the tracker? I'm calling Ryker. You put in the call to Donatello. He'll mobilize people to help you search nearby. Ryker and I will take her favorite spots in the city. Access the external cameras and see if you can tell if she huffed it on foot or took a cab."

"You've got it boss."

I hung up the phone, slamming my fist into the side of the brick building as soon as I stepped out. The blood on my knuckles only made me ache for her more, for the care she would show if she knew I was injured. Samara was the only person who'd ever tended to my injuries, except for maybe my mother before I could remember.

Dialing the number, I spoke before he even greeted me. "Samara ran. I need you to find her, now," I ordered.

He grunted into the phone. "I'm on Connor's trail. You sure you want me to leave it?"

"Do you have him in your sight?" I asked.

"No. Not that close. The guy's slippery as fuck."

"Then find my wife. I'll text you a list of places she likes to go. I'll take the other half of them."

"Got it," he grunted. My fingers flew over the keyboard furiously until my driver and security stepped out of the club.

Georgio took one look at my face and retreated to get the car as I typed out the list of places Samara might go to hide. I sent the more public ones to Ryker, knowing he might scare her off if she got a good look at him. My Little Dove knew most of my family, but not Ryker, and he was one scary looking fucker.

The man scared the bravest of men, and my Little Dove was skittish even if she tried to hide it.

"Where to?" Georgio asked as he pulled up.

"Samara's old house," I hissed dialing the neighbor. When she didn't answer, I hoped to God Samara had chosen to hide out there. Somewhere relatively safe, with someone who could try and talk her down from the ledge. She'd called me without Samara's permission once, so I had to wonder why she wouldn't do it again.

All the phone calls I'd eavesdropped in on between the two women had been pleasant, with Samara doing nothing to indicate she wasn't happy with me.

When my phone rang, I answered it without glancing at the name on the screen. "Yeah?"

"Talk to me. Enzo said you just tore out of the club like a bat outta Hell." Matteo's voice held all the worry I knew I would have if he left work suddenly. There was only one thing that could make us abandon our jobs like that.

Our women.

"Samara ditched Emilio. Mia went to see her at work and then she was just gone," I answered.

"Fuck," Matteo hissed. "Don! Track Samara's phone! Now!" he yelled. In any other circumstances I'd have cursed him for making me deaf. In these, I didn't give the first fuck.