Desolation (New Rochelle Mafia #1)

13. CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 13

DRAKE

I took El back to her room a few hours ago. She was getting drowsy from the medication. It’s also been a long day so far. I went to my room to shower and relax a little too. I don’t want to sleep yet in case she needs me and the connecting closet door is open just in case.

My dad hasn’t heard anything from Marco yet. Whatever he is doing, he won’t call till he knows something for sure. So at this point we are all just playing the waiting game. He sent a phone up for Elodie. New iPhone with all the bells and whistles. In a pinch she can use the camera on it since they are really good. I have it sharing a location with me of course. Just in case.

She won’t know it either.

I called our jeweler and I’m having a necklace made for her that will have a tracker in it. I’m not taking any chances with her safety. If something were to happen, I doubt Dominic would think of removing a necklace and just in case he scans her for bugs, it’s going to be an undetectable tracker.

Not that he will be able to get to her here.

I’m worried Elodie will do something stupid like try to go after Reba. I’d love to be able to tell our guys to hold her here if she decides to leave at some point but I can’t make her think she is trapped here or she’ll never want to stay. Though she will have an escort anytime she leaves.

Me. Maybe Marco, and Louis will be the only one driving her.

My phone buzzes. It’s Dad. He wants me to grab El and come to his office. Shit. This can’t be good.

Standing, I throw on my shoes and head over to wake El.

She looks peaceful. She’s laying on her back, halfway turned onto her side, I bet it hurts her face to lay on her side all the way. Her hands are pulled up to her chest, holding a part of the blanket to her like a stuffed animal.

Sitting on the side of the bed, I gently touch her leg. “Bug, you gotta wake up.”

She groans and opens her eyes, “What is it? Is Reba back?”

“I don’t know, my dad wants me and you to come to his office. Hopefully he has some kind of news,” I say shrugging my shoulders .

“Okay, give me a sec. I need the bathroom and I need to splash some water on my face or something,” she says, standing and making her way to the bathroom. She’s moving stiffly. The next couple days are going to be rough.

Deciding to fix her bed for her, I pull the blanket up and straighten the pillows. She comes out of the bathroom looking very nervous. She’s probably getting herself all worked up.

“Don’t get yourself all upset before we even talk to him, El. We don’t know what it could be about,” I say. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out her phone. “My dad sent this up for you. It has our numbers programmed into it, as well as Marco’s and Louis’. Just in case.”

Taking the phone from me, she puts it in her pocket. “Thank you Drake. You’re both very thoughtful. I’m not used to carrying a cell phone though so don’t expect me to use it much.”

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 figure out 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?