An hour later, the kitchen smelled so good with a mixture of pasta sauce and cinnamon. Garlic bread and fresh cinnamon rolls. Chocolate chip, peanut butter cookies.
When Calderone walked in, he groaned at the scent in the air. “Oh, I remember this. I remember and have missed this smell for a long time.” He walked over to the counter and grabbed a handful of cookies. Sitting down beside his father, he happily munched on the treats.
Evelyn smiled as she watched the two most important men in her life. This was a scene she’d missed the most.
A ping sounded frim Leon’s phone.
Leon grabbed it up and tapped the screen. He stared at it for a long moment then his face paled.
“Dad?” Calderone called to him.
Leon didn’t say a word, he just passed the phone to him.
His son peered down at the image on the screen. “What the hell is this?”
Leon let out a huge sigh. “She looks like her mother.”
Wiping her hands on a towel, Evelyn was smiling as she came over to the table. Taking a look at their faces her smiled dropped. “What is it?”
Calderone looked up at his father.
Leon gave him a slow nod.
Calderone handed her the phone.
Staring down at it, her eyes rounded and her body shook. “NO!” She dropped the phone and looked stricken. “NO!”
Leon rose and wrapped his arms around her trembling body. “So that is our Meena?”
She nodded as tears rolled from her eyes. “Someone has her?”
He nodded. “Apparently.”
“W-why?” she wailed. “She never hurt anyone!”
Calderone grabbed the phone from the floor as he shook his head. “Someone knows who she is.”
Her head rose up and she stared at him. “What?”
“They know she is Leon Vincinti’s daughter.”
Gasping, she placed her hands up to her mouth. “So they will kill her?”
He shrugged. “By the message, I gather he wants ransom.”
“Oh, no!” she cried as Leon held her.
“Don’t worry Evelyn,” he tried to console her. “We will get her back.”
“So what do we do?” she asked.
Leon stepped back and tapped his phone. “John. Meet me in my study.” He swiped the phone closed and looked back up at Evelyn. “We will find her. Please get with Anna and stay with her on the upper floors, okay? I will be busy for a bit.”
She swiped her tears away and left the kitchen.
Calderone looked livid. “This fucker is going to die.”
Leon wore the same look. “He will. I am tired of people taking what is mine. Trampling on my loved ones. This bastard will pay with his life.”
He headed to his study, when he and Calderone were in, he shut the door. “I think we need someone who knows all the back alley spots. Someone who has eyes and ears in all the wrong places.”
Calderone sat in a chair and replied, “The Sinners.”
Leon nodded as he picked up his land line and tapped the buttons.
When he got Hawk on the line, Leon put it on speaker, “Leon Vincinti here.”
There was a small pause then hawk replied, “Yes Leon, what can I do for you?”
At this greeting, Calderone smiled.
Leon lowered his head. “Here’s the story. Remember we wiped out Siobhan’s troops and captured Liam.”
“Yes, are you saying we didn’t do a complete job?”
“No, I’m not saying this. However, one of Siobhan’s men has taken my daughter.”
“I-I got a call from Deke telling me Siobhan was dead though,” Hawk replied.
“She is. I was there. No, this is someone who figured out that Meena was my daughter and he is holding her for ransom.”
“Oh, shit,” Hawk grumbled. “So what do you need?”
“We need all your eyes and ears out there. For anywhere that is out of the way. Can you and your men find where this man has taken my daughter?”
“Yeah, we can try,” Hawk told him.
“I don’t think he’s working with anyone else,” Leon went on. “He could be in a dark out of the way place. If you could send some feelers out or find any abnormal activity and let me know? Liam’s men are all but gone and this mob isn’t as big as it was before, so I think this is a lone man. Maybe with a partner. But my gut tells me no on that. I’m calling my own men in on this as well.”
Hawk then replied, “Yeah Leon. This is about family man. I will get this going ASAP.”
“Thank you,” Leon said as Hawk hung up.
A knock came on the door.
“That will be john,” Calderone said as he called out, “Enter.”
John came in. “What’s happening boss?”
Leon shook his head. “Someone has taken my daughter.”
“Well, shit…” John muttered and grabbed his phone. “Time to gather the troops.”
Sometime later, Meena was nudged awake. She was still tied up and couldn’t move much.
Alfred brushed the hair away from her face and pushed his phone up to her ear.
She could hear the ringing on the other end. She figured already that this would probably not go well.
Alfred grabbed her chin and lifted her face to his. “Now you’re gonna tell daddy that you’re fine. I haven’t hurt you, yet.” He snarled. “But I want you to know if doesn’t cooperate, I will hurt you and I’ll leave you here all tied up and no one will know where to look for you. You’ll be here all alone for god knows how long.”
Meena nodded and felt his fingers tighten on her jaw briefly then he pushed her away from him.
Leon answered the call a moment later, “Who is this?” he growled.
“Dad?” Meena answered softly while she hoped he wouldn’t hang up.
“Meena?” Leon gasped. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She tried to lick her dry lips but she didn’t have any saliva to do much with. She felt amazed at his concern and she loved the sound of his voice. She’d never heard it before now. She also feared at the same time that she would never get to see the man that matched the voice.
Alfred snatched the phone away from her and began speaking to a man he felt could push around, “Hey Leon, how you doing?”
They waited for what seemed like forever until Leon broke the silence, “You lowly motherfucker. Who the fuck do you think you are? You’d better not hurt my daughter or I will have you buried alive.”
“Tisk, tisk, tisk, Mr. Vincinti.” Alfred chuckled. “Don’t you know any better than to threaten the man in control of your kid? Her life hangs in the balance here. I haven’t hurt her yet, but you keep this shit up and I may not have a choice.” He paused for a moment then added, “Now you listen to me godfather, you aren’t in charge here, I am. I’m holding all the cards in this game and you got no say in how this goes down.”
“How much do you want, scum?” Leon hissed.
“I want 10 million.”
Meena gasped. The man was insane. Ten million dollars?
“The amount doesn’t matter you slime. Your own actions do,” Leon commented calmly. “Just know this, for every bruise cut or scar you give to my daughter is what you will receive many times over for hours on end. It could last for days. In fact, you could go out exactly like your boss did. The Cutter took good care of her.”
Alfred’s smile left his face. He’d heard of this man many times. Dying under his blade was rumored to be the worst way to go. “You’re threatening me?” he snapped. “Just remember who is in control here, old man as I got your kid.”
Leon nearly growled over the phone. “You hurt her in any way, shape or form and there won’t be a rock you can hide under that I won’t find you. And when I do, you’ll finally know what pain is really like.”
“You don’t scare me old man.” Alfred snorted even as a bead of sweat rolled down along his temple. “I’m still younger and smarter than you’ll ever be. I’ve spent the last twenty years learning to protect myself.”
“You hurt my kid and you’ll need all those lessons cuz I’ll bury you where no one will ever find you,” Leon threatened.
“You just wait for my orders, God father!” Alfred yelled in frustration as he cut off the call.
Meena watched him in fear as he looked like he wanted to throw the phone or smash it to pieces.
“Ohh that motherfucker! Thinking he is a king or some shit,” Alfred yelled. “I’m gonna raise the bounty to 15 million now. The only thing he understands is money!”
Meena dared not to say a thing. Seemed like Leon didn’t care about the money at all. She hoped to actually get to meet her father. But with the wild eyed look Alfred wore as he paced and cursed to himself, she was beginning to believe that would never happen now.
A loud sound echoed in the room and she jumped. Turning her head, she stared at the doorway. It was dark out now, and she squinted her eyes as a form moved into the dank, cold room she was being held in.
Then… all hell broke loose.
