F I N

53. DON

*Unedited*

Donatello was worried about his amore. For the past few days, she has been acting cold and distant and not just to him. She was distancing herself from her brothers and all of her friends. The only time she actually talked to any of them was when it concerned business.

He tried to get her to open up but she only pushed him away farther. It was disheartening. He knew that when she was alone, she would cry and it killed him that he couldn't help her.

He glanced at the clock. It was eleven o'clock in the night. 

'One more hour,' He thought. One more hour until Josephine's birthday.

He was at Josephine's house, sitting in Vesper's office with her brothers, including Anatoly. The last time he checked on her, she was peacefully sleeping. Her arms were wrapped around her pillow tightly and soft snores escaped her lips.

Donatello and her brothers were impatiently waiting for the clock to strike twelve to wish her a happy birthday and to try to cheer her up. She deserved to be happy and carefree.

There were even more guards since the intruder broke in and they were all on alert. None of them forgot the threat from Anton.

Donatello couldn't wait to torture him. He was anxiously waiting for that day. The day that the Russian bastard's blood is staining his hands and he'll be begging for the mercy of death.

"I can't believe our little sister is going to turn eighteen already," Theodore said, breaking him out of his bloodlust. He watched as Theo wiped a fake tear from his eye and sniffling dramatically.

"I agree," Anatoly spoke, "It seems like just yesterday she was twelve and still wearing her hair in pigtails."

"Really?" Hayes asked amused.

Anatoly nodded, "She refused to tie her hair any other way and she couldn't sleep without her favorite stuffed animal, Mr. Elephant."

They awed.

Donatello chuckled. "I have an adorable girlfriend."

He looked at the clock and smiled. "It's eleven fifty-five," He said and Theo clapped, jumping up from his seat excitedly. 

The time had passed really fast. They spent almost an hour talking about their childhood and asking Anatoly questions about Josephine.

Just as everyone else was about to get up, gunshots sounded throughout the house. Their eyes widened. Immediately, they pulled out their guns and rushed out of the office. The first place they were going was to Josephine.

She was their top priority. They had to protect her.

When they reached her room, Hayes tried to open the door but it was locked. He kicked it open and they all ran in with their guns held high, ready to shoot.

"F*ck!" Anatoly cursed when they saw no one in the room but the window wide open.

Donatello noticed a piece of paper folded on the bed. He walked towards it and picked it up. He opened it slowly and read it.

His jaw clenched as he took in the words that were written. He recognized Josephine's handwriting.

"What is it?" Harrison asked, stepping beside him.

Donatello gave him the note. Anger pulsed through him and he punched the wall, hard. In the note. it said to not look for her and that she would come back.

The gunshots stopped. "Check what's going on downstairs," Vesper ordered Theo and Hayes.

They nodded and left the room quickly.

Donatello closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and exhaled loudly to gather his thoughts. He opened his eyes after a moment and that was when he spotted a paper on the ground. He picked it up and turned it over. He narrowed his eyes. There was a redhead girl bound to a chair in the picture. She had a gag in her mouth and had blood on her cheek. She looked to be silently begging her captor to let her go.

He showed the photo to the others. "Do you know who this is?" He asked.

Anatoly took the photo from him and nodded. "This is Mariam, Josephine's best friend," He responded.

Realization hit them and they cursed. "Anton took her to lure Josephine to him and she went," Harrison said.

Just then, Theo and Hayes ran back into the room. "It was a goddamn setup. They wanted to distract the guards," Theo revealed.

"It was so that Josephine can escape easily," Vesper added.

Hayes growled, "Well, what the f*ck are we waiting for? Let's go after her!" He shouted.

"She is long gone by now. Sh*t!" Donatello pulled at his hair, frustrated. If only he had been with her.

"Don't blame yourself," Vesper said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He saw the expression on his face, "We need to focus on finding her."

He agreed and fisted his hands. The murder in his eyes increased tenfold as he thought about what Anton could be doing to his Amore.

Donatello shook his head.

He faced Anatoly, "Where could he have taken her?" He questioned, gritting his teeth.

"I don't know but we could check the place he took her before, the same location where he wanted to meet her a few months ago." Anatoly rubbed his stubbled chin in thought.

"However, I don't think he is that stupid to take her back to the same place," He spoke.

"We will still check it out," Donatello voiced deeply.

Vesper gestured to Harrison, silently telling him to get a few of their men. Harrison nodded and left.

He returned shortly after with three men. "I want you to scout a place but don't make yourself known if there is anyone there and then report back to us," He commanded.

Anatoly spoke to the guards, "It's a warehouse about forty-five minutes from here. The Epison's used to own it before they sold it," He explained.

One of the men nodded in confirmation. "I know where you're talking about, sir. There was a beautiful paint of the sun and the sea."

"That is the one," He said before waving them off.

"Where else?" Donatello asked him, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Anatoly answered, "I'm thinking."

Vesper cleared his throat. "Let's go back to my office. Thorne could look at the cameras to see what he could find."

They nodded and went back to Vesper's office. Thorne got his laptop and replayed the video feed from moments ago. He saw three men talking to the guards and then being escorted into the house. After they entered, they began to shoot at the ceiling. Thorne switched the video and saw Josephine climb out of her window.

He checked the cameras from the front of the property and saw his sister being pulled into a black SUV. He couldn't make out the driver properly because the windows were tinted.

The car pulled off and Thorne was able to get a glimpse of the license plate. He rewind and paused the video to write down the number.

He felt a little relief but that quickly faded when he ran the number through the system and nothing came up. 

He turned to the others and showed them the numbers from the license plate. "I placed an APB on the plate, so at least the police can be of some use," Thorne said as he ran his hand through his hair.

Donatello took out his phone and dialed a number. He spoke to the person for a few minutes before turning back to the rest of them.

"I called one of our allies and he agreed to be on the lookout and he would inform some of the other Mafias," He said with a sigh. He wanted his girlfriend to be back in his arms. 

"All we can do for now is wait and trust that Josephine knows what she is doing and that she is safe. Remember, she is the strongest person ever," Hayes croaked.

"She'll be okay," Theo reassured.

And for the first time since he was a little boy, Donatello prayed.