Psychotic Love (a mafia love story)

Chapter 34

LUCA'S POV

When I open the laptop on my desk, a bright red dot flashes on the screen. A lump that I am sure is my heart, sits in my throat.

She's not dead. She can't be, not that quick.

I look at her last location before the dot turned red. She was at a gas station right across from the hospital. A gas station, at 10:00 pm, alone? Why the hell would she do that? Why does she keep putting herself in dangerous situations?

I pick up my phone to call Dario. The phone seems to ring forever. With every ring, an eight-ounce cup of anger is poured into my head. Just when rage threatens to spill over me, he picks up the phone.

"Meet me at the gas station across from Grandview. Find Niccolo, bring him with you." My words come out in a rush.

"Alright, but what's going on?"

I don't respond to him. I don't have time. I'll explain when I get there. I hang up the phone and leave my office.

When I get to my car, I waste no time getting on the road. My heart races just as fast as my car. I look down at the speedometer. Ninety miles per hour.

I need to go faster. What happened to her? Why is that fucking dot red? A part of me hopes that Echo's clever mind has figured out how to disable the chip; it's unlikely. I don't even think she knows I injected her with one.

It's 6:00 am. The dot went red around 10:00 last night. For hours, that dot has been flashing red. All of that fucking time; anything could have happened during that span. She could be dead.

That thought starts to sink in. I could be too late. Something told me to keep watching that screen. I should have kept watching.

When I reach the gas station, Dario is leaning against his car with Niccolo. I rush over to them.

"Echo's not on my radar anymore. Her dot went red here. Something happened."

"Red? That means she's...dead, right?" Asks Dario. His brows frown and a look of worry floats in his eyes.

"Yes, but it could also mean the chip was deactivated. I don't know how though."

"Maybe someone took it out of her," Niccolo nearly shouts over the blustery wind.

He and Dario are twins, mentally. Idiocy is written into their DNA. Why the hell would someone cut through her thigh to find a microchip the size of a rice grain, in the middle of a gas station parking lot?

"Niccolo, take a look at the setting and think about the words coming from your mouth," my patience is running thin with these two.

His hand goes up to his chin and his lips move to the side. "It's possible." His tone is blank.

I breathe deeply to calm my irritation. "Go to the hospital. See if her mother is still a patient there. Check around for her too."

"Come with me." I turn, using my hand to signal Dario.

We head towards the convenience store. When my head lowers, I catch a glimpse of red trailing from the store. My stomach has never churned at the sight of blood, but the thought of it being hers is gut-wrenching.

As I walk, my eyes follow the trail until they land on a chunk of meat. Maybe her chip was taken out.

I step closer to get a better look. I have no idea what the hunk of bloody flesh is. I just pray it isn't connected to her.

We enter the store. A cashier sits behind the counter reading some newspaper. His glasses sit on the tip of his nose and he only raises his eyes to look at us.