"Any word on Olivia?" Dwayne asked as he leaned forward in his office chair, his phone held up by his shoulder as he shuffled through the papers on his desk.
"We got word that she's in one of his warehouses in the south. They're waiting for more men before they go in and retrieve her because it's heavily guarded." Richard's voice was tense on the other end.
Two days of worrying about the most important people in his life; Olivia, McKenzie and Jasmine. He felt helpless and on edge. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, he was a wreck. Richard insisted that he go out to work and stay busy but he couldn't keep his mind straight. The swelling on his face had gone down but he still had a few bruises.
Richard continued, his voice strained, "But, I have to be honest though, with Alejandro's reputation, I'm not sure if we'll find her alive."
Dwayne's chest tightened and he closed his eyes. "Olivia is a fighter. I know she's alive. She has to be. Anything on Jazzy and Zee?"
Dwayne pushed the papers aside and held the phone in his hand.
"We haven't come across any dead bodies with their descriptions, so we're hoping we find Jazzy alive, McKenzie I'm not worried about."
"But you have come across dead bodies dealing with this case?" Dwayne held his breath.
"Yes."
Silence.
"Richard, what is it?"
Richard sighed heavily. "We found a couple brutally murdered. Neighbours informed us that their foster kids sixteen-year-old, Naomi, is missing. Jimmy, who's ten, is in critical condition at the hospital."
Dwayne's pulse quickened. "Were their faces skinned?"
"No."
Confused, Dwayne asked, "So how do you know it's related to the case and Alejandro is your man?"
"Dwayne, I don't think..."
"Richard! Tell me what the hell is going on!" Fear poured into Dwayne as his breathing grew shallow.
He heard Richard inhale deeply on the other end of the phone.
"Different areas of the family were skinned and the words Olivia Jackson were carved into them."
A wave of nausea washed over Dwayne.
"Dwayne." Richard said softly, "We'll find Olivia if it's the last thing I do! And I'll make that son of a bitch pay for what he did to her."
"Do you know why the family was targeted?" Dwayne said almost inaudibly.
"One of the neighbours stated that there was a child in the house fitting Jasmine's description but she only stayed for a few hours until a man collected her."
"Any word on who the man is?"
"We're still investigating."
Dwayne leaned back and sighed. He was happy Jasmine was able to get away from the brutal onslaught, and narrowly escaped Alejandro's clutches. But, he was still worried because she was still in danger.
"D, I've gotta run. I'll call you back if we have any more leads."
"Thanks."
The line went dead.
Dwayne pushed his phone into his pants pocket. A knock on Dwayne's office door shifted his focus. He stood up as his boss, Mr. Oscar Bertarelli, entered his office.
"Have a seat, Dwayne."
Dwayne nodded and sat. As always Mr. Bertarelli was impeccably dressed. Today he wore a navy blue three-piece tailored suit that clung to his lean muscles as he strode into the office and sat in the leather chair opposite Dwayne. The sides of Mr. Bertarelli's hair were white while the top of his hair was black and wavey. Rumour had it that he was in his early sixties but the man looked no older than forty.
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
"The company just took on a new client, Mr. Matteo Leone."
The air froze in Dwayne's lungs. The Leone family was notorious, with criminal ties rooted in Brazil and Italy. They controlled everything from the ground up, operating with the kind of power that only generations of loyalty could build.
Matteo had moved to Los Angeles long before Dwayne was born, and in that time, he had built an untouchable empire; drugs, women, real estate and God knows what else.
From the little personal information Dwayne had gathered on him, Matteo was the oldest of three brothers. One had died while serving in the army under mysterious circumstances, and the whereabouts of the youngest brother were unknown.
Surprisingly, Dwayne's voice was clear and steady as he spoke. "Mr. Leone, who owns half the real estate in the city? Hotels, strip clubs, and casinos?"
Brothels, crack houses, meth labs?
Dwayne wanted to add but he knew better.
"Yup. That's the one. He's paid me a lot of money to make his problem disappear."
Alarm bells rang in Dwayne's head and he sat up a bit straighter.
"What problem is that?"
Mr. Bertarelli's eyes narrowed. "Because of the delicate nature of this case, Mr. Leone is expecting you at his office within an hour. This case takes top priority. The other cases that you're working on will be handed over to someone else."
Uncertainty rippled through Dwayne. This would be his first case where he knew for sure that the person that he would be representing wasn't innocent. Would he be able to live with that guilt if he was able to get Mr. Leone off Scott-free?
Then something crossed Dwayne's mind and he chose his next words carefully. "A businessman like Mr. Leone wants a new lawyer? Do you know what happened to his previous legal team?"
"Dwayne." Mr. Bertarelli's voice tightened, "That isn't our concern. Mr. Leone paid for a service and he will get it."
Mr. Bertarelli stood and adjusted his suit. "I'll text you Mr. Leone's office address."
Mr. Bertarelli walked to the door. Then turned abruptly and looked Dwayne squarely in the eyes. "There's a lot at stake here and failure is not an option."
Mr. Bertarelli spun on his heels and left Dwayne to gather his thoughts.