Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
It’s the last song she played for me. Lonely by Akon.
“Rosie!” Desperation fills my voice as I shoot to my feet, and walking closer to the entertainment system, I notice the volume bar moving on its own.
Three notches up. One down. Three up again.
My heart slams against my ribs as the air bursts over my lips and intense relief pours through me with indescribable force.
“Rosie!” I shout in case she can hear me. Running to the nearest camera, I look up, my voice is hoarse as I say, “Send me GPS coordinates so I can find you.” I lift my arm as another wave of relief sends shivers over my body and reach for the camera. “Thank you, bella mia. Fuck. Thank you for this sign. I’ll find you. I promise I won’t rest until I have you back.”
The song ends, and the entertainment system switches off, and as silence falls around me, I gasp through the emotions flooding my chest.
So much fucking relief and gratefulness. Hope. God, the intense hope makes my head spin, and bending over, I brace my hands on my knees while breathing through the miracle that’s just been handed to me.
My woman is alive.
Thank you, God.
Fuck.
Rosie is alive.
I knew it. I fucking knew it!
Straightening up, I dig my phone out of my pocket and dial Uncle Dario’s number again.
This time it only rings twice before he answers, “Hi, Enzo.” His voice sounds drained of all life.
“Did you get my message?”
“No, I haven’t had a chance to listen.”
“Rosie is alive. She’s been sending me messages for the past thirty minutes.”
“What?” he gasps.
“Music has always been her thing. She sent me two songs she knew I’d recognize and two messages on my dashboard screen. Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin’ alive and Living’ on a prayer. She’s alive, Uncle Dario. Come over and see if you can track her. Maybe she left crumbs for you to follow.”
“I’m coming! Fuck, Enzo. I’m coming!”
The call ends, and I look at the camera again. I don’t even care if Rosie can or cannot hear or see me as I say, “I miss you so fucking much, bella mia. I swear, I will find you and bring you home. Keep sending messages.”
Once again, relief moves through me like a fucking tidal wave. It’s so overpowering, I become breathless.
Then a smile spreads over my face for the first time since this fucking nightmare started.
Uncle Dario makes it to my place in record time, and when he jogs into the foyer and sees my grin, his face crumbles and tears begin to roll down his cheeks.
“What did she say? Tell me everything!”
We walk to the laptop as I explain what happened, not leaving a single detail out.
Sitting down beside each other, Uncle Dario grabs me around the neck and hugs the fuck out of me. “Christ, son. This is…” He can’t find the right word, and pulling back, there’s a look of disbelief on his face.
“It’s proof of life.”
He nods and picks up the laptop, then gets to work while sucking in deep breaths so he can calm down.
I don’t leave his side, watching how he goes in and out of programs, typing complicated code I’ll never understand.
Somewhere between all those numbers and letters is Rosie.
Uncle Dario’s phone beeps, and he takes it out of his pocket, then glances at me with wide eyes before showing me a text from an unknown number.
Listen to ‘Sugar, Sugar’ by the Archies for $4.99.
I bring the song up on my phone and press play, and as we listen to the words, Uncle Dario’s breaths speed up and he gets emotional again.
His voice cracks over the words as he says, “That’s definitely, Rosie.”
The song cuts out, and Adriano’s name shows on the screen as my phone rings.
I swipe to accept the call. “Hey.”
“The lights in my house keep flickering like they did when Rosie was learning to hack into shit.”
“She’s been sending songs to Uncle Dario and me,” I tell him.
“She’s alive.” Laughter comes over the line. “Fuck. What do we do?”
“Uncle Dario is looking for any crumbs she might have left. Come to my place.”
“Be right there.”
We hang up, and I look at my future father-in-law, seeing as I’m marrying Rosie the instant I have her back.
“Rosie made the lights in Adriano’s house flicker.”
“Yes, Rosellina! I’m going to find you.” He gets back to work, his fingers flying over the keyboard.
I lean back and let out a deep breath, then I’m hit with a fresh wave of hope and relief, and I almost start fucking crying from the happiness coursing through my veins.
We’ll find you, bella mia, and then I’m never letting you out of my fucking sight again.
Chapter 17
Rosie
It took two weeks for Kirill to stop watching my every move while I work, and last week, I finally managed to send out a handful of hidden codes, praying to all that’s holy Enzo, Dad, and Adriano received them.