Giovanni (Blood Brothers Book 6) (18 page)

Chapter Nineteen

“Where are we going? I feel like we should have been home by now.” Sydney could barely keep her head up. It was throbbing so bad she wanted to vomit. She wasn’t sure how she’d wound up in a car driving to God-knows-where. Yet here she was in Dylan’s old pick-up truck wedged between him and Ida.

Dylan rubbed her thigh. “Don’t you worry about it, babe, we’re just going for a little ride to calm your nerves. You’ve been having little episodes lately.”

Sydney rubbed her temples. That didn’t sound right. “Episodes? What are you talking about? Shouldn’t we go to a doctor?”

Ida took her hand. “I already told you, Sydney, you’ve already been to the doctor. He couldn’t find what was wrong with you, so we’re taking you to a place where you can get the best care possible.”

“But where?” Sydney demanded.

Dylan dug his fingers into her thigh, squeezing until she gasped in pain. “Relax and enjoy the ride. You’re asking way too many questions.”

Sydney attempted to pull away from his grip but he held her firmly. “Let go.”

“Never,” he declared.

“Dylan, you shouldn’t be so rough with Sydney, especially in her fragile state.” Ida spoke the words so indulgently one would think he was perpetrating some minor offense instead of outright assault.

Sydney felt uncomfortable and she wanted to go home. And one thought that remained constant in her mind was John. She didn’t know why she kept thinking about him. He was just a man who had come through town looking for a room but the house was fully occupied. Based on that one meeting though, he’d certainly left an impression on her. But that didn’t matter. She wanted this crazy car ride to end.

“I don’t want to go anywhere but home,” Sydney asserted.

“Shut up, Sydney,” Dylan growled.

“Stop the goddamn, car! Let me out!” Sydney screamed.

Before she knew what was happening, a balled fist slammed into the side of her face. “I told you to shut the fuck up! Now look at what you made me do. Shit. I’m trying to fucking concentrate on the road and you’re pissing me off. Apologize!”

She clutched her face. What the hell was going on? What had happened to Dylan? As far as she knew he’d never been a violent person. Why did he attack her all of a sudden? Regardless of whether something was wrong with him, she refused to apologize. Dylan had laid hands on her. If she knew where her cane was, she’d grab it and beat the shit out of him with it. “Fuck you,” she countered.

“Dylan!” Ida reprimanded. “Keep your hands to yourself. You will not touch her again, do you understand?”

“She’s really pissing me off. I thought you said you fixed her.”

“Shut up, Dylan,” Ida yelled.

Sydney didn’t know what they were talking about but from the sound of it she didn’t think she would get any help from the woman who she thought was her friend.

In a desperate move to be free of these two, she reached for the steering wheel and yanked with all her might.

“What the fuck are you doing, you crazy bitch!” Dylan yelled.

The car swerved back and forth but Sydney clung to the wheel fearful that if she let go, there was no telling where they would take her.

Ida grabbed her arm. “Sydney, no.”

Sydney was thoroughly fed up. She elbowed Ida in the chest but the sudden pain in her head made her scream. Despite this, she held on to the wheel and gave it one more powerful tug before the car began to spin.

“Shit!” Dylan screamed. The car slammed into something hard and then the horn started to blare and wouldn’t stop.

Ida let out an eerie scream. “Dylan! Dylan! You killed him! You killed him.”

Before she could figure out what was happening, Ida began to rain blows over Sydney’s head. For an old woman she was surprisingly strong.

Sydney fought back as best she could but this time when the sharp pain returned it rendered her unconscious.

<><><><><>

The house was empty.

“Shit,” Giovanni cursed in frustration. He was bone-weary and emotionally drained, but when he’d learned that Sydney had disappeared there was no way he was going to leave the search to his brothers. He automatically suspected Dylan. He wouldn’t have put it past that creep to kidnap Sydney.

The entire Grimaldi clan along with the Romanov twins had decided to aid in the search. Giovanni thought they should check Sydney’s house for any clues but there was no sign of life anywhere.

While the others were combing through the rest of the house, Giovanni checked the bedroom. When he came to Sydney’s room, everything in it reminded him of her. He didn’t know how he would survive if something bad happened to her. He should have gotten someone to watch over her in his place, but once he was in the midst of his illness, it was hard for him to think logically.

He ran his hand along the fluffy pink robe hanging on a hook behind the bedroom door. It was the same one she’d worn on the night they’d made love—a night she couldn’t remember. There was something going on in this house and he was determined to find out what it was. It was possibly the only clue he had to saving Sydney.

“We’ve found something!” Cutter yelled from down the hall.

Giovanni rushed out of the room to locate the warlock. Everyone else in their search party had gathered at the end of the hallway in a room Giovanni knew was Ida’s. He pushed his way through the crowd to see what Cutter had found.

“What is it?”

“This room is rife with black magic. Someone here has practiced it for a very long time. And look what we found beneath the floorboard.” Blade pointed to a spot on the floor where one of the boards had been removed. Giovanni knelt down to see a box covered in a pentagram. His hands shook because he had a strong premonition about what was in this box. He’d given up black magic to keep himself from turning into the monster his brother had become, but its call was powerful. He took a deep breath and flipped the box open. He gasped. Inside were bones, a human finger, a vile of blood, and symbols of ones who used the dark arts. Giovanni’s heart skipped a beat when he saw a picture of Sydney with a drop of blood in the center of the picture.

It suddenly occurred to him now why Sydney was getting headaches. She was being controlled. When he’d used the dark arts, he’d learned of a spell to manipulate another person to his will. All it required was the image of the person and a part of their essence. Whenever the person being controlled would try to assert their own will the spell would stop them by causing great pain.

It finally made sense why Ida was so hostile toward him. If she was practicing black magic than she would have recognized that he wasn’t quite human even though he’d recently gone through that purge and had no abilities. It was possible she believed that he would catch on to her little game. So while this woman had been working under the guise as Sydney’s friend and right-hand woman, she was literally controlling her.

“That old bitch,” He roared

“Can someone explain what all this stuff means?” Christine was the first one to speak.

“We’ll have to explain that later. For now, we have to get to Sydney.”

“I agree,” a new voice to the group said.

Everyone turned around to see Nya enter the room.

<><><><><>

When Sydney gained consciousness she felt the sensation of being dragged on the ground. Someone had her by the collar, making it hard for her to breathe. She gasped for air as she fought against the hold on her. “Be still. What I need to do won’t take long at all.”

It was Ida!

Everything came to her. Dylan and Ida had kidnapped her and there had been a car accident. Angered by what this woman had let her grandson do to her, Sydney planted her nails into Ida’s hands and did her best to tear into her leathery flesh.

“You fucking bitch! I tried to be nice, but now you’re pissing me off!” Ida released Sydney and smacked her across the face.

Sydney rolled away from her attacker and attempted to crawl away but Ida grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her along the hard earth floor. As far as Sydney knew, Ida was a frail old woman. How the hell was she this strong?

Sydney tried to grab anything she could get her hands on to make it hard for Ida to take her wherever she was trying to go. She wiggled, kicked and squirmed but the more she fought the tighter Ida’s grip became.

“Stop fighting, bitch!” Ida screamed.

“Why are you doing this?”

“You killed my Dylan. All he wanted to do was love your blind ass but you couldn’t accept that, could you? You thought you were too good for him. So what if he has a temper, who doesn’t? You provoked him!”

“He fucking hit me and you let him! I thought you were my friend. You said I was like a daughter to you.”

“That’s right, you’re exactly like my daughter Maureen. She was a defiant bitch too. The only good thing she ever did in her life was give me my sweet Dylan and you killed him but I plan on fixing that,” Ida explained as she continued to drag Sydney to wherever they were going.

“Here we are. Get up, bitch.”

Sydney struggled to her feet. She turned to run but ran into what felt like a brick wall. She turned around and was met with another obstruction.

Ida laughed. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re trapped in my cube until I get back. Scream if you’d like. No one will hear you.”

The sound of Ida’s retreating footsteps told Sydney she was well and truly alone. “Help,” she whispered.

<><><><><>

“Sydney is close, I can feel it,” Giovanni said to no one in particular even though the car was full. There was a caravan of cars following the one he was in. Driven by Dante, he sat in the front passenger seat. The twins were in back.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. She’s in some sort of danger.” Since the incident in the warehouse, Giovanni’s connection to Sydney had grown stronger. Because he could think more clearly he was in tune with her.

The fact that they’d already made love meant that a bond had been established. He vaguely heard the word, help flicker into his mind. “I can hear her distress.”

“Then we are indeed getting close,” Cutter said. “As we continue in this direction, we’re feeling some very powerful black magic. It’s not as strong as the stuff we faced in Italy but this person is skilled in the arts. We’ll have to tread carefully.”

“You two along with Sasha should be able to counter anything Ida has in store for us.”

Blade shrugged. “Maybe so but you know as well as us that there are parameters and rules in which our magic is used. There are no such requirements with the dark arts.”

“Well I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back. If that old bat harms one hair on Sydney’s head she’s fucking dead.”

Anxiety struck him as the drive seemed to get longer.

Help
.

There it was again.

Giovanni concentrated and attempted to reach out to his bloodmate.
Sydney, can you hear me?

He got nothing but he refused to give up.

Sydney if you can hear this, know that I’m on my way. I’ll find you.

There was still no answer. He grunted in frustration when he heard a very faint,
John
?

Sydney is that you?

Yes. Am I going crazy? I hear you in my head.

That’s because we’re connected. Do you have any idea where you are?

How are you doing this? Yep. I’m definitely going crazy.

Giovanni sighed. He’d been filled in on Sydney’s time at the hotel. He was certain the women had explained the supernatural world to her, but apparently her memory had been wiped again.
Sydney, it’s really me. We’re on our way to get you. Just take a deep breath and tell me anything you can about your surroundings.

There was a long pause and for a brief moment, Giovanni wondered if something had happened to her.
Sydney
,
are you there?

Yes. I’m here. I’m trying to listen for any clues. I’m outside because the wind is blowing all around me. But it feels like I’m trapped in a box of some sort. I hear birds and leaves rustling. I may be in a forest but I’m not certain. The truck crashed and the next thing I remember Ida is dragging me on the ground. She was
so
strong I couldn’t fight her off.

And what about Dylan, is he lurking in the vicinity?

Ida said that Dylan is dead and that I killed him. I don’t know where she’s gotten off to but I think when she gets back she’s going to….

Panic rose in his chest.

Sydney?

There was no response.

Sydney!

Still not answer.

“Shit!” he said out loud.

“Did you connect with her?” Dante asked.

Giovanni racked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Yes. She doesn’t know where she is but she thinks she’s outside. Ida must have her trapped by a spell. Sydney also mentioned an accident. She says that Dylan is dead and Ida is blaming her. I think Ida may try to hurt her.”

“Well it’s helpful that we know there’s been an accident,” Blade pointed out. “That way, we have a good chance of locating the abandoned vehicle. If you could tell us what Dylan’s vehicle looks like we can try to pinpoint its location.”