The Twelve Vitali Ch. 32

"Hi, Mattie," Aria said as Zion put his phone in the middle of the table. "We miss you, come home quick!"

"Hey, Ari, I'm trying to, believe me," he chuckled. "Lucca, Cat is an adult, if she doesn't want breakfast, she doesn't have to eat it. Zion, you don't have to choose sides, you aren't a child either," he sighed. "Kitten, it's okay to tell them why you don't want to eat, I told you this, but if you're not sleeping as well, it's obviously a bigger problem than you led me to believe."

"But I'm perfectly fine, you know I am!" she argued.

"Zion wouldn't have said anything if he thought you were perfectly fine, and I doubt he would have called your bluff and phoned me if he wasn't pretty concerned. Zion's too easy going to worry about the little stuff," Matteo said softly. "I have to go, but I'll call you in a few hours to see how you're feeling. Okay?"

"Okay," Cat said softly. She had been hoping he would just tell them to back off and let her live her life. Hearing the concern in his voice and the implication that he didn't believe she was just fine, despite her protests, worried her, and she wondered if asking Zion to make this call was a good idea after all. At least he had told them to back off a little bit, sort of.

"I love you," Matt said and ended the call. He immediately went back to where he had been sitting with Joshua Donati and Tomaso Farnese.

"Problems at home?" Tomaso asked, a touch of concern in his face. His son, Massimo, had kept him informed of the drama surrounding Mateo and his new wife before this meeting of the thirteenth had been called, and he was concerned with the complexity of attacks on the couple and their family.

"There is only so much stress I expect my wife can take, but she keeps surprising me at every turn," Matteo smiled thinking of Cat, who would, he knew, soldier on, regardless of how long he was away. He was determined to get home, though, and told his breakfast companions that he intended to leave that afternoon whether anything had been resolved or not.

"I feel the same, we can't just wait around here until the Martino's locate Giovanni and get him here, they've had two days already," Josh said. "Dante's looking after Peri, but I am still eager to be home, I can only imagine what it's like for Matteo with Ricco away from home as well. It seems the Vitali are doing all they can to resolve his crisis, and the Martino family are only hindering a resolution."

"It's time for rational thinking to prevail," Tomaso said. "Leave it with me; I'll meet you in there."

Forty-five minutes later Matteo watched as Fabiano Amarti stood from the table and began to pace in thought. The Amarti family were well known as peacemakers and had managed to never upset another table or cause an issue that required a meeting of the thirteen. They rarely spoke out against another or interfered with the happenings of other families. They held no great power or alliances with particular members of the twelve, but neither were they dismissed easily. For this reason he captured everyone's attention, and the room went quiet in anticipation.

"I hate to be the one to point out the obvious, but there has never been a case where we have been asked to wait for so long for a family to produce a member of their family, even from the Papillo, who live so far away," he said slowly. "I am sorry, Theo, but you cannot expect us to sit and delay the Vitali any longer when there are obvious threats to Matteo's wife and family. Whether those threats come from your family or not is yet to be seen, but by delaying unnecessarily, should anything untoward occur, it will reflect badly on you, and I am sure neither you nor your father wants that. It is time for truth, is it not?"

"I agree. Why can't you produce the man in question? It has been two days since the request, and days before that the meeting of the thirteenth was called. In all this is the fourth day since seeing the threats. Would you not want to protect Giovanni by bringing him to the fortress if they are true?" Bruno added.

"Were it my family being threatened there is no way I would be sitting here while you flout the laws and fail to produce Giovanni to answer our questions. Matteo came here without accusation in search of answers, giving you the chance to prove the information sent to him was created by someone wanting disharmony between the families of our table. The longer we are forced to wait here with no response, the more we are all inclined to believe this information is true. Furthermore, while we sit here, Stefano and Ricco Vitali are seeking out answers from the Tatar to prove your innocence when you won't do it for yourselves. It is time, Trevino, to let your son talk freely." Fabiano pressed. "Because I will put Matteo Vitali on a plane to his wife tonight rather than see him suffer another day worrying about his love while you do nothing to ease the situation."

"You cannot use the pretence that the fate of Maria Vitali was held from you. Every family at this table has secrets hidden within the vaults of the Papillo, or the Battaglia, or even the Satori strongholds. Placing a family member with us for the rest of their lives is not something we take lightly, it is reserved for the worst of the worst of us. She murdered her first-born son. The sin was unforgivable," Leyton said, having had to defend his family's agreement to house Maria rather than have her face the public criminal system. "You should be thanking Roberto, not vilifying him."

"When all is said and done, who watches the watchmen?" Theo finally sighed. "Where are the checks and balances for any of us? Especially those who sit on our tables? We can't locate Giovanni or his son, Mario. They were, themselves, the head of the watchmen."

*****

Cat sat in the back of the car and stared out of the window. She hadn't told her brothers-in-law about her pregnancy. She wanted Matteo and Ricco to announce it to their parents first, or at least be in the room with her when she told anyone. She was feeling better about becoming a mother since talking with David and Isaiah, but she still worried. She sighed loudly, making Hugh glance at her in the review mirror. She ignored him and looked out of the side window at the passing traffic.

She had chosen to support this charity herself. It was one that Anna and Frankie championed and one that resonated with her. The Smith Family was a children's charity helping disadvantaged children to get the most out of their education so they could create better futures for themselves and end the cycle of poverty. She had researched them after Arturo had made her realise what her patronage would mean to various charities, and although they were not an exact match for what she wanted to support they came very close to her vision, and she wanted to support them today and into the future.

The car pulled up to the curb, and she waited patiently as Bradbury came around the car and opened her door for her. He then followed closely behind her until she was inside the venue where he gave her some space while still staying close by and never losing sight of her. His seemingly obsessive attention to her since the abduction unsettled her. She understood the need for security, but it was the way he watched her, and even the way in which he stared at her at different times that made her feel so unsettled.

Once inside she was embraced by Anna and guided to their table. Theresa, Ruth and Dina were already at the table, and Cat smiled and embraced them all before taking her seat beside Kari and smiling widely at her, grateful to have a younger Vitali woman at the table with her. She looked around the grand room realising that very few men attended, and wondered if that was because it was a lunchtime event.

Cat found herself enjoying the lunch immensely as she listened to the speakers entertain the gathering with their own stories and anecdotes of growing up in poverty or working to help families who had been stuck for generations within the cycle of poverty and neglect. Cat was glad she had chosen this particular charity to support into the future, and she wondered if she could work with the board of directors to extend their reach beyond the field of education.

As the lunch drew towards its end, a gentleman wearing a black suit with a bright red tie approached Theresa and bent to murmur in her ear. Cat narrowed her eyes as Theresa looked up in surprise and nodded.

"Catriona, we have to go," she said pleasantly, picking her purse up from the table. Cat frowned but said nothing. She knew who the men in the black and red suits were and trusted Theresa. She stood and also gathered her purse, moving to join Theresa and the man who hovered beside her and walked toward the exit.

"I'll take Mrs. Vitali," Bradbury said gruffly from beside her, reaching to cup her elbow and move her away from the man in the black suit.

"I think..." Theresa began and frowned up at Bradbury.

"You think that any man in your family would have sent a watcher just for you and left the other ladies to fend for themselves?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. "This is not following any protocols set down by the family, and I cannot let her leave with you."

"This is none of your business, rent-a-cop!" the man in the black suit hissed. "Step away from Mrs. Vitali or expect consequences!"

"From who?" Bradbury said in an equally sibilant voice, knowing there was no other watchmen directly around them, and indicated the foyer of the building. "Catriona, you need to come with me now. We will call Matteo once you are secure. Mrs. Vitali," he looked at Theresa, "Think about the men you love and if they would leave the other ladies sitting at the table unprotected if there was any real danger."

Theresa seemed stunned by the whole interaction and frowned at both men, remaining standing in stunned silence. Several cars pulled up outside, and then there was chaos in the movement of dark suits around them.

"Come, now," Bradbury said in a low, commanding voice, and tightening his grip on Cat's arm almost dragged her from the building toward a waiting car.

"No!" she attempted to squirm out of his grasp, preparing to scream when she saw Hugh stand from the car Bradbury was pulling her towards. Memories of the horrible day she had been abducted coalesced in her mind, and she felt panic rise within her.

"Cat!" A feminine voice called her name, and she spun, looking for something, someone familiar.

"Vanessa!" Cat recognised her immediately and breathed a large sigh.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Vanessa asked, her concern evident in her voice. "I'll give you a lift home, and you can tell me what's going on."

Catriona started to move toward Vanessa, but she was suddenly swept up and carried bodily to the car in which Hugh waited and was forced inside as she kicked and cried out at Bradbury, who held her tightly, forcing her to comply with his raspy demand to "Get in the car!"

Cat saw Theresa moving toward Vanessa, still confused by what was going on, and the man in black with the red tie moving speedily through the crowd to the same car Vanessa had appeared from as Hugh moved her own car out into the traffic.

"Let me out! Hugh, pull over!" Cat cried out, feeling more unsafe than she ever had with these people, the ill feelings from her abduction feeding her fear at the strangeness of what had just happened.

"Call your husband!" Bradbury growled, texting, using both hands now that she was secure and the doors were centrally locked so that she couldn't escape even if she wanted to.

The command took her by surprise. Surely if Bradbury meant her harm, he wouldn't be encouraging her to call Matteo and seek help. She frowned and tried to calm her erratic heartbeat by drawing in slow, steady breaths. She pulled her phone from her purse and called Matteo.

"Cat!" Matteo breathed anxiously into the phone as he answered her call.

"Matt, something's wrong, and I don't want to be here with Bradbury," she said softly into the phone.

"Please, Kitten," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "I need you to stay with Bradbury and Hugh. I am heading to the airfield now, and I'll be back in a couple of hours. I need you to trust me, please, stay with Bradbury."

"But I don't understand. What's going on?" Cat asked, her panic rising again with her voice.

"Kitten," Matteo said soothingly, feeling anything but calm himself. "Please, just stay with Bradbury until I can get there, I'm almost at the airfield now. Just a few hours. Okay? I need to know you are safe, and I trust Bradbury more than any other person to look after you right now," he said softly. "Promise me you will stay with him until I can be there."

"What about Lucca or Zion?" she asked, getting the same strange feeling from Bradbury that she always had; as if he wasn't the man he portrayed himself to be.

"No, stay away from the HQ and any of my brothers, just stay with Bradbury and Hugh. Knox will meet me at the airport. He and Bradbury will be in constant communication. I love you, Kitten, there is nothing more important to me than your safety right now. Can you understand that much at least?" He asked, his voice cracking slightly as he listened to her breath quicken in anxiety.

"Okay," she said, finally hearing how distressed she was making him. The fact that he was already on his way to the airfield before she called him finally registering in her mind. Something was very wrong, but she couldn't work out exactly what went wrong.

"Thank you," Matteo breathed. "I'm coming, just stay with him until I get there."

"Fly fast," she said softly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Kitten. I'm boarding the plane now. I'll call you as soon as I land," he promised.

"Okay," she whispered, and held the phone next to her ear long after Matteo had ended the call, trying to make sense of his trust in Bradbury and his determination that she should stay with him.

*****

The alert had rung out on Matteo and Roberto's phones almost as soon as Theo began to speak. Both men moved immediately, their fingers pressing buttons to get answers as they moved with grim determination from the room, not wasting time in farewells and explanations. Bruno and Marcus moved equally as fast, organising a jet to be readied to return the men home.

Behind them, Trevino and Theo Martino faced the nine remaining men who were demanding answers now, despite not knowing what crisis had pulled the Vitali men from the room, but assuming it had to do with current events. Josh sat in horror. He could not imagine having heard the alert while being so far from his home and family when they had been attacked so many years ago, and he once again felt the keen loss of his parents. He wasn't about to let the Marino side step this interrogation as the Pelligrini's had so often before the damage was done.

Watchmen appeared as if from nowhere to escort the men, and, as Matteo spoke to Cat, Roberto spoke with Cosimo, ensuring that all of his brothers, sons and nephews were on their way to safe houses with their families. No one had been able to contact Stefano and Ricco, who had seemed to disappear from the hotel they were staying at earlier that morning.

"Information is still coming in!" Cosimo said in a stressed and harried voice, and Roberto could hear the chaos around him through the phone line.

"The women?" Roberto barked.

"All accounted for, except for Vanessa and Theresa, who were seen together when the alarm sounded outside the venue where they had been attending a charity event with Catriona. Catriona left in a separate car with her security detail, and it is believed Theresa left the scene with Vanessa," Cosimo admitted.

"Okay, find Theresa as a priority, I don't remember her telling me that Vanessa was attending any events with our family in the lead up to her wedding," Roberto said, an ill feeling settling deep within his gut. Vanessa, he knew, was the weak link in the family, in that she had obviously told Mario about the visit to her mother, but surely she wouldn't be involved in any plot to her hurt the family.

"Already on it! Call me as soon as you land!" Cosimo barked as he managed the men and women around him and the vast amount of information about each member of the family as they and their watchmen checked in.

Roberto took his seat on the plane and listened to Matteo try to calm Catriona, who obviously was bewildered and unhappy with whatever steps were being taken to ensure her safety. His mind went to his wife, and he prayed for her safety. He couldn't imagine why she hadn't checked in, or why she would have willingly gone with Vanessa instead of her own driver.

*****

Ricco felt ill, his stomach rolling, and he couldn't make sense of it. He shouldn't be hungry enough to make him feel ill, he'd eaten a huge breakfast. He grimaced at the feeling and closed his eyes, trying to sort through the jumbled images in his mind. His first thoughts were always of Cat and Matteo, but Theresa floated through his mind, and, oddly, Vanessa. As he concentrated on Vanessa, his stomach lurched again, making him almost vomit. Something was wrong, he knew it, and not with himself, with the family. He stood from his familiar place in the long grass where he chose to meditate and headed back towards the hotel in search of his father. He found Stefano packing and looking pale.

"I was concentrating on the wrong women!" Stefano snapped angrily and continued to throw his belongings into his case. "We have to go, immediately!"

Ricco packed quickly and picked up his father's case as well as his own and began striding toward the car. He had said nothing since his father's pronouncement, aware of his own ill feeling and the gut feeling that it involved Vanessa, and possibly Theresa.

"If you wish to get home fast you need to follow me," one of the men who was a bar regular said in a deep, strong voice that commanded their attention. He held his keys, and without waiting for an answer Ricco and Stefano packed their car and then pulled out, seeing the man in a dusty old ute waiting for them at the junction of the two roads and indicating to show which road they would be taking.

"Follow him," Stefano said in answer to Ricco's inquiring look. He had wanted to follow, but as always paid deference to his father's wishes. After only ten minutes of speeding along the country road, it dipped as it curved around a small hill, and after another ten minutes, during which they stopped to gain entrance to a property boarded by an electrified fence, a large farmhouse came into view. The farmhouse was surrounded by barns and sheds, showing it to be a working farm. Ricco barely took it in as he noted the small plane on a rough runway.

"Thank God," he murmured, making Stefano look at him sharply.

"What do you know?" Stefano asked sharply.

"Anytime I think of Vanessa my stomach pitches and rolls, Mama the same, but less so," he admitted.

"Catriona?" Stefano asked.

"No, I feel only the usual warmth when I think of her and Matteo," Ricco said carefully, thinking about them as he spoke.

"Good, good," Stefano said, though his body was still tense and he seemed somehow paler and frailer than he had been recently.

"Come, we will assist you and deal with the people who would drag the Tater into this battle," the man said, indicating the plane they had parked near.

The men took only what they needed, leaving their car and belongings behind, believing they would be able to come back in retrieve them, given time, and boarded the plane. Ricco had not been surprised to find Fawn on board. It seemed that since meeting her the day before she had been everywhere he was each time he turned around with her enigmatic smile and cryptic words that gave him no answers to the questions he asked. He said nothing, only nodding and moving to take his seat on the small plane so different from Matteo's jet.