Nerd in Disguise: Blood Bound

Chapter 32

I really don't want to get up from the sand, though I am very uncomfortable in the chilly weather and soaked clothes. I wonder if Jacob is alright, if he made it out before the explosion.

I wish I knew how Dante knew where I was, or most importantly, knew there would be an explosion. I assume this was a bomb of some kind. I briefly wonder whether the news will label it as a gas leak or terrorist attack; either explanation has been used before.

I hold my breath as I see flashlights and hear voices coming from above.

I close my eyes and give a small prayer.

"Found her." I squint through the beam of light directed right at my face.

"Geez, you're shining the light straight into her eyes you dimwit." Someone comments.

"Dante, is that you?" I say, but my throat is a bit dry from all the salt water I drank.

"Yes ma'am, we need to get you out of here." Dante and some other people lift me up gently. I wobble a lot as I try to stand on my feet. Dante carries some of my weight onto his side as he puts my arm around his shoulders.

"Aw fuck. Look at her back." Leo mentions as he directs the flashlight beam onto my right shoulder.

"Damn..." I think Tony gives a low whistle.

"What?" I lift my head up and try to look behind me. I see some small glass shards on my right shoulder. That explains the mother trucking stings I felt.

"You have glass shards all over your back. Luckily, they are tiny. Nothing huge." Leo states. "Might leave some light, small scars..."

"Ah, my scar collection always welcome new additions." I reply sarcastically.

"Ah, Dante," I look in his direction. "How'd you know about the explosion?"

He shares a serious look with my brothers. "Jacob called us on his burner cell. He left the call open. Anyways, there was a discussion going on. I think Jacob was caught and taken hostage, but he left the line open, unbeknownst to his captives. We don't know where Jacob was brought, but the captives were on a break and discussing some bomb they left in the House of Mirrors. It would be a surprise for some girl. We assumed this girl would be you. Luckily, we got to you in time because the bomb was supposed to go off two minutes after you entered."

"Who are they? What do they want with Jacob? Is Jacob alright? Do you know where he is?" I fire the questions one after the other.

"We know they aren't tied with the Acerbi Family because they don't do business this way. We have nothing on Jacob, nothing whatsoever." Leo shakes his head and sighs.

A phone rings suddenly. All eyes glance toward Leo, who takes out the phone and answers it. There's a bunch of nods and words of confirmation before Leo hangs up.

"We just got some fucking great news." He grins widely. "We need to head home fast, but I'll explain on the way."

*****

"Alfredo Acerbi has been arrested." Leo states. "Him and several other people, of which i shall not name names."

"Wait, how?" I gasp in shock.

"With the help of someone we know, we managed to find enough evidence for all the illegal activities the Acerbi Family has been involved in." Dante grins chillingly.

"Like...? And who helped you guys?" I ask.

"That damn trafficking business he has going on. All the undercover agents Dad put in always ended up dead. The corrupt cops never did a damn thing. We finally managed to grab some dirt because of the last fight we had. The computer drive you got was encrypted, but someone helped us decode and decrypt the file. And damn, we hit the motherfucking motherload." Tony looks like Christmas came early.