Page 126 of Wanted
And that was when the shaking started. Five seconds was how long it took, but those five seconds were the longest of my life. Up until that point, I’d experienced some heavy shit, courtesy of one of the other occupants of the tiny room we were squeezed in.
Once the initial shaking and the aftershocks ended, Travis shoved the door open, and I took a deep breath. I was the last person to leave our private bunker. I stepped outside, barely able to control my panting. Sirens resounded, and I could hear the distressing sounds that the staff was making all over the palace.
One look outside of the huge windows with the glorious view of my home, and all I felt was panic. There was something different about the skyline I was intensely familiar with. It grasped my attention, and it had me glued to the scene.
I didn’t hear the shuffling behind me. Their agitated voices became background noise to me. At that moment, my heart beat for my people. If we had been scared, I couldn’t imagine what they had gone through. The sirens numbed my ears, warning us to take cover.
It wasn’t over.
“… you’re going to let that little bitch disrespect everything our grandparents built! Aris should’ve died in that car! I should send someone to finish the job in the hospital! Your offspring needs to learn its place…”
“KAMILA!” The faint call of my voice ruffled me. I stepped away from the window, intending to talk some sense into whatever was going on behind me.
The moment I turned, there was a gunshot.
Just breathe, sweetie. I’m so proud of you.
MANDY
I clung to my phone, pressing it against my chest. Weston hadn’t messaged me back, and an hour had passed already. Valentina didn’t want to move from our position under the table.
She urged me to remain steady until one of our people came to the house to let us know the danger had passed.
“Something’s wrong,” Valentina stammered.
“We’re fine. The earthquake’s over,” I assured her. It had been like an injection, in and out. However, then came the aftershocks.
I hated sitting on the floor, and I dreaded having to get up. I needed my therapist and an appointment with my doctor. I needed more effective painkillers. “How’s the baby?”
“I still feel her, so she’s good,” Valentina replied. The frown on her face puzzled me. She said things like that frequently. Her connection to her baby was abnormal and somewhat fictional, but who was I to tell her? “There’s something else.”
I unlocked the phone in my hand, and I dialed Weston’s number. There was no response. Then, I started ringing the others. Jordan. Travis. Fylox. Nobody responded to my calls. Meanwhile, the alarm rang louder than ever.
Unmoving, Valentina, and I remained on the floor. She wasn’t in the mood to chat, and neither was I. Awkwardly, I stared at the furniture from below the table. At some point, I yawned. Minutes stretched like hours.
“Do you forgive me for being such a bitch to you?” Valentina croaked.
My eyes widened at the sudden change of conversation. “Of course. Don’t even sweat it.”
“I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I’m a—”
I interrupted her, “Look, I don’t know what happened to you when you came here, but whatever it was, it shaped you into who you are today. I love Weston, but I’m pretty sure his family had something to do with your behavior change. You were a sweet girl back in Chicago, absorbent of your surroundings and obedient. We fit together because we were both the shy daughters of maniacs. I’m stuck in that frame, but you’ve jumped out of it. I’m starting to think it’s not that bad to evolve.”
“This change was my downfall,” she confessed, lowering her gaze.
“Don’t say that.”
“I should’ve stayed in my lane, Mandy. If I had never strayed, I wouldn’t be here right now. I could be in Milan with Carmelo, living out my dreams…” Valentina’s bottom lip trembled. Her eyelashes fluttered in agony. “Anywhere but here. I never wanted to stay here. I didn’t want to become one of them!”
“What are you saying?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she murmured. “Filthy fucking cockroach…”
Valentina’s whimpers made me forget the pain. I surged forward, ignoring the stabbing pain in my gut. I embraced her. She shook in my arms, and I consoled her. One of these days, she would have to open up to me. Keeping her issues bottled up would only lead to more damage in the long run.
I let her cry against my shoulder. We remained in that same position for a while. Valentina needed a friend. She was incredibly lonely now that Aris was in the hospital. She spent most of her time in her room with a notebook. She never let us in. She didn’t show us what she was working on. I worried about her. We’d spent a considerable chunk of our childhood together, but it was evident that we weren’t those little girls anymore.
Something had happened to Valentina, and I was too scared to ask about it.
