Page 103 of Desperate Victory

Minimize it, but that didn’t mean eliminate it entirely. It had to do. I took a deep breath. It would do.

“Acceptable?” Margareta directed the question to me and I nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Then let us depart.”

Bodhi held out a hand and I narrowed the distance to take it and then we were heading out. They fell in around me, keeping Margareta and Dimitri at a distance. Kellan was waiting for us just outside with the car.

He swept a look over each of us as he opened the back door. “Jas and Rome will follow. Liam and Vaughn are going to meet us there, Doc is holding back with Freddie and Em.”

But he would be available if we needed him.

“Ivy listening?” Milo asked as I climbed into the back.

“So far,” Kellan said with a wry smile. “Let’s see how fast we can wrap this up so she doesn’t decide to go rogue with Freddie.” He didn’t sound terribly concerned. Em wouldn’t make a move without the guys being good with it.

Not when she would worry more about being a distraction. No, she would do her best to keep from scaring anyone. Restlessness invaded my veins, a wild kind of buzz that both muffled the world and made it seem too loud all at the same time.

Milo put a hand on my right knee, the gentle touch drew my attention to the fact my foot was bouncing. I stopped, dragging a deep breath to fill my lungs.

“We’re going to find her,” Milo said, the sincerity in his voice insisted that I believe him. It was all I wanted to do.

His skin felt like fire under my palm when I set my hand on his. “I hope so.”

It was the best I could do and when my gaze snagged on Adam’s, I saw the same worry reflected back at me.

“Milo is right,” Adam said. “We’re going to find her. She’s going to be fine. And we’re going to gut anyone who has laid a single finger on her.”

“For starters,” Bodhi tacked on to the end.

“And we’ll make sure it hurts,” Ezra added.

“For a long time,” Kellan chimed in from the front.

The ease with which they circled the party line made me smile. “I’m down for that.”

For all of that.

The ride from the villa to wherever the school was located took us from one side of Prague to the other. I knew very little about Prague despite the research I’d done on the flight over. Maybe, someday, I could come back and be an actual tourist.

I could take Andrea on a proper European tour. England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and so much more. We would find her and she would be up for this trip someday.

She had to be.

Milo turned his hand over and threaded his fingers with mine. The cold inside of me seemed to continue to spread until ice sheathed the hum, and put a very firm wall between me and the rest of the world.

My heart seemed to race and beat too fast at the same time. I couldn’t quite regulate my breathing. When Ezra pressed his leg against mine, I tried to absorb the comfort they were all offering.

“I’ll be fine when we get there.” The wild energy invading everything made calming myself down almost impossible. That said, I would not be the reason this got screwed up.

“Yes you will,” Bodhi said. “Inside, you’re with me or Milo. Does she know Ezra?”

“Yes,” Ezra said. “I’ve known her since she was a baby.”

“Okay, then we’ll put you with Liam. Milo or I will be with Adam. We’ll sort the Vandals out after that.”

Three teams.

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