Page 83 of Surrender

I untuck my shirt and strip to my bra and underwear. I lay next to him, in the crook of his arm. He gathers me to him and takes a picture of the worst night of my life.

Chapter fifty-one

Declan

The court is full of low murmuring. The prosecution called Serenity up to the stand for questioning, but when she didn't come up when called. Scanning the room, I realize she's not here. Daniel, and Harrison have gone to look for her in the hallways and foyer and Cas is checking the lady's room.

Where the hell has she gone?

We arrived together an hour ago to show solidarity, but I haven't been able to keep an eye on her because she's sat behind me.

Cas said she left twenty minutes ago because she was agitated. She said she needed fresh air.

Anderson is up at the podium, chatting with the judge about options if she can't be found. Can't be found? What the fuck does that mean?

And then I notice who else is missing. Fucking Volkov. I swear if he did anything to her, I won't stop at revoking his membership. I'll fucking kill him.

"We'll have a thirty-minute recess to find our key witness," the older woman says with a glare at the prosecuting lawyer who has the good graces to look apologetic.

I throw the doors open with more force than necessary and find Cas, Daniel, and Harrison huddled together in the busy hallway. People glare at us as they walk by and I'm sure they're from the same religious group that always complains at the town halls, but I couldn't care less. Angry fear has heat crawling up my neck and me clenching my fists.

"Have you called her?" Cas asks.

I shake my head. We were all ordered to put our phones on silent when we entered the courtroom. I pull my phone from my slacks and find a notification from an unknown number.

I dismiss it and call Serenity's phone. It rings through to voice mail. I hang up and am about to call again, when something tells me to check the unknown number.

I open the text message to my worst nightmare. I close my eyes and feel every moment of my heart breaking. It hurts. God, does it hurt. My eyes are closed but I can still see the picture seared behind my eyelids. That image will haunt me for the rest of my life.

But what life? What is my life without Serenity in it.

"Dec? What is it?" Cas's voice sounds far away, and I can't physically say the words out loud. I simply thrust my phone at the general direction of her voice.

There's whispering, but I can't hear a word. My breakfast threatens to reappear as I focus on breathing simply in and out of my nose. Can you die from a heart break? Because it feels like I'm dying.

Vikki's death broke me, but our love was new, and my grief was mixed with the injustice of a life lost young, and having a future taken away from me.

This pain? This pain makes me wonder if I ever loved Vikki at all. This pain makes me want to collapse on the floor and just give up. My sweet Serenity. She absolutely could have seduced Volkov. She's beautiful, innocent, and sweet and kind beyond reason. I've seen how he's wanted her from the first time he saw her.

I thought she was mine. I thought she was as in this as I was. And that's when the doubt creeps in. Serenity is in love with me. Everything she's said to me over the six months apart, everything she's done for me. We didn't have a falling out; we didn't have a fight.

People who are happy in a relationship don't cheat. We were happy. She was happy, and so beautifully in love with me.

It's not adding up.

"Are you sure that's her? They cropped out the faces," Cas says hopefully.

I dig the heels of my hands into my eyes until they hurt.

"Serenity has a mole under her left breast. That's her."

"Who is she with?"

"Volkov. I recognize his watch."

Even if she was cheating on me with him, why in the middle of our trial? We don't live together anymore; she could have slept with him any time. Even if this picture was old, why would she disappear during our trial when she was just as passionate about protecting The Envelope.

None of this is adding up.

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