Page 86 of Heritage of Fire

“No. No, please don’t!” I cry, tears falling freely down my face.

He snatches my hair, fisting it tightly. I let out a shriek, and he yanks my head to the side to stab my neck with the needle. Moving too slow, he slides the plunger down.

“Let’s see how funny you findthat.” He strides for the door.

The door slams behind him, and it shimmers into a pearlescent wave, back and forth, like a dance. My head falls back. Heat pools in my belly and the room around me fades away until all that’s left is a hazy mirage.

Nik stands before me, a hand outstretched. He’s saying words to me, but I can’t make them out.

“What?” I yell. I so desperately want to know what he’s saying.

The picture morphs, and instead of Nik, it’s my father. Raising a gun, he points the barrel at me, disappointment on his face.

“You were never enough, Luna,” he says.

My breathing rapidly intensifies until I can’t catch my breath. A shot flies out of the chamber and I scream as the bullet crawls toward me in slow motion before striking me in the heart. My vision goes black and my head lulls to the side.

As I jolt upright, everything around me ripples and shifts again, and suddenly my sister is sitting across from me. She brings sandwich to her mouth, takes a bite, and smiles at me.

“Find me, Luna.” Her words are a whisper, and she winks out of existence.

“Bella! Where are you?” I scream. My voice echoes around me.

The haze thickens until I’m covered in darkness. The only sound I hear is my own rapid panting. A metallic taste fills my mouth as I bite down on my tongue, keeping in another scream. Tears stream down my face, and I lick each drop of salt. Pressure on my chest causes me to panic even more than before. I can’t see. I can’tbreathe.

“Help me!” I yell.Please turn the lights back on.

Cackling stereos around me, and I twist and turn with each punch of laughter to the air. I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting the darkness.

A female giggle taunts me, and I open my eyes to the inky black. Sadie’s hands roam over Nik’s bare chest. She licks the chorded column of his neck, and his eyes dart open to stare at me.

“Did you think I’d ever wantyouwhen I could havethis?” He moans, and his eyes flutter closed again.

I turn my head to the side, needing to look away.

“Help!” I sob.

“Open your eyes.” I obey the command of Nik’s sultry voice, and I’m back in the room on the ship. But he isn’t here. No one is.

With the lights on, and the darkness gone, exhaustion beats me down, and the lapping of waves sings me to sleep.

Chapter 33

Nik

Slowly, I approach the gate. My car comes to a stop, and I swipe my card to continue down the road toward the warehouse. Four a.m. crept up way too soon.

I didn’t want to come home. In fact, I demanded that Salvatore stay at the office until EV contacted us. However, Luka agreed there was nothing we could do but wait for proof of life and their demands. Begrudgingly, I came home to grab an hour or two nap before heading back to the city to wait.

The warehouse is dark, and there are only a few guards around. I walk over to the garage. Both cars are still gone; Frank’s currently organizing the retrieval of the one Luna took. I tilt my head back, looking at the stars, seeking out the moon like some lost puppy. I’m stunned by how much I’m feeling—all the emotions raging in me. I swallow the painful lump in my throat, hoping that no one’s been able to see just how much of a wreck I am.

I walk up the steps to the second floor, my mind turning over more thoughts of my mother. Did she escape a fate like what’s happening to Luna by leaving this life? This life of potential ransom. In Russia, the splinter groups that enjoy upending theBratva strike often and hard––would she have eventually fallen victim to it? Maybe she was right to leave.

I freeze on the last step. The door to the apartment creaks, partially ajar. Shadows dance as the door sways in the kitchen lamp light.

I reach behind me and unholster my gun. Using the barrel, I push the door open, both hands tightly gripping my weapon. I shift left, then right, methodically moving through each portion of the apartment, checking all the small places for a potential threat. It’s how I was trained, to move deliberately and controlled.

Convinced I’m truly alone, I lower my gun, then close and lock the door. A bag of open popcorn sits on the counter. I scan over the traces of Luna in the kitchen while my mind fills in the blanks of the night.

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