Page 5 of Seeking Vengeance

I fuse my molars. Clench my fists. Swallow.

I want to scream. To wail and sob and scratch the torturous emotions right out from beneath my ribs with my fingernails. They have no idea what this is like. They don’t understand how torturous your own imagination can be when your nine-year-old daughter is in the hands of monsters.

I return to my pacing, walking back and forth while my legs grow heavy and my mind paints blood-filled images narrated by little girls’ screams.

What if they’ve touched her? Raped her?

I shove a fist to my lips, demanding the howl clogging my throat to remain inside.

Emmanuel Costa has my daughter. A man who had ties to my now-deceased father.

Most people would grow comforted by the family history. But most people aren’t spawned from the devil himself.

Luther Torian was a despicable man and the worst part was his ability to hide it for most of my life.

Minutes pass. Hours, too. Silence blankets the luxurious penthouse even though my ears continue to ring with haunted screams.

I can’t handle this. Ican’t.

I need to do something. Anything.

I shake my hands at my sides and breathe deep, the oxygen only stirring the bile pooling at the back of my throat.

It’s been too long. My little girl has been taken for almost forty-eight hours. More than enough time to emotionally scar her forever.

“Can you quit the pacing?” Decker mutters. “You’re giving me a headache.”

I pause, about to let out the torture congealing in my chest when the hotel door swings open and Penny rushes in, relief written all over her pretty face.

“What is it?” I run to her, gripping her upper arms before she can get a word out. “What happened?”

“Luca called. They’re coming back.” She smiles, the perfection reaching her dazzling eyes. “There was some sort of confrontation with the Costas, but we’ve got the kids.”

Time stops.

My breathing, too.

My hands drop to my sides as I retreat a step, and for a moment, there’s silence. Pure, euphoria-filled peace as I stare at her, anticipating the weight of my daughter returning to the security of my arms.

“And Cole?” Decker pushes from the sofa and limps forward.

“Him, too.” Penny’s expression infuses with more brilliance when she meets my gaze. Her cheeks are high. Her eyes are beaming. “It’s over. Stella and Tobias are both okay. The Costas have fled. Our guys are making their way to the cars to drive here right now.”

All the air leaves my lungs on a heave of relief but the shaking increases. My arms and legs tremble beyond my control as my pulse grows fractured and rampant.

She’s coming back.

My little girl is coming home.

“Oh, God.” Tears burn my eyes. Emotion sears my throat. “They got them back.”

I don’t care how it happened.

I’m sure I’ll relive it with Stella as many times as she needs to put the tragic events behind her. I’ll do whatever it takes to give her back a childhood that I’ve always endeavored to make normal even though she was born into a family of crime.

Keira walks to my side. Her arm wraps around my waist, a kiss presses to my cheek. “Everything is going to be okay.” She leads me to the sofa and helps me to sit. “I’m going to get you a drink. Something to take the edge off. The more grounded you are when the kids return, the safer they’ll feel.”

I nod, placing my hands between my knees, rocking back and forth while she walks to the liquor trolley on the far side of the room.

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