Page 141 of Desperate Crimes
The world stutters.
I clutch the edge of the desk with one hand.“What do you mean, something happened?”
“His plane landed or went down.Somewhere in an old rebel corridor.Just outside the Tawi province.”
I don’t understand the words.
I know what they mean, I just can’t seem to process them.
They slide across my brain like oil on glass.
“There was an explosion.Possibly a device.We’re still confirming.But we know he survived the blast.”
He survived.
My knees buckle, and I sink to the floor, my back hitting the bookcase.
“But?”I whisper.
There’s always a but.And my stomach clenches as my father exhales.
“They took him, Dochka.”
“Took him?Who?”
“Militia.Guerrilla soldiers.They boarded the wreckage before backup could arrive.They took Nico and a few of his men.No one’s heard anything since.We think it’s ransom, but these groups, they don’t always follow rules.”
My entire body is trembling.My vision blurs.I can’t breathe.
No.No.This can’t be real.
Nico is invincible.
He’s mine.
He’s not allowed to disappear.He’s not allowed to get hurt.
That’s not part of our story.
“He’s alive,” Dad says again, firmer now.“I need you to hold on to that.We are doing everything.I’ve got people on the ground.So does his father.You’re not alone in this.”
But I am alone.
Because I didn’t just marry a man.
I married a Viper.
I press a hand to my mouth to hold in the scream.
My body curls around itself on the cold hardwood.The phone slips from my hand.
I can still hear my father’s voice on speaker, distant now.“Leanna?Dochka, are you?—”
But all I can hear is the rush of blood in my ears and Nico’s voice from three weeks ago, growling through the static.
“I’m coming back to you.Always.”
Oh God.
Please.
Please keep him alive.
Please bring him back to me.
