Page 362 of Legacy
“Amato.”
“Valentina’s been taken.” Luciano’s voice is cold. Clipped. Controlled, like a man holding back an avalanche.
My blood runs ice.
“What? When?”
“Shortly after Santo and Vasilisa left. Two hours ago. I just pulled the feed. They took her.”
Fuck.
My jaw locks as I drag a hand through my hair, eyes darting to the bathroom door.
“I’m on my way,” I snap.
I end the call just as Adriana steps out in a black lace nightie that stretches softly over her belly. Her smile is radiant. “It fits!”
But it vanishes the second she sees my face.
Her brows pinch. “What’s wrong?”
“You should sit,” I say, but the words scrape like glass from my throat.
“No.” She crosses her arms,barely,with how much her breasts have grown. “Tell me.”
I close the distance, trying to ease her down, but she pulls away.
“Angelo. Tell me what’s going on.”
I exhale, forced to say the thing that’s going to destroy her. “Your sister was taken by the Armenians.”
Her knees buckle. I catch her before she hits the floor.
She looks up at me, wide-eyed, and the tears come instantly. “No, Angelo. She can’t, she can’t—” Her voice breaks. “We never taught her how to fight… she hasnodefenses, and what they did to me—”
She squeezes her eyes shut and my chest cracks open watching her relive it.
“I know, Tesoro.”
Her hands tremble against my chest. “Angelo, we have to find her.Fast.”
“I’m going,” I promise. “Your brother pulled footage. We’ll get her back.”
“How long?” she asks, steadying herself on shaking legs.
“I don’t know how long—”
“No.” Her voice hardens. She starts pulling open drawers, grabbing clothes with fierce purpose. “How long has she beengone?”
I hesitate. But I don’t lie to Adriana. Not anymore.Not ever again.
“Two hours.”
Her shoulders drop. Her face goes ghostly pale. “Angelo…” she breathes.
“I know, baby.”
She presses one trembling hand to her chest, the other to the gentle swell of her belly. Her voice is barely a whisper. “They had me in a cage in twenty minutes. And the man I had to kill came ten minutes later. What if—” Her voice shatters, eyes filling. “What if they already—”
