Page 23 of Mafie Queen

Everyone is yelling around me, but I only look down at my girl. Her face seems so much smaller than before, and the dark circles that rim her eyes rival Laney’s.

“What did he do to you, Little Shadow?” I whisper as I pull her into me.

A couple of rogue tears slip loose as I hold her close. She doesn't even smell like herself. Panic sets into my chest at the thought that maybe none of this is real. Maybe she’s a figment ofmyimagination.

The voices around us die down as Alexi comes over to me, wrapping an arm around her while giving me a pleading look. I don’t want to let go of her, but I won’t be selfish. He needs her just as much as I do. As much as we all do. I help him get Evie into his arms. The moment her body rests on him, it’s as if the weight of the world falls from his shoulders.

Alexi sits beside me, staring at her and trying to hold it together at the same time. I look around for Lev, prepared to see the relief in his eyes. But when I finally find him, pure terror reflects back at me from across the helicopter. He couldn’t be further from her if he tried.

My brows pinch as I move to stand, but he shakes his head, deepening my confusion.What the hell is happening right now?

Once we all have helmets with mics on, Havoc speaks. “Doc said she might panic seeing you all again. So, he gave me a sedative to use if things went sideways.”

Alexi stiffens. “We would have found a way to help her without drugging her. You of all people should know how important that is to her.”

Havoc narrows his eyes at him as if he knows something we don’t.

“What was more important than that, was getting her out alive. Now, we just have to hope that Lizz’s inside men are keeping Adrik and Rostya busy so we can fly out of here without getting hit by a fucking missile.”

My eyes nearly bug out of my face because he didnotmention that during the planning phase. “They have missiles and you didn’t tell me?”

Alexi looks at me as if this is the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yes, Damien. We kept that from you after you decided to make a deal with the Triads without informing anyone else of your plan.”

I scoff in response but look down at Evie in Alexi’s arms. We have her now. So, whatever happened, it was worth it.

“Lizz, are your girls hitting his other bunkers so they have no place to hide?” I ask.

She looks at her phone. “Two of the four were hit before we boarded down the mountain. The others are on fire as we speak.”

Alexi brushes some of Evie’s hair out of her face, and adjusts her in his lap. The crease in her brow eventually seems to relax as she takes a deep breath. My heart finally calms because she’s ours, she’s here, and we’re taking her home.

“Would anyone like to add any suggestions as to what they think was happening to her when she aimed that gun at me?” Boris asks, ruining my moment of happiness.

Havoc’s phone lights up and so does Lizz’s. They both look at each other before forwarding a message to us.

C: This is everything they had about programming her. You’re going to need it. I did what I could by not giving her the drugs he talks about, but he was very extensive in his conditioning of her.

“Programming?” I question just as pictures of a notebook appear on my screen. I feel sick as I flip through the methods of torture that were used on my girl over and over for the past three weeks.

Alexi’s breathing picks up, but none of us are prepared when Lev falls out of his seat and begins vomiting into the bin by the door. I rush over to help him but he flinches at my touch. He pushes me away, shaking his head.

As much as I pride myself on consent, I know Lev and I don’t really think he wants space. It’s part of being a good partner. Being so in tune with your other half, or in my case, one-third, that you know when to push their unwanted boundaries and when to back off.

And right now, Lev just needs to be shown love while processing this awful reality. I pull off my headset and grab Lev, putting him in my lap as he shakes and clings to me.

I hold him tight, not wanting a single atom to separate us as I whisper just for him, “I know. We will get her through this. She’s so strong, baby. We’ve got her back and we are never letting her go again.”

Boris, Havoc, and Lizz are all having a conversation, but Alexi looks right at me as we hold the broken pieces of our hearts in our hands. I notice the faint tremble of his bottom lip, and I can tell we’re all together in our feelings. The thought that screams in the back of my mind is loud and terrifying.

We just got her back, but will she ever really be able to come back?

???

We were able to form a plan on the way home. Once we got off of the helicopter, we boarded a private jet and got to work. Alexisent Dr. K all of the information from the book, and she believes she will be able to help Evie. Since we know she’s sensitive to me, Alexi, and Lev, we decided to get Dr. K a house not far from Boris’ estate that she will stay at with Evie until she has finished deprogramming her.

Words I never thought I’d hear.

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