Peter steered her down a narrow side hall marked STAFF ONLY, pushing open a back door that led into the alley. Cold air hit her face, but it wasn’t enough to clear the fog in her head. “Luca,” she whispered, the name barely leaving her lips.
Peter smiled, satisfied and cruel. “He’s busy watching his friend fight,” he said softly. “He won’t even notice you’re gone.” It felt as though the alley swallowed them whole as he led her to his car. Inside the gym, fists flew on the screen, the crowd shouting themselves hoarse. And no one noticed that Sophia was gone—not even Luca.
LUCA
The knockout came out of nowhere. Rocco’s opponent folded on the screen, the referee diving in as the Atlantic City crowd erupted. The gym exploded with cheers, whistles, and bodies jumping around him, celebrating. Someone turned the volume up even higher, and the announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers.
Luca barely registered what he was saying, though. His eyes searched the hallway when he realized that Sophia should’ve been back by now. He had lost track of time, and he felt horrible for not paying better attention. He had checked his watch around four. She’d left during the round before that, and when he realized that she had been gone for another three rounds, his pulse ticked up, unease crawling up his spine.
“Sophia,” he called, already moving down the hallway to the ladies’ locker room.
Aurora noticed immediately that something was wrong as she followed him down the hallway. “She didn’t come back?”
“No,” he said, not slowing. “She should’ve been back a while ago, but I lost track of time. This place is secure, though. She should be safe.” He wasn’t sure if he was saying that to appease Aurora or to make himself feel better about the whole situation.
The hallway was empty. The women’s bathroom door hung slightly open, the fluorescent light buzzing softly inside. He pushed his way into the room and shouted for her again. “Sophia,” he called again. He was met with silence, and his stomach dropped. The tight knot in his chest snapped into full-blown panic. He checked the men’s locker room, the vending area, and the small storage hall near the lockers. It was all empty. Every second seemed to stretch on for much too long.
Aurora followed him, her face pale now. “Luca, this isn’t right.”
“No,” he agreed. “It’s not. She should be here. She wouldn’t just leave.”
He turned and headed for the small office off the main floor. The door was unlocked—someone had left it that way for the fight. Luca shoved inside and went straight for the security monitors. His hands shook as he watched the footage back with Aurora.
“There,” Aurora said softly, pointing to the screen.
Sophia appeared on-screen, stepping into the hallway, glancing back toward the gym like she was debating whether to return. He knew that she was having a rough day. She told him that she felt as though something was off, but he promised her that she was safe. Maybe he should have listened to her gut, but he didn’t, and now, she was gone.
When a man entered the next frame, Luca’s blood ran cold. “Peter,” he whispered. “He fucking got to her.”
Aurora sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh my God.” They watched in horrified silence as Peter brushed past her, seeming to say something to her as he steadied her arm. Sophia stumbled as her hand slid along the wall. He could tell that she was dizzy with the way that her body swayed down the hallway as she tried to get away from Peter. She was so close to making her escape. All she had to do was turn the corner, and he would have seen her, but she didn’t make it that far.
“No,” Luca whispered, dread and fury crashing together as he watched Peter easily catch her. He easily positioned her body so the camera couldn’t see what he did next—but Luca knew. He knew the moment her head tipped back that Peter had drugged her.
“He drugged her,” Aurora said, as though reading his mind. Her voice was shaking, and Luca had to admit that he felt the same way as she did. Luca couldn’t breathe. His hands curled into fists as he watched Peter smile for the cameras as he passed by them, guiding Sophia down the STAFF ONLY corridor like a concerned boyfriend.
The back door opened, and they disappeared into the alley. Aurora pressed a hand to her mouth. “Luca?—”
“I’m going to find him,” Luca said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Aurora grabbed his arm. “We need to call the police.”
“Do it,” he said, already backing toward the door. “Call them. Call everyone.” He rewound the footage once more, burning Peter’s face into his memory. He’d chase down their every step to find Sophia, but he couldn’t stand around and wait for the cops to show up.
Sophia had trusted him. He’d promised her he wouldn’t disappear again, and now she was gone. Luca turned and ran for the exit, rage and fear fusing into something lethal inside of him. Peter had taken the one thing Luca would burn the world down to protect. And now, Luca was done waiting.
It had been almost a week since Peter took Sophia, and every passing day had Luca feeling that he might never see her again. But he couldn’t give up on finding her—he never would. She was his life, and letting that psycho win wasn’t an option.
Sleep had become a suggestion rather than a necessity. Luca grabbed it in short bursts—an hour here, twenty minutes there—usually in a chair, fully dressed, with his phone in his hand. Every text or phone call sent his heart racing. Every unknown number felt like a promise and a threat all wrapped into one.
The police had done what they could. He filed a missing person’s report. Luca answered the cop’s questions a thousand times in hopes that they would be able to find where Sophia was, but Peter wasn’t sloppy. He hadn’t used a credit card, hadn’t been caught on traffic cams after the alley, and hadn’t called to make any demands. It was like he’d vanished into smoke. He had gotten what he wanted—Sophia, Luca’s Sophia, and he probably wasn’t planning on resurfacing any time soon. Which meant Luca had to think like him if he wanted his woman back.
He paced his living room, trying to come up with his next move. He had covered his walls with maps, printed screenshots of Peter taking Sophia out of the gym and into the back alley, and timelines scribbled in marker. He had a list of formerfoster care homes that Peter was in and the schools he attended. He searched places Peter had some connection to, because monsters always returned to familiar ground. But every rock that he overturned left him with nothing but anger and nothing much to show for his troubles.
Aurora checked in every day, sometimes twice a day. She brought food that Luca barely touched and sat with him when the nights got too long. She never told him to calm down or be patient. She just listened. The guys were at his house every morning to go over the game plan for the day. They all meant well, but they were no closer to finding Sophia.
“She’s strong,” Aurora said quietly one night. “You know that. She’s probably giving that asshole hell.” Luca wasn’t sure if he found that thought funny or if it terrified him. If she were giving Peter trouble, he might end up doing something desperate and hurt her.
“I know,” Luca replied, staring at a photo of Sophia smiling back at him. She was wearing his T-shirt and had sexy bed hair. “But strength only lasts so long when someone’s trying to break you.”
