The earth tilts.
Everything goes silent for a beat.
Then fury explodes in my blood, a firestorm of panic and purpose.
I shove past them both and leap into the driver’s seat, honking the horn like a madman.
“MOVE!”I roar at Kai, who’s now blocking the driver’s side door with all the smug self-righteousness of a little brother who thinks he’s being helpful.
“Why?”he deadpans, lifting an eyebrow.
“You can get the fuck in or get outta the way!”
“Guess we’re going for a ride, bruh,” he smirks.
And I punch him in the shoulder.Hard.
“Ow!You prick!”
“Fuck you,” I grunt, slamming the truck into reverse like it insulted my mother.Kane’s laughter echoes behind us as Kai flings open the passenger door and throws himself in, still rubbing his arm.
“Jesus, man.You hit like a gorilla with PTSD.”
“Shut up and track her,” I bark, tires screeching as I peel out of the garage.
The back end fishtails on the slick pavement before the truck straightens out, chewing through the storm-slicked streets like it was born for this.
The sky’s still spitting a miserable wintry mix—ice needles and sleet that make the world blur at the edges, but I don’t care.
I’ve driven through worse.
“Verona?”Kai asks, already pulling up the last known GPS ping.
“Yeah.If she left, that’s where she’d go.Straight home.”
“And if she didn’t?”
“Then I hunt down every last person she knows until I find her,” I snap.
Kai sighs and mutters, “Romantic and unhinged.No wonder she ran.”
“She didn’t run,” I growl.“She left because she was scared, alone.BecauseIwasn’t there.Because I—” My hands tighten on the wheel until the leather creaks.“Because I fucked up.Again.Fuck!”
There it is.Out loud.
“I thought staying away would keep her safe.That pushing her away after the hospital was the smart thing to do.Let her go back to her little normal life.No guns.No blood.No assholes with Russian accents.”
“Dude, I said it before.I’ll say it again.That wasn’t you.That was her brother.And how’s staying away from her working out for you?”Kai says, not unkindly.
I shoot him a glare.
“Hurts like a motherfucker, Kai.Like my soul’s being ripped in two.She’s gone, my head’s a mess, and I’ve been cleaning congealed blood out of a truck for two days like some penance priest in hell.”
Kai whistles.
“Wow, you’re really in love, huh?”
“Yeah,” I mutter.“Yeah, I fucking am.”
