“Matteo.” Nina touches my arm, and I stop pacing.
“I talked to Sierra yesterday,” she says carefully. “At the spa. Just for a minute, but she... she mentioned having some doubts about the wedding.”
My blood pounds in my ears.
“Maybe…she decided not to go through with it?”
For one second, every reason I don’t deserve her lines up like bullets in a magazine. Then logic kicks in.
No.
Sierra wouldn’t do this. She wouldn’t leave me standing at the altar without a word. Even if she changed her mind. Even if she woke up this morning and realized she didn’t want to marry me. She’d tell me to my face. She’s too good for anything less.
“She didn’t run.” I put a hand on Nina’s shoulder, gentler than I feel. “If she’s not here, it’s because someone’s stopping her.”
Nina doesn’t look convinced. That’s fine. She doesn’t know Sierra like I do.
My phone buzzes. Paolo’s name on the screen.
Dario’s at my side before I can answer. “Let’s move this to the minister’s office.”
The office is cramped and smells like old books and candle wax. Lorenzo’s already inside when we push through the door, his face carved from stone.
Sierra’s parents shove in behind us.
“You can’t be here,” Dario starts.
“She’s our daughter.” Her father’s voice shakes with barely controlled fear. “Whatever the hell is going on, you’re not shutting us out.”
Lorenzo gives a curt nod. Dario closes the door and puts the call on speaker.
There’s noise on the other end. Men’s voices. And underneath that, Audrey’s voice, high and panicked.
“That’s blood! Oh my God, that’s blood!”
My vision tunnels.
“It’s bad.” Paolo’s voice is flat. “No sign of Sierra or Harper. Our two guys are down. Looks like they got jumped from behind. Both dead.”
Sierra’s mom makes a sound like she’s been hit. Her husband pulls her closer, but his eyes cut to me.Our two guys.I can see him starting to put pieces together.
I don’t have time to help him along.
“I found her phone,” Paolo cuts in. “Just Sierra’s, though. Maybe Harper held onto hers?”
I grab onto that sliver of hope like a drowning man. “Dario, go get Shaw. We need to track it.”
Shaw’s at the desk within minutes, fingers flying over his laptop. Guy never goes anywhere without it, and I’ve never been more grateful. The room is dead silent except for the clatter of keys and Sierra’s mother’s quiet crying.
Every second feels like an hour. I can’t stand still. Can’t stop my hands from shaking. I clench them into fists and press them against my thighs and force myself to breathe.
She’s alive. She has to be alive. Viktor wants her too much to kill her outright. He’ll want to make her suffer first, and that gives me time.
Time to find her. Time to put a bullet between his eyes.
“Got it.” Shaw looks up. “Phone’s at a warehouse on the east side. Owned by Dixon Shipping.”
Sierra’s father goes pale. “That’s... that’s our company. I don’t understand. Why would they be there?”
