“Oh God, please,” he whispered as he hit the notification button.
“Dante…” I began, because his panic was scaring me.
He shook his head as he hit theplaybutton on the phone. I was glad when he put it on speaker instead of putting the phone to his ear.
“It’s…it’s me.”
The voice was that of a young man and I saw Dante’s hand cover his mouth as there was a burst of static on the phone. It sounded like the caller was on a train or subway because there was a lot of background noise and what sounded like the squealing of metal on metal.
“I found him. He’s alive.”
The call disconnected and Dante dropped the phone and let out a harsh sob. I didn’t need to ask who the caller was talking about because I knew there was only one person who could get such a reaction out of Dante.
Aleks.
Chapter 19
Dante
Magnus’s voicesounded far away as I frantically struggled to catch my breath. It couldn’t be real, could it? I fumbled for the phone, but it was nowhere to be found. Panic ensued.
“My phone!” I shouted as I ripped away the blanket and then scrambled to my feet.
“Dante-”
“It was real!” I yelled to no one in particular. “It was real!”
Then why can’t I find the fucking phone?
“It wasn’t a dream,” I whispered.
“Dante, stop it!” Magnus snapped and he grabbed my arm and yanked me back down to the bed.
“Magnus, it was real, right? You heard it,” I said desperately.
His hold on my arm softened and I managed to focus on him to see his eyes full of worry. “It was real, Dante,” he acknowledged.
My entire body sagged with relief, but the feeling was fleeting. “I need to call him back,” I said as I began looking for the phone again.
Aleks is alive.
“Here,” Magnus said as he searched between us and pulled myphone out from the folds of the blanket. My hands were shaking as I dialed the unknown number.
“Put it on speaker,” Magnus said softly.
It rang over and over and I was certain it was going to voicemail, but finally someone answered.
“Hello?” a woman said.
“Hel-hello,” I managed to get out, my voice sounding hoarse. “Is Remy there?”
“Who?”
“Remy,” I repeated impatiently. “He just called me from this number.”
“Oh…I let some guy borrow my phone. He got off at the last stop.”
Disappointment tore through me, crippling me.
