The warehouse is dark inside. Empty.
Nico moves beside me. His weapon raised.
We move deeper into the warehouse. Past rows of empty shelves. Through corridors lined with rusted equipment.
The place smells like decay. Like something left to rot.
"There." Nico points.
I see her.
A chair in the center of an open space. Someone tied to it. Head down. Not moving.
No.
"Solnyshko?" The word comes out broken. Desperate.
Her head lifts.
Our eyes meet.
She starts crying.
I run.
My gun clatters to the floor. Nothing exists except getting to her.
She's alive. She's alive. She's?—
I drop to my knees in front of her. My hands frame her face. "Vittoria. Vittoria."
Tears stream down her cheeks. Her wrists are bound to the chair arms. Her ankles tied to the legs.
"I've got you." I kiss her forehead. Her cheeks. Her lips. "I've got you, solnyshko. You're safe."
Nico appears behind me. His knife flashes. The zip ties around her wrists snap.
I pull her into my arms. She collapses against my chest. Her whole body shakes.
"Did they hurt you?" I run my hands over her. Checking for injuries. For blood. "Tell me. Did they hurt you?"
She shakes her head against my shoulder. Can't speak. Just cries.
Nico cuts the ties around her ankles.
I lift her. Cradle her against my chest. She wraps her arms around my neck. Buries her face in my throat.
"I thought—" Her voice breaks. "I thought you wouldn't find me."
"Never." I hold her tighter. "I will always find you. Always."
Her fingers dig into my shoulders. Like she's afraid I'll disappear.
"We need to move," Nico says. His voice is tight. "This could still be a trap."
He's right. Someone left her here. Someone wanted us to find her like this.
But I can't think about that. Can't think about anything except the woman in my arms.
