Even as darkness creeps in around the edges, relentless and unstoppable, I try so hard to hold on to that. To the warmth he makes me feel.
Then, there’s nothing left to cling to.
Chapter 25 - Wyatt
The tide shifts unceremoniously as the assailants disperse, suddenly disappearing altogether. The gunfire stops, but this doesn’t feel like a victory to me.
The flashing lights linger as the firehoses hiss, and smoke still continues skyward, but the flames have slowed. What’s left is a charred skeleton of steel and whatever else the fire miraculously didn’t touch inside, but for the most part, it’s ruined. Years of careful work and gradual buildup, all reduced to nothing far too quickly.
I can’t look away from it, even as heat continues to roll off it in waves.
As devastating as it is, it pisses me off more than anything.
I could handle seeing my sister happy with someone meant to be my enemy, effectively pulling my momentum out from under me. I could take bending the knee to Roman and the others to keep the peace, so long as it meant staying alive and keeping Elena in my life. But now, the Grimaldis are trying to neuter me. They’re trying to reduce me to nothing, like some kind of humiliation ritual, all because they can’t stand to watch me succeed. Because they trusted the wrong man and lost their golden ticket to me.
They think they can intimidate me with car chases and arson, assuming I’ll buckle under the pressure, but they’re achieving the opposite. Now more than ever, I want blood. I want Orlando’s sons to watch their father be put down just like he’s been begging for all along.
As my men move around the space, either clearing out or getting medical treatment, I spend enough time with officials tokeep them sated, sprinkling in a few lies here and there. I pull the disbelieving, devastated owner card well, and before long, I’m standing with Patch by his truck while we take stock of the fact that we’re even still alive.
We’re both sweating and dusted with soot, trying to wipe it away just as engines roar in. One in particular comes in too close and far too aggressively to be with the cops, and without warning, the doors fly open before being fully parked.
My stomach drops.
Lukovs.
There’s nothing calm about the way Roman closes the distance, eyes blazing with a tightly set jaw. He’s on me in seconds, grabbing the front of my jacket and slamming me against the side of the truck hard enough to make my teeth rattle. Nikolai is right behind him, equally as furious.
I blink hard at him, so caught off guard that I have half the mind to reach for my pistol, but he doesn’t even give me the chance.
“Where the fuck is she?”
Ever the loyal friend, Patch steps forward instantly, hand dropping to where his gun is just barely concealed. “Roman—”
“Back off,” Roman snaps without looking away from me. It’s a wonder his stare alone hasn’t taken me out already. “This is between you and me…and you’re going to answer me before I forget about our truce.”
Not appreciating this kind of treatment, especially after being so raw from the fire, I shove his hands off me and try to stand to my full height again. More adrenaline courses through me, hot and alive again.
“What’s this all about?”
His sneer sharpens. “I’m not here to fuck around. Don’t act like you don’t already know.”
“I don’t,” I bite back, only willing to be pushed for so long. “So tell me.”
Roman’s gaze flickers just long enough to question me, then he gestures to the others, and Ivan steps forward with a tablet already in hand.
“This is traffic cam footage a few blocks from your place, about an hour ago,” he says, voice void of anything but tension.
The screen is shoved in front of me, so I take it, and everything around me ceases to exist.
I recognize the street instantly. It’s one I take often, and the very one that leads straight to Elena’s workout classes. It’s too quiet at first, then a van pulls up, slowing things down. When that familiar car rolls closer, eventually stopping, it’s boxed in. Men swarm it.
Then I see Elena. She fights like she’s possessed, swinging and struggling enough to give them problems.
My heart squeezes to the point of physically hurting at the sight of them hauling her out, dragging her to a waiting vehicle nearby.
Even through the grainy footage, I can see how terrified she is. How she did everything in her power to deter them before being rendered unconscious.
And as everything truly sinks in, I lose it.
