Cold seeped into my chest, the fear icy and immediate.
“Where is she?” I demanded when I reached Nico and Gabriel, loitering near the windows, both of them watching me with matching frowns.
To his credit, Gabriel didn’t pretend he didn’t know who I meant. “She went to get some air,” he looked me up and down, disgusted. “Tired of watching you flaunt your old lover in her face. I knew you were a selfish bastard, but I have to ask… why steal her away, just to make her miserable?”
I ignored him, panic constricting my chest. “Where did she go?”
Nico’s cold gaze flicked over me. “She’s safe enough here. Rocco wouldn’t dare lay a finger on your wife, not until you take care of this arms dealer for him.” His lip curled. “Yes, Gabriel filled me in on your littleassignment.”
“I’m going to find my wife,” I snapped.
Nico blocked me with a cool smile. “She doesn’t want to see you, and right now, I’m inclined to honor her wishes more than I’m willing to indulge your whims. Whatever the fuck you’re up to, I don’t like you playing games that hurt Ember.”
I lifted my brow, barely able to focus through the rage. “So, it’sEmbernow, is it?”
Nico widened his stance, his slow smile practically daring me to throw the first punch. “Yes, it is, and if you weren’t a soulless fuck, you’d thank me for watching over her while you let your skanky ex-girlfriend rub up against you like a fucking cat in heat. Whatever the fuck you’re doing, asshole, I hope you have an endgame.”
Ember is my endgame, I wanted to scream.
If, by some stroke of luck, we’re both still standing at the end of this… Emberline DiRavello was my endgame.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Nico sent me a withering glare. “Fine. Stay the fuck here. Make Rocco think you’re still his favorite chew toy. I’ll bring her back in one piece.”
He walked away, and Gabriel rounded on me. “You are such a piece of work. Twisting her up in knots like that. Almost makes me regret springing you from The Fossa.”
A quick scan of the vicinity proved we were alone, only a few guests watching, too far away to hear my brother practically shout our secret to the sky, thank fuck.
“Almost?” The word lodged behind my teeth.
“Almost,” he said with a shrug. “Stop hurting her, or you’ll have me to deal with. And I’m not the little brother you left behind fifty years ago.”
Seconds stretched to minutes.
All the while, my attention kept snagging on the dark corners where corridors bled into shadow, feeling my wife’s absence like a missing limb.
Where the fuck was she?Why had I played along with Valeria, convincing myself that it was somehow part of our plan? I’d hurt my wife enough to send her running.
And Emberline didn’t run, not from anything.
“Fuck this,” I muttered to my brother. “I’m going to…” Just then, Nico walked in with Emberline, his hand cupping her elbow. I was already moving, rushing toward her like a frantic husband, shoving vampires out of my way.
Fuck what the rest of these bloodsuckers thought.
She looked… shaken. Skin a shade too pale, mouth pinched tight, eyes glistening with tears. Something had happened, someone had scared her, possibly threatened her.I was going to fucking kill whoever hurt her.
Our gazes collided.
For a heartbeat, everything else fell away.
Then my hands were on her, skating over her freezing skin, her arms, cupping her chin so I could peer into her eyes, see the silver tears clinging to her dark lashes.
“What happened? Who did this to you?”
“I’m fine,” she muttered, moving away from me… closer to Nico.
Rage thundered inside me, but then I saw… that wasbetrayalin her hollowed-out gaze. Hurt. That sharp, cool calculation she wore like armor was cracking, jealousy and humiliation bleeding through.
Fuck,Idid this.
