Page 108 of Liberated By Sin
Four pairs of eyes watched me, each with varying expressions of sorrow. Derek stood stoic against the back wall, his wife beside him. He hadn’t said a word since we told him what happened. Kai’s wife sat in his lap, her arms around him, whispering in his ear every so often. She’d been the one to find that fucking detective on the brink of death. At least he’d served a purpose and could utter one name before he died. However, once Kai and Derek explained who he was, knowing it had been Ronan was more of a curse than an advantage. If I were condemned never to see her again, not knowing her fate would have been an act of mercy.
“We can’t just stand around here.” Derek broke his silence. “There has to be somewhere to look. We can’t let this happen to her again.”
Evangelina put a gentle hand to his chest. “I called in a few favors, and some colleagues are checking surveillance footage in the area. But it could take hours.”
“She doesn’t have goddamn hours.”
“I know,” she murmured.
As if realizing he’d raised his voice, his scowl faded, and he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.
I looked away and pounded on my desk. My cell phone shifted slightly against the pressure, and I felt the urge to send it flying across the room to join the mangled chair and broken glass. But I squeezed my fists and reeled back the impulse. What if she was able to escape and reached out to me? That phone was my last lifeline, good or bad. Whatever news I’d receive would be from that godforsaken device.
“I’m sorry.” Amalia approached me. “I should have been there. Maybe if I—”
“Mi reina, don’t do that. It’s not your fault,” Kai interjected, tugging her back onto his lap. “What if you had been there? Ronan would have killed you on the spot. You think I’d survive that?”
Kai’s eyes flitted to mine, then back to his wife. His words weren’t intended to hurt, but they cut, nonetheless.
I folded my arms and paced back and forth. As if a higher power had heard my pleas, my screen lit up with an unknown number, sending my heart racing. Everyone lurched to their feet.
“Amara!”
Agonizing silence stretched for what felt like an eternity before I heard her voice.
“Santi…” My heart dropped, and I clutched the phone, afraid that if I let it go, if I blinked or breathed wrong, I’d lose her again.
“Preziosa, where are you? Please tell me you’re okay.”
“I just…I needed to hear your voice.” Her words trembled, barely above a whisper.
I swallowed the fire in my throat. “Tell me where you are. I’mcoming to get you.”
She tried to hide it, covering her moans with a frail chuckle, but my worst fear was slowly unfolding.
“Baby, are you hurt?”
“Thank you for everything. For loving me…I love you,” she said, ignoring my question and confirming the truth. I grabbed at my chest, feeling like it was caving in.
“Amara, stop talking like you’re leaving me.”
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Santi,” she murmured, no longer able to mask her cries.
I punched the desk.
“Fuck that! Tell me where you are.”
“I-I tried, baby. I tried to come back to you. I’m sorry.”
No, no, no. My vision tunneled. This wasn’t happening. I couldn’t lose her. I refused.
“Amara, let me help you.” My voice softened, pleading with her for a glimmer of fucking hope. Didn’t she know that she was everything? That my life meant nothing if not by her side.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Squeezing my eyelids closed, I swallowed what felt like razor blades.
“Drop me your location.Preziosa, please.” Silence. “Amara!”
