Her name.
It hits me like a fucking wrecking ball.
And that’s when the first sob tears out of me. Raw. Ripped straight from somewhere I didn’t know still existed.
“Jesus, Lucian...” Liam’s voice drops. “What did you do?”
I can’t speak. I’m breaking down right there on the line.
“Fuck. I’m coming. Send me the location. Now!”
He hangs up. I fumble to drop a pin and hit send.
Then I just wait.
Sitting there on the cold, filthy ground, grief crawling up my spine.
And I realize—this isn’t rock bottom.
This is somewhere far beneath it.
And I fuckingburiedmyself here.
NINETEEN
Lucian
The park is suddenly bathed in headlights.
They slice through the darkness, but I barely react. The low hum of the engine tries to drown out the ringing in my ears. I don’t even turn to confirm it’s Liam.
Then the engine cuts. A car door slams.
Darkness returns.
I blink slowly, still sitting in the dirt like a fool. My body is stiff, cold,useless. I should move. I should pull myself away from this place. From the echo of her panic. But I can’t.
I hear his voice before I see him.
“No, I’m trying to find him,” Liam says, frustration crackling through each word. “C’mon... You can’t be serious. Just tell me.Please.”
He’s closer now. I catch him in my periphery, phone clutched tight to his ear. His shoulders are tense, jaw locked.
“Because!” he snaps. His eyes meet mine—and I flinch. “Vee, just—please. Tell me if she’s okay? She’s not picking up.”
He crouches down in front of me, and I brace for pity. Or disappointment.
But what I get isfury.
It simmers beneath his expression, sharp and unflinching.
His grip tightens on my shoulder as he speaks into the phone. “I’m near her place, Vee. I can—”
“Don’t fucking call me that!”a woman yells on the other end. Loud enough that I hear it even through the speaker.
Kashvi.
Liam winces, pulling the phone back as it blares in his ear.
