She’s alive.
She has to be.
I don’t slow down until I reach and stop near the cordoned-off area, gravel spitting beneath the tires. Before the engine is even off, I’m out, slamming the door behind me.
The wreckage looms ahead—twisted metal, shattered glass, the front end wrapped around a tree like a carcass broken on the hunt. The air is thick with the acrid stench of gasoline and scorched rubber, mixing with the damp rot of the forest floor.
But there’s no blood.
No body.
Sofia’s gone.
I force myself to breathe, pushing down the sharp, suffocating panic clawing at my ribs.
"She’s not here," Adriano says as he approaches. "No sign of the driver, either."
I rake a hand through my hair, my pulse thudding in my ears. "Then fucking find her."
Adriano doesn’t argue. He steps back, barking orders at the men spread through the area, their flashlights cutting sharp beams through the trees.
I turn, scanning the wreckage again, searching for something—anything—that tells me where she went. The passenger door is ajar, the hinges bent from the force of the impact. The glass is shattered inward, cracks webbing across the side mirror.
She must have crawled out.
But if she could walk away from this, where the hell is she?
The sound of footsteps crunching against gravel pulls my focus. Rico strides toward me, phone in hand, his usual smugness replaced by something colder.
"Boss," he says, lifting the screen for me to see. "You need to hear this."
A voice crackles through the speaker—a distorted, tinny recording. At first, it’s just static, then the unmistakable rasp of a man speaking in hushed tones.
"She’s in the car. Don’t lose her."
A beat of silence. Then another voice, lower, meaner.
"Lombardi wants her alive. You make a move before we get the order, you answer to him."
The words settle like ice in my veins.
I snatch the phone from Rico’s hand, replaying the recording.
Alive.
The Lombardis weren’t just trying to kill her. They wanted to take her.
Rico exhales, shoving his hands into his jacket. "The wire came from one of our guys tailing them near the east sector. They were watching her before she even got in the car. This wasn’t just about shutting her up."
I glance at the wreckage again, my jaw locking. The Lombardis don’t hunt people like this unless they have a reason. And if they had orders to keep her breathing, that means she’s worth something to them.
Which means this isn’t just about her digging too deep into their operations.
"They knew she was leaving," I say, realization settling in my gut like lead.
Rico nods grimly. "Looks that way."
I grip the edge of the car door, tension coiling through my body like a live wire.
