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I liked his laugh. It was kind of a gruff sound, rough and thick, but not from disuse. But Vaughn didn’t laugh often. Never in class or on campus with other people. He laughed with me, though. It was a deep, rich sound that was full of so many emotions, as if he couldn’t contain them and they finally spilled over into the beauty that was his laughter.
When I glanced at the wall where I’d last seen him, my heart squeezed so hard I had to suck in my next breath. Please be okay. Please come back for me. I need to tell you I love you.
Cristiano pulled his phone from the breast pocket of his suit. “There’s no service, but I have a few of those ad-free games on my phone. It comes in handy when I’m bored during a meeting with CEOs who are trying to kiss my ass.”
“Ass-kissers are annoying,” I agreed, fighting a smile. “But am I boring you?”
His eyes widened, a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on his face. “No! You’re the one who stopped talking.”
“Well, I did just tell you my entire life story.” Everything all the way up to college, but I didn’t know how to tell him about my situation with Vaughn without triggering something. “I don’t really have much left to contribute to a getting-to-know-you conversation.”
“Tell me more about Hayat,” he urged, placing his phone screen-side down on his thigh. “Your best friend sounds like a huge headache for her parents. Reminds me of Sammy. All this gray hair was her doing.”
“They are a lot alike.” I nodded after considering it for a moment. “There’s this pull to them both that people don’t even try to fight because they take one look at them and let themselves be drawn in. But they don’t let just anyone into their hearts. Those whom they do, though, they love hard.”
“Yes,” he choked out, his eyes glittering. “You just described Sammy better than anyone else has come close to. Thank you, Abi.”
It was my turn to be confused. “What are you thanking me for?”
He shook his head. “Thank you for seeing the real version of my daughter. The one she hides the deepest, even from herself.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
abi
There were no clocks in the panic room. I was trying to distract myself from the passage of time, but also Cristiano as well. His phone didn’t have reception, not surprising, considering the vault we were in was supposed to be bombproof. I figured if an explosion couldn’t affect us, then it wasn’t a far stretch to assume cell service was impossible.
Unable to keep track of time only made my anxiety that much harder to control. Cristiano was growing noticeably tired. He slouched down in his chair, his eyelids drooping to slits while I fought a yawn. Other than a nap with Vaughn on the plane, I hadn’t slept since Friday morning.
When I heard the snicking of the air lock disengaging, I jumped to my feet. Cristiano became instantly alert, moving to stand in front of me as the door began to slide open. Twisting my hands into the back of his jacket, I held my breath.
“Papa!” Sammy called out before throwing herself into his arms.
I peeked my head around Cristiano when he wrapped his daughter in a hug, but there was no one behind her. No sound of gunfire or explosions either, thankfully. After only a brief embrace, Cristiano grasped her biceps and held Sammy away, his eyes scanning over her from head to toe.
Stepping around him, I inspected her as well, relief at seeing her making my shoulders sag. Her dark hair was a tangled mess. Dirt and something darker was smudged on her face. At a glance, her eyes were overbright, her pupils still visibly uneven. She smelled like a mixture of pungent chemicals.
“Whose blood is this?” her father demanded, touching a dark spot on her shirt.
That was when I realized she had blood all over her. Huge stains that were dried on her sleeves, across her chest, down her abdomen, and even on her jeans. The brown on her face wasn’t mud, as I’d originally thought, but patches of blood.
“Elias got shot in the shoulder,” she explained. Her eyes flickered over to me, but they quickly turned back to her dad when I stepped toward her. Something twisted in my stomach.
“You weren’t hit anywhere?” Cristiano persisted, running his hands over her.
“No, Papa,” she whispered before clearing her throat. “Have you two been okay in here? Did you eat anything? When’s the last time you had water?”
“I don’t remember,” he muttered.
“We weren’t hungry,” I answered for him. “I didn’t think about water, but I should have. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. You’ve only been in here three hours.” She gave me a quick hug. “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that. You look exhausted. Elias is here? And he got shot?” I clutched at her arms. I was so happy to see her, to be able to touch her and know she wasn’t hurt. But our reunion was missing someone important. “Where’s Vaughn?”
“Our medic is stitching everyone up.” She waved her hand toward the open door. “Come on. Let’s get you two out of here.”
Nausea roiled in my stomach, making me dizzy. “Where is he, Sammy?”
