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“Welcome to the beginning of your new life, Ade.” His breath was hot against my skin as he reached out and placed something cold and metallic around my wrist—it clicked shut with an ominous finality that made my blood run cold.
The truck plunged deeper into the darkness as I sat there helplessly shackled, knowing that each passing moment took me further away from Tristan and any hope of rescue.
Jesus. I was so fucked.
I was going to die, I was pretty sure, and there was no way out.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Tristan
Iwatched the truck speed away helplessly for a minute, my gun in my hands as the man who had first tried to take Adriana lay dying in the parking lot next to where the vehicle had been parked. I felt a sense of helplessness wash over me as the taillights of the truck faded into the distance.
Adriana was gone, snatched from right under my nose.
I was supposed to protect her. What the hell was I doing?
My legs felt numb beneath me, my gun heavy in my trembling hands. I could still see the terrified look in Adriana’s eyes as they had torn her away from me—could still feel the ghost of her fingertips brushing against mine for the last time.
A pool of crimson began to spread beneath the unconscious man at my feet—a grotesque testament to my failure. I cringed at the sight, my stomach turning at the metallic tang of blood that filled the air. I’d seen enough violence in my life to know what came next. Normally, I would’ve cleaned him up. Right then, I had no time.
“Tristan!” Kieran’s voice echoed through the empty alleyway, jolting me out of my thoughts. His footfalls grew closer yet sounded miles away, as though resonating from a different realm. “What happened? Where’s Ade?”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I let my eyes drift back to the rapidly retreating taillights of the truck that carried Adriana further and further away from me.
“They took her,” was all I managed to say through clenched teeth, my hand shaking as I holstered my gun.
“Hell no.” Kieran muttered under his breath next to me, echoing my own disbelief.
“We have to go after them.”
Kieran nodded, and I couldn’t help but glare at him. How had Nick known where we were? They had only found us after Kieran had. I was reasonably sure he had something to do with it, but right then, I couldn’t worry about it. I had to focus on getting Adriana back. I could deal with my little brother later.
“I agree,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “We’re not letting them get away with this.”
With that, we hurried back to our own vehicle, our steps echoing loudly in the deserted alleyway. The car still smelled like her; her drink in the cupholder next to the console, the scent of her strawberry perfume wafting in the air around us. I jumped in the driver’s seat while Kieran took the passenger side, both of us quiet. I focused on the rapidly disappearing tail lights of the truck in the distance.
“Can you track her phone?” Kieran asked, his eyes never leaving the road.
“She doesn’t have one. I made her get rid of it.”
“Fuck.”
“Damn right, fuck,” I echoed, pressing harder on the gas pedal, the roar of the engine reverberating through the quiet night.
Our car roared to life with a vengeance, its powerful engine rumbling in chorus with my pounding heart. The glow of the truck’s tail lights flickered at the edge of our vision, taunting me with its every move. Despite my bubbling wrath and crushing guilt, I forced myself to keep a level head.
“Trying to remember which direction they took,” I told Kieran, my gaze never wavering from the road ahead. “Do you know who it was?”
I shook my head. “Never seen him before. Some grunt for sure. He mentioned something about his boss. So…not a Callahan, not an Orsini. Think it was the Rossis?”
From the corner of my eye, I could see Kieran paling.
“Yeah, I think so. Nick Rossi’s the only one who would dare.” Kieran faltered, the color draining from his face as realization dawned on him. His gaze fixed on the rearview mirror, his reflection filled with a mixture of rage and fear. “We have to find her, Tristan. Let’s not panic yet, though. We don’t know anything for sure.”
“We know she was taken, and we know that the only one who would dare take a mafia princess like that is someone like Nick Rossi. I think we can panic.”
“I’m trying to hold it together here, mate,” I said, side-eyeing him.
Kieran huffed, rubbing his hands over his face. His voice, when he spoke again, was more composed. “Alright. Just get us out of here. We’ll regroup at the house and get everyone on this.”
