AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I felt a buzz in my pocket and pulled out my phone, my heart catching in my throat as an unrecognized number flashed across the screen.
"Answer it," Jace urged, his voice laced with urgency.
I pressed the phone to my ear, and a distorted voice clawed through the static, chilling me to the bone. "You think you can save them all, but you're playing a game with no rules." A pause, then a single sentence that froze my blood. "One of your pieces is about to be removed from the board."
Before I could demand answers, the line went dead. We exchanged horrified looks, all coming to the same terrifying realization: this was far from over. As Grayson sprinted back into the hospital to find security, Jace and I scrambled through our contacts for any clue that could lead us to Sofia or Victor. But it was like they had vanished into thin air - all roads led to dead ends.
Now that Sam was going to be taken care of, I had to get Sofia back.
And I would do anything to do that. Even if it meant dragging my own body back to the cabin where her father had taken her.
Even if it meant I would have to drag myself there.
Chapter Two: Sofia
My head was pounding. Slowly, my senses started returning to me, a jumbled mess of images flashing in my blurry vision. I felt disoriented, the taste of iron in my mouth and an unnerving cold sweeping over my body. Gritting my teeth against the metal clamp around my wrist and the throbbing pain in my skull, I tried to sit up, only to have my strength leave me again.
"Victor," I called out, hoping he was somewhere near. Nothing but silence greeted me. The room was so dark I could barely see anything, a tiny strip of light under what appeared to be a door the only source of illumination.
I let out a shaky breath, fear and anger creeping into me. My father - or should I say the Everglades Viper - had kidnapped me. Teo and the rest of the Blades were probably hurt... or worse.
A choked sob escaped from my lips before I could stop it. Sam... Teo... I squeezed my eyes shut as if trying to block out the truth of our precarious situation. I had to stay strong, for Sam... for Victor... for myself.
My hands brushed against a cold metal wall, the chilly sensation grounding me for a moment. I turned, allowing my fingers to trace the contours of the wall and guide me around the room.
"Victor!" I tried again, but the silence was deafening. The strip of light beneath the door seemed to taunt me, so close yet so far. A shiver coursed through my body as I slumped against the wall, a sense of hopelessness washing over me.
“Sof,” I heard him say from somewhere outside the room.
"Victor?" My voice cracked on his name, tears prickling my eyes. I crawled toward the sound, my hands scraping across the coarse concrete floor. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," he replied, his tone strained and unfamiliar. His voice sounded muffled, like he was speaking through a thick wall. "Are you okay?"
I wanted to laugh, but the sound that emerged was more of a whimper. As okay as one could be after being kidnapped by their estranged father. "I'm... I'm okay. You?”
"Alive,” he replied. “Are you hurt?”
"I don't think so," I answered, assessing my aching body. As far as I could tell, aside from the throbbing in my head and the icy chill of the metal cuff on my wrist, I was intact. “You?”
Victor's hushed voice cut through the thick silence again. "We need to get out of here, Sof."
His answer made the knot in my stomach tighten. “Wait. Are you hurt?”
“Not…really,” he replied.
His hesitation told me otherwise. The Victor I knew never faltered, an unbreakable wall of strength. This was different. This was a Victor who was uncertain, maybe even scared. Even after he’d been shot and needed surgery, he was alright. This didn’t seem like he was alright.
"I don't believe you," I whispered, pulling my knees to my chest. "Victor, what's wrong?"
I held my breath, waiting for his response. Even in the thick darkness, I could sense his hesitation. "It's just...a wound on my side. Nothing serious," he finally admitted.
"A wound?" My voice echoed in the tiny room. "Victor, you need to stop downplaying this. You could be seriously hurt..."
My words trailed off as a searing panic coursed through me. I'd seen Victor injured before, but he always bounced back, brushing it off like it was nothing. But his tone now... it was different.
"I'm fine." His voice sounded weaker than before. "Promise."
I let out an exasperated sigh. "You're always fine in your eyes. I can't see you, Victor. And that scares me the most."
