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There was only one reason Nico knowing anything mattered to me.

Only one reason my pulse had just kicked into something colder and far more dangerous than adrenaline.

The bastard tried to keep talking, but Riley punched him hard enough in the mouth to shut him up. “Oops,” he said blandly, dragging him upright again. “Slipped.”

I was already moving.

“Vienna!” Dante barked, catching what I was doing immediately.

“I’m going.”

“You don’t know that this is about her.”

I looked at him, chest heaving, blood dripping from my split lip onto the floor.

“Yes,” I said, with a certainty that made the room seem to sharpen around me. “I fucking do.”

Dante swore, shoving a Rider off him hard enough to send the bloke crashing into the coffee table. Then he looked around the room, did the quickest assessment of the situation I’d ever seen, and made the call.

“Tools, lock this place down. No one leaves. No one gets in. Riley, keep one of them breathing so we can ask questions later.” He turned back to me, already heading for the hall. “Get Hacksaw, Trent, and Chris. We’re checking those fucking cameras and putting an end to this once and for all.”

Chapter 35

Gabriella

Now

The room smelled damp.

It wasn’t the kind of smell you noticed straight away, not unless you’d been sitting in it for a while, breathing it in over and over again until it settled into the back of your throat and refused to leave. It clung to everything. The walls. The floor. The thin mattress beneath me. Even the air felt heavier for it, like it had been trapped down here for too long and had no intention of ever circulating properly again.

This wasn’t the kind of place where life thrived. This was where life was snuffed out. Smothered in disgust and violence, until it ceased to exist.

I shifted slightly where I sat on the edge of the bed, the movement pulling at my ribs sharply enough to make me pause for a second before forcing myself to continue. Everything hurt. My side. My jaw. My throat. Even my scalp still felt tender where Nico had grabbed me. It had been hours, I think. Or maybe it had been less. Time moved strangely down here, stretching and folding in on itself until it stopped meaning anything at all.

Across from me, my mum watched quietly.

She hadn’t said much since they’d thrown us in here.

But then again, she hadn’t been capable of doing much at all. Even her breathing had a wet rasp to it, which made each breath seem difficult and painful.

My eyes flicked over her once more, my lips tightening. Her lips were split again, both of her eyes were blackened, her neck was covered in deep, purple fingerprints, and her wrist was bent at a painful angle.

“You should lie down,” she said eventually, her voice softer than I remembered it being. Tired. Worn in a way that had nothing to do with today and everything to do with the years before it.

“I’m fine,” I said automatically, as I always did.

She gave me a look that told me exactly how little she believed that. “Gabby…”

“I said I’m fine,” I said, firmer this time. The silence settled between us, both uncomfortable and heavy.

She shifted in her chair, wincing slightly as she did, and I caught the movement before she could hide it.

“Mum… you’re hurt,” I said. “You need to get some rest.”

“I’m old,” she replied simply. “Everything hurts.”

“You and I both know that your age has nothing to do with your pain. Why are you still pretending that they don’t hurt you? I can fucking see it, Mother!” I snapped, immediately regretting releasing my frustration on her.