Page 11 of Barinov

I feel it, deep down. The fault line is cracking. This family was once so strong and now it’s ready to rip each other to shreds.

“So, what do we tell them?” I ask again.

No one responds. Knox rubs the back of his neck, not taking his eyes off the screen. Lex’s eyes are still burning a hole at the back of Tex’s head while he stares out at the skyline.

Finally, Nate opens his mouth. “We tell the girls the truth. Bella was taken and we’re going to get her back.”

We all agree.

Nate turns to Lex and Tex. “And both of you need to get your shit together. Right now. I am not losing her because of you two constantly arguing. You got it?”

He meets Lex’s stare dead-on. “And I swear to God if you cannot keep your mouth shut once Laing gets here, you’re out.”

Lex glares at him, that raging fire burning brighter behind his eyes.

Nate doesn’t back down. “I mean it, Lex.”

I stand up, my legs apparently deciding to cooperate. “He’s right babe,” I whisper, taking his hand and lacing our fingers together. “She needs us all.”

A heavy huff breaks from his nose as the fire in his eyes dims to ash. He nods, his tatted, muscular arm hooking over my shoulder to haul me in. I bury my face in the crook of his neck, inhaling leather and spice as the tension bleeds out of him.

“Great, now that we have that handled,” Knox says, closing his laptop. “Someone needs to call the hospital.”

“Why?”Lex asks.

“You guys said Roman saw Luca and recognized him. Let’s pray to God he’s alive, because he might be our only real lead.”

Chapter 3

LEX

Home

Staring at the ceiling.

1 day since Bella’s kidnapping.

Morning stalks in like a damn punishment. I toss and turn, again. The silk sheets twist around my legs like restraints as the first hit of pale light slides across the ceiling. I squint over at the window, middle finger extended at the jackass of a sun trying to blind my eyes.

Cade sent me to our room like a toddler on a timeout a few hours ago. Right after I checked Tex in the jaw.

Couldn’t fucking help it. The guy kept talking like Zeke’s some sort of saintly prodigy who walks on water and shits out gold.

Gag.

It ended in blows. He got a couple cheap shots in and busted my lip all to hell. But I nailed the guy clean in the eye and gave him quite the shiner. So clearly, I won.

Nate nearly had to shoot the both of us just to break it up.

But I’m still not buying it. Not after everything that has happened. Definitely not after seeing our girl on a screen with blood in her hair and a damn Project Dylan bomb collar strapped to her neck.

I glare at the ceiling another ten seconds before the memory knocks me in the throat: Ellie and Haley. They walked through the door a few hours after our little meeting with the guys.

Telling the girls that we lost Bella and reliving those moments in Roman’s office gutted the room. Ellie screamed so loud it nearly shattered the window. Cade tried to hold her together, but she was shaking so hard he could barely keep a grip on the poor thing.

Haley didn’t scream at all. Which was somehow even worse. She just went silent, her face draining of every speck of color. She collapsed to the ground before Knox could get to her.

I couldn’t look at either of them. Not without feeling like a fucking failure for not following Bella into Roman’s office.