Page 49 of Broken

I pulled out my cellphone and called for the cleaners to come and get the bodies.

"What took you so long?" Valentin asked.

"Really?"

"They beat the hell out of me," he stated. "You need to let Nova get back to her life before she gets roped into this shit."

I sighed, "I know."

"Guess we know who had the jewel stolen for sure now." Val eyed me.

Gunpowder seemed to linger in the air and caused me to cough. My Little Thief didn't need to be any more involved than she had been. My uncle, if he discovered that Nova had been the one to collect the gem, he'd be sure to tie up loose ends and I couldn't do that to her.

"I'll take care of it," I replied looking at my bleeding shoulder. A red-hot pain seemed to be weaving itself through my shooting arm. "I'll have the doctor meet us back at the mansion. I got clipped by a bullet."

Nova

Des and Yara were sitting next to each other in the kitchen when I came in, sweaty from my workout. They looked up at my approach, but Yara immediately looked away. Guilt seemed to weave its way on her features.

"Hey sis." Desmond smiled at me.

"Morning guys," I replied.

"How long are we going to be in this fortress," Yara asked. "There's a guy guarding us."

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly.

Grabbing some of the left out orange juice, I poured myself a glass. The citrus flooded my taste buds as I drank deeply. Taking a breath, I turned to Yara.

"We need to talk about last night, Yara." I sat the glass down.

She frowned. "About what?"

Iwouldn't even let myself react to her words. I was too scared that I was going to reach over and choke the life out of her.

"First the lie about going to meet some girl you suddenly befriended. Oh, and I dunno...you almost getting fucking kidnapped. I'd say it was a coincidence, but he knew me, Yara. And he wanted me dead."

I saw Des perk up and look between us. "Yara, who was that?"

She shook her head, eyes brimming with tears. I wasn't about to be swayed. Yara was not getting off the hook.

Not this time.

"I don't know." She finally responded.

I took another even breath and braced myself on the countertop. "Yara, is this that "C" person that was texting you?"

With a toss of her bronze curls, she stood up and stormed from the room. There were doors leading out into a huge backyard.

"I'll go check on her, " Des responded.

"Thanks bro." I shook my head and watched as he caught up to her.

Dealing with Yara and her attitude, I needed something stronger than orange juice. Briefly, I wondered where the vodka from the night before had gone to. From where I was sitting, Desmond had put his arm around Yara as they walked in Liam's massive back yard. Letting out a breath, I pulled my cellphone out and called Astrid.

Just needed to have an adult conversation before I went crazy. I found her name in my phone and started calling. She picked up after the second ring.

"Hey girl," she said.