Page 75 of Debt to the Mafia King

I didn’t reply to him. I couldn’t because it felt like my voice was locked in my throat. My chest felt tight, and my stomach was nothing but apit.

“She can’t have gotten far,” he added.

Yeah, that’s what I had thought as well. Right up until I had seen her disappear into the distance, and I was dragged back into the house by a heavily bleeding Ivan. He was right, of course. I couldn’t go chasing after her into the night in just a towel. I had to get dressed and use my brain.

Which was great in theory, but my brain wouldn’t concentrate. There was nothing in my thoughts but Leah. My wife was out there barefoot and in her PJs running around in the dark. And what made it worse was the snow, which was coming down thicker and harder than ever.

Anything could happen to her out there. She could slip and fall, and no one would find her in the dark, especially in this storm.

She could be lying out there already, hurt and scared.

My guts twisted.

I needed to get out there and look for myself.

I didn’t care if there were people out there looking for her. I had to be the one who found her.

She needed to let me explain.

“Boss?” Ivan’s voice was soft, patting my arm, he drew my attention back to him. “It’s ok, someone will find her, and you will be able to explain.”

Only I didn’t think she would believe me. Even if things were innocent, I didn’t think Leah would think so. No, I knew she would think the worst of me, and I had no one to blame for that but myself.

“I just want her home safe,” I mumbled.

“Because you care for her?” Ivan’s voice was knowing.

Whirling on him, I glared. “She’s my wife, and she’s carrying my baby. Of course, I care what happens to her,” I snapped.

“That’s not what I mean, Viktor, and you know it.” Ivan’s eyes met mine.

Out of all my men, he was the only one who would meet my eyes for any period of time. He was the only one I allowed, and that’s just because we had known each other for a long time.

Sometimes, I hated how little respect he gave me,but at the same time, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was kind of good to be challenged sometimes.

In that way, he reminded me of Leah.

Again, my gut twisted.

Fear.

That’s what I was feeling. And it was new to me. Had I ever been afraid before? Back when I thought Leah was dying on the sidewalk after the bomb had gone off, I had been afraid, but adrenaline had been pumping through my veins, and I hadn’t given in to it.

There was no adrenaline now. There was only dread.

It gnawed at me like something alive.

“I didn’t say you cared what happened to her. I said you cared for her. You’re falling in love with her, Viktor.”

I did a double-take. “That’s not what’s happening here, Ivan. Sure, I might care for her a little, but we both know I’m not capable of the thing people call love.”

At that moment, a car peeled to a stop with squealing tires, sending gravel flying.

I flung open the door, and Ivan was at my shoulder just as Stephen stepped out of the car.

“Did you find her?” My eyes raked over the dark car. If she were in there, I couldn’t see her. “Where is she?”

“Did Manda?” Ivan asked at the same time, and it made me realize that’s why Stephen had left in the first place. He had taken Manda back to the city. But that didn’t explain why he had come back like a bat out of hell.