Page 157 of Konstantin

“Shit. Em, they’re here. They’re fucking here!”

“Wait—what?” My stomach drops. “Nate, what’s happening?”

“I’ve gotta go, Em!” His voice cracks, followed by a string of curses.

I register a loud crash, then nothing. The line goes dead. I press the phone to my ear, my pulse slamming in my temples so loudly I can hardly hear anything else.

“Nate?!” I scream.

But the silence on the other end only deepens the fear clawing at my chest.

I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. I don’t know if he’s trappedor somewhere safe. I only know one thing: the people who’ve been targeting us are here. And they’re coming for us both.

Frantic, I swipe my finger over the phone to call Riley, but before I can even hit dial, her number lights up on the screen.

“Riley? They took him! They just took him!”

“Oh God. Em, listen to me right now.”

Grabbing the car keys, I’m already heading out, needing to find him.

“I intercepted a text from DeLuca. Nate’s not being taken far.”

She rattles off the address, and I shut the door, the engine roaring. Icy dread fills my veins as I repeat the address to myself, committing it to memory.

“But, Em, there’s something else. There were texts sent to Konstantin and you.”

Adrenaline rushes through me. “What did it say?”

“I forwarded them.”

My eyes focus on the phone, the knot in my stomach tightening as I read the message Konstantin got. The photo attached sends an icy tremor through me.

The image is of me—my face slack, eyes shut, making it look like I’m unconscious. How the hell did they get a photo of me sleeping?

When I open the other message, the one sent to me, my hand shakes so violently I almost drop the phone.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, the words barely leaving my lips.

It’s Konstantin. His face is bloodied, his eyes closed, and his arms are tied behind him to a chair.

I don’t even realize I’m holding my breath until it escapes me in a jagged gasp.

Unknown

Come alone. Or we kill him.

The address matches the one Riley gave me—the place they’reholding Nate.

I stare at the image of my husband, the father of my child, and the heaviness of it crushes me.

I know what I have to do. I have to save him. I have to save them both.

“Em, you’re not thinking of going alone, right?” Riley interrupts, knowing me well enough to know she can’t stop me.

When I’m silent, she goes on.

“You’re not thinking clearly. This is a suicide mission. You need to call his brothers, tell them what happened. Get backup.”