Page 104 of Savage Vows

I stay out in the dark, my pulse beating hard in my ears. What the hell are they talking about? Every instinct in me wants to storm in there, demand answers, but I hold back, waiting, trying to figure out what this meeting really means.

Just as I’m about to move, my phone rings. Oleg’s name flashes on the screen. I answer, my voice tight. “What is it?”

He hesitates. “Boss…Adriana isn’t in the apartment.”

I freeze, anger and dread twisting in my gut. “What do you mean she’s not in the apartment?”

“She’s gone. I—I had just stepped out for a minute. She took the service stairs. Looks like she was planning it.”

I grit my teeth, jaw aching. “How could you let this happen? You’re supposed to watch her, Oleg!”

Oleg’s voice is thick with regret. “I only stepped out for a few minutes. After what you told me the other night about moving her, I thought maybe it was you. Maybe you asked her to go.”

I shut my eyes for a second, cursing myself. I had told him I was thinking about moving her for safety, but I never gave an order. Now she’s gone, out there alone.

My mind is spinning, my anger at Julianne and my father evaporating, replaced by a single, razor-clear focus—finding Adriana.

I race back to the apartment, my mind crowded with worry and guilt. My phone lights up with Julianne’s name, but I let it ring. Whatever’s happening between her and my father can wait. Right now, all I care about is Adriana. I can’t let her slip away.

Even if my father wants her out of my life, even if I promised things I never should have, the truth is, I love her. God help me, I do. And now she’s gone.

I reach the apartment and tear through every room, searching for anything. A note, a trace, a sign of where she went. Nothing. Panic claws at my chest. I curse, running a hand through my hair, desperate.

Frustrated, I storm into the bathroom, ready to punch the wall. My fist comes down on the counter tile, pain flaring in my knuckles. That’s when I see it, a bit of white plastic peeking out from the trash bin.

I freeze, heart hammering. I pull it out, staring at the two faint pink lines on the little window. It’s a pregnancy test. Positive.

For a moment, the world tilts and goes quiet.

Adriana is pregnant.

My chest tightens with a thousand emotions—shock, joy, terror, a love so fierce it threatens to tear me open.

I have to find her. I have to bring her home. Whatever it takes, I can’t lose her now—not when I finally understand how much she means to me.

31

ADRIANA

Bella watches me quietly,her fingers tapping the side of her mug. “Adi, he might not show it, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you. People say things in anger they don’t always mean.”

I want to believe her, but the words feel thin. “He pushed me away before he even knew about the baby. He accused me of things I’d never do. Sometimes I feel like nothing I do will ever be enough.”

She shakes her head, reaching over to squeeze my hand. “You’re not nothing. You’re brave, Adi. Braver than anyone I know. You don’t have to stay somewhere you feel small.”

A lump rises in my throat, but I manage a small, grateful smile. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do next.”

“Take a breath,” Bella says gently. “One thing at a time. Figure out what you want, not what he wants or your family wants.”

I nod, looking out the window at the quiet Brooklyn street. For the first time in days, I let myself imagine something different—a life that’s just my own, a future I get to choose.

Bella’s spare phone buzzes on the table, vibrating against the ceramic mug. She had given it to me to use since I had turned mine off. The last thing I need right now is Dante barging into my life again. I need a little peace and quiet for me and my little one.

I see Alex’s number and answer right away, motioning for Bella to give me a little space.

“Hey,” he says, voice low and brisk. “I got your email—those notes on Luka and the case files you sent over. Something isn’t adding up.”

I close my eyes for a second, relief and worry fighting inside me. “What do you mean?”