Page 81 of Broken Princess

From my glances in the mirror, I can see Sin grab his phone and furiously tap at his screen. It doesn’t take long before he leans forward and shoves it in the cradle on the dash. There are two red dots flashing on the map on the screen. Both moving at a consistent pace ahead of me, so I know they’re definitely in one of the cars. I just don’t know which one.

If I did, I’d probably run the other ones off the road.

“Back off a bit and rely on the tracker. These fuckwits didn’t toss Aurora and Nico’s phones,” Sin mutters as he rubs his face and blows out a breath, obviously relieved that he has a way of tracking them.

I look at the two red dots and it eases my fear, but as I take my first even breath for a while, it evolves and grows into anger. Anger at myself for letting this happen, fury at the power-hungry traitors who betrayed Mateo in the first place, and incandescent rage at the De Lucas.

They have my people. My family.

If anything happens to either of them, there won’t be anywhere on this earth that the De Lucas can hide from me. I will hunt them down and exterminate them.

The sound of my teeth grinding together makes me realise how tightly I’m clenching my jaw while the idea of Aurora being hurt any further by these monsters leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

I was supposed to protect her from them, and I was fucking derelict in my duty to her.

Sinclair is watching me closely and his scrutiny prickles across my skin. Fuck, I don’t need his judgement—I’m judging myself enough right now.

“Speak, Sin,” I say, calling him on the way he’s tiptoeing around whatever it is he wants to get off his chest.

“We will get them both back,” Sinclair says with a confidence that I pray rather than believe is true.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they survive.”

I nod slowly, letting his faith in me quash my anxiety.

“Promise me something?” he asks quietly, his tone as close to begging as Sinclair gets.

“You can ask, but I won’t promise.”

“Promise me you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you survive, too.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You’re the heart of the team, you idiot. Make sure whatever we have to do to get them back includes you walking out with us. No fucking heroics. Do I make myself clear?”

I can’t help but laugh at Sin’s dramatics. “Fuck off, you prick, I have no plans to sacrifice myself. We’re following them, we’re getting them back, and then we’re all going home. End of story.”

Sinclair eyes me dubiously but turns his back and checks on Benny. Benedict rolls his head from side to side and checks his injuries, crying out when he bumps the bruise on his brow.

What the fuck is Sinclair talking about, ‘No fucking heroics’? Does he think I’m some fucking martyr—that I believe I’m expendable? I sacrifice a lot for my team, but have I really closed myself off so much that my closest friend thinks I have some kind of death wish?

Shit. Do I? I would sacrifice myself for any one of my team. But Sin has a point. Maybe that shouldn’t be my default position. It was my first thought when they were taken—to barter their freedom for mine. How the fuck does he even know that’s what I was thinking, anyway?

Fucking asshole, nothing gets by him.

The flashing dots stop moving on the screen and I can’t stop the run of expletives that rush out of my mouth.

A feeble voice from the back says, “Tell us how you really feel.” Benny rights himself against the side of the van as I pull into a side alley.

“Welcome back, Benny-boy,” I snark.

“Fuck off, Zo. That prick smashed me through a fucking wall. I’d like to see you get out of that intact.”

“You okay? I need to know if I’ve gotta bench you.”

“They’re my… my… they’re fucking mine. You’re not going in without me, Zo. You can’t fucking stop m—” Benedict roars, lurching forward to grab at the back of the passenger seat and haul himself up.

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