Page 49 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

At once, Lukyan slid in next to Kir at the table with a nod. On the tablet, he was shifting through the old feeds as he tried to track down the plateless vehicle, while Kir tracked it on the map in tandem.

All the while, my whole body was rippling with nervous energy, itching to get out there and find her for myself. I needed to lay eyes on Gemma personally and to find out if she was alright after being knocked out like that.

“There!” Luk said as he zeroed in on one of the cameras while the vehicle passed through the frame. “They’re still westbound. If the teams are out there, it shouldn’t take long for them to close in. These are a bit delayed, so we’ll have to be quick.”

“I’ll send the general location out to everyone,” Kir added, immediately sharing the coordinates with the drivers and teams. “I’ll have them flank that area, and someone should be able to track them down.”

“Tell them to watch out for that street,” I said, recalling how the scene had unfolded in daylight with more than enough witnesses. “It’ll be congested with first responders. Tell them to go around and avoid the cops like the plague. If we can slip by without anyone else getting involved, we’ll be able to handle this ourselves.”

Everyone seemed on board as they focused on the task at hand, and as I steeled myself against the worry and fear that consumed me, I silently reminded myself that it was all for Gemma. Nothing else mattered at that moment.

“I’m heading out,” I said, putting my phone in my pocket as I headed toward the door. “I can’t wait around here until they find her.”

Understanding, Ari nodded. “I’ll come with you.”

Not willing to argue or waste time, I met his gaze in a silent acknowledgment, and we both headed for the door.

With my heart in my throat, I could only hope we weren’t too late.

After everything we had been through and the connection we started to build together, I wasn’t willing to let Gemma go.

She was my wife—a Levov—and I wouldn’t rest until she was safe and sound.

Chapter 25 - Gemma

I had never experienced that kind of pain before in my life.

The dull ache that seemed to linger in the background turned into incessant, roaring pain that pulsed in my temples and showed no sign of getting any better as my surroundings became clearer with every passing second.

My vision, while bleary at first, evened out, but it took some time for the sounds around me to fully register.

Every one of my senses seemed to be attacked at once, briefly overwhelming me as I tried to piece together where I was, or how I got there in the first place.

My arms were pinned behind my back, wrists locked together with rough, scratchy rope that bit into my skin. I was sitting up, albeit uncomfortably, with my legs tucked underneath me as I leaned to one side, and the cold concrete beneath me sent a chill through my system.

While the hard ground was the only thing I could concentrate on at first, the dark shadows cast over me brought a chill along with them, and the not-so-distant sound of passing vehicles captured my attention.

I was outside—that much was clear. But I didn’t know where. It was hard to look up from how bright the sun was just ahead of me. Those rays of golden light felt both like a beckoning and a thoughtful send-off, almost like the sky above knew something I didn’t. As if it wanted to give me one last good sunset before that inevitable darkness returned to me again.

Based on how much pain I was in, it was a wonder I was still alive. For a moment, it made me wonder if I even was.

I tried to blink through the remaining cloud of my confusion, but the aching in my head was too intense to ignore.

With my eyes closed, I managed to lift my head and open them to look directly above me, seeing a solid structure above my head. At first, I thought it was a ceiling of some kind, but the longer I looked at it, the more I heard those passing cars above, and I knew it was some kind of overpass.

While it didn’t help me understand where I was, it was enough to trigger unshakable fear within me.

It was clear I wasn’t home, and I certainly wasn’t back at the apartment, either. I felt completely lost and disoriented, and every second felt like agony I couldn’t escape.

“Look what we have here,” a masculine voice said. “The little journalist is finally awake.”

Looking in the direction of that voice, I had to force my eyes to get used to the sun’s glare until two figures eventually came into view.

My skin froze over the second I registered those unfortunately familiar faces, and I knew at once that I was far from safe. Far from any other place I’d rather be.

The twins took several steps toward me until Alina blocked the sun completely. She sank into a crouch and pressed the barrel of her pistol against my forehead, pushing my head back as she examined me with a smirk. Adrik stood behind her with his own gun lazily drawn at his side. Neither of them was particularly guarded—not when they knew I was the farthest thing from a threat, especially in that moment.

My heart jumped, feeling like it was moments away from bursting out of my chest.

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