Page 117 of Stolen Seconds

“Irina.” His Russian accent was strong, thick with emotion.

“Please, leave.”

After a few beats of silence, the soft click of the door became my only comfort.

I wept into the soft fabric of my pillow, the heartache reaching far into the depths of my soul, crushing me from the inside out.

If something bad happened to Aurora, Nicolai, Roman. . . Luca. Oh, God, I wouldn’t forgive myself.

I’d never felt so alone in my life, existing in a space of nothingness.

I’d lost time, yet it felt like none had passed at all, reliving a memory that would forever leave a scar.

Shutting my eyes tightly didn’t get rid of the scene when Luca was shot. It only became more vivid, sinking into the broken pieces of my mind.

It felt as though I was being whisked away, floating in the abyss, and if this was death, it was far less comforting than I expected.

The pain in my chest intensified when the echoing sound of another gunshot reverberated in my ears before a loud thump hit the floor.

Luca stared at me. His caramel eyes filled with such regret, I wondered if he knew how deeply that look would haunt me forever.

He’d fallen beside me, our hands mere inches apart, and I couldn’t do anything to feel him—to save him.

“Irina,” he whispered, and it was the first time I had ever seen him cry.

My tongue was stuck at the root of my mouth, forbidding me from speaking.

“I love you.” His words drifted toward me in a soft caress that ended all my suffering.

I shot up from the bed in a heaving mess, my skin slick with sweat.

Luca loved me and not being able to say it back was killing me.

He had to know, right? He had to know that he succeeded in capturing my heart and soul for himself. That I couldn’t think past who I was before he barged into my life.

Pulling my knees up to my chest, I cried some more. This feeling was far worse than the empty void in my chest that I’d been carrying for years. And the one person who had been capable of stopping it was gone.

I died that day in Roman’s house and what I was living now was a cruel nightmare.

My thoughts plagued me, clouding my judgment from reality and fiction.

“I love you.” I rocked back and forth on the bed, my face crumpling as I forced my mind to tumble back into my happiest memories. Back to Luca.“I love you.”

Chapter 35

Luca

It was easy to drive through the Russian streets and find where thePakhanlived—that wasn’t a secret to anyone—but it would be difficult to pass through the property.

As Nico directed me toward our destination, my mind wandered to Irina. For a split second, I wondered if this would lead to a dead end, and I’d deceived myself astray in believing she wasn’t gone.

Stop.

The ache in my chest weighed heavily, washing over me in an indescribable feeling that would only ever cease when I saw her again.

“Whatever happens, I’ve got you,” Nico said, pulling me away from deteriorating thoughts. He stared at me with understanding flickering in his brown eyes and I hadn’t noticed how heavily he resembled Irina until now.

“Only one thing will happen.” I gripped the steeringwheel harder. “I’m going to get my girl and bring her back where she belongs.”With me.

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