Page 123 of Reckless Royalty

The estate feels cold, the opulent halls eerily quiet. Mihai leads me to a sitting room, his hand lingering on my arm as he looks at me with an intensity that makes my chest tighten.

“I need to take care of something,” he says, his voice low. “Promise me you’ll stay here until I get back.”

I nod, sensing that whatever is happening is bigger than either of us. “I promise.”

He leans down, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead before disappearing down the hall. I watch him go, my stomach twisting with unease.

Whatever’s happening, it’s big. And I can only hope that when he comes back, it won’t be with more weight on his already burdened shoulders.

MIHAI

Istep into my father’s study, and the tension in the room is a living, breathing thing. Declan is pacing back and forth, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles are white. He looks like he’s barely keeping himself together.

Connor sits off to the side, his chair tipped back precariously as he flicks his knife open and closed, the metallic sound sharp and rhythmic. It’s his tell—when Connor’s about to lose it, the knife comes out.

Dmitri leans against the desk, his expression cold and controlled as usual, but there’s a fire in his eyes that tells me he’s one wrong word away from breaking his calm. Nikolai stands in the corner, arms crossed over his chest, his jaw tight, radiating the same kind of anger that feels like it’s pulsing in the room.

But it’s Konstantin Drakos in the center of the room who catches my attention. He’s slouched in a chair, his shirt open and soaked with blood, a medic working to extract a bullet from his chest.

There’s a graze along his neck, fresh blood dripping down to stain his already ruined shirt. And yet, his face remains unreadable, his dark eyes fixed on the floor as though this isn’t his first—or even his worst—brush with death.

“What the fuck happened?” The words are out of my mouth before I can process them, my voice slicing through the tension like a whip.

My father is the first to speak, his tone grave. “Marina and Cat have been taken.”

The air is sucked from my lungs. My brain stalls, trying to process his words. Taken? How? My voice comes out low and dangerous.

“What?”

“They were on their way to Marina’s penthouse,” he continues, his face hard with anger. “The SUV was ambushed.”

I can’t fucking believe this. “And where the hell was security?”

“I was driving,” Konstantin says, his tone calm, almost detached, despite the obvious pain. His wince barely registers as the medic digs deeper into his chest.

My eyes snap to Drakos, who barely flinches under my glare. “It was an ambush. Professional. They knew the route and knew the timing. They wanted the girls, not me.”

I take a step forward, my fists clenching at my sides. “And where were your men, Drakos?”

“Five dead,” he says, his tone devoid of emotion. “Two SUV’s taken out.”

Declan stops pacing and spins toward Konstantin, his Irish accent sharper than usual. “And what were you doing while my daughter was bein’ taken? Bleedin’ all over the damn seat?”

“I was shot in the fucking chest, Cunningham,” Konstantin snaps back, his voice cool but firm. “I wasn’t exactly in a position to play hero, though I tried.”

“That’s enough,” Dmitri says, his voice cutting through their spat like ice. He steps forward, his gaze locked on Konstantin. “Explain exactly what happened.”

Konstantin inhales sharply as the medic pulls out the bullet, but his tone remains steady. “We were on the main stretch leading to Marina’s penthouse. She needed to pick something up to give to Mihai’s woman when four black SUVs boxed us in. They opened fire immediately. My men returned fire, but they were outnumbered and outgunned. I got hit, but I managed to take out one of their drivers before I lost control of the vehicle.”

“And the girls?” I demand, my chest tight with the need to act, to fix this.

“They dragged them out,” Konstantin says, his voice grim. “Alive. That much I know.”

I glance at Konstantin again, and despite his injuries, there’s no weakness in his posture. If anything, he looks even more dangerous, like he’s already planning the retaliation in his head.

My father clears his throat, his voice commanding the room. “Marina and Cat are alive. They were taken, not killed. That tells us they’re valuable.”

“For now,” Declan snaps, his voice tight with rage. “But we don’t know for how long. And if my daughter…” His voice cracks, just slightly, and he stops, running a hand over his face before continuing. “If anything happens to Catriona, there won’t be a corner of this earth safe for the bastard responsible.”

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