Page 66 of Wicked Embers

“Oleksi,” Judy hisses, placing a hand on his arm. “Give them a moment.”

Oleksi sneers. “It’s one of her tricks. I can’t believe you of all people would fall for it, Radomir.”

“What happened?” I croak, my throat dry. Confusion wraps around me like a thick fog, and my mind spins. The memories, the voices, the images—they swirl and blur, as if my brain is trying to piece together a broken puzzle.

Oleksi’s voice cuts through the haze. “I’ll tell you what happened. Your little con is holding up the ceremony, and we don’t have the judge here for much longer.”

“What ceremony?” I frown, clutching at the sheets beneath me. My thoughts twist and spiral. The past and present collide violently, creating an incoherent whirlwind of fear and fragmented images. Nothing fits. None of it makes sense.

“Leave us, cousin!” Radomir’s voice slices through the chaos like a blade. He steps toward Oleksi, his tone dropping toa low, dangerous growl. “If the judge leaves, find another. This town has more than one in our pocket.”

Oleksi glares at me one last time before Judy grabs his arm and pulls him toward the door. “Listen to Radomir for once,” she snaps. “This is why everyone calls you the Iceman.”

The door closes behind them, but the word Iceman echoes in my skull like a death knell. My chest tightens, and a cold, primal fear claws its way up my throat.

“He’s going to kill everyone and come for me,” I whisper, the words slipping out before I can stop them. My voice trembles with terror. “The Iceman wants me—and everyone else—dead.”

“What?” Radomir’s sharp gaze locks onto mine. “Leigh, what are you talking about?”

But I’m already gone, slipping back into the darkness.

The monsters are waiting for me there. They hold my memories hostage, mocking me with flashes of my past, feeding on my growing terror. I run through the blank spaces of my mind, gathering broken shards of memories, but they don’t fit together. They only lead me back to him.

The Iceman.

He’s there, waiting in the shadows, his laugh echoing in the void as I run and hide. He’s the biggest monster of all, and I know he won’t stop until he destroys everything and everyone around me—until he getsme.

Chapter 24

RADOMIR

The moment I see her, fear wraps its icy hand around my chest. Right before Leigh passed out her eyes went blank—staring past me into a void I couldn't follow. It looked like something has yanked her away from me, leaving only an empty shell behind.

Sabrina’s voice echoes in my head, her warning from the night before.If her memories resurface, they’ll hit hard.

I swallow, trying to steady myself, but the fear in me is growing. Last night, after dropping Sabrina off at her apartment, I had shoved Olive into the dungeon for Gunther to deal with. I had every intention of reading the journals Sabrina trusted me with, but instead, I ended up reading about dissociative amnesia. The words are etched in my mind:

Dissociative amnesia isn’t just forgetting—it’s protecting the mind from trauma so deep, it could break the person.

One of the potential effects was catatonia—a blank, unresponsive state caused by memories too heavy to bear. Andfor those few moments before Leigh passed out, I'm sure that's what I saw.

“Leigh,” I murmur, my voice softer than I thought it could be. No response. She lies lifeless and it sends a ripple of panic through me, one I can barely control. I approach the bed carefully, not sure wether to wake her or leave her—what if she doesn't wake up?

I climb onto the mattress beside her, my movements slow and deliberate. “Leigh, come back,” I say, keeping my voice calm, soothing.

I’ve faced enemies who begged for mercy, watched men crumble under the weight of their own terror, but what I saw in Leigh's eyes before they blanked—was different. It wasn't just fear. This is something deeper, something that has consumed her completely.

What the fuck did she see or experience that caused this?My mind flashes to the journals still piled on the corner of my desk in the penthouse office. I frown remembering Dolph had said he couldn’t find the fourth one I know I had put in the drawer of Leigh’s writing desk.Fuck! Did she find it? Is this why this is happening?

I sit close, but not too close. I don’t care what my damn cousin thinks. What I’m seeing isnotone of Leigh’s tricks in her plight to escape. I’ve seen the flicker of cunning in her eyes when she’s trying to outwit me, the calculated pauses in her voice. There was none of that. Just emptiness.

“Leigh,” I try again, leaning toward her. My hand brushes against hers, and it’s ice cold. “It’s me. Radomir. I’m here. You’re safe.” I move a stray lock behind her ear.

She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t move, and I feel my stomach twist. I gently feel her neck for a pulse and it's there. I sigh in relief as it feels normal.

The silence in the room is suffocating. My mind races for answers, strategies, anything to pull her back. I’m a man who thrives on control, on finding weaknesses and exploiting them. But now, I’m powerless. No amount of intimidation or brute force can fix this.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper. My voice is steady, but my pulse pounds like a war drum. I stay close, not daring to touch her again, not yet. Instead, I keep talking—calm, quiet, familiar words I hope will find her, wherever she is. “You’re stronger than this, Leigh. Whatever it is, you’ve survived it before. You’ll survive it again.”

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