Page 16 of Taking Over the Dark

I say her name, but nothing comes out of my mouth. Fuck, my voice is gone. Crawling across the sandy floor and sitting beside her, I place my hand on her thigh, simply not having the energy to touch her face to wake her up.

?*Finally getting my voice to work, I manage to say, “Elle…”

I’m hit with silence.

My heart starts to beat double-time, reaching up to feel her pulse. Thankfully I’m met with her artery thumping against my fingers, but not as strong as I would like. Maybe she’s in one ofthe wild-ass dreams that I’ve been having too. Every time sleep pulls me in, my mind is racing. If I’m not in some adventure or nightmare, I’m in between the three of them, fucking one of them or getting fucked. I truly wouldn’t mind staying in that world, but I always wake up right before I’m about to come.

Probably because my body couldn’t come if it wanted to right now; my body feels like a shriveled-up prune.

I move my hand up her neck, cupping her cheek and whispering, “Elle,Mi Amor.I don’t know how long we have, and I’m sorry I couldn’t get us out of here…” I lean my head over onto her shoulder, too exhausted to hold it up anymore, and confess, “I’ve never loved a partner, and I don’t know if this is just some kind of sick obsession… but I love you, Ellie Dixon.”

I’m not dying before she hears those three little words come out of me, even if she’s soundly sleeping.

I know that psyche of hers heard it.

* DIE FOR ME - Chase Atlantic

THIRTEEN

MARCELLO

“Is Kev okay with him there on his own?” Zamir asks, while pulling me out of my thoughts that are racing a hundred miles a minute.

All I give him is a grunt in response. Those two are the last of my worries. Jack said the only thing he knew about was Igor flying his plane in and out, but he did mention Agron. He had no clue about the women and children they were trafficking on said plane.

Supposedly.

I have all the blackmail on Jack I need, so I’m sure he’ll be staying in line. I know somebody must know something, and I need the information now.

?*I have a terrible feeling that Agron, being the power-hungry bastard he is, is trying to get rid of his brother and take over. I think that’s why he is repeatedly trying to get Zamir to return to Chicago. If Agron were to kill his own brother, his nephew would have to be taken out, too…

We’re walking back out of the airport and passing the clean-up crew on the way to the SUV. It’s been too long since I’ve seen Ellie and Nash, and I’m running out of options and favors to call in.

I never want them out of my sight again, but I know that’s unrealistic.

Zamir’s looking at his phone and huffs out, “What the fuck does he want? I haven’t heard a peep from him since he got off the phone with me while I was still at the stadium.” It’s been sixty-three hours since they were taken from us. He hits the green button to accept the call. “Alex. To what pleasure do I ow?—”

Zamir doesn’t even get the sentence out fully before his face morphs into a concerned look, and he pulls the phone away to put it on speaker.

Alex’s voice floats through the phone’s speaker, “Arben and I lost our dads—tracking wise—for a couple of minutes. But then their dots popped back up and now are traveling North. I remembered hearing Vito talking about an underground bunker he had for hiding things that were important to him.”

I’m growling into the speaker, “Send us the address now.” I have a terrible feeling I know exactly where they took them. But my real question is, how long has Alex had the tracking on their dads and not communicated with us?!

Zamir threatens, “If this is a setup,Kushërir, I’ll be in Chicago later tonight to gut you myself.” Then he hangs up.

That would sure as hell save a step for his dad to complete.

If I had any worry about Zamir’s loyalty left in me, that just dissipated.

Vin asks, while speeding down the interstate, “Why didn’t your slimy cousin and his hacker know where Vito and your dad went when they dropped them wherever they are?”

Zamir huffs, “My dad’s big but nowhere near the size of the guys that took Nash and Ellie. I think they hired them because there’s no way in hell those two old fuckers were getting the job done. Plus, I’m sure they had the guys take them to this location in case they were being followed or tracked.” Zamir’s cousin is tracking them.

Clearly, Alex thinks that it could be their dads that took them as well, or again, this could all be a setup we’re walking into, like every dumbass in a scary movie.

I wonder out loud, “The only thing I don’t like is how convenient Alex’s call was. We were getting too close to whatever else they have going on…” We all sit in silence as we process that and what it could mean.

Vin’s driving like a bat out of hell, but he’s shaving precious minutes off, making this forty-five minute trip into more like thirty. Since Zamir answered his phone when we were leaving the airport, my heart has been in my ass, scared of how we’re going to find Ellie and Nash. The questions keep assaulting me.

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