Page 82 of Yours

Bradan’s breathing was ragged, like he’d been running for his life. “Finn’s dead,” he said hoarsely. “They… they took Leena. I barely got out alive.”

The words hit me like a fist to the chest. For a moment, the room spun, my grip on the phone tightening until my knuckles ached.

“Start from the beginning,” I said, my voice low and cold, the calm barely masking the storm brewing inside me.

Bradan took a shaky breath, his words tumbling out in a rush. “We were about an hour outside the city. It was quiet—too quiet, I guess. A couple of black sedans started tailing us on the highway. At first, I thought it was nothing. Finn was driving, keeping cool, but they started closing in on us.”

He paused, his voice breaking slightly. “They boxed us in, forced us off the road into a ditch. The car flipped. Finn… he was hurt bad. I don’t even know how I got out. The seatbelt jammed, the airbags—” He cut himself off with a harsh exhale. “When I managed to crawl out, there were already men surrounding the car. Six, maybe eight of them. All armed to the teeth.”

“And Finn?” I asked tightly.

“They dragged him out of the driver’s seat,” Bradan said, his voice trembling. “He was bleeding, barely conscious. He tried to fight, Ronan—he fucking tried. But they shot him. Point-blank. Right in front of me.”

I closed my eyes briefly, my free hand curling into a fist. “And Leena?”

“They pulled her out next,” Bradan said, his voice barely above a whisper. “She was alive. As far as I know, she wasn’t hurt. In fact, she was screaming, kicking, trying to get away. I was pinned down in the wreckage, trying to cover her, but they didn’t care about me. One of them had a gun on me. I thought I was dead.” He paused, his breath hitching. “But they didn’t shoot me. They knocked me out of the way, threw her into one of their cars, and took off. By the time I got to my feet, they were gone.”

I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears, the rage building like a hurricane. “You didn’t recognize any of them?”

“No,” Bradan said miserably. “They were masked, dressed all in black, completely covered. They moved like professionals—fast, like they knew exactly what they were doing.”

A thousand possibilities raced through my mind, each one darker than the last. The way they’d moved, the way they’d targeted Leena—it felt calculated. Deliberate.

And one name kept surfacing in my mind.

Marco Benedetti.

I hadn’t acted against him or his family, but Lorenzo’s death had put a target on my back, and Marco was just arrogant enough to think he could make a move against me. And what better way to hit me where it hurt than by taking my sister?

I forced myself to focus. “Where are you now?”

“Hiding out near the crash site,” Bradan said, his voice still shaky. “I didn’t want to lead them anywhere near you. I’ll send you my location.”

“Do it,” I said quickly. “Stay put. I’ll send someone to pick you up. Don’t fucking move.”

“Understood,” he murmured, the line clicking as he ended the call.

I lowered the phone slowly, my mind racing.

Behind me, Kiera stirred, her soft voice breaking through the storm in my head.

“Ronan?”

I turned to find her sitting up, her green eyes wide with concern.

“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.

I stood and pulled on my jacket. “Stay here,” I said firmly.

“Ronan, tell me what’s going on,” she insisted, her voice rising with worry. “What happened?”

I stopped in the doorway, my jaw tight. “They have Leena.”

Her face paled, her hand flying to her mouth.

“What? Who has her?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, though the image of Marco’s smug face burned in the back of my mind. “But I’m going to find out. And when I do, I’ll make them regret ever laying a hand on her.”

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