Page 76 of Deception & Desire

I can barely see through the haze, but the screams and cries of panic pierce through my confusion. I blink, trying to clear my vision, my heart hammering in my chest.

“Leon!” My voice breaks, the word choking me, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no response.

I push forward, carefully avoiding broken glass and debris, my hand still holding tight to my belly. The twins are moving, restless under my hands, and I can’t help but wonder if they feel the same terror I do.

The tears come without warning, sliding down my face as I stumble over the wreckage. I can’t think straight, the fear clouding my mind, but I force myself to focus. I have to find my family.

And then I see her.

Cassandra’s lifeless form is buried under a pile of rubble near the far side of the room. My stomach lurches.

No.

I rush to her, my legs unsteady beneath me, and kneel beside the mess of debris.

Cassandra’s pale face is smeared with dirt and blood, her body crushed beneath a heavy piece of the wall. Her arm is twisted awkwardly, and I can’t see her breathing.

“Cas? Cas! Talk to me. Come on, Cas. Please,” I whisper, my hands trembling as I try to lift the rubble.

I shouldn’t be strong enough to move the concrete alone, but the sheer desperation of my adrenaline fuels me. Before I can really register what I’m doing, I’m pulling the last piece of debris away.

“Cas? Cassandra, don’t you dare. Come on,” I whimper as I search for a pulse.

There. Finally. Relief floods through me as I feel life flickering through her veins. She’s breathing, she’s alive.

A sob escapes my chest.

“Cassandra,” I whisper again, louder this time, my hands gently cradling her head.

Her eyelids flicker, and after a moment, she groans, her hand weakly grasping mine.

“Mia…” she murmurs, her voice hoarse. “What…what happened?”

I shake my head, wiping my face with the back of my hand. “A bomb or something. But you’re alive. Thank God you’re alive.”

Cassandra’s hand weakly grips mine. “Where…where’s Rocco? Where’s Leon?”

My heart skips a beat, panic rising in my chest once more. I swallow hard, trying to steady my breath. “I don’t know. We need to find them.”

I look around the room, trying to pierce through the dusty smog that has engulfed the space. There are voices and signs of life, but they’re indistinguishable through the ringing in my ears.

“Can you stand?” I ask Cassandra, helping her to sit up as I try to keep the panic from overtaking me.

She nods, though she looks dazed, her face pale and bruised. “I think so.”

“Stay close,” I tell her, my voice shaking. “We’ll find them. We’ll find everyone.”

We move together, carefully stepping through the rubble, clinging to each other like a lifeline. My heart pounds in my chest, my eyes scanning the wreckage for any sign of Leon.

“Leon!” I call again, but my voice feels small in the wreckage, swallowed by the smoke and dust.

Cassandra’s hand tightens around mine as if to comfort me. I don’t think anything of it until I realize she’s stopped moving entirely.

“Cas, come on. We need to?—”

My voice trails off the second I realize what she’s staring at. My eyes open wide and flood with unshed tears.

“No.”

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