Page 188 of Sexting the Boss

I’ve failed her once.

I’m not doing it again.

Not with her.

Not with our baby.

I stand, fists clenched, throat raw.

“I’m getting them back,” I say. “Even if it kills me.”

And I mean every goddamn word.

I don’t hear most of what Nina says. She’s on the phone behind me as I head for the door, her voice sharp with orders. “I’ll send backup—units on both flanks—Damien, wait, don’t be reckless?—”

I don’t stop. I don’t look back. My body is already moving.

She could send an army. I don’t care.

This—this is between me and them.

The drive out of the city is a blur. The sun’s gone, replaced by fog thick enough to choke on. I follow the coordinates like they’re a noose around my neck, and I keep gripping the wheel tighter every time my thoughts spiral.

Sasha.

Sasha pregnant.

Sasha terrified and alone and—God, what if she’s cold? What if she’s hurt?

What if I never get to tell her I’m sorry?

I drive faster.

Trees blur past. Asphalt gives way to gravel. Gravel gives way to dirt. I don’t even notice when my car starts bouncing over rocks and roots—my eyes are on the path, my mind replaying every mistake.

I shouldn’t have sent her away.

I thought I was protecting her, and now Lev has her.

He has her.

And if she’s scared right now, if she’s crying—if she even thinks I abandoned her.

No.

No.

I slam the door shut as I reach the edge of the tree line and move fast, ducking through shadows, every step heavy with rage.

There’s nothing but woods and silence.

Then—

A faint sound.

Something crunching.

I slow down, stepping lightly over a root. There—movement, just up ahead.

---