Page 169 of Innocent Intentions

I look him in the eyes and take his hand. We shake then step back.

“Roman’s right. I’m fucking furious at myself. If I hadn’t left her, she’d be safe. It was stupid, and now she’s the one paying for it.” My voice cracks. “I broke my promise. I swore I’d protect her. And the first time we go out, I leave her. And now she’s gone. I’ll never forgive myself.”

Silence.

No one argues. No one defends me.

Because it’s true.

“Dom…” I whisper. “What are they doing to her right now?”

He looks at me, and something breaks in his expression. I’ve never seen that kind of sorrow in his eyes.

“If they used a basic sedative, it’ll be wearing off any minute. She’ll be held somewhere overnight. It won’t be clean. The Bratva doesn’t care about comfort. If it were winter, she’d risk hypothermia.” He pauses.

She’s probably so scared.

My chest tightens.

“Tomorrow or Monday, Viktor will meet with her. He’ll demand answers. What she knows, who she told, where his men are. It’s in her best interest to tell him that she’s yours. That she’s protected by the Syndicate. Maybe it buys her time. But even if he believes her, it won’t be enough.”

He meets my eyes.

“When we get her back… she won’t be the same. They don’t have a line, Matthias. They won’t be kind.”

My heart shatters.

My girl.

My sweet, beautiful girl.

She doesn’t deserve this. No one does.

I would take every second of her pain if I could.

I whisper a prayer to a God I don’t know.Spare her. Please.

We sit in silence.

Hearing it out loud makes it real. Too real.

Dom clears his throat. “Bash. Anything on the men who took her?”

Good. Back to business.

Sitting in grief won’t find her.

Bash sighs. “They faced away from the cameras the whole time. The only way I knew it was Bratva was from the tattoos. Ifollowed their car through street cams, but they turned down alleys with no coverage. I lost them. Their plates were fake.”

His voice is heavy. He’s taking this hard. Since learning how I got her, he’s taken on a quiet, protective role. Like a brother.

“Keep digging,” Dom orders. Then he turns to Roman. “Anything from the guy you interrogated?”

“No.” Roman’s jaw clenches. “He didn’t know who called in the bounty. He didn’t even know we were connected to her.”

“Can you get more out of him?”

“No.” He doesn’t flinch. “I killed him. He started bragging, and I snapped. I strangled him with my bare hand.” His fists tighten. His whole body shakes with fury. “He was filth. He was laughing at what they’ll do to her. I couldn’t let him keep breathing.”

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