Page 155 of Let It Snow
SUMMER
I open my eyes, heavy as lead, and the room spins. For a second, I feel like I’m not even myself. I hate this sensation. I used to wake up like this almost every day for a month, fighting through the fog in my head, and now it’s back. What the hell is happening? I can barely piece it together. I remember trying to help Snow’s brother, Winter, and then… nothing. Just a blank.
When I finally force my eyelids fully open, a cold shiver runs through me. I’m lying on a table, my wrists bound.
Six men stand around me, and directly in front of me, on the opposite wall, there’s a large monitor. On the screen, someone is lying unconscious on a bed, hands and feet tied, just like mine. A long, pale-gold braid lies across his shoulder.
Lake?
Lake!
A surge of fear cuts through my chest.
What the hell?! What’s going on?
I look at the men around me, and the worst part is: I recognize some of them. Ferro'ssoldati. Mafia.
But that’s not the thing that nails the coffin shut. Another figure steps into the camera’s view.
"Rocco!"
The name rips out of me as something clamps painfully around my throat.
"Oh, awake already? Hello, sweetheart. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon. How delightful!"
That voice. My fists clench on instinct. I know that voice so well, the same one that used to whisper disgusting things under my door back in the fortress. It all comes back like an underground tremor, making me tense everything at once, my jaw, my eyelids, every muscle.
Swallowing hard, I keep quiet and listen. Whatever he’s about to say, I need to understand it perfectly. A lot depends on this.
Rocco crosses his arms over his chest.
"So… my dear Summer, I know you’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve, but if you value the life of this charming omega I’ve got here," he says, running a hand down the cheek of the unconscious Lake as he speaks. "You’ll cooperate."
My mouth hangs open in shock. What happened? Were we kidnapped? Where is everyone else, Snow? Aiden? This is so absurd, so impossible. Is this what Snow meant, that thing he said was coming, theblind spothe couldn’t see?
Did Snow finally make a phone call to Moon? I forgot to ask! Did he figure out the details, a way to get us out of this? Or not? Damn it. Panic floods me.
"Where are Snow and Aiden? Did you kill them?!"
Rocco laughs. "Oh, you made it way too easy for me. You tookhiding in plain sightto a whole new level. I never would’ve guessed you’d be dumb enough to stay with Sun’s parents. I came there to get my revenge on Sun, and look what a sweet bonus I found lying on the floor, waiting for me to take, without breaking a sweat!"
"Did you kill them?!"
"No one’s dead, little bird, calm down. I came for Sun; I wasn’t even looking for you at the time, but after I found you, I knew I had to have some leverage, so I took this cutie."
"You son of a bitch! Let Lake go!"
"Oh, hun, finding you is an incredible opportunity, and I’m going to take full advantage of it. I’ve got a few things to handle, some unfinished business with the Russians. So I want to utilize your sweet help because I know that lovely head of yours holds a power Anzo could never quite tame. Maybe this time we’ll give it a try. And if you value this blondie’s life, and something tells me you do because he’s such a pretty thing, then—"
"Let him go! He’s a survivor of abuse. He doesn’t deserve this!"
"Ha ha ha!" Rocco laughs, but his laugh doesn't sound human, far too demonic for this. "If that argument ever worked on me…"
A groan filled with anger and despair rips from my throat.
Rocco chortles. "Well, we don’t want to add to his abuse, but that depends on you, babe. His safety in exchange for a few favors. Nothing big. Just getting rid of some idiots who are standing in the way of our business. It has to be done quietly because the FBI’s got its eyes on us, and that’s where you come in…"
I close my eyes for a moment, knowing I don’t have another option. I could never allow Lake to be hurt. I know what he’s been through, and I won’t let anything happen to him again.
