Page 28 of Devoted

I snorted. Who the fuck wore silk boxers?

Who bothered wearing boxers at all?

“No sign of the Riva.” Gabriel walked back and forth along the fondamenta, practically wearing a groove in the stone. “They’ve been pinging the tracker but get nothing but radio silence. They’ll keep trying.”

My brother threw Nico another venomous glare, then went back to his useless pacing, cursing beneath his breath. Closing my eyes, I reached out across the quiet city, searching for my wife.

And like the last ten times… I found nothing.

Panic burrowed in a little deeper beneath my skin.

Inhaling a lungful of canal-drenched air, I reminded myself Emberline was capable of taking care of herself.

That Luca was with her—which wasn’t so much a comfort as a reminder she wasn’t alone.

But it took every bit of my self-control to wait for them to appear as my mind came up with a million terrifying scenarios. I curled my hands into fists, stopping myself from dematerializing to La Sala, ripping the doors off the building and Giovanni DiRavello’s head off his shoulders.

Nico leaned against a nearby wall, hands in his pockets, seemingly incapable of making eye contact. He hadn’t said a single word since we’d gotten here.

Not one.

Gabriel stalked past me, his face a storm of the same unanswered questions churning inside me.

What the fuck were those things?

And why did Nico know everything about them?

Rocco was already on his way back to the island. Dematerializing had very nearly killed him; only the quick thinking of the waiting healers had stabilized the bleeding enough to load him onto a boat. Now, he was headed for home.

Mission. Fucking. Accomplished.

Now, all I needed was my wife.

Another deep inhale filled my lungs with diesel fumes, still choking the narrow calle from the boat that carried Rocco away. One of the Demente soldiers asked timidly how much longer we were going to wait, and Gabriel nearly bit his head off.

Nobody asked again.

I drifted toward the open end of the alley, where the city streets were nearly empty in the predawn hours. It had been thirty minutes since we’d returned, but it might as well have been thirty years for the fear masticating my heart.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” my brother demanded, stepping in front of me. “Give her another couple minutes.”

“I’ve given this more time than I should have. We never should have left her behind.”

“We don’t even know she’s still there. The boat was gone,” his attention drifted over to Nico. “He made a logical deduction. For all we know, they’re on their…”

I froze, my nose flaring as I turned to the west. A ripple of Emberline’s presence echoed down our bond… followed by a wave of pure panic.

“I’ve got her,” was all I could manage, then I was gone, flying through the darkness toward La Sala, honed in on my wife. When she disappeared, I changed direction, flying even faster over the labyrinthian streets, my heart jammed in my throat until I finally realized she was heading towards familiar territory—the safehouse.

Gods, Emberline must be desperate to go back there.

Chances were, Giovanni had posted guards on the off chance one of us showed up, but I didn’t give a shit about him. I needed to put eyes on my wife, reassure myself she wasn’t hurt.

I landed in the narrow alleyway, hand slapping against a cracked stone wall to steady myself.

The safehouse was abandoned. No signs of life except for… My nostrils flared at the thick, metallic scent. Blood. Hope died, and the world went black as a thousand scenarios flashed through my head.

My wife was badly injured.