Something cold slithers down my throat, sinking down my torso. My face remains stoic, but I know before he says anything that I fucked up.
I didn’t erase the number Annabelle called me from earlier.
I want to punch myself in the fucking face. What kind of rookie-ass mistake is it not to clear the call log? Fucking seriously.
My mind races but comes up empty of ideas. I could change the subject, tell him where the stuff Raj had us steal is hidden.
Of course Raj may have moved it, since apparently Raj is on both sides. And obviously he set me up, so he would know there was a chance I’d do that.
I could send him on a wild goose chase. That’d serve Pietro right.
I’m not going to have time to do any of that though, because Pietro is making a call now. I want to stop him, but I’m hoping for a miracle—that she’s not by the phone, that she’s sleeping the day away like she does sometimes, that she doesn’t call back and he’ll never know for sure it was her.
But then he grins like a fucking wolf and drawls, “Annabelle. We’ve missed you.”
Annabelle
The playful smile that popped up when I saw Liam’s number has melted away, leaving dull horror in its place. I can’t breathe.
I pull back the phone with shaky hands to reread the display.
Liam’s number.
&nbs
p; Pietro’s fucking voice.
They’ve caught Liam.
Maybe they didn’t. Maybe there’s another explanation. There has to be another explanation.
I swallow hard, putting the phone to my ear. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I don’t want to speak. I don’t want him to hear my voice, even though I know he already did when I answered.
Happy. Excited. Expecting Liam. In the middle of imagining the new life we were about to build together, far away from all this bullshit.
No more beach house.
No more future.
No more Liam.
Tears burn behind my eyes as that dream slips away. I should’ve known better. Helplessness takes root again, blackening everything it touches inside of me.
I can’t do this again.
Pietro’s voice through the phone makes my skin crawl. “Annabelle, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”
Oh, God. He’s going to tell me Liam’s dead.
My legs are sacks of jelly and can’t keep me up anymore. I drop hard onto the red plaid couch where I watched Liam’s beautiful, strong body hunched to build a fire to keep me warm.
“Your boyfriend tried to steal from me again. I’m afraid it didn’t go well for him.” There’s some static and the line cuts out for a second. “You wanna say hi?”
My heart practically explodes and relief pours through my body. “He’s alive?”
“For now,” Pietro replies.
“Let me talk to him,” I demand.