He understood the words, but his brain had a hard time processing it.
“Pregnant?”
Lucas turned around. It was his father who said the words. Everyone had filed out from his office and was in the waiting room.
“Yes, pregnant,” George spat. “She told me about what happened between the two of you. What you did and that you didn’t believe her even though she worked her tail off trying to get you free! And now, I’m cleaning up her room, and I find five pregnancy tests! All positive. She should have left your sorry ass in jail!”
All he could do was stare at George. Pregnant. Sofia was pregnant. With his—
“Mr. Ander—I mean Lucas! I’ve been trying to reach you for days!”
His head whipped toward the second elevator. He didn’t even hear the chime announcing its arrival or the person who had hopped out.
“Who the fuck are you? And how the hell did you get up here?” The private elevators could only be accessed by authorized personnel.
The petite, red-haired girl rolled her eyes and pulled what looked like a cherry lollipop from her mouth. The t-shirt emblazoned with a cute cartoon character and the short, checkered skirt she wore made her look like she was fifteen years old. “Duh, I cracked it. My dad always said the security on it was pathetic. I like the updates you made, but really, you need to make them better. A 356-bit encryption would—”
“Lizzie!” Astrid strode over to them. “What are you doing here?”
So, this was Lizzie Martin. Arctic blue eyes stared up at Lucas. “Like I said, I have to talk to you!”
“Me?”
“Hello? You hired me, remember?” she said with exasperation, her curly strawberry blonde hair bouncing as she shook her head. “I’ve been trying to reach you for days! You haven’t been picking up your private line.”
In truth, he hadn’t looked at his private number in a while because it was too hard. He would be tempted to look at his messages with Sofia and torture himself with all the memories. “Well, what is it?”
“Remember the names you asked me to cross-reference? Bianchi and Selinofoto?”
“What about them?”
“I didn’t find anything about them that wasn’t on public record already. But, when I checked the chatter on the dark web, I did find out one thing.” She paused, her pretty face suddenly turning serious. “Bianchi put out a hit on a Detective Selinofoto. Seven figures if done by the end of today.”
A fit of rage surged through him, and his wolf let out a deep, angry growl. He dashed back into his office and grabbed his personal cellphone. He dialed Sofia’s number and waited. It rang but no answer, so it went to voicemail. He tried again, but it was the same.
“She’s not answering her phone,” he said to no one in particular.
“I’ll call the station.” It was Sharpe. He was standing in front of his desk, already fishing his cell phone from his pocket.
Lucas dialed again. And again. Straight to voicemail, the robotic voice seemingly mocking him.
Dread and anger filled him at the same time. He’d been blind. His anger at her supposed betrayal stopped him from seeing what was right in front of him. All he could think about was that she was a human, not to be trusted. He was also angry at her for not saying the words back. For not loving him.
But she did love him. Tried to tell him that day outside the police station. Then he threw it back in her face and threatened to hurt her family. And she was pregnant, to boot. The thought of Sofia being pregnant with his child should have elated him. But, with her out of reach and the threat of Bianchi out there, he felt real terror and dread.
Please, let them be okay, he pleaded to any god or deity who could hear him. I don’t want to lose them. He wanted to hold her in his arms again, watch her grow with his child in her belly, and be with her forever.
“She’s not there?” Sharpe said, his brows furrowing together as he spoke on the phone. “When did she leave … that was a while ago. Did she say where? No?” The detective was pacing back and forth now. “Tell me what you saw … yeah … wait!” He stopped in his tracks. “Yes, go to her desk. Grab the notepad and use a pencil and rub it on the top—yes, you know how to do it.” He nodded and paused. “Good job Sergeant Winters. I’ll let you know when I find her.”
Anticipation made him impatient. “Where is she?”
“One of the sergeants saw her scribbling down on a notepad and then she left. I have the address she wrote down.”
“Where?”
“Forty-five Bonnet street in Rockaway.”
Pure panic set into him. “I have to get there. Now.” But how? Traffic would be terrible. It might take them over two hours to get there and by then, it might be too late. Or it might even be too late now.
“I’ll take you.”
Daric! How could he have forgotten they had a warlock who could travel through space in an instant?
Astrid was already looking up the address on her phone and showing it to her father. Daric nodded, then trained his blue-green eyes on him. “Come.” He held out his hand.
Without a second thought, he grabbed it.
Lucas had never traveled using magic before, and to say it was disconcerting was putting it mildly. There was a cold, clammy feeling that crawled over his skin, then penetrated deep into his bones. It took longer than he thought, but at the same time, it was too quick. He only blinked once, and when his vision focused, he found himself outdoors.
“We are here,” Daric declared.
There was a soft pop behind them, and when he turned around, Cross, Grant, Zac, and Astrid had appeared.
“There!” Astrid cried out pointing to the warehouse across the street.
