Page 15 of Diary from an Inked Throne

Viktor blinked, his voice a wobble. “Fuck. It’s true then. You’re alive.”

Luca didn’t waste time on pleasantries. He glared at his soldier. “Give me your gun.”

Viktor bowed his head and nodded once, laying the gun across Luca’s palm without hesitation. “Yes, boss.”

Bruno didn’t move. Just stared at Luca like he couldn’t quite believe it.

Luca had the gun at the man’s temple in a second. He sighed, the sound all relief at having a weapon back in his grasp once more. But it only lasted a second before he was making his demands. “Talk. Where’s my uncle?”

Bruno needed no convincing. “I don’t know. He left.”

“How long ago?”

“Minutes.”

“Going where?”

“He didn’t say.”

Luca spun to stare at us. “Let’s go.”

Lynx dropped the vase on the tiled marble floor. It shattered into a hundred pieces, and he plucked Bruno’s weapon from his fingers. “I’ll take that before we do, thank you very much.”

I tossed my statue onto the remains of the vase and followed the other two to the door.

“Boss, wait.” Bruno stepped forward, vase fragments crunching under his boots. He ran to block our exit.

Luca glared at him. “Today is not the fucking day to test my patience, Bruno! Get out of the way!”

Bruno shook his head.

“No?” Luca asked, hard as steel. “Are you seriously saying no to me right now? You do see that I’m the one holding the gun, don’t you?”

Bruno nodded. “Yes, but Enzo—”

“Enzo is getting away with my woman because you won’t fucking move out of my way!”

Bruno sucked in a deep breath and shook his head. “She’s in the cages. Enzo left with—”

I didn’t hear anything else. I ran for the hallway near the gym, knowing that was where the stairs that led to the cages were. I shoved it open and practically fell down them, grasping at the wall to catch myself when my weak legs threatened to give out.

The air smelled wrong.

Metallic.

Sick.

Luca and Lynx stopped at my back, all three of us staring at the horror scene that played out in front of us.

“Call a doctor!” a woman I vaguely recognized shouted from behind the bars of a cage.

Hers was locked.

The one Nyah lay in wasn’t. I stumbled to her side, dropping down on the cold floor, not unlike the one I’d slept on in the church. I barely even felt it beneath my knees. I just gathered her up in my arms and held her, my entire body shaking.

“The baby, Dax. He took the baby.”

Her dark eyes shone with tears that begged me to do something. To fix this.