Divided (Unguarded #2) - Ivy Stone Page 0,52

don’t have.

She rakes her fingers through her hair. “All right.” She sighs. “I guess we’re past due for some sisterly bonding time anyway.”

“Yay, okay. I’ll go call Cass.”

After I call for girl comfort, I yell down to Lindsey, who’s somewhere in the loft. “She’ll be here soon, okay?”

“All right, I’ll be out soon I’m gonna take a shower and freshen up.”

I reply back with a muffled, “Yep.” My mouth already exploding with chocolate goodness.

My hips move and I hum to the radio as I make tea and open some snacks. The only kind of food Lindsey has because she’s just as bad a cook as I am. I pop my hip out to shut the fridge with it as a knock bangs on the heavy steel door of the loft. My brows squish together as I wander to the door.

I pull it open. “Damn, Cass you got here qui—”

Terror winds me, cutting off my voice. My legs weaken and I back away.

“No…” my voice dwindles to nothing. I gasp for air. A hand clamps down over my mouth, concealing the scream screeching from my throat. I claw at my cheeks. I kick. I pinch. I pull at my attacker until the unmistakable hardness of a gun, strokes my temple. I freeze dead still and meet the center of my own personal hell. A man with dark eyes as black as his soul.

The prince of darkness.

Lucio.

My breathing spouts in loud and heavy bursts through my nose while I wait for something, anything from Lucio. He can’t kill me. Surely there’s a part of him still in there. I continue to wait, the quiet giving me a moment to race a million questions through my mind, which does nothing to subside the terror already trembling through me.

What’s he doing here?

How is he here?

He’s supposed to be in prison.

Coldness prickles ice over my skin as Lucio spears me with frosty, dead eyes. There’s no remorse. No anguish. The boy I once knew is dead. Lucio moves around, searching for something and panic grips my heart when I realize he’s looking for Lindsey. Silent tears begin flowing down my cheeks.

I shake my head furiously, my pleading and begging to leave Lindsey alone, muffled under the hand still covering my mouth. Lucio beckons his men, all three of them, down the hall and I’m pushed forward by the one holding me despite fighting against him with as much strength as I have. They drag me into the room just as Lindsey walks out of her bathroom, towel drying her hair, oblivious to everything going on.

“Ali, did you—”

Her body stiffens and the towel drops to the floor the second she sees us. Her eyes bulge and for the first time since we walked into our mom’s bedroom and found her dead, Lindsey can’t mask the horror splitting on her face. Her anguish causes more tears to my eyes and my hair begins to stick to my hot face. My cheeks puff beneath the hand suffocating me as I lock eyes with Lindsey. The struggle to breathe, cutting off more energy by the second. But when she gives me round sad eyes, full of resignation, I stop breathing altogether. This is it. This is our goodbye. This is the end. My body begins to fall captive to the darkness. It draws out my soul. Sucks me dry.

The last thing I hear from my sister’s lips is, “I love you.”

“Mason. Roamyn. Get out here.”

I sit up from the couch in Mason’s office the tone in Elias’s voice blasting me with worry.

We run, fast.

Elias stands by his desk, precinct phone still in his hand, grim twist to his mouth. Something’s really fucking wrong.

“Giuseppe and Lucio just got out. Charges were dropped. Evidence went missing.”

My heartbeat thrashes in my ears as I thump a fist into the wall beside me. The pain from the blow not registering with the fury pumping through my veins.

Mason snaps. “How the fuck is that even possible? Why weren’t we informed this was happening? Fuck.”

Elias shakes his head and I pull at my hair. Doesn’t take a genius to know they’d have pulled strings and paid off every corrupt cop and judge to not only make this happen but to keep it from us as long as they could.

I clench my jaw, twisting to Mase.

“Alison.”

“Lindsey,” we say at the same time. Our minds now on one thing and one thing only. Getting to our women before they do.

“Let’s go,” Mason calls out, heading into his