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“Ah, fuck,” Kai groans and rubs the back of his neck.
“Keep calm,” I tell him and Drake. “He has every right to feel this way.”
“You!” Michael snarls once he sets his sights on us. He is immediately flanked by two federal agents. They do a decent job of holding him back, but this man wasn’t nicknamed Quicksilver for nothing. In a matter of seconds, he wrestles out of their grip and crosses the bullpen, but Dale gets in the way, unafraid to point his service gun at him. “I’m going to kill you!” Michael snarls but instantly freezes when he sees the muzzle staring back at him.
“One move, Mr. Kessler, and I will shoot,” Dale calmly tells him. “I understand what you’re feeling, and I am sympathetic. But these gentlemen have as much interest as you in getting Nadia back alive and in one piece.”
“Interest? They’re the reason she was taken!” Quicksilver snaps, a vein furiously throbbing along his temple. There is anger in his blue eyes as he scowls at us. Anger and pain, but not hatred. Deep down, I think he sees us struggling, too.
“We’re in this together, Quick,” I say, my voice uneven, wrought with emotion. “I swear to God we were cautious.”
“Someone from the inside tipped Colton off,” Drake says, trying to reason with him.
“My baby could die because of you,” he says, but I can see he’s cooling his jets with each passing second. Eventually, Dale puts his weapon back in its holster, and Michael lowers his gaze. “Don’t let her die. I can’t lose her, too.”
“We won’t lose her,” I say.
“You destroyed my family,” he mutters.
Kai clears his throat. “Quick, be reasonable here. We love Nadia, all right? We love her and we care about her very much. We want her back, just as much as you. Can’t we put this strife aside until she’s out of Colton’s reach? We’re bringing our A-game to the table.”
“I will kill you when it’s over,” Quick replies, but he can’t look any of us in the eye.
“Mr. Kessler, need I remind you that you’re making threats in front of a federal agent smack in the middle of a federal building?” Dale interjects. “Now, are we going to play nice and get along, or do I have to send you down to lockup until we sort this out?”
Michael glances around him, then takes a deep breath and lets it out, ever so slowly.
“What do we know so far?” he asks, his voice mellower than a few seconds ago. “Do you have proof of life?”
“No,” Dale says. “But we do believe that she’s alive. I doubt Colton will touch Nadia.”
“Not yet. He’ll kill her when she’s no longer useful,” Michael says, swallowing back his own fear as he peers deep into my soul. “You three got her into this mess and you three need to get her out.”
“It’s what we’re doing here,” I reply.
“I need her back. Her and the babies.”
“The babies?” Drake gasps.
Quicksilver gives him a hard scowl. “Maybe it’ll incentivize you sons of bitches to do everything in your power to save her.”
“Wait, Quick,” I manage, the air violently knocked out of my lungs. “What are you talking about?”
“Nadia is pregnant—with twins,” he replies.
A moment passes, then two. Then time loses its fluidity and I’m left staring at Quicksilver as I struggle to process what he just said. Nadia is pregnant. She hasn’t said a word to any of us. As it begins to set in, the harder it lands deep in my chest.
“Colton cannot know about this,” Drake mumbles, his eyes wide with horror.
“He doesn’t, not unless Nadia tells him,” Quick says. “What can I do to help?”
“We’re putting together a task force,” Dale immediately jumps back into business, eager to explain the details to Nadia’s father. Anything to keep the old man distracted and make him feel useful in light of this particular development.
This should’ve been a joyous revelation. Nadia should’ve told us herself, but then again, with everything that’s been going on, I can’t exactly blame her for keeping quiet about it.
My head is blurry, my heart is jumping, and my stomach is twisting itself into painful knots. Judging by the look on Kai and Drake’s faces, they’re going through an equally gut-wrenching process.
Colton Harrow has our pregnant girlfriend. The woman of our dreams. The love of our life. Nadia must be terrified, alone, and in the clutches of that fucking monster, holding in one hell of a secret. If that fucker learns about the pregnancy, I shudder to think about what he’ll do. I dread any possible scenario at this point.
