Novels by blossomgirly

Naomi's povThe light near the ceiling flickered on at what I guessed was six in the morning.It was the only way I had to count time. A narrow gap of grey glass high above the door, and the bulb behind it that buzzed on and off whenever someone upstairs walked across the floor. On. Off. On. I had stopped trusting my sleep a long time ago, so I counted the flickers instead.Four days. Maybe five.I had lost track of how many times I'd heard footsteps outside the door. Heavy boots. Lighter shoes. The scrape of a key. Every time, my body went rigid before my mind could catch up.I hated that the most. That my body still believed in rescue.I should tell you about the night of the proposal, because that is where it started. Or where I let it start.Amara had been glowing. Standing in that garden with the three mothers around her and Vincent on one knee, she looked like someone who had finally been given something she had earned. I stood

Amara's POVThe clock on the safe house wall read 2:14 AM when K went silent.She had been narrating since midnight. Steady, clipped, precise. Compound layout. Guard rotations. Vehicle positions. Her voice had never once wavered, not even during the first extraction, when the building came down around Vincent and I had sat frozen on the couch counting seconds.Now there was only static."K?" I said into the earpiece.Nothing."K, answer me.""She's working," Catherine said quietly from the chair beside me. "Give her a moment."I had been giving everyone moments for two days. Moments to rest. Moments to regroup. Moments to decide whether Naomi was still alive. I was tired of giving moments.Vincent's voice came through, low and controlled. "Approaching the east fence. Clara's checking the gate.""Copy," I said. My own voice sounded thin.I could hear him breathing. In, out. Slow. He was counting. I knew he was counting because he had told me once, on a quiet night in the garden, that c

I didn't sleep.I sat in the safe house living room while K worked through the night, digging into intelligence networks. While Vincent moved between rooms, making calls, coordinating with sources, trying to find any thread that led to Naomi. While Naomi's mother stared at nothing and Catherine held her hand.The clock moved to 6 AM.Then 7 AM.Then 8 AM.The sun came up and nothing had changed.Vincent appeared in the doorway. He looked like he'd been through war. His tactical gear was filthy. There was dust in his hair. His eyes had that hollow look that comes from running on adrenaline and failure."I need to talk to you," he said.I followed him into the bedroom."I failed," he said immediately. "I promised you I'd bring her home and I failed.""You tried—""That's not good enough," Vincent said. "Not for you. Not for Naomi. Not for any of it."He sat on the edge of the bed and I could see him cracking. Not completely. But enough that I understood this was the moment where everythi

CHAPTER 47: THE EXPLOSIONFirst Person, Past Tense - Amara's POVThe breach was clean."South wall is clear," Vincent's voice came through the earpiece. "Moving in. Ground floor first."K was narrating from her end. "I have visual on two guards. They're moving toward the south entrance. You have maybe ninety seconds before they reach the breach point.""Acknowledged," Clara's voice said. Calm. Professional. The voice of someone who'd done this a hundred times before.I was sitting on the edge of the couch, my hand on my stomach, feeling my daughter kick like she knew something was wrong. Naomi's mother was beside me, her hands clasped so tightly that her knuckles had gone white. Catherine was pacing."Guards neutralized," Vincent said. "We're in. K, give us the layout.""Basement level first," K said. "That's where the video signature is strongest. You're looking at approximately twelve rooms on the lower level. Most appear to be storage. One sealed door at the north end. That's likely

CHAPTER 46: THE EXTRACTION BEGINSFirst Person, Past Tense - Amara's POVThe second video arrived at 11 PM.This time, Viktor was holding a tablet. On the screen was a number.2.3 billion dollars."This is what your friend owes me," Viktor said casually. "This is what her partner borrowed. This is what Naomi signed guarantees for because she was naive and trusting and believed in things like contracts and honor in a world that has neither."He turned the tablet around so I could see Naomi's handwriting on the document. Her signature. The date from exactly one year ago."She could repay this in five lifetimes and never come close," Viktor continued. "So we're not going to discuss money."He moved the camera to show Naomi. She was in a cell. Not a dungeon. Just a concrete room with a single light. She was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall."Naomi and I have come to an understanding," Viktor said. "Haven't we?

CHAPTER 45: THE KIDNAPPINGFirst Person, Past Tense - Amara's POVI tried calling Naomi seventeen times.Seventeen.The first few times, I told myself she was just sleeping. The proposal had been emotionally exhausting. She'd been distant for a month. Maybe she'd gone home and collapsed into bed.By the eighth call, I was standing in the kitchen while Vincent and the three mothers cleaned up from dinner.By the fifteenth, I was pacing."She's not answering," I said to Vincent."She said she had to get back," he replied. He was washing dishes, his movements careful and steady. The way people move when they're trying not to react."I know what she said. But Naomi always answers. She could be in the middle of a funeral and she'd answer my call."Vincent set down a plate. "Her mom is here. Maybe—"But I was already moving toward the garden.Naomi's mother was still there, helping Catherine water the flow