Chapter 105

Chapter 105

For a few reckless seconds

Luca allowed himself to believe it.

Always.

The word stayed with him long after the safehouse disappeared behind them.

Long after the vineyard roads gave way to forests.

Long after Nova stopped teasing him.

Which happened approximately never.

"You smiled."

Luca stared out the window.

"No."

"You absolutely did."

"No."

"You looked happy."

Luca immediately looked offended.

"That's slander."

Nova laughed.

"You're impossible."

"So I've been told."

The SUV continued toward the coordinates.

The mission itself was simple.

Observe.

Gather information.

Leave.

No heroics.

No fighting.

No unnecessary risks.

The kind of operation Luca preferred.

Unfortunately

The universe preferred chaos.

Meanwhile, back at the safehouse

Damon was miserable.

Not visibly.

Mostly.

But everyone noticed.

Especially Cassian.

Who treated Damon's emotional suffering as a personal hobby.

"You miss him."

"No."

"You do."

"No."

"You stared at the road for twenty minutes."

Damon looked up from the communications equipment.

"I was monitoring the route."

"Sure."

"I was."

"Sure."

Mira tilted her head.

"I think he misses him."

Et tu, Mira.

Even Hale looked vaguely amused.

A truly horrifying development.

Hours passed.

Reports came in regularly.

Luca and Nova had reached the target area.

No hostiles.

No complications.

Everything proceeding normally.

Which should have reassured Damon.

Instead, he found himself checking the communications feed every few minutes.

Then every minute.

Then every thirty seconds.

Ridiculous.

Completely ridiculous.

Yet he kept doing it.

By late afternoon, the weather changed.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky.

Rain began falling heavily.

Communications weakened.

Signals faded.

Static increased.

Damon's mood immediately worsened.

The final transmission arrived just before sunset.

"Entering the facility perimeter."

Luca's voice.

Clear.

Calm.

Professional.

Then silence.

The connection died.

The room instantly felt colder.

"Signal loss is expected," Seraphine said.

Damon nodded.

Logically

She was right.

Emotionally

Logic could go to hell.

Night arrived.

The rain intensified.

Still no communication.

Still no updates.

Still nothing.

Damon hated waiting.

More specifically

He hated waiting for Luca.

Because waiting meant imagining possibilities.

Bad ones.

Very bad ones.

Across the room, Cassian watched him pace.

Then looked toward Mira.

"He's going to lose his mind."

"Already happening."

"Fair."

Damon ignored both of them.

Mostly because they were right.

Three more hours passed.

Nothing.

The storm continued.

The silence became unbearable.

Then

The radio crackled.

Everyone froze.

Immediately.

Damon reached it first.

"Luca?"

Static.

Then a voice.

Not Luca.

Nova.

Broken.

Distorted.

"Ambush."

The room exploded into motion.

Every person instantly alert.

Every weapon grabbed.

Every emotion gone.

Replaced by urgency.

"Nova."

Damon's voice was dangerously calm.

"What happened?"

More static.

Gunfire in the background.

Then:

"They knew we were coming."

Ice flooded his veins.

"We're pinned down."

The transmission crackled violently.

Someone shouted.

A gunshot echoed.

Then silence.

Absolute silence.

The connection died.

For one second

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Then Damon stood.

And every person in the room immediately understood.

Nothing on earth was stopping him.

Seraphine sighed.

"You're going."

"Yes."

"Thought so."

Within minutes

Vehicles were loaded.

Weapons checked.

Routes planned.

A rescue operation.

Fast.

Brutal.

Necessary.

Damon climbed into the driver's seat.

His hands tightened around the steering wheel.

Not from fear.

Not from anger.

Something worse.

Because somewhere in the darkness

Luca was in danger.

And Damon couldn't reach him.

The thought was unbearable.

As the convoy pulled away from the safehouse, Cassian glanced sideways.

Toward Damon.

Toward the storm.

Toward the road disappearing into darkness.

Then quietly said:

"You love him."

No jokes.

No teasing.

No sarcasm.

Just truth.

Damon stared at the road.

At the rain.

At the night swallowing everything ahead.

He didn't deny it.

Because all he could think was one desperate prayer.

Please be alive.

Please come back to me.