Chapter 42
chapter forty two
lost angel
“Thank you.” I smiled at the bartender, grabbing Cora’s champagne flute and Oscar’s Jack and Coke.
I didn’t need to ask him what he wanted. This had been his drink since the second he turned twenty-one.
I was driving, so I held off.
I got a good grip on the drinks and headed back, manoeuvring through the dance floor, whispering ‘sorry’ if I got too close and keeping my eyes alert for Cora and Oscar.
I couldn’t see them through the crowd, so I carried on, my height serving me well as I scanned over everyone’s heads, looking for any trace of purple and red.
But all there were were navies and blacks and the occasional grey.
I didn’t panic. Not yet. I hadn’t panicked at all tonight, trying to find her. My eyes instantly settled on her, all the way across the room. No mask, no dress, no defiant look she could wear would ever stop me from seeing her. Like we were tied to a frequency only we could hear.
I tried to feel out those signals now, but they were dead—like taking the batteries out of a radio and getting nothing but static in return.
Squeezing through the growing crowds, I reached the spot where I’d left them. I knew it was here because just to the left of me was one of the paintings that, honestly, didn’t hold a candle to Cora’s. I looked around, the drinks still clutched in my grip, trying to find any sign of them.
But they’d vanished.
I strained my ears too, knowing that any room Oscar was present in wouldn’t be a quiet one.
And that wasn’t a bad thing. I admired him for it, actually.
Growing up not being able to talk, you’d think I’d have been jealous of him for being able to yell so freely, but if anything, he was my inspiration.
I felt bad because, being that little bit older, I was always supposed to be that for him.
I should tell him that more often. I don’t even think he knows.
Until then, I listened, and listened, but I couldn’t hear his voice.
And I couldn’t see Cora. Couldn’t feel her.
Where the hell were they?
As my mind wandered, an elegant voice sounded from the speakers. “Will all Nouvelle finalists please come to the stage? This year’s winner will be announced shortly.”
Fuck, I needed to find her.
Oscar could handle himself.
I gave up peering through the crowd and instead slipped my phone out of my pocket. I scrolled until I found her name, which didn’t take very long, and called her. With my phone to my ear, I kept scanning the room. Each beep made my heart beat faster, hating how panicked I was.
It was how I’d felt before when she asked me if I loved her again. And I wanted to pause time as I slapped myself for not replying Yes in a heartbeat.
I was going to tell her tonight. Regardless of what happened. By midnight she’d know how I felt about her, and maybe, hopefully, she’d tell me that she loved me again—
The beeping in my ear stopped.
I beat her to whatever she was going to say.
“Cora? Where are you? They need all the finalists up on the stage.”
Silence.
My brows drew together. “Cora?”
Still nothing.
A knot twisted deep in my gut.
I lowered my voice, sharp and tight. “Talk to me, Cor.”
Then a low, amused laugh.
“Cora’s a little busy right now.”
Time slowed.
My heart stopped.
The glasses slipped from my fingers, shattering on the marble.
My stomach dropped through my feet.
The voice cracked another laugh.
“Want to leave a message?”
I knew that voice. But right now it belonged to a faceless figure in my mind.
"Who is this?" There was no time for guessing games.
The voice sighed down the line, but it was laced with sick glee. "It's a little alarming you don't know your next of kin's voice, Marcus."
My body hollowed.
No.
No.
It couldn't be him.
"Now how about that message? I'm a little busy here."
Around me, the crowd’s murmurs faded to nothing. Their stares invisible.
All I heard was the thundering in my head and the grating clink of champagne flutes. This didn't make sense. None of this made sense.
I clenched my fist. “Where is she?”
“Easy,” my brother taunted—but it wasn’t him, because that didn’t make sense. “She’s close. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
I couldn’t breathe, but what made me want to fall to my knees was the slight accent in his voice that confirmed that on the end of the line was my baby brother.
My brows pulled inwards, cringing with the promise of tears.
My hand covered my mouth, and for a moment I had to stop, and reel, and think back on the last nine months and how it had all been him.
When the thought settled, the room turned red, and I didn’t stop moving towards the exit. “I'm not gonna ask you again. Where is she?”
He chuckled to himself. “Where you broke her heart.”
For a second I could only hear my breaths. I could only picture her face. And then my mind spiralled. I got over the fact that I knew I’d broken her heart and thought about the exact moment it happened.
And then, everything clicked.
The rooftop.
Romano.
I didn’t wait for an answer. Didn’t want to. All I wanted was to see her safe, buckled up in my passenger seat and looking at me the way she did that made me fall in love with her.
I crushed the phone in my hand, muscles coiling tight like a predator ready to strike.
No threats. No screaming. Just a quiet, lethal promise that I was coming.
I tossed it to the ground and made headway for my car, and in no time I was breaking every speeding law in the state.
And that wasn’t even half of what I’d do tonight.
If he knew me like I hoped he did, then he should know I wouldn’t stop until she was protected. And until then, if he thought he chose someone who’d go quietly, he picked the wrong fucking girl.