LVII
Atlas Lucio
M y heart races as I run between rooms, finding each one empty. It’s the middle of the night but a sense of urgency has me desperately seeking out the others.
My eyes land on Dawson, who’s laying in bed on his phone. His face is contorted in concentration but his eyebrows raise in surprise when he looks up to see me panting at the end of his bed.
“What’s wrong with her?” He asks immediately, sensing something is wrong.
“She won’t stop crying. I can’t get her to stop crying” I tell him as he climbs out of bed. He doesn’t bother to put sweatpants on, instead running out of his room in a pair of black boxers. I seek out Andros next and within a few minutes, we’re all gathered around a curled-up Hazel on the floor of the kitchen.
“Spitfire, tell me what’s wrong,” Dawson tries to coax her but she shakes her head, curling more into herself. Tears cascade down her cheeks like a torrential rainstorm. Her back is pressed against the kitchen island, the position making her seem so small and vulnerable. She covers her mouth to stifle a sob and the sound breaks my heart.
“What the fuck happened since we left you guys?” Andros seethes quietly to me. I shake my head, focused on our girl.
“She fell asleep not long after you left and when we woke up, she was gone. Theo found her curled up in here, crying,” I explain as Theo tries to stroke her hair. She pulls away from him, her other hand tightly gripping her phone.
My eyes narrow on it, like it holds the answer to all of our problems. Andros sees my line of sight and tilts his head, crouching next to her.
“Did you see something on here, Angel?” he asks her gently. She nods her head, stifling another sob as she brings her phone to her chest.
“Can we see it, Little One?” Theo pleads with her as we all wait for her answer. She shakes her head fervently as more tears fall. Her sobs are constant now, each one like a shard to my heart.
“Let me see, Angel. Let me fix it,” Andros tries again. Her eyes open as she looks at him, heavy with pain and suffering. I yearn to take those feelings from her, ridding her of anything negative.
She deserves the world.
Not a world of pain.
“Not you,” she manages to sound out through her sobs as she answers Andros. He frowns and looks over his shoulder to me, but I just shrug.
“Can I see, Principessa?” I ask her, holding my breath in the hopes she will say yes. When she nods her head, I slowly offer out my hand for her to pass me the phone. Once it is in my grip, my eyes fall on the open chain of messages between her and an unknown number.
My blood boils as I read each message, piecing together the story.
Alexei.
He’s been fucking messaging her ever since she’s been in New York.
I stand up and clear my throat, getting the strong urge to go punch something. The only thing that stops me from storming off is when Hazel lets out a strong sob, her eyes desperately searching mine in the fear I’m mad at her.
Dawson kicks my shoe in annoyance before making space for me to crouch in front of her. Sliding her phone into my pocket, I grasp both sides of her head and force her to look at me.
“We’ll sort it, Principessa. I promise,” I reassure her. After planting a kiss on her forehead, I leave her with Andros and Dawson. Theo follows me into my room and shuts the door behind me.
“Alexei has been messaging her from an unknown number since she moved here,” I quickly fill him in before moving onto the text that has sent her over the edge, “He’s threatened Alessia.”
“Andros’ little sister?” Theo asks, his face twisting into pure anger when I confirm.
“We need to tell him,” I mutter, rubbing a hand down my face in exasperation. I sit down on the end of my bed, trying to process the situation as I scroll through the encroaching messages Alexei has been sending my girl.
She’s been dealing with this alone.
Because she didn’t trust us.
We weren’t there for her to trust us.
“Shit,” Theo slumps next to me. I pass the phone to him and watch as his face flashes with a multitude of emotions as he reads through the texts.
“We need to find out Alessia’s location,” I decide, standing from the bed as Theo nods. He pulls out his phone and calls someone whilst I leave the room and head back to Hazel’s.
She’s nestled in between Andros and Dawson, her head resting on the latter’s chest as he strokes her hair. Both men are awake, sitting up as they watch our girl sleep peacefully.
Their eyes rise to me as I walk in and the tension tenfold. Having snatched her phone back from Theo before I left him, I pass it to Dawson for him to read and gesture for Andros to follow me to the living room.
“Alexei has threatened to use your sister against Hazel,” I fill him in as soon as the door to Hazel’s room shuts. He blanches at my words, having to sit down in a state of shock as he digests them.
“How the fuck did they find out about her?” He asks through gritted teeth, his anger rising. I sit down in the armchair opposite him and rub my hands together as I rest my elbows on my thighs.
“I’m guessing Alexei has been watching Hazel for far longer than we thought,” I reply, “probably since before Italy.”
“Have they got Alessia?” Andros asks, clenching and unclenching his fists.
“I don’t know, yet. Theo’s checking with our contacts.”
“I’m gonna fucking kill Alexei,” Andros growls. We both look up as Theo walks into the room with a grave face.
“Alessia’s been taken. They have her.”
Fuck.