Chapter 90 Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Nina’s POV
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I stared at my empty palm like it might lie to me. Nothing. Just cold skin and a few flakes of snow melting on my fingers. The flash drive was gone.
“Oh god,” I whispered. My voice cracked. “It’s gone. I lost it.”
Dante’s arms tightened around me. His chest was still pressed tight to mine, warm and solid under the open coat. “Hey. Hey, kitten. Look at me.” His voice was low, steady, but I heard the edge in it. He cupped my face with one big hand, thumb brushing my cheek. His touch felt hot against my frozen skin. “Breathe. We’ll find it.”
I shook my head fast. Tears burned my eyes and spilled over. “I had it the whole time. Through the fall. Through everything. And now… now it’s just gone.” My whole body started trembling harder. The burns on my shoulders and thighs screamed every time I moved. The snow under us felt like needles on my bare legs. I patted the ground around us, frantic, fingers digging into the cold powder. Nothing but ice and twigs.
Enzo dropped to his knees beside us. Snow crunched under him. His breath came out in white puffs. “Easy, baby. We got you.” He grabbed my wrist gently, stopping my wild search. His palm was rough and warm. “You’re shaking like a leaf. Dante, she’s freezing. Wrap the coat tighter.”
Nikolai slid in on my other side. His eyes were wide, scanning the snow like he could will the drive to appear. “It must have slipped during the second drop,” he said, voice tight but calm. “When we hit those rocks. Stay still, Nina. I’ll look.” He started sweeping the snow with his hands, careful not to knock into my burns. Every few seconds he glanced up at the tree line. Headlights were bouncing closer through the dark. Engines growled louder.
I couldn’t stop the sob that slipped out. “After everything I did… I shot that girl. I almost died twice. And I lost it.” My teeth chattered. The cold was sinking deep now, mixing with the pain until I couldn’t tell which hurt more. “What if Sabina finds it first? My dad… everything my family worked for…”
Dante cursed under his breath. He pulled me closer, tucking my head under his chin. His coat fell around us both like a tent. I felt his heart beating fast against my cheek. “None of that matters right now,” he said. “You matter. You’re safe with us. We’ll fix this.” His hand rubbed slow circles on my back, right over a bad burn. The touch hurt and felt good at the same time. I pressed into him without thinking. My bare thighs were still straddling his lap from the fall. Even through his pants I could feel him — thick, warm, half-hard from the adrenaline and the way we were tangled. My body noticed. A stupid little spark of heat flared low in my belly. I hated it. We were probably going to die and I was getting wet again.
Enzo noticed too. His eyes flicked down for half a second, then back up. He gave a small, rough laugh that didn’t hide the worry. “Focus, Dante. She’s turning blue.” But his hand stayed on my knee, thumb stroking the side like he needed to touch me too. “We’ll get you warm soon, baby. Promise.”
Nikolai kept digging. His fingers moved fast through the snow. “Got something!” He pulled up a small black piece — just a chunk of plastic. Not the drive. He tossed it aside and kept looking. “Come on, come on…”
Gunshots cracked in the distance. Closer this time. A bullet whined past and buried itself in a tree behind us. Snow exploded off the branches.
“Shit,” Enzo muttered. He stood quick, gun up. “They’re on us. Nikolai, how much time do we have?”
“Thirty seconds, maybe less.” Nikolai’s voice was tight now. He glanced at me, eyes soft for a second. “Nina, I know you’re scared. But we need you to stand. Can you do that for us?”
I tried. My legs wobbled like jelly. Dante caught me under the arms and pulled me up against his chest. My burns screamed at the movement. I whimpered. He held me steady, one arm around my waist, the other brushing hair out of my eyes. “That’s my girl,” he said softly. “We’re not leaving without you. Drive or no drive.”
Enzo fired two quick shots toward the headlights. The muzzle flash lit his face — jaw clenched, eyes fierce. “Move! Nikolai, grab her other side. We’ll search while we run.”
They half-carried me through the snow. My feet barely touched the ground. Every step made me slide against Dante’s body again. His hardness pressed into my stomach now. I felt every breath he took, every flex of muscle. Nikolai stayed glued to my left, hand on my hip to keep me steady. His fingers were cold but gentle. “I’m sorry we put you through this,” he whispered close to my ear. “But we’re getting you out. All of us. Together.”
Tears kept coming. I couldn’t stop them. “What if it’s buried? What if Sabina’s guys already found it?”
Dante’s grip tightened. “Then we take it back from her. Simple as that.”
We pushed deeper into the trees. Branches slapped my arms. Snow fell heavier now, sticking to my lashes. The cold was biting deeper. My teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. But their hands stayed on me — warm, steady, never letting go.
Enzo glanced back. His face changed. “Heads up. They’re here.”
Flashlights swept through the trees behind us. Voices shouted in the dark. Boots crunched fast. One voice cut through the rest — a woman’s voice, calm and smiling.
Sabina.
She sounded way too close.
“Looking for something, kitten?”
My stomach dropped. I froze between the guys. My hands started shaking all over again.
The flashlights got brighter.
And I realized we weren’t running anymore.
We were surrounded.