Gemma

I crawled over the debris. My elbows bleed as I made my way to the stairs to the basement. 

The smell of burst flesh and soot filled my senses. My ears stood in attention to any sounds, any moment I could hear from the basement.

Nothing.

All I could hear was the sound of water trickling on a hard surface.

Tap tap

I made my way down the stairs. My finger trained on the trigger. 

If anything moved, it would be shot. 

Every room I passed was empty. Others were filled with canned food.

There was no trace of anyone.

Aurelia was sure her mother was downstairs. 

But the empty rooms and the abandoned hallway didn't stand to her testament. 

Calling Sofia out would have been helpful had it not been a hostage situation. If she was in hiding, she would emerge. But if someone else was with her, they'd know my location too.

I walked slowly, my shards of glass crunching beneath my boots. My eyes kept blinking constantly, clearing the grey smoke.

When I reached the end of the hallway, having scoped the entire basement, my heart sank to my stomach.

Where was she?

How was Aurelia so sure of her mother's whereabouts?

Pulling out my radio, I punched the button. "I can't find her."

Static

"Can someone hear me?"

Static

Before I could speak further, something caught my eye.

A small, unhinged exhaust vent in the corner of the hall, aligned to the floor. The metal grill was barely a few inches in height. 

I dropped to my knees and pulled it. It was wedged shut.

Why was an exhaust vent kept near the floor rather than above?

The answer struck.

I pulled my body weight and picked the torch from my pocket. 

Any gap. Anything. Any hint of another basement?

The torchlight scanned the area and my eyes widened, absorbing any information I could witness.

Smoke - a mélange of grey and white - escaped into a crack on the side of the wall where I stood.

My feet began working, shoving my weight on the lightly plastered wall.

It cracked. Wooden splinters flew in the air. Then it broke open. 

I could see metal stairs going all the way into the dark basement.

I walked down, hope dancing in my heart. I was silently praying for Sofia to be there.

Aurelia must have been confused about which stairs she was taken on.

At the end of the last stop, I looked down.

Concrete floor till where my vision could roam. At the end of it, a small metal door. Adjacent to it, was a glass window.

Though apprehensive about rushing to check the room, I did it anyway.

If Sofia wasn't here, then I needed to alert our men. Nicolas would have taken her with him.

As soon as I opened the metal door, it creaked. The rusty hinges didn't let go easily but a heavy shove with all my might paved the way for me to enter.

Air escaped my lungs. My head swarmed with worst-case ideas.

Then I saw her.

Sofia's unconscious body lay in a pool of blood. Her head, leaning near a metal chair bled. Thick dark liquid dropped from the side of her face, absorbed by her tattered red dress.

"Sofia..." I ran towards her, picking up her fallen face in my hands. Her head, a mat of blood soaked hair and dirt, felt heavy. "Sofia, look at me. Open your eyes. It's me, Gemma."

"Gem..." she groaned. "emm." 

Her body lay limp when I tried picking her up. Her arms swung on both sides of me. 

"Sofia. Open your eyes. Wake up." 

Slap slap slap.

I patted her cheeks. She was concussed. She can't sleep.

"Wake up, dammit. Wake up and look at me, Sof. We've come to take you back."

Her eyelids slit apart, her tear-drenched lashes batted together. Her fingers pressed against my face, trying to convey something.

"Sofia, darling, you are hurt. Your head is bleeding. So I want you to listen to my voice."

She tried sitting up. I held her back and pulled her up. 

"My head..." she held her temples, rubbing them with the pad of her palms. "It's floating..."

"Happens to anyone with a head injury."

I grabbed a bottle of water from the corner of the room and made her chug it. Her closed eyes, and her soft smile while she finished the contents of the bottle had me sigh.

Sofia, when she opened her eyes and let out an exhale, reminded me of times during our training when she used to exhaust herself. 

Her face and body glistened in sweat. The side of her forehead had a purplish-black scar. Her eyes were swollen, probably from spending sleepless nights in the room.

What hurt me seeing her the way she looked was her arms. Crimson-hued bands of marks ran around it, some turned purple. 

Sofia was tied up in this room. She lived the life of a prisoner since her kidnapping.

Concern - that metal ball of fire - danced over my chest as I stooped to her level. "Sof, are you okay. I mean-"

"He didn't do anything to me." Her tear streaked face looked up. "He tried, but by then, you guys..."

Exhaustion pulled her back as she leaned back on the chair, resting her head between her hands. 

"I need you to keep blinking, Sof. I need you to stay awake."

"I know," she whispered, nodding. "I can't sleep."

Static noises on my radio drew my attention. I pressed the button. 

Vincent's cracking voice emerged. "We've got him. Nicolas."

As soon as those words rebounded through the walls, Sofia's body stiffened. Her face turned pale. In an attempt to stand, she tried pushing off the arms of the chair but failed.

"Let me help." Coiling my arm around her back, I pulled her up. "Let's go."

We began walking but her feet dragged. 

"I need to see him." Her voice cracked as she tried speaking.

"See whom?" I asked, though already knew the answer.

"Nicolas."

"But Sof-"

"I know what I am capable of. I won't fall. Take me to him."

The determination in her voice and the way she kept peering into the dark of the hallway made me wonder if she was aware of what she asked. 

Maybe not. 

But I wouldn't stand in the way of a woman seeking revenge.

Pulling her close to me, I walked. We made our way up the floor above us.

Alejandro, who stood at the entrance, lent his hand. Sofia took it and fell into his embrace.

I moved across the hall, towards Vincent. He pointed his gun to a closed door. "Inside."

That indication was enough for Sofia's battered body to march again. Limping, and holding her side, she made it inside the dark room.

Nicolas was tied to a chair. His arms were held in the back with a rope and his mouth was taped shut. 

His reddened eyes, his sweating face and body narrated how he feared for his life.

"Look how the tables have turned," Sofia chuckled but her voice was feeble. "It's you, where I was seated a while ago."

Alejandro, who shadowed his wife, coiled his fists when he heard her speak. 

After all, which loving man would bear the news of his kidnapped wife being tied and tortured, lightly? 

"Remove his tape." Sofia instructed. Someone pulled his tape off.

Nicolas smiled as if he suddenly got the courage of a thousand lions. He leaned forward and tipped his head. 

Sofia bent forward towards him as if readying herself to listen to him. We all moved a few steps back to give her privacy. Only Alejandro moved closer to her bent form.

"Really..." Straightening, Sofia walked around Nicolas, running her index finger over his tensed shoulders. "Is that what you think I'd do."

Nico's head bobbed. 

Bang

It took me a moment to notice his bleeding chest. Another moment to see the fuming rifle in Sofia's hand. 

"What did he say?" Alejandro asked in a tense tone. His bridged eyebrows and crinkled forehead couldn't fathom what his wife did.

"It's not important." 

Sofia's knees buckled. Her head plummeted towards the floor.

"Grab her," I shouted. Alejandro was quick to support her fall. 

He nested her in his hold, wiping wisps of hair from her face. "Baby, wake up."

Sofia didn't adhere.

I checked my watch. It was time.

"Al, you've to take her back. She needs a doctor. Her head..." I began but Alexandro's blood-soaked shirt from holding Sofia made him connect the dots. He nodded.

"The chopper has landed," I said. "She needs medical attention."

"I'll go with them," Gabriel said as he picked up the guns and checked for bullets. 

"I'll scope the area for you," Agustin spoke from behind me while he helped Alejandro carry Sofia.

Our teams walked in tandem, rechecking each room. Men, who escorted Al and Sofia parted way for them to enter the chopper.

"Gemma," Al yelled before entering. It was hard to hear over the whipping blades that swirled dust and smoke. "Be safe."

"I'm here brother. She'll be safe." Agustin patted his brother's back and helped him with Sofia.

The chopper blades whipped up smoke and ash. The deafening noise eased and so did the beatings of my heart when I saw the helicopter lift off.

The moment Al and Sofia departed, Agustin turned to me. "You really did it. You found her."

"I just followed Aurelia's instructions." My cheeks warmed up. "She's to be thanked."

"I'll thank her when we get home. For now, let me thank the girl who made it possible for us to be a complete Moralez family again."

Heat crept over my skin. It rendered me incapable of looking up at Agustin. I was sure, seeing the distance between our feet, he towered over me. 

But something about him, and the way he cared for Sofia, had me conjure up things. Worst things.

I liked a man who loved someone else.

"Let's check the area for intruders," Agustin said, patting my side. "I'd need your help."

"No need of that." It was Vincent's voice that emerged from behind me. He coiled his arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer. "Gemma and I've got that covered." 

My head turned. Eying me, Vinny waited for my confirmation.

I wanted Agustin to stay. More than that, I wanted to be with him.

Crap.

"It's fine, Vincent." Agustin began. "The more the people, the easier it would be to check the place."

"I know that," Vincent countered. "But I also know how much you'd want to be with your family right now. We'd do the recon and come back to Mexico, Gus. But you need to be with your brothers."

Drawing a circle in the dirt with his boot, Agustin stood silent. His head dipped on his chest, kept nodding as if he was contemplating the proposal.

"Fine, I'll go," Agustin said, looking up at me. The darkness in his eyes caught my breath. "I need to be with the people who need me."

Was it a taunt?

"Travel safe," Vincent said and pulled me towards the side he moved. 

I turned one last time to see Agustin, his retreating figure. He hadn't moved. He stood still, clutching his rifle and eying me.

Rendering a tight-lipped smile, I turned away. My heart ached, seeing his fallen face.

"I feel bad for the guy," Vincent said to me as we made our way into the bunker for the recon. "He's in love with someone whom he can't have."

Sofia

I nodded, already knowing the truth. Yet, as much as I could, I always tried ignoring it.

~

And we have Sofia back... Wohoo <3

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