I looked at him, really looked at him, and saw the same thing I felt reflected back at me. The fear. The helplessness. The bone-deep desperation to bring her home.
“I know,” I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. “I know, Alek. But we’re not going to find her if we let this tear us apart.”
He stared at me for a long moment, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he tried to rein himself in. Finally, he turned away, dragging a hand down his face.
“This isn’t supposed to happen,” he muttered, more to himself than to me. “We’re supposed to protect her. All of us. How the f**k did we let this happen?”
Guilt twisted in my chest, sharp and unforgiving. I didn’t have an answer for him.
“We’ll find her,” I said instead, my voice firm despite the doubt gnawing at the edges of
