The sound of gut-wrenching sobs hit my ears as we walked deeper into the basement. It was obvious this was a torture room. There were drains in the floor for easy cleanup, and tools I was all too familiar with hung from the walls, having used them myself over the years. Pop had started my training in my teens, and Mom hadn’t objected since he’d started my education into the darker side of our world before I’d even hit puberty.

“Don’t let him through,” Mom called out, setting me even more on edge. “Don’t let him see this!”

Suddenly Theo and Pop were standing in front of me, but my gaze stayed on where I could just barely see Mom’s head over the top of everyone else. Bright lights hung over several metal tables. The heart-shattering crying grew louder, and I realized why it hurt to hear.

Ciana.

“I-I just want to g-go home, Papa,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry. So sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to ha-happen.”

“Shh, shh. Don’t cry, bambina.” The tears I could hear in Zio’s voice bothered me even more than my cousin’s. I’d never seen or heard the huge man cry before. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“No, there is. This is all my fault. I never should have—”

“Ciana, please,” her father begged. “Just let me get you to a hospital. We can talk later, sweetheart. I promise.”

“Fuck this,” Garret growled, barreling his way past everyone. “Ciana, are you o…kay?” I heard his sharp intake of air. “What the fuck is that?”

“Garret, don’t,” Mom warned. “Don’t. He can’t see her—”

“See who?” I whispered, a feeling of dread squeezing my insides so tight I couldn’t draw a deep enough breath. She’s okay. I can’t feel her. That means she’s not here. Those other bastards took her. Probably to a different location. Fuck, I need to find her, and everyone is taking their sweet-ass time.

Pop grabbed both my shoulders, pulling me out of my head. “I’m sorry, figlio.”

What the fuck was he sorry for? The raw grief on his face twisted it into something painful. No, I reminded myself. No, Nova was fine. My heart was still beating, and I couldn’t fucking feel her. She wasn’t there. She couldn’t be…

“Is that…my sister?” Garret demanded in a broken voice. “Anya, tell me that isn’t Nova. Tell me. Please, please, Anya. I’m begging you. Tell me that isn’t her.”

I shrugged off Pop’s hands and pushed Theo out of my way. Others tried to catch me, but no one was strong enough to keep me from getting to where Garret was now bent in half, his hands on his knees as he retched onto the floor.

I lifted my gaze from the puddle of puke he was creating to the tables. Zio stood over the one Ciana was lying on. Restraints were attached to the table, and from the red marks on her wrists and ankles, it was obvious she’d been tied down with them. She was lying there in nothing but her bra and panties. Small piles of her hair were on the floor and table beside her from someone having butchered her once-glossy red locks. Her makeup streaked down her face from where she was crying. Red welts popped up on her chest and arms in a pattern I was all too familiar with.