[1] Midnight Lips | Ghost

𝐂𝐇. 17

VALENTINA
༻❁༺

     My heart raced, and my palms were sweating as I clenched them in and out to stop myself from doing something I would end up regretting. I didn't know what else to do, what else to think, what else to say other than, "What are you saying?" My voice was tight, mirroring myself on the verge of exploding.

"Valentina..." Alejandro grabbed my shoulders to calm me down.

"No!" I shrugged him off, a little bit too aggressive for my liking, but nothing was making sense right now. From laughing, I went to terrified and then turned angrier than I'd ever been. "Not now, Alejandro."

I leaned closer to the laptop that showed Captain Price's face along with Gaz's. "You're saying you let Kate go there alone, on her fucking own—"

"Valentina..." Price tried to get to me, but I didn't let him.

"And now she's missing? Is that what you're saying, Captain?"

Price sighed. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

I breathed hard through my nose, gritting my teeth, just a step away from throwing everything into the trash. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I told her she shouldn't be put out there alone, Valentina. Trust me, I tried to stop her. But you know how Kate is. She's stubborn. I couldn't get through her. She didn't even give me time to think," said Price, and I knew he was right about Kate. When she was determined to do something her way, nothing, no one, could ever get through her skull.

But it still made me angry that Price didn't try harder. Because I couldn't lose Kate. She was the closest thing I had to a family. She might look too serious and unfriendly, but she was the one that took me into her house and made it something close to home.

"I know how you might be feeling," Price continued.

"You don't know anything!" I slapped my hand down on the table, and even I surprised myself with my outburst. "You failed her. You let her deal with this on her own. You're there, not doing anything to get her back!"

"Shit!" he shouted. "I'm trying not to panic here, all right? And you're making it pretty fucking difficult!"

"How else do you expect me to react? Laugh and giggle? Act like everything is going to be fine? She may be already dead, Price!"

"Tone it down right this second, Sergeant!"

I was about to snap back when I felt something on my elbow. I glanced down and found Simon's fingers wrapped around it, gently tugging me away from the laptop. I looked up at his eyes and got lost in them, finding that comfort I didn't know I needed.

"I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad, Valentina," Price continued, his voice taking me back into this hell of a mess. I yanked my arm away from Simon and straightened my spine. "I'm telling you because I know Kate would've wanted that, just in case something goes wrong."

My chest clenched and ached strangely. "How do you know something hasn't already gone wrong yet?"

"We just got proof of life." Price came closer to the camera. "Kate has been kidnapped and is being transported to Al Mazrah by Al Qatala. She is alive, Valentina, and I will be returning her home no matter what it takes, I can assure you that."

I didn't even hesitate. "I'm going with you."

"No." Almost everyone in the room jumped, but I only made it my priority to hear Simon beside me growling, "Fuck no."

"It's too late for you to come," Price said.

"I can make it. I know I can. If I leave right this second, I'll be arriving in a few hours."