Did I really want to live like that with an innocent baby? Hell no.
Maybe I should just call it quits and come clean—tell him about the NCIB’s plan to find enough dirt on him and put him away for good. However, every time I ran the scenario in my head, it never ended well. In all the possible outcomes I imagined, I was either dead or miserable.
I wasn’t sure he had it in him to forgive me if he learned the truth. These Mafia men were keen on loyalty, and the one thing they never forgave was betrayal. Nik would accuse me of being a spy—and let’s face it, he wouldn’t be wrong.
Inmydefense, it didn’t start out with me being a spy; he wasn’t the target, not particularly anyway. The Bureau didn’t put me in his life to spy on him. It was a sudden idea that struck me when I realized my captivity might have helped me get closer to solving the case.
If I had known things would turn out the way they did, I never would’ve considered the idea at all. I thought I was doing my job—getting rid of the bad guys and doing the world a favor. But I was focusing on the wrong man.
Nik wasn’t behind Maria’s kidnapping; his organization wasn’t involved in human trafficking. He did me a solid bybuying me during that auction because, in his own twisted way, he was trying to save me from those pigs.
Right now, I couldn’t even imagine belonging to any one of them. My life would’ve been hell, but the only difference would be the fact that I wouldn’t hesitate to bring them down. I wouldn’t feel guilty about it either.
Nik, on the other hand, had been lenient with me; dare I say, he’d been kind to me. He didn’t deserve to be betrayed, especially because he was never the target in the first place. Overwhelmed by guilt, I got out of bed and buried my face in my palms.
After rubbing my tired eyes, I strode out of the room to get some fresh air outside. I needed to clear my head, and the four walls of my room were suffocating me.
As I wandered the halls tonight, I noticed something strange: The mansion was unusually quiet. At first, I didn’t think it was something worth considering, but the more I walked around the house, the more the building seemed empty. Like the Mary Celeste.
No guards, no maids. Nobody except me. Even if all the maids were asleep, what about the guards? At this point, I realized something was off. On a normal day, I wouldn’t take two steps forward without sensing their watchful eyes on me. But tonight, it was different. And not in a good way.
I stopped in my tracks when I spotted a figure standing across the hallway, shrouded in the darkness of the corner. At first glance, I thought it was one of the guards. And I was about to ask him why the whole mansion was quiet tonight.
However, something seemed off about this figure. He stood like a statue in the shadows, looking right at me.
My eyes squinted, sensing something was wrong, but I dared to call out anyway, “Hello?!”
Silence.
“Are you one of the guards? Where’s everyone else?” I asked him, already mapping out my exit plan, should this be what I thought it was.
Again, no answer.
“If this is some sick joke, it’s not funny.”
The figure stepped out of the shadows quietly, revealing their masked face and the bloodied knife in their hand.
My eyes widened in fear. “Shit.”
He matched toward me like fuckin’ Jason from that popular Hollywood horror movie. I turned around, ready to run in the opposite direction, and my reflexes kicked in immediately. I ducked, dodging a powerful blow that could’ve knocked me out within a second.
My second attacker’s hand whooshed past my face, his fist slightly grazing my forehead in the process. Before I could get a grip on myself, he swung another punch. I trapped his arm between my hands and twisted hard, snapping it like a twig with a sickening crack.
He wailed in agony.
I kicked him hard in the neck, the impact denting his head into the wall. By now, the other figure had caught up with me and was violently swinging his blade with practiced ease. I weaved his advances, retaliating with a straight punch to his jaw, and before he could register the pain, I rammed my knee into his ribs.
He staggered backward, groaning in agony.
With lightning speed, I knocked the knife out of his hand, caught it midair, and jabbed the blade into his thigh. Sensing another movement behind me, I pulled the knife from the man’s flesh and threw it at the newcomer. The blade streaked through the air, flipping multiple times before catching in my attacker’s chest.
Two more appeared out of nowhere and rushed at me at the same time. Their strengths and tactics matched mine as we fought, throwing dangerous kicks and punches. They marveled at my skills, but unlike the others, they didn’t underestimate me.
The fight was intense as I fought with everything I had just to keep my baby safe. I wasn’t thinking about myself at that moment—I didn’t matter. The baby did.
Their blows were as heavy as their kicks, but I refused to back down, refused to give in. I wondered where Nik was now that I needed him the most. However, at this point, the only thing on my mind was survival.
After a while, I successfully knocked one down with a punch so powerful it almost snapped his neck. The last man standing was a pain in my ass, and I was sure I would’ve knocked him out, too, if he hadn’t cheated.
