He raised his brows, a glint of confusion flickering in his gaze. “With you? Or with them?” He gestured at the other women. “Because trust me, you don’t serve the same purpose.”
Silence.
He dragged on his cigarette, released a puff of smoke, and added, “You see, they’re here to work for me. You, on the other hand, are here as bait.”
“Bait?” I raised my brows. “You want to use me to lure Nik out here?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You’re wasting your time,” he said, looking straight into his eyes. “He won’t come.”
“Oh, trust me, sweetheart, he will.” A mischievous grin tugged at the corners of his lips. “I kidnapped his baby mama, endangered the life of his unborn child…. Hewillcome.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “In the meantime, make yourself at home.”
He laughed like a movie monarchical villain and headed back out.
“I hope you’re ready for him,” I called out, my voice stopping him in his tracks. “Because if Nik is half the monster I think he is, you’re in for a big surprise.”
He glanced over his shoulder with a corny smirk. “I’m counting on that, sweetheart.”
I watched him walk out of the room, and his men closed the door behind them. Even if I wasn’t sure before, I was now. Nik would come for me; I could feel it in my bones. But at the same time, I was afraid for his safety. Whoever this man was, he seemed to want him dead, and the mere thought of that made my skin crawl.
At this point, I could only hope and pray that Nik found us on time and that he put a bullet in that bastard’s skull.
Chapter 24 – Nik
“Incompetent!” I bellowed, my blood boiling with rage. “All of you!”
None of my men dared look me in the eyes; their faces were masked with shame, guilt, and fear. They knew they messed up, and I was pissed at their negligence.
I paced back and forth, seething, with my hands on my waist. “I was gone for just a few hours, and you idiots couldn’t keep her safe in my absence!”
They stood before me in silence, looking like prisoners awaiting execution. The air was thick with tension, and I could almost hear their heartbeats. The stench of their fear filled the room as they had no idea what I’d do to them.
I paused in my tracks, my gaze sweeping across their miserable faces. “The mansion is a fuckin’ fortress. How the hell did a group of strangers waltz in here, take her, and vanish like smoke?”
Before anyone could respond, my right-hand man, Boris, who was with me when the incident happened, stepped into the room. “Boss. You might wanna see this.” He walked over to me and handed me an iPad.
My eyes fixed on the screen where the footage of the incident was playing. I watched in awe as myDikayatook down two trained assassins with tactical moves. I’d always known she was a fighter, but there was something different about the way she moved in the clip.
Her stance, her blows, and kicks were those of a skilled fighter—a soldier. I watched how she broke bones like mere twigs, a testament to the fact that this wasn’t her first rodeo.
Every punch she threw was calculated, and her strikes were more powerful than those of an average girl her age. Shewasn’t struggling to run for her life or survive an attack.Dikayawas beating the crap out of those men, her strength and skills matching theirs.
My brows rose when she pulled a stunt that shocked even Boris, who let out an instinctive wolf-whistle.
Dikayahad kicked the knife from her attacker’s hand, caught it midair, and jabbed the blade in his thigh. Without hesitation, she yanked the knife free and hurled it into the chest of the guy sneaking up behind her.
“Damn, nice shot,” Boris murmured under his breath, his voice laced with surprise.
I was so engrossed in watching the fight that I almost forgot she needed saving. The way she dodged those knife attacks and knocked out her opponents was rather remarkable.
From what I’d just watched, the only reason the last man standing was able to get her was because the bastard cheated. He injected her in the neck and picked her up after she passed out.
At this moment, a million thoughts raced through my mind. But the most prominent one was how she was able to fight like that. These people were assassins—trained killers—yet she faced them head-on as if it was just another Tuesday in the park.
Something wasn’t adding up because there was no way an ordinary girl would be so skilled.Dikayahad some explaining to do; however, all of that would have to wait. The most important thing right now was to find out who took her and where they were keeping her.
I was sure that she was still alive. If those guys wanted her dead, they wouldn’t have drugged her—they would have put a bullet in her neck, not a syringe.
