“You’re silent,” he points out the obvious. “Ordered not to say anything?“
I remain silent.
The silence stretches between us.
“I respect you for your loyalty,” he compliments me. “But now is not the time to have it.”
My vision begins to blur as black dots appear. The struggle to breathe becomes imminent. Maybe they did puncture a wound. Fuck. What if this is it?
A lump lodges itself in my throat as my eyes burn.
To never see her face again. One of angelic beauty. To never feel her love again. How I felt it in every kiss and touch. How it brightened her eyes. To never be understood. She understood me completely. Never once made me feel less than.
I ache far worse with the knowledge I’ll never get to hold her one last time than all the beatings I have suffered.
“He may have sworn his silence but I didn’t.” I hear her melodic voice strong and steady encompass the basement in which this cell resides.
I’m hallucinating.
I really am near my end.
It’s cruel in a way. To make me believe she has found me. But I’ll take it. At least I’ll hear her voice before I go. Maybe I can find peace in that.
Fuck, I’ve lost my mind first haven’t I?
“Aren’t you supposed to be locked in your tower, princess?”
“I’m not a princess,” she snaps. “And someone not too long ago told me I would save myself. I’m saving him, too.”
“Okay,” Kirill says evenly. “You’ve piqued my interest. Let’s have a little chat.”
CHAPTER 43
Imogen
What I’m about to disclose is an act of betrayal on The Donati Famiglia, but I will not stand by and watch Rico die.
He swore his silence to Constantine. The day I married Rico, I swore my loyalty to him.
I keep my gun poised on Kirill as he watches me further enter the basement. Ma had given me the gun from the personal safe in her bedroom. I had asked her why she had it; her only response was, ‘Every woman living in a Made Man’s world should have a gun.’ I didn’t question her further.
When Ma had told me Rico was being held in the basement of our estate, two feelings swept through me. Relief because I could navigate the walls of our home better than any soldier pa had. And disbelief. Because I couldn’t believe in all the years I lived here, I had been so blind to never know we had a fucking cell meant for traitors in our home.
So I kept an ear out and bypassed the soldiers who were littered throughout the estate. And when I saw Pa and Sebastianleave the basement sweaty and wearing blood that wasn’t their own, I stealthily made my way in.
I creep my way closer to Rico. And I know Kirill is allowing me to. I’m not a fool to believe I can take a man of his caliber. I may be trained, but I’m not incompetent. It would be an amateur going against a professional.
“I assume you have the key to release him,” I say to him. He swings it around his pointer finger. “Then release him.”
He clucks his tongue. “Not until we have our chat.”
“Fine,” I relent begrudgingly. “You want to know if Zhen is really dead?”
“That would be the million-dollar question.”
“Not quite,” I argue, and he only raises a brow. “Knowing if she’s alive or not wouldn’t help you. But asking if I have her location…well, there’s the million-dollar question right there.”
There’s a chill residing in the air that has nothing to do with us being in a basement. “You have her location?” His voice drops a level. I swallow out of fear.
