She looked around discreetly, as if making sure no one was watching or listening in on our conversation.
Weird.
“Mia, what is it?” I asked, my head tilting slightly to the side, suspicion creeping onto my face.
“This might get me in trouble, but uh….” She leaned in, her voice low and even. “I know a way out of here.”
Her words struck me like lightning, breathing life into my dead hope. “What?”
“Keep your voice down,” she whispered, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
I joined her in looking around as well, my pulse quickening by the second.
She sat in the vacant space beside me. “I know you hate it here. You were forced into this marriage, and you’re looking for a way out.” She paused, letting the words sink in for a bit. “I can help with that.”
“How?”
Again, she glanced around. “There’s a secret passage only a few people know about. I’m one of those people.”
My heart started racing as my hope slowly began to return. Freedom was dangling in front of me—sweet and tempting. The offer seemed harmless, especially because it came from a nineteen-year-old with nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Could this be true? Could she really help me escape?
What if this was some kind of trap? What if Roman had put her up to this—sent her to test my loyalty?
Paranoia knotted inside me, making it impossible to decide what was real and what wasn’t.
Chapter 20 – Roman
I sat in the backseat of my black SUV, seething in silence, fingers absently toiling with my cufflinks.
My blood was boiling with rage, my face twisted into a frown. The smell of sweat and gunpowder clung to me like a second skin, a reminder of the chaos that nearly claimed my life.
Two hours ago, I was in a meeting with some high-profile clients seeking to close a deal with the Bratva. At first, everything was going smoothly until I realized that those bastards were trying to double-cross us.
They’d already signed the same contract with a rival organization. The plan was to reap from both sides, get the two organizations to fight against each other and then profit from the bloodshed. They would’ve succeeded if I hadn’t seen through their lies.
The second I discovered what they were up to, I refused to sign the contract and decided to withdraw. However, those greedy bastards wouldn’t have it. They resorted to insults and threats.
Wrong move.
The one thing I hated more than betrayal was a threat, and they should’ve known better. I might have ignored their veiled insults, but they just had to threaten my business. And to make matters worse, they dragged my wife’s name into this.
That was the blow that broke the camel’s back.
I snapped, pulled out my gun, and shot the speaker in the head without thinking twice. My action plunged the room into chaos; gunfire filled the air as both parties clashed.
Bullets sprayed like perfume, knocking down anything and anyone in their paths. Blood stained the walls and the floor, while bodies dropped dead on every fire.
The leader of the other gang rushed at me, throwing punches and kicks. He was fast, driven by anger, but that single emotion was his downfall. I dodged all his advances, retaliating with skull-crushing blows that soon knocked him to the ground.
While the chaos intensified around us, I pounced on him, drilling heavy punches into his face. My knuckles were covered in his blood, each strike denting the back of his head into the floor.
In no time, all of his men were dead, their corpses sprawled across the room—on the table, the chairs, and the floor.
The fact that they had the audacity to drag my wife into their threats only fanned the flames of my fury. I beat the man with my bare hands until his face was battered beyond recognition.
I kept slamming my fist on and on, ignoring the blood splashing on my face. My men watched from a distance, no one daring to calm me down, not even Sergei. My heart was dark with hatred, and every blow only seemed to make me angrier.
