I pound on the door, begging to be let out, even knowing nobody’s going to come. Tears trail down my cheeks as visions of Elias being tackled to the ground flood my mind. With no other visual stimulation, the scene plays on repeat. He killed one of Robert’s men. What's the chance he lets him live after that?
My breathing starts to come erratically, and this time, even the thoughts of my men aren’t enough to keep me grounded, and soon, the thought of passing out isn’t a worry; it’s freedom.
My chest tightens, the walls closing in until there’s no air left to fight for. Then, the darkness finally takes me, and for the first time, I’m grateful.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
ELIAS
Her screams fade away as she’s dragged away from me. My heart constricts with pain. It could be because several men are pinning me to the ground, but it’s more likely the loss of her, and my failed ability to protect her when she needed me.
I’m pulled to my feet, and several sets of hands hold me still as Robert comes to stand in front of me, eyeing me curiously.
“Seems you’ve been busy since I last saw you.” I narrow my eyes but don’t respond; I don’t want to give him anything he can use against us.
He lets out a sigh and moves to grab a new glass and fill it with whisky, taking a sip as he watches me.
“You helped her escape.” I don’t respond, and he shakes his head, looking amused. “I know those criminals are too dumb to plan anything.”
He takes another sip as he moves closer to me again. It feels like he’s testing me, to see what I know, to see if I’ll slip up and tell him something he doesn’t.
“The only part of it I can’t figure out is how she knows those criminals. Was their escape a coincidence, or did you have something to do with that, too?” He tilts his head, waiting for any sort of response from me, but I don’t react. “But the way they latched on to her makes me think they already knew her.”
I see the tiniest pinch of his lips, telling me he was hoping to get some information from me. He waves his hand in my direction as he turns back to the fireplace. “Take him away. But don’t kill him. Wren clearly cares for him; she’ll do whatever I ask, with him here.”
I try not to react, but my face scrunches in anger.Fuck. He’s right, she’s too kind-hearted, she’ll probably agree to anything to prevent me from getting hurt.
I have no choice but to figure a way out of here. For both of us.
But I need to know what his plan is first.
“Are you going to force her to marry Ivan?” I ask, needing to learn something before I’m dragged out of here.
He offers me an amused smile. “Perhaps.” What the hell was that supposed to mean? What use was she to him if it wasn’t to secure an alliance with Ivan?
“It depends on how she behaves.”
He waves his hand again, and I’m pulled from the room. I don’t resist, deciding to save my strength for later. I need to figure out where they are keeping Wren. If I break free now, they’ll surely recapture me before I even lay eyes on her.
The thought of her trapped in a small closet somewhere in this house, terrified and probably having a panic attack, makes me ready to slaughter every man in here.
I’m starting to understand her…boyfriends. Some peoplejust don’t deserve to live, and every man in this house has now made his way to my list, right below Robert and Ivan.
I’m dragged up a set of stairs, which surprises me. I figured there’d be a basement where they keep unwanted guests tied up. They pull me into a bedroom and push me into a wooden chair, zip-tying each of my ankles to the legs of the chair, and wrapping some rope around my torso, securing me to the back of the chair.
The door is slammed shut as they leave, and I look around, finding myself alone. I could probably break free from these binds, but I need to be careful. I don’t know where they’re keeping Wren, and if I get caught before finding her, they’ll just lock me up tighter, and I might not be able to escape next time.
But I know that I can’t just sit here and do nothing while she’s somewhere in this house, scared and alone. I glance down at the rope around my chest, and the door opens, surprising me.
A man, armed with an AK-47, steps inside and assesses me before moving to stand against the wall, right beside the doorway. From his rigid posture, I can tell he’s been sent here to guard me.
Fuck.
There’s no way I can escape with him watching me. I’ll have to wait and bide my time, gathering info about Wren’s whereabouts and Robert’s plan, before I make my move.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
SLY
