Hot, visceral hatred bubbles inside me like lava.
He wants me to choose between Cosette and my family?
“It’s a very simple choice.”
“Very easy,” I say to him. “Because the answer is no.”
The electrical current sears through my skull, rattles my nerves, and brings pain the likes of which I’ve never known. I scream until my voice is hoarse, and when it finally stops, I’m dripping in sweat and my vision is hazy.
“Not an option, Mr. Gerard. You’ll do what I say, or I’ll fry you until you can’t remember your own name. And then, if you still refuse to do what I’ve asked of you, I’ll be sure you watch as I kill her, before I take your life.”
I won’t hurt her.I can’t. The only reason I rejected her and sent her away was for her own safety. I love Cosette. There’s no goddamn way I’ll allow anyone to hurt her, or our unborn baby.
But I need to find out more information. I need to bide my time and find a way out of here.
“So, wait,” I say, even though speaking makes me want to vomit. “One of your men went to Le Luxe. He was the one who Fabien killed. You set it up so I’d be kidnapped and held for ransom so you could get what you wanted.”
The slow, wicked smile that spreads across his face makes me sick.
“Then you sent men to Le Luxe so you could destroy us from within. You found Cosette. Used her to get to us. You were working with the Chaberts all along.”
His eyelid twitches as he scowls at me, and he doesn’t respond. But his silence tells me everything I need to know. He’s been pitting every rival mafia group in Paris against one another for his own gain. And it’s worked.
Until now.
He lifts the small remote control that makes me writhe in pain when he pushes the button. My body tenses, remembering what happened, how I’ve been here before. I don’t fear physical pain. I fear helplessness. I don’t fear what they’ll do to me. I fear what they’ll do to the people I love.
“Then what will it be, Mr. Gerard?”
“You can shove your offer up your fucking ass. I’ll never betray my family. I’ll never hurt Cosette. And if you think for a minute that I’ll do anything to harm our baby?—”
The pain hits so hard, I can’t talk. I fall to my knees and writhe. He rends screams out of me as spasms of pain erupt in my body, fire pulsing through my veins.
I’m on the floor, panting. My ears ring with pain. Worse than the agony is the inability to think when I’m in its grip. I draw in a breath to try to clear the mental haze.
He waits until I look at him again. “If you don’t, Mr. Gerard, I will.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Cosette
When one daypasses with no sign of Lyam, I start to come up with another plan.
I know I need to leave. I’m not going to stay here on his dime after he’s rejected me, knowing that he put every detail in here back when he still liked me. I don’t know what he thinks about me, but I know it isn’t what I need. And when another day passes, I’m confident that he isn’t coming back. I manage to convince myself that not only does he not care about me, but if he truly thinks I’ve plotted against them, my life could be in danger. I can’t let that happen. Not for me, and most definitely not for my baby.
I decide it’s time to pack a few things. I take stock of the money that I’ve saved, tucked away in a high yield savings account. I think about where I could go. Where could I go where he wouldn’t find me? Except I know he’ll find me wherever I go. Does that mean I can’t try? Otherwise I’m doomed to be kept prisoner here for the next eight months until I give birth. Ofcourse there’s no luggage here. Why would there be? But I have to find something that will work.
When I cross the room and pass the window, I see him.
He’s here. It’s Lyam. What’s he carrying? I look wildly about the apartment and wonder if he’ll be able to tell I’m packing. Clothes piled on the bed, my toiletries arranged in the closet, but thankfully I have so few things it might just look like normal…
A knock sounds at the door. I’m completely consumed with fear and worry and concern and I don’t know what he’s going to say when he sees me. Has he come here to hurt me? To make amends? Has he come here to punish me? Or, worst of all… Is he going to be detached and cold?
I’m not sure what would be worse.
There’s a low hum of voices outside the door. Lyam is talking to my guards. Finally, the door opens. I draw in a breath, my heartbeat racing.
Just one of my guards.
