“You killed them. Two grown men? With no other help?” the older man asks. But it’s not a question. It’s all derision. He doesn’t believe a word I’ve said.
I shrug, still trying to seem calm and at ease. “It’s easy enough for a small woman to kill a man with a gun. My father tried to drug me and force an abortion, so I shot him in the gut and left him for dead.”
The room goes quiet again, and for the first time in several minutes, I risk a glance at Adrian. Hoping he can see in my eyes that I’m doing this for him.
“And you,” the councilwoman says, her attention also turning to Adrian. The guard steps away to remove his gag. He still can’t stand, but he squares his shoulders and looks every inch the broken king, blood dripping off his chin like he’s already taken a bite out of the world and plans to devour the rest.
I swallow against the wave of need and love that threatens to drag me down and make me take back everything I’ve said here.
“She is the last Novak, and she is carrying the heir to the Doubeck family line. She can’t be killed, and you know it. I think the only person here who doesn't is her.” He shoots me a look of contempt and pity that feels like a kick to the face.
The councilwoman scowls heavily at all of us and settles back in her chair. “It seems I have some considering to do. She confessed. The only people here who know she’s the last Novak are in this room. I think killing you all and being done with this entire affair seems like the most prudent choice. Especially given the fact that you have a penchant for staying alive when people want you dead,” she adds, her eyes grazing down Adrian’s body.
I’m about five seconds from breaking Andrea’s grasp, climbing over the table, and slamming this bitch’s face into the mahogany if she keeps looking at my husband that way.
“Anything else to add?” She lets her eyes dip down to Adrian’s thighs, where they stretch the seams of his suit pants in his restrained position. “Maybe we should talk privately, and we could come up with something.”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I whisper to him.
He cuts me a look. “That’s rich coming from you. I told you I could take care of this, and you chose to disobey me and come here. You chose to endanger our child and ruin everything.”
“Everything?” I counter, no longer trying to hide the hurt in my voice. “Your entire plan of getting captured and murdered? Because to me and Kai, that didn’t seem like much of a plan.”
“Kai is my employee. I don’t pay him for his opinions on my behavior. You are my wife, and I didn’t ask for yours either.” He spits at the floor, blood spraying across the shiny concrete.
I grind my teeth and flick a look toward Kai, who is still slumped to his side, clutching his ribs. They must be broken. Andrea has a gun, but the guards have bigger ones. The small plan of creating a distraction and making a break for it won’t work, not while we are all injured.
He’s arguing with me, fighting me, yet I know somehow, it’s an act. His words are there, yet I can tell he doesn't mean them by the set of his beautiful eyes.
So what’s the game?
And how do we get out of here alive?
30
ADRIAN
I’ve never felt this mix of pride and hostility. Part of me hates her for defying my orders and coming here. The other part of me can’t believe I managed to marry such an incredibly brave and selfless woman. Even after everything she’s been through, she can still be my beacon in the darkness.
The councilwoman is waiting for me to counter my wife’s offer, knowing she’d rather have my head on a pike than anything else. So I say the first thing that comes to mind. “Restrain my wife and gag her, and you and I can have a civilized conversation.”
I hear Valentina’s gasp from across the room but don’t even glance her way for fear of losing the council woman's attention. There’s no way in hell I’ll sleep with her unless I could gain access to a weapon before she got me in her bed. But knowing what I know about our esteemed councilwoman, she’d have me tied to the headboard to take what she wants rather than be seduced.
She snaps her fingers, and a guard quickly produces a chair and ties her up, then uses the same gag they used on me to silence her. Andrea lingers at the corner of the room, and while I’d tried to attack her when they first arrived, I’ve had time to calm down and truly think things through. Nothing would entice Andrea into betraying me. She must be here on Kai's orders even though he doesn’t look so great for the effort right now.
I can’t think about any of them right now. This is my last chance to save even some of them, and if I can’t save Valentina, then there is no reason left for me to live. I pin the councilwoman with a stare that used to make women shiver for me. In fear or anticipation, I’ve never known. Both if I have my way. It probably loses some of its effects with one of my eyes almost swollen shut and the bruising on my cheeks, but I do what I can anyway.
I know I’ve got her when she licks her lips and comes around the table toward me. One of the other men warns her about getting too close, and he’s right. If I get her in the distance of my hands, she’s a dead woman. But she stays far enough that I can’t reach with my restraints holding me back.
“And what is your offer?” she asks, dipping her eyes down to my crotch and back up.
Valentina lets out something muffled like a curse, but now it’s her turn to be ignored while I save her life. Unlike her, I know what I’m doing, and I won’t fail.
I clear my throat and call on the indifferent mask I usually wear at society functions. “There are very few in society who know the inner workings like you or I. If I wanted to, I could hunt down every council member here, along with your families, your friends, your cats, your dogs, your household staff, and let’s not forget your neighbors.”
The councilwoman snorts. “This is your idea of a negotiation? Threatening us when you’re tied to the floor on your knees.”
I sort of shrug, but it’s difficult with my hands bound to the floor. “You know what I’m capable of. You all do, as evidenced by the fact that I was able to take out a head society member's son, and then a family head himself…and you still haven’t found him, have you? Don’t worry, you won’t. Not without my help.”
She waves me on impatiently as she leans her thin hips against the table. “And…you’re offering what? You just admitted your crimes. I can kill you now and defend myself against anyone in society who would like to argue about our rules.”
“If you want…but you’d have to let everyone else go, and I guarantee my five won’t let my death go unpunished.”
She flicks her gaze to Kai, who is still groaning on the concrete. At the point, he’s either seriously injured or playing up his injuries for a reason I haven’t been able to figure out yet.
“So I kill you, and I get your bodyguards after me. I don’t kill you and kill your wife and heir instead…then what?”
“It’ll be both me and my five who come after you. Not the rest of the council. Just you. And I promise we’ll make you pay for every minute they’ve been in this room. For every minute she suffers.”