Chapter 133: 133

She nods mutely. It seems we have an understanding. If I manage to get to the second floor without a barrage of Adrian’s men raining down on me, then I’ll know she’s kept her word.

And promises are all I have to go on right now.

I slip out into the hall and up the staircase. The steps creak underneath my weight, but I keep going until I reach the landing.

I check my phone. There’s only one text from Knox.

We’re ready.

I send him back a thumbs up and count backwards from five. Right as I hit zero, I hear the explosions sound off close to the entrance of the compound, each louder and more terrifying than the last.

The first one is fireworks.

The second is lightning.

The third is the ground tearing itself apart and showing the world what hell looks like.

Once the alarm has been raised and all hands are on deck at the source of the bombs, it’s a cakewalk down the hall towards the rooms with the red doors.

The whole corridor is lined with them. I have no way of knowing which contains what, so I pick the nearest one with the alabaster gold frame, send two bullets through the lock, and then kick it open.

I hear the disgruntled grunt of a man taken by surprise in a vulnerable moment. He jerks to his feet and turns to me with narrowed eyes. Familiar, but not what I’m expecting.

“Don Ricardo.” I grimace. “I should have known this was your mansion. You always did have repulsive taste.”

The Italian is wearing a white vest, black boxers, and three thick gold chains. Back when I was a boy, I used to think of him as old. Now, he looks like a fucking relic.

“You’re trespassing,” he hisses in his thick accent.

“You helped my brother kidnap three innocent women from my home, and you’re worried about a little breaking and entering? I think you need to get your priorities in order, old man.”

He sniffles haughtily. “Your brother has brought me women for years now. I don’t ask him where they come from or who they belong to. I examine them, and if they pass my tests, I take them.”

I raise my gun and aim for his forehead. I see a shadow of doubt flicker over his face. “I have nothing to do with your war with your brother!” he whimpers.

“Wrong. You chose a side, Don Ricardo. And now—it’s fucking judgment day.”

He realizes the mistake he’s made at the same time that I pull the trigger. When the bullet strikes him right between the eyes, he flops back on the white sofa. It’s mere seconds before the whole thing is stained in rivers of blood.

I turn around, ready to barge into the next room—but then I freeze.

There’s a young woman chained by her ankle to Ricardo’s bed. She’s completely naked, with long blonde hair obscuring her breasts and eyes whirling wildly in their sockets.

“P-please… don’t k-kill me…”

I grab a robe folded over a nearby chair and walk it over to her. “I’m not here to kill you,” I tell her, offering her the robe. Her legs and arms are covered in bruises.

She makes no attempt to take the garment from my hand. It’s almost as if she thinks I’m going to pull it away from her the moment she reaches for it.

Milana used to be like that in the beginning, too. Before she started to trust me.

The mere thought of her makes me want to retch.

“What is your name?” I ask quietly.

She flinches. “Roxy.”

“Your real name.”

“No one’s used my real name in years.”

“Then I’d say it’s about time.”

She shivers and holds herself tight. “Mary,” she says softly. “My name is Mary.”

“Mary,” I repeat. “That’s a pretty name. When you leave here today, leave every trace of Roxy behind. You won’t be needing her anymore. Stay put for now and my men will release you once we’ve taken the house.”

She shuffles a little closer on the bed and parts the curtain of her hair to give me a closer look. “Are you… D-Don Uvarov?”

“Do I know you?” I ask, even though I’m certain I’ve never seen her face before.

“No, but I know you,” she says, her tone softening with something like reverence. “The girls have heard of you. You’re the only one who… who doesn’t… partake.”

I snort, but it’s bitter and humorless. I’ve earned quite the reputation, I suppose. No wonder I’m losing allies by the dozen. “I should have done more than that,” I tell her. “I shouldn’t have just stepped back. I should have fucking destroyed it.”

Her eyes light up with hope. “There’s still time.”

“That’s what I’m counting on.” I clench my teeth. “Stay here. I’ll send up a man named Knox. You can trust him.”

She doesn’t look happy about the fact that I’m leaving, but she nods all the same. I slip out into the hall and move to the next red door.

I break this one to smithereens without even bothering to check if it’s open or not. It’s empty, so I move on to the next.

There, I find Geneva.

She’s been bound and gagged, and there’s a fresh bruise rising up on the side of her face. Her lips are smeared with blood, but for the first time since I’ve known her, she looks relieved to see me.

I unburden her of her restraints and pull her to her feet. “Where’s June?” I ask urgently. “Where’s Sara?”

“I-I don’t know,” she stammers. This is the first time I’ve seen her so deeply shaken. She looks like a ghost of her former self. A woman who’s seen too much too soon. “W-we were all in the car, going to see my father to ask for help, but…” She stops and digs the heel of her hand into her bloodshot eyes. “I can’t even remember how we got here. I just woke up and I was in this room.”

“Come on,” I tell her. “And stay behind me at all times.”

She clutches my elbow as I leave the room. I can feel the fear permeating through her skin. It’s giving off nervous heat that makes me want to shake her off.

I resist the urge. Because no matter what she’s done, no matter her opinion of me, she is June’s sister. She is family. She is mine to protect.

We move to the next red door. The fight rages down below us, and every time we hear a gunshot or a scream, Geneva shivers and grips me tighter.

I kick down the next red door and walk through. Sara’s been bound and gagged the same way Geneva was. She’s bleeding from a cut to her forehead, but her eyes are wide and alert.

Geneva and I charge forward, and within seconds, she’s free.

“Where’s June?” I ask as soon as I’ve removed her gag.