Chapter 10 Way Out
Anna's POV
Without another word, he strode away.
Swallowing hard, I followed Lucas as he led me upstairs, my heart pounding faster with every step I took into the belly of that mansion.
He stopped at a door and opened it, gesturing for me to go inside. I hesitated, my feet refusing to move, until Lucas gave me a soft smile.
“Don’t worry,” he said gently. Then he surprised me by reaching out and holding my hand, his touch warm compared to the coldness that seemed to linger everywhere else in this place.
“Remember what I told you at the prison? My offer still stands. Do you need anything?”
My throat tightened, I didn't know whether to trust him or not, but I was desperate.
So I forced myself to whisper the truth. “I want to be free from your boss. I’ve never seen someone as monsterous as him before.”
Lucas nodded slowly, his gaze unreadable. “Go inside,” he said.
I obeyed, stepping into the room. Just as I turned to face him again, his words caught me off guard.
“I’ve never seen someone as beautiful as you before,” he said quietly.
I blinked, stunned, my lips parting in shock. But before I could respond, he closed the door, leaving me alone with his words echoing in my head.
I didn’t know what to make of Lucas’s words. The softness in his tone, the easygoing smile, none of it matched what I had seen from the men Xavier kept around him.
He looked too… normal, too kind, to be the second-in-command to someone like Xavier.
But I pushed the thought aside. I couldn’t afford distractions.
What mattered was I couldn’t stay here.
So far, I had maintained my cover, but how long before someone ripped it away?
The room was quiet, I ran my eyes over the walls, corners, ceiling edges, anywhere a hidden camera might lurk.
Strange. There was nothing. No blinking lights, no tiny black dots. Nothing.
Xavier didn’t even bother to watch me. That either meant he didn’t care what I did… or he was so confident in his power that he thought I wouldn’t dare try anything.
My fingers brushed against my pocket, where I kept my phone.
I hesitated. If I was wrong, if there were silent surveillance devices hidden somewhere, one call would be enough to expose me. But waiting was worse.
I pulled the phone out quickly, unlocked it and dialed the secure line. My lifeline.
The call connected, and the voice on the other end cut in. “Code word?"
My throat tightened, but I kept my voice steady. “Eagle.”
A pause. Then the response came. “Report status.”
I exhaled slowly, forcing the words out as quickly as I dared. “My cover may be in danger. I’ve been kidnapped by a mafia Don. I’ll need extraction.”
The woman asked, “Name of the mafia clan?”
I froze, glancing toward the door. It was closed, but who knew how long I had before someone walked in?
My pulse hammered against my ribs as I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I don’t exactly know the name of the clan. But…” My chest tightened. “…the name of the Don is Xavier.”
The line went dead quiet. So quiet I thought maybe the call had dropped.
Then the woman’s voice returned, but it was shaken this time. “You said what?”
Her reaction sent a chill down my spine. “Xavier,” I repeated.
“No, I heard you the first time.” Her breath hitched. “I meant, how did you end up in his path?”
"It's a long story," I said.
The woman’s voice sharpened again, the fear behind it no longer hidden. “Anna, Xavier may be responsible for killing twelve of our spies. Twelve. We never even recovered their bodies.”
The number hit me like a blow. Twelve. Gone. And now me, inside his walls, under his watch?
I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. My mind replayed the intensity of his stare at the prison, the way his eyes burned through me like he already knew me, like he already owned me.
His insistence on my release. And now this being dragged right back into his orbit.
The thought twisted inside me. What if he knows?
What if my freedom from the prison wasn’t kindness or luck, but part of his plan?
The woman on the line repeated herself, her voice urgent. “Anna. Do you hear me?”
I blinked, forcing myself to answer. “Yes.”
“I'll report to your handler, and we'd come up with an extraction plan.”
My stomach dropped. Come up with a plan? The words felt like a death sentence.
“Come up?” My voice cracked. “Every minute in this psychopath’s mansion is a risk. I need an extraction tonight.”
Then came the answer I didn’t want. “I’m sorry, Anna, but I don’t think we can pull that off.”
I closed my eyes, fighting the panic clawing at my throat. “You don’t understand. I can’t stay here. If you can’t pull it off, I’ll try to escape tonight myself.”
“No,” she blurted out. “The command is for you to stand down until we come up with a plan to deal with your situation. Do you understand? That’s a direct order.”
A thousand retorts burned in my chest, but I forced them down.
Did they have any idea what it was like to breathe in the same air as a man like Xavier, to feel his gaze strip you down to your bones?
I didn’t answer.
Instead, I pulled the phone from my ear, let the silence stretch for a long moment, and then pressed the red icon.
I stared at the screen for a second longer, then threw the phone onto the bed.
It bounced once, landing face-down on the sheets like a corpse.
I drew in a shaky breath, pressing my palms against my knees.
And then, a voice spoke from behind me.
“That didn’t work well, does it?”
My blood turned to ice.
I froze, every muscle in my body seizing at once. My heart slammed so hard against my ribs I thought it might break free.