Chapter 229 Stay with me

Chapter 229 Stay with me
CHAPTER 229

ROMAN

“Let her go,” I whisper calmly, my entire body wound tight.

He doesn’t. “I want to, and I will, but are you not curious, Sterling? Are you going to let me go, or do you think this is where our story ends?”

“Our story?” I take a step forward, pushing past the roaring in my ears. 

Aside from my paranoia, I can hear Luca spiralling. He is able to hear everything, and he knows that Emiliano has Scarlett.

“Five minutes, Roman. Do not try to play hero. Stall him for five fucking minutes, and we’ll be there.” He yells in my ears, and I wonder if we truly have five minutes. Do I have five minutes of sanity left? Or am I about to throw everything into the flame?

“Your father was a pest, and he had to die.” He drawls, and my patience thins.

My gaze fixes on her. She’s trying to be brave, to look strong, but I see the way she is pale, the way she’s clenching her stomach, the way the blade is slowly cutting into her skin. Her white dress is stained with blood. Her blood. My sanity slips out, and the monsters in my head itch. I lose myself a little bit more, and her eyes widen as if she’s seeing it in real time, as if she can see that I am beyond saving. I would do anything to save her. Anything.

“Why don’t we take a walk, and I can tell you all about your father?” Emiliano urges, voice trembling at the edges.

I take another step forward and shake my head, “The walk might be your last. Let her go. Take me instead. Take me as your prisoner. Do whatever you want to with me. Keep me if you must, but let her go.” 

His eyes flash, “Take you? You? A wild and untamed creature. What am I supposed to do with you? Perhaps you can work for me. You are very handy with a gun, and the way you’ve butchered my men over the past month. I must say that I am impressed.” He laughs dryly, taking a step backwards. “You see, I thought she was the devil, and do not get me wrong, she is. She is a Diaz after all, and the name she carries is born out of violence, but I underestimated you. I didn’t think an American would go all this length for her, for a bastard, for a woman who belongs to me.”

“Two minutes, Rom – fuck, we’ve spotted his backup. Keep him talking, and we will handle it.” Luca yells, and a second later, rapid gunfire swallows the air.

“She never belonged to you. She was a child. She was fifteen, and you were thrice her age. It was your responsibility to take care of her, not the other way round.” I seeth, lock eyes with Scarlett and nod at her.

She slams her head backwards, breaking his nose loudly. His hand slips from her, and she runs towards me, but she doesn’t get far. 

“Come here, you fucking bitch.” He drags her hair roughly, making her scream in agony, “NO!”

I rush in, grabbing him by the neck and shoving him hard against the wall. 

“She was a child. A fucking child. A child.” I swing my fist, punching his face, over and over. 

Blood spills from him, but I do not stop. I will not stop. I slam my head on his, punch him hard enough to break his nose. The chaos outside draws closer. I don’t know who is winning, but I know I am leaving here with her. She is no longer staying in a hole. She is fucking free, and so am I. I don’t hold back. Pent-up aggression spills out of me, and I beat the fuck out of me. It should worry me how violence has become my second nature, but I am human, and we adapt to changes easily. I had to adapt to her.

I look back at Scarlett to make sure she’s fine, and he takes that opening. He buries the knife in my guts, and hot white pain flashes through me. Fuck. I fall to my knees, my entire body trembling.

He laughs, mouth full of blood and walks to me. He grabs me by the hair, thinking I am defeated. 

“You see, in this world, you either lose to men like me, or you become men like me …” He grins.

With trembling hands, I pull the knife out of my side. He doesn’t see it coming. Quickly, I shove it deep in his eye. He staggers backwards in shock, blood streaming down his face. His hand flares and thrashes, trying to find purchase. I watch with a deranged sense of satisfaction as he falls through the window and crashes hard to the ground. Except he doesn’t hit the ground. He hits the fucking pool. 

Bleeding out, I reach for my gun, ready to finally finish this once and for all.

I aim to take the shot.

Then, I hear. “Roman …”

I turn around immediately at her soft voice.

She’s bleeding. Blood drips down her leg, and my heart crashes to the ground.

She falls to her knees, with tears in her eyes, “My … my baby.” 

I try to take a step towards her, but my legs have stopped working. Blood pools beneath me, and I crawl to her. “No, no, no. Stay with me, please. Please, Scarlett.”

With every word, she stays further out of my reach. She’s the last thing I see before I fall into a deep, dark abyss, the fact that Emiliano was right. I couldn’t save her.