Chapter 119 119. Ronan Has Won
I scrambled backward until my spine hit the wall. Five men spread out between me and the door, blocking any escape. Ronan moved slowly around the unit, running his fingers leisurely over the filing cabinets.
My phone. It was in my pocket, but if I reached for it now, they'd see. They'd take it. I pressed my palms flat against the floor, trying to steady my breathing.
"Don't panic, Camila. He won't hurt you," I whispered to myself.
Ronan picked up a file folder, flipping it open. His eyebrows rose as he scanned the contents. Then he looked down at me with an unhinged smile still playing at his lips.
"So this is what's been giving my dear brother his newfound confidence. You two have been building a case against me." He laughed then.
It wasn't like his typical cold and controlled taunts.
No-This one was maniacal. A high, thin keening that vibrated in my very marrow.
We had just snapped something in Ronan... and now his monster was unleashed.
"He's gonna hurt you, Camila. He will," my inner voice wouldn't keep quiet.
"Impressive, I must say." He set down the folder and picked up another. "You even organized them by crime type? You've been very thorough."
"It's over, Ronan," even though I knew I should shut up and not challenge him further. "You've lost."
He crouched down to my level, close enough that I could smell the expensive cologne he wore.
"Have I?" He tangled his fingers in my hair and yanked my head back, forcing me to look at him. "Where did you get this?"
Pain lanced through my scalp. I gritted my teeth. "From someone who got sick of working for a monster."
"Nadia." His grip tightened. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing. She ran from you because you're a pathetic excuse for a human being. Because even your own assistant couldn't stomach what you are."
He slammed my head against the wall. Stars exploded across my vision.
"Wrong answer." His voice was calm now, which was somehow worse. "Let's try again. Where is Nadia?"
"I don't know."
His hand moved from my hair to my arm, squeezing so hard I felt his nails tear my skin. "Where did this evidence come from? Who else knows about it? Who were you planning to give it to?"
"You're already lost." I forced the words out through gritted teeth. "The evidence exists in multiple places. Even if you destroy all of this, it won't matter."
"We'll see about that." He released my arm and stood. One of his men stepped forward, pulling out a gun. The metal gleamed under the fluorescent lights.
My stomach dropped.
"Here's what's going to happen. You're going to call your boyfriend. Tell him there's an emergency and he needs to come here right now. You're going to talk normal. If you try anything clever, my associate here will put a bullet in your knee. Do you understand?"
Before I could answer, the door burst open.
"Cam? Why is it taking-" Maya froze in the doorway, eyes going wide. For one second, nobody moved.
Then she screamed.
Two men grabbed her immediately. She fought, kicking and clawing, but they were bigger and stronger. They dragged her inside and threw her down beside me.
I caught her, wrapping my arms around her as she struggled. "Stop. Stop fighting. It's okay."
"It's not okay!" She exclaimed high with panic. "What the hell is happening?"
One of the men leveled his gun at her head.
"Now then." Ronan smiled down at us. "Let's try this again. Call Lucien. Act normal. Or I paint the walls with your friend's brain."
The man pressed the gun harder against Maya's temple. She whimpered, tears streaming down her face.
My hands shook as I pulled out my phone. Maya grabbed my wrist, her fingers digging in desperately. I squeezed back, trying to communicate something I couldn't say out loud. The phone rang twice before Lucien answered.
"Fiera, I'm sorry I'm running late. I have to finish up something."
"Can you come right now?" My voice trembled despite my best efforts. "It's urgent."
"Are you okay? You sound-"
The gun pressed harder. Maya let out a small cry of pain.
"Just hurry..." I raised my voice, earning me death charges from Ronan. "Just please hurry."
Silence on the other end. Then: "I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
Ronan dragged the phone from my hand and ended the call.
"Good girl. Now, passwords for the laptops."
"No."
He backhanded Maya across the face. The sound echoed through the small room.
"Ahh!" She cried out, hand flying to her cheek.
"Passwords," he repeated.
"Don't. I can take it-" Maya started, but he hit her again, this time with the gun. The edge of the weapon caught her temple and blood immediately started flowing.
"Stop!" I lunged forward, pulling Maya into my arms. She was sobbed harder now, blood running down the side of her face. "Stop hurting her!"
"Then cooperate."
"Seven-nine-two-four-six. That's the password for all of them."
One of his men moved to the nearest laptop, typing it in. The screen unlocked.
Ronan watched over his shoulder as the man pulled up files. I watched his face change as he scrolled. Surprise gave way to fury gave way to something that looked almost like fear.
"How did she get so much," he mused to himself. "So Nadia did betray me." Then louder, "Five years. Five goddamn years of loyalty and she just-" He spun toward us. "Where is she? Where did Nadia run to?"
"We don't know," I said honestly.
"Liar!" He grabbed Maya by her hair, jerking her head back. She screamed for help.
"We don't know!" I was crying now too, grabbing at his arm. "She didn't tell us where she was going. She just gave us the evidence and disappeared. We don't know, I swear we don't know!"
He hit Maya again, same spot at before. More blood gushed out as the injury seemed to have widened.
"Please," I begged. "Please stop. We really don't know."
He released Maya, shoving her back toward me. We clung to each other, both of us shaking.
Ronan turned back to the laptop and barked out orders did the files to be wiped out. When that wasn't fast enough, he grabbed it and smashed it on the floor. The screen shattered. He moved to the next one. Smashed it too.
"No!" I tried to stand but one of the men pushed me back down. "No, please, that's months of work-"
"Exactly." Ronan was breathing hard, swinging the laptop into the wall over and over until it was just pieces. "Months of work, all for nothing."
He destroyed every laptop. Every external hard drive. All our careful organization, all those hours of cross-referencing and organizing, reduced to garbage in minutes.
When he was done, he turned back to u with his disheveled suit and mussed hair.
"You're coming with me," he said. "You'll stay wherever I put you until Lucien marries Jessica, gets the inheritance, and signs Elysium over to me. And now I've added another one for him-he has to find me Nadia."
"He'll never-"
"He will." Ronan crouched down again, getting in my face. "Because if he doesn't, I'll send you back to him in pieces, starting with fingers. Then toes. Then we'll get creative." He grabbed my neck, choking me lightly.
"Maybe I'll even nut in you a few times and make my loyal dogs have their fill while I film it for my dear brother. I'd kill to see the look on his face when he finds out I fucked his pretty little thing and passed you around like the trash you are."
Terror crashed over me in waves. This was real. This was actually happening.
"We're not leaving yet though." He stood, brushing off his pants. "First, I want to watch dear Lucien's face when he walks in here and realizes he's lost. That his months of scheming came to nothing. That I've won."
Maya was still bleeding. I pressed my hand against her temple, trying to stop it. She was trembling so hard I could feel it through her whole body.
Minutes passed, but they felt like hours. Then there were hurried footsteps in the hallway.
"Camila?" Lucien's voice. He was here.