Page 191 of Dark Romeo

I forced myself to glare at him, at all of them. My heart thumped against my windpipe.

“Welcome, Detective Capulet,” Giovanni Tyrell called out.

I said nothing. I could barely breathe. It took all of my energy to keep my heart rate steady. What did they want with me?

Abel reached around me to grip my throat and I let out a strangled cry. He pulled me right up against him. I could feel every inch of his slimy body. Oh my God. He was hard against my ass. I cringed. He was enjoying my fear. Getting off on it.

“When Mr. Tyrell speaks to you, you speak back, you disrespectful girl,” he hissed into my ear.

Roman didn’t move. He didn’t flinch. Although I could see by the tension on his jaw that he was two seconds away from launching himself at Abel and ripping his face off. If he did, he’d give himself away.

I had to act as unaffected by Abel as possible, for Roman. I couldn’t let Roman see how disgusted I was, how much this evil man touching me was like having bugs crawling around under my skin.

“Speak, girl. And be respectful,” Abel hissed over my shoulder, his nose running down my neck, his disgusting worm of an erection twitching against me. I struggled not to squirm. I would not let him see how much I was screaming inside.

“What’s going on?” I found myself asking, my voice quivering much more than I wanted it to. “Why am I here?”

“You’re going to help us send a message to your father,” Giovanni said.

“Whatever it is,” I said as defiantly as I could, “he won’t agree to it.” Abel tightened his hand on my throat. “Sir,” I added, my voice straining. Abel loosened his grip, but only just.

I could see Roman’s jaw twitch.

Don’t do it, Roman. Don’t give yourself away. We just have to get through this, then figure out a way to escape together.

Giovanni smiled at me. “Oh yes, I think your father will agree. Because it’ll be a small thing, some money, to get you back. And he’ll pay. He’ll pay because it’ll be small enough that he can pay. It won’t be worth involving the police. And he, of all people, knows how badly the police can fuck up hostage situations.”

I frowned, glancing between him and Roman. “You kidnapped me for a small amount of money?” I didn’t know whether to be insulted or terrified that there was something bigger that I wasn’t seeing.

It was Roman who began to laugh. “Stupid girl,” he said, his voice hard and cruel. “You don’t see it, do you?”

“See…what?”

“The money is a decoy. What we will have when we make the exchange are photos, hard evidence, that your father is corrupt.”

I gasped. “But he’s not. He’d never…”

“Never make a cash trade with a Tyrell?” Roman said, his lips lifting in a sneer. “He will for you, his precious only daughter. His weakness. Love makes us weak, doesn’t it? We’d do stupid things for love, wouldn’t we?”

He doesn’t mean that. He doesn’t. He’s just playing the game. He loves me. Love makes us stronger. It gives us a reason to keep fighting.

“But I’ll know the truth,” I said. “I’ll tell?—”

“The public doesn’t care about the truth,” Giovanni said. “They just love to lap up the latest scandal. Your father, the ‘incorruptible’, proven to be corrupt? They will eat that up. Photos don’t lie.”

They couldn’t. My father would be ruined. Everything he’d built would be destroyed. All the criminals he’d ever put away would use his “corruption” as an excuse to get their sentences overturned. All the good he’d done under his command would be turned into a pile of rubble all because of me.

I sank back against Abel in horror.

“Shall we begin?” Giovanni said.

“Begin what?”

“The message to your father.” Abel’s voice slid into my ear. “Roman has agreed to cut off your finger.”

My…what?

Giovanni pulled a long butcher's knife from the sheath being held by one of his men. It glinted in the light as he handed it to Roman. Roman took it and turned towards me, his face remaining cold.

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