Page 38 of Defying Love

The men shifted, a silent rustle of fabric and leather, but not one of them spoke. They waited, statuesque, for their orders, their loyalty an unbreakable chain that bound them.

"Tonight, I'm going to give myself up to him," I continued, eyes fierce with a resolve that had been forged in the fires of my tumultuous life. My hands, normally steady as stone, trembled imperceptibly at my sides. "It's the only way to ensure Alexa's safety."

A collective breath was drawn in the room, a tide of tension rising high against the walls of the mansion. Yet amid the undercurrent of shock, there was no dissent, no murmur of doubt.

"Boss, there has to be another way," Marco finally broke the silence, his voice rough like gravel, yet tinged with an unmistakable edge of respect.

"There isn't." My reply left no space for argument. "This is my choice—and my command. You are to protect Alexa. Keep her safe, keep her hidden, and let no harm come to her."

My gaze swept over them, each man meeting my stare with a nod, a silent pledge to uphold my final wish. It was a testament to the brotherhood we shared, a bond that went beyond blood.

"Everything you've trained for, all the loyalty you've shown—it's for this moment," I said, my tone imbued with the gravity of the situation. "I trust you with her life… with the future I can't be a part of."

"You have our word, Dom," another man, Luca, stepped forward, his voice firm. "We'll guard her with our own lives if we must."

"Good." My lips pressed into a thin line, a mix of gratitude and sorrow. I turned away, hiding the glimmer of vulnerability that threatened to surface. This was it—the moment where I embraced my fate, where I laid down the mantle of protector and passed it on to the men who'd follow my lead into hell itself.

"Then it's settled," I declared, my back to them now, facing the darkness outside the window that mirrored the path I was about to walk. "Keep her safe. That's an order."

"Until the end, boss," came the unified response, a chorus of devotion that filled the room with its intensity.

"Until the end.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Alexa

My wrists chafed against the coarse rope, the burn of every twist and pull a stark reminder of my captivity. My breaths came in ragged gasps, echoing off the cold, unforgiving walls that bore witness to my torment. I could feel their eyes on me, ravenous and unyielding, as they circled like vultures, their lewd comments slicing through the thick air with vicious intent.

"Pretty thing, aren't you? Bet you're missing your knight in shining armor about now," sneered one, his voice dripping with malice.

Another laughed, the sound devoid of humor. "What's he going to do, huh? You think he's coming for you?"

The words were meant to unnerve, to strip away my hope and leave me bare and broken before them. But my heart, though pounding a frantic rhythm against my rib cage, refused to succumb to the terror they aimed to instill. In the darkest recesses of my mind, I summoned the image of Dominic—his penetrating gaze, the set of his jaw when he vowed to protect me from any harm that dared to come my way.

With each venomous jibe that slithered from their lips, I fortified the walls around my spirit. I envisioned Dominic's unwavering love wrapping around me like an impenetrable shield. His presence, though not physically there, was a tangible force, steeling my resolve. I would not let the darkness consume me; I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.

Dom will find me. A silent mantra that coursed through my veins, igniting a fire within. The ropes that bound me were mere threads compared to the strength that surged from the thought of him.

The men continued their taunts, but I retreated into the sanctuary Dominic's memory provided. I clung to it, a lifeline amid the storm, my spirit defiantly unbroken beneath the weight of their scorn.

As much as I tried to ignore them, the taunts curled through the musty air like smoke, each word a deliberate prod at my composure. "So, your beloved Dominic," one of the men sneered, the scent of his disdain mingling with the stench of unwashed bodies and spilled liquor. "Is he really coming to save you, or are you just a plaything to him too?"

Another joined in, his voice a razor slicing through the tense silence that followed. "Maybe he's tired of his little good girl. Maybe he sent us himself."

Their eyes crawled over me, insects skittering across my skin, but I gave them nothing. My lips sealed tight, I swallowed down the bitter taste of fear and forced my mind to turn inward, to Dominic's promises whispered in the quiet of night—a stark contrast to the crude mockery here.

I envisioned Dominic's dark eyes, the way they softened only for me, how his touch banished the cold that now seeped into my bones. The memory of his love was a beacon in the engulfing blackness.

But as the room seemed to shrink, the walls inching closer with every foul chuckle and jeer, a slither of doubt wound its way through my resolve. The shadows appeared to dance in mockery of my faith. Would he come? Could he breach the fortress of malice that surrounded me now?

"Where is your knight, pretty Alexa?" another voice taunted from the corner, a serpent's hiss among the din of cruelty. "Perhaps lost on the way to the tower?"

The shaky scaffolding of my hope trembled, but I clutched it tighter, refusing to let go. Dominic's image in my mind was a flickering candle in a tempest. I had to believe he would find me, that the flame wouldn't extinguish before rescue came. His world was one of power and peril, and love—our love—was supposed to transcend it all. It had to.

The unmistakable thud of a fist against the heavy wooden door cleaved through the haze of terror, halting the men's lewd advances. Each heartbeat in my chest synced with the sudden silence that blanketed the room. I sucked in a breath, eyes wide and locked on to the barrier that stood between me and the unknown. Hope, daring to rear its head, sent a tremor through my bound form. My lips parted in a silent plea, willing the figure on the other side to be my savior.

In the stillness that followed, the air seemed charged with electricity, every dust mote hanging in suspense. Then, as if commanded by an unspoken force, the door groaned on its hinges, an ominous sound that promised retribution. I watched, muscles drawn taut as bowstrings, as the entrance yielded to the intruder's will.

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