Page 67 of Romi

Ash murmured, “Shit,” under his breath.

He stared at us both, rubbing his forehead like he had a headache coming on.

I knew the bloody feeling.

Sonia sniffed hard. Her face was blotchy, and her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying. I hated seeing her like that. I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb soothingly, wishing I could do more to comfort her. Pulling her into my arms was likely to inflame the situation, and since things were starting to cool off, I didn’t want to risk it.

Miki nodded to Marko, who left the room.

“I can’t let what this go unpunished. You will remain here until I decide what’s to be done,” Miki said, turning away from us to pace the floor.

He ran his hand through his hair and muttered under his breath.

“You need to call off the marriage and let me be with Romi. That’s what needs to be done!” Sonia seethed.

I’d never heard her voice laced with such anger. As I watched Miki, I squeezed her hand in silent reassurance.

“We will talk about the marriage later. In the meantime, I will decide how to deal with this betrayal,” Miki said in a firm voice before he strode out of the room with Ash following close behind.

“Whatever happens, I will come for you, Sonia,” I whispered to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before Miki returned, this time with Luca and Marko.

Luca glared at me.

“Not cool, Bro!” he said, sounding exasperated but not quite as angry as the others, thankfully.

Marko still hadn’t said a word. He just stared at me with an unreadable expression. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Time to go,” Miki declares as he and Luca make a grab for me.

“Where are you taking him? Don’t you dare hurt him again, or I will never forgive you,” Sonia cried as they hauled me out of the chair.

“Don’t kill him! Are you going to kill him? Please don’t kill him,” Sonia said in a rush, tears running down her beautiful face again as she put her arms around me in an attempt to protect me.

“It’s okay, baby. Everything will be fine. Remember what I said,” I reassured her.

“He won’t be hurt any more. I promise,” Luca replied, looking at her with sympathy.

Miki sighed heavily.

“But he will be punished,” he said.

“Come on, Sonia,” Marko said as he pulled her away from me again.

Miki and Luca held my arms as they walked me out to an SUV and forced me inside. Vlad was in the driver’s seat and started the engine as soon as I sat down. Sonia tried to follow, but Vlad drove off. I craned my neck to look out the back window and watched as Marko and Ash pushed a protesting Sonia into a separate vehicle.

Anger coursed through my veins at the sight of her being forcibly separated from me. I started to protest and struggled, but Luca told me to sit still, or he’d taser me if necessary. He opened his jacket to show me the weapon, so I forced myself to calm down. There was no choice for now. I didn’t want any further injuries if I could avoid them. I needed to regain my strength so I could figure out another plan.

Huffing out a breath that made me wince in pain, I glared at Luca and Miki in turn. They might have separated us, but I wasn’t going to let that remain the case for long.

A short while later, we pulled up at a familiar building.

They’d brought me to one of our safe houses, and I assumed they’d taken Sonia back to the Estate. I wondered how long they planned on keeping me here.

Doctor Rawlins came by and checked me out. Thankfully, I was correct in my assumption that the only thing broken was my pinkie. He strapped it up to my ring finger for support and gave me some painkillers and ice packs for my face.

He patted my shoulder in sympathy as he left, and I sunk back against the pillows on the bed of the room that was currently my prison. It wasn’t too bad as far as accommodation went. It could be worse; at least I wasn’t at the C, and at least I was alive.

Closing my eyes, I mulled over my options. Nothing had really changed despite us being caught, I suddenly realised. Either the marriage would be called off and an alternative arrangement found, or Sonia and I would run. I told her whatever happened, I would come for her, and I meant it.

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