Page 94 of Mafia King's Surprise Baby

No, this is about me. And possibly, this person wants me dead.

Or worse: to pay.

I gasp as the car swerves sharply, throwing me around in the tight confines, the metal hard and unrelenting against my body. The vehicle comes to a stop, and I can hear car doors opening and closing. Next, the trunk lid is lifted, a bright light shining in my face from a torch lamp, blinding me.

Harsh hands are reaching out and wrapping around my upper arms, pulling me out. I flail my legs around, as much to kick them as to alleviate the pins and needles that have suddenly burst into my limbs after so much time inert.

My resistance is futile, though, but I don’t let that stop me. I’m surprised someone hasn’t slapped me or kicked me yet. They just wrangle and tug, directing me inside a structure—I know we went in because the soft breeze on my skin has cut off, the interior still and a little sweltering. I can smell dust, and something heavier like motor oil.

I’m slammed down unceremoniously into a chair. My legs are spread wide with a booted foot, zip ties wrapping around my ankles and the front chair legs. The tie on my wrists is broken only for someone to pull my arms back and tie them, spread out like my legs, to the back of the chair. I am rendered defenseless and immobile this way, no matter how much I struggle.

A low chuckle breaks the oppressing atmosphere, and the sound is so sinister, I freeze. A shudder of dread courses down my back as the air around me shivers when the hood is removed.

The light inside this space which looks like an abandoned car workshop isn’t bright, yet it hurts my eyes nevertheless. I blink and focus on where the huff of a laugh came from, though everything inside me is going heavy with trepidation.

My gaze lands on a tall, big man in a violet three-piece suit. His fair skin is a sharp contrast to the vivid color, and his body, though it looks honed, is also straining a little against the seams. The features of his face are sharp, as if carved with a delicate blade from cool marble. Devilishly handsome is what comes to mind…until one looks at his eyes.

They remind me of a snake’s: cold, calculating, insidious. However, in a snake’s gaze, you do see life swirling in the depths.

Jasir Abrashi’s eyes are empty, soulless, devoid of anything making a person human.

I’d never met him before. But the resemblance with Ardian is there, strikingly so. The nose, mouth, chin, it’s as if the same mold was used for both brothers.

I’m staring atThe Butcher, and it clicks now. He’s a man hellbent on revenge, and that’s what he wants from me.

I sneak in a sharp breath and force myself to swallow so I can wet my throat and my tongue.

“You’re going to kill me?” I ask him.

I don’t want this to be my fate, not when I’ve just reunited with Leo, when we’ve just started sketching the etchings of our familytogether.

He contemplates me with narrowed eyes for a long time. I want to squirm under his intense stare, but I keep myself still. Like a snake, he will smell weakness and fear. I won’t give him that.

“I won’t,” he finally says.

I blink, not getting it.

He chuckles again, the same sinister sound raising all the hairs on my body.

“It’s a marriage that was promised, dearest,” he states, smiling at me.

“No!” I gasp.

I won’t marry him. I can’t.

He approaches me, long strides smooth and calculated, like a panther closing in on its prey. He stops and peers down at me from his impressive height. When I refuse to look up, a small form of defiance I dare oppose to him, his long fingers close tightly on my chin and force my head to tilt back.

I’m staring into those depthless eyes, a small puff of fear escaping my lips.

He smiles, one side of his mouth more crooked. “You’re not usually my type.”

I want to spit in his face, but I don’t have enough saliva in my mouth to do so. Whatever happens, I’ll go down fighting.

“I like to see what I’m doing, you know,” he continues. “On your skin?” He shakes his head softly. “Then again, maybe…”

The trailing off alerts me something is coming. I’m still surprised when his right hand lands in a hard slap against my cheek. My skin is instantly burning.

He chuckles again, pure delight in his tone. “You do mark easily. Well, gonna have to go in a bit heavy-handed, but that can be fun.”

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