Page 69 of Ruthless King

“Grab her,” Andrew says.

Enzo rips me off the bed and drag me from the room.

“Nico, help!” I shout.

But he doesn’t help. He only lets me get taken away.

Chapter

Sixteen

AURORA

“Let me go!” I scream. It’s pointless because Enzo doesn’t release his hold on me until he drags me down into the basement. I didn’t even know there was a basement. The mansion is so large that even after living in it for the past couple months, I still find myself getting lost.

The basement doesn’t help because it’s like a maze. Enzo drags me down a hallway, then another one and another one until he opens a door and tosses me into a barren, cold cement room. Bloodstains are on the floor and walls, telling me exactly what this room is for.

Torture.

“Please,” I say, scrambling on my knees to the door, but Enzo slams it shut on me. “Please! I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent.”

“You’re not innocent,” Enzo growls before walking away.

I continue to bang on the door for a long time until my hands are raw and red and my throat is scratchy from screaming. Afterward, I spend time pacing back and forth, and when mylegs are tired, I sit on the floor, my knees drawn up to my chest, wondering when I’m going to die.

NICO

“We’ll handle her, sir,” Andrew tells me as I watch Enzo drag Aurora away. After a long beat, I get up and dressed into my day clothes.

“Handle her how?” I ask.

“We’ll torture her for information. She’s Giovanni Costa’s daughter. She didn’t marry you on accident. There’s a reason she’s here, and we’ll find it. If she tried to hurt you, then we’ll kill her for it.”

“No.”

Andrew is halfway turned from me when he pauses. “What do you mean ‘no?’”

“I don’t want Aurora to die.”

“She tried to kill you, sir.”

“No. I would have seen her do it. I think I can handle a small woman. She never tried to kill me, so whatever she had planned, it wasn’t that. I’ll speak to her.” I try walking past him, but Andrew stops me with a hand to my chest.

“I would advise against that.”

“And why would you advise against it?” I ask in a low, slow voice.

A flash of fear crosses Andrew’s eyes. “Because she’s been manipulating you for weeks now. You can’t see her clearly. Give it time. We’ll get the answers we need. Let Enzo and me handle this.”

“Enzo was the one who tried to kill her.”

“No. He was trying to stop her from killing you. She lied, and you fired him for it.”

I narrow my eyes and shove Andrew’s hand away. “Are you suggesting I’m incompetent at my job?

“Not at all, sir. I’m just telling you the truth.”

“And how do you know this truth, Andrew?”

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