Page 185 of Syndicate of Sin Bundle

“L-Laila,” I sob, holding my hands up. “Please, don’t do this.”

She presses the gun against my temple. “It’s never been you, Sage.”

“Laila,” I whimper. “P-please.”

“Do it,” Bethany says from behind her. “Kill her. She’s trying to steal your husband.”

“Please, Laila, I love you,” I beg. “Don’t kill me.”

Laila pulls the safety off the gun. “You’re trying to steal my husband. I’ve never loved you. I only loved you for what you could do for me, for the baby you could give me. I choose the baby, Sage. I would never choose you.”

And then she pulls the trigger.

Screaming at the top of my lungs, I sat up in the bed and clutched my blankets to my chest. Tears streamed down my cheeks. The dawn streamed into the room from the open curtains. I sniffled and clutched my tight chest.

Maybe I was misremembering.

My mind was scrambled, my emotions all over the place. I had never been in that situation before, never had a gun pointed at me like that, never seen someone die right before my eyes. I had to be remembering wrong.

Right?

Suddenly, my bedroom door swung open, and Riccardo barreled into the room, one hand on his gun.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, scanning the room. “Is someone in here with you?” he asked, rushing to my closet and tearing open the door.

“No,” I whispered, tears trembling in my eyes. “Nobody is here.”

“Why were you screaming?” he asked, cutting his gaze to me.

I pulled the blankets closer to my chest. “I had a bad dream.”

Facial expression softening, he slid his gun back into his waistband and dropped his tense shoulders. After giving me a curt nod, he walked back to the bedroom door and slipped into the hallway, leaving me alone with all these horrible thoughts.

Did she … really choose the baby over me? I stared at the blank wall across from my bed and pressed a hand to my mouth, muffling a sob. I couldn’t remember. Things had happened so quickly that I couldn’t process it all.

After sitting there for a while, I forced myself to lie back down and close my eyes. But every time I did, I saw Laila. I saw Bethany’s corpse. Heard their lies, their bullying. All of it. Their words were so loud that I couldn’t even think.

I snapped my eyes back open and scrambled out of the bed and went to my closet. If I stayed here any longer, I would go insane. I needed fresh air. I needed to breathe. I needed to get my mind off Laila and Constantino for a couple of hours, a day, maybe even longer. I had been doing nothing but spending time with them for the past few weeks straight.

Once I threw on some clothes, I hurried out into the foyer of my apartment and grabbed my belongings. Riccardo sat on the living room couch, watching something on his phone.

He glanced up at me. “Where are you going?”

“Out.”

He stood up.

“You don’t have to come with me,” I said, wanting to be alone.

“If I don’t come with you, he’ll kill me,” Riccardo said.

Grimacing, I marched out into the hallway with Riccardo behind me. We walked down the hall in silence and stepped onto the elevator. I crossed my arms over my chest to keep myself as small as possible. I didn’t want anyone talking to me, and I sure as hell hoped I didn’t see Laila and Constantino this morning.

Why would she choose the baby? Did she only choose me because I could give her a family? Is that the only reason she loves me?

I had stupidly told her that I loved her back, but I’d actually truly meant it.

When we stepped into the underground parking lot, a light wind chilled my skin. I slipped into the backseat of Riccardo’s SUV and rested my head against the window as he drove through the city at sunbreak. Part of me wished there were traffic, so I could stay in the car and ignore the world forever.

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