Page 14 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

Raz closed his eyes and prayed for patience. His prayer was not answered. He was still on edge, close to snapping.

"Monique, talk to me, love. Where are you?" he asked, despite knowing her captors wouldn't allow her to reveal their location. But, he had to keep her talking.

"Raz," Monique started again, voice trembling. "It's over."

Those two words were like a knife through his heart. His world tilted, throwing him off balance. A rush of blood thundered in his ears, drowning out all but her voice, that sweet, fragile sound that held the power to shatter him into a million pieces. Over? What the hell was she talking about?

"What's over?" he asked. "Are you talking about this little game someone is playing, or..."

"We're over," she whispered.

Raz's heart stopped beating. "Rosa, we are not over," he growled into the phone.

"Raz, we are. I'm done. I'm... I'm leaving you."

"You cannot leave me," he told her, only to have her talk over him.

"I can, and I am."

"I told you that wherever you go, I go. Did you think I said that just to hear myself talk?"

"Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"This isn't hard, love," he replied. "This is easy as fuck. We're not over. It's as simple as that. And if..."

"Raz!" she cut him off, her voice cracking. "Just let me go. Please."

"Never," he vowed, the word a promise and a threat. "I'll find you, Rosa. I don't care if I have to burn down the world to do it."

His Rosa went quiet. And again, he heard someone talking in the background. Raz couldn't make out what they were saying. His gaze swung to Rome.

Rome raised one finger. "One more minute," Rome whispered. "That's all I need."

In one minute, he'd know where his Rosa was. Why did this one minute feel like a lifetime? Raz leaned forward, trying to look at Rome's device. Even if he could see the screen, he wouldn't know what the numbers meant. He was pretty sure they were listing the longitude and latitude, but he wasn't sure.

"Raz," Monique finally spoke again, sounding angry this time. "Everything we shared was a lie. I never truly wanted you. I only approached you because..."

Raz's chuckle silenced her, the sound echoing through the room like a dark melody. His eyes gleamed with a predatory glint, watching Rome's every move as his brother continued to work on tracing Monique's location.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked.

"Because, love. You're simply not that good of an actress. You're lying."

Her silence spoke volumes, but he didn't need a response. He knew this desperate attempt at pushing him away wasn't her idea.

"I'm not lying. I'm..."

"Let me tell you something, Monique Rose," Raz started, his voice low and dangerous. "Even if what you said was true, which it's not, it wouldn't matter. I want you. You are mine. Nothing you say will change that. I refuse to let you go. You'll be mine forever. I'll do anything to keep you."

"Is that a threat?" Monique challenged, her voice wavering slightly.

"Consider it a guarantee."

"I don't need your guarantee. Whether you believe me or not, it's over, and what I felt for you was fake, Orazio."

"Monique, listen to me," Raz said, his voice softening. "You can lie to me if you want, but please make it something more believable."

"Why don't you believe me? What must I do to make you believe me?" she cried.

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