Page 183 of Sexting the Boss

He walks to the lantern and clicks it on. The dim glow stretches across the room, turning his features even colder. “You’re Damien’s weakness. I like knowing where a man’s strings are. Especially when I want to pull them.”

I swallow. My throat feels like it’s full of cotton.

“And Roman?” I ask quietly. “He followed Damien for years. Why betray him now?”

Lev shrugs. “Because Damien stopped thinking about the people who put him on his throne. Power makes men stupid. Forgetful. He started playing house instead of remembering who he owes.”

“I didn’t ask for any of this,” I say. “I didn’t ask to be part of your pissing match.”

Lev smiles, unbothered. “No one ever asks. You just…become useful.”

I flinch. My hand presses instinctively to my stomach.

“You’re scared,” he says, watching me. “You should be. But not for yourself.”

My breath catches.

“Yes, I know about the baby,” he says calmly.

“Don’t touch me,” I say quickly, my voice shaking. “If you even think about hurting this baby?—”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Lev says. “That’s the thing about leverage. It only works if it’s intact.”

I hate how he says it.It.Not me.

He takes a step closer and lowers his voice. “Eventually, he’ll come looking for you. He always does the noble thing. Men like Damien…they never learn. That’s what makes them so easy to break.”

I look him dead in the eyes. “You don’t know him like you think.”

Lev just smiles. “We’ll see.”

And the door shuts behind him.

The second the door shuts, I exhale—shaky, uneven, loud. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until the silence feels deafening.

My legs give out. I sink onto the cold, dusty cot, curling my arms around myself.

The baby. The baby. The baby.

It’s all I can think.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to be here—alone, terrified, kidnapped by two men who used to stand in Damien’s inner circle like family.

Damien…

My heart aches at the thought of him. I told myself I was done. That I didn’t need him. That I could walk away from that world. Fromhim.

And now I’d give anything to see his face.

The lantern buzzes quietly in the corner. I have no idea what time it is. No phone. No windows. My mind keeps looping through the same questions.

Why me?

Why the baby?

Why now?

The door creaks open again, hours—or maybe minutes—later.

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