Page 67 of Forbidden Daddy
"I’m coming." Roman’s voice was deadly. "If you hurt her?—"
"You’ll what? Kill me?" Declan laughed, the sound echoing off the gasoline-soaked walls. "You should’ve done that years ago, brother. Now it’s too late."
He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket, then pulled out a book of matches. The small red heads caught the light from the chandelier, and my heart hammered against my ribs like a caged bird.
"He’ll be here soon," Declan said, settling into the chair across from me. "Roman never could resist playing the hero."
The gasoline fumes made my head swim, but I forced myself to stay focused.Think, Cassie.There had to be a way out of this. Roman was coming, but he’d be walking into a trap. Declan had killed four armed men without breaking a sweat—he wouldn’thesitate to put a bullet in Roman the moment he walked through the door.
My wrists were bound tight, but the rope had some give to it. If I could work my hands free, if I could create a distraction when Roman arrived...
"You won’t get away with this," I said, testing the bonds while keeping my voice steady. "The other families won’t stand for it."
"The other families will fall in line once I prove Roman was weak." Declan struck a match, watching the flame dance in the dim light. "They’re already questioning his judgment. His obsession with going legitimate. His decision to marry an outsider."
The match burned down to his fingers, and he blew it out with a casual puff of breath.
"You were the final straw, Cassie. The moment he chose you over the business, he signed his own death warrant."
I felt another rope fiber snap. The bonds were loosening, but not fast enough.
The sound of a car engine echoed from outside, growing closer. Roman. My heart leaped with hope and terror in equal measure.
Declan heard it too. He stood abruptly, his pale eyes flashing with sudden urgency.
"Time to move you somewhere more secure," he said, cutting through my bonds with a knife he pulled from his jacket. "Can’t have you interfering when your knight in shining armor arrives."
Before I could fully process what was happening, his hand clamped around my arm, hauling me to my feet. My legs wereunsteady from sitting tied up, and the gasoline fumes made my head swim, but he dragged me toward the staircase anyway.
"Up," he commanded, pressing the gun into my back.
Each step felt like agony. My bare feet slipped on the marble stairs, and the pregnancy hormones made me dizzy, but Declan’s grip never loosened. He herded me down the familiar hallway toward the guest wing, past family portraits that had watched over generations of Creed history.
He shoved me into one of the smaller bedrooms—a space I’d barely noticed during my time here. The windows were too high to reach, and the door was solid oak. Perfect for a prison.
"This should keep you out of trouble," Declan said, backing toward the doorway. "Don’t bother screaming. Roman won’t hear you over the sound of his own death."
The door slammed shut, and I heard the distinctive click of a lock turning.
I was alone.
The engine cut off outside, and in the sudden silence, I could hear my own heartbeat thundering in my ears like a war drum. Through the thick walls, I caught the faint sound of the front door opening.
Roman was here.
If help didn’t come in the next few minutes, I’d have to save myself.
And Roman.
And our unborn child.
Time was up.
27
ROMAN AND CASSIE
The wrought-iron gates of my estate hung open like broken teeth, twisted metal that had been sheared apart by explosives. The afternoon sun cast harsh shadows across the carnage that had once been my kingdom.
