Chapter 48
HANA
“So, what does this key look like? Big, small, old-fashioned? Does it have a keyring attached, or am I looking for a single key?” Roman asked as I pushed open the basement door slowly, not quite believing the security was that easy to bypass and expecting an alarm to sound at any moment.
I stepped into the dimly lit room, the sun only having three narrow letterbox-sized windows to shine through. I flicked on the light, glancing around the space.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“What is it?” Roman came to stand next to me, his giant presence easing the lump in my throat when my gaze bounced around the floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with hundreds of files.
“I think the key is in one of them,” I whispered as I pointed to the wall across from us.
“Someone hid a key in their paperwork?”
I shook my head. “The key isn’t an actual key. It’s what he used to call the masterfile. It’s a list. A very long list. I’m not really sure what format he kept it in… paper, electronic. I don’t have a clue.” I glanced around the room, the enormity of the situation dawning on me.
Roman turned to me, cupping my cheek and forcing my attention onto him. “I’m not going to lie, I’m so fucking confused about everything that’s going on, Hana. I need you to make something… anything make sense. Please.”
I’d fucked up—the way I tricked him to come here, the way I’d forced him to stay—explaining to him what was going on would take too long, but I could give him something. He deserved that.
“I’m looking for a masterfile. Once I get my hands on it, I’m hoping I might be able to use it to work out who’s after me.”
“How?” he asked quietly.
I dipped my chin, swallowing hard. “I don’t know, Ro. I have no fucking idea.”
“And you think it’s hidden in one of these?” He walked over to the shelf nearest to him, pulling out a file and opening it before flicking through the hundreds of photos, typed notes, and handwritten scraps of paper inside. “Hana, that’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
My body sagged, the tension of the last few weeks depleting what little fight I had left. Roman was in front of me in a second.
“Hey,” he murmured in that dominant way I loved so much. “None of that. We’re not beaten yet. There’s too much to wade through in here, but why don’t we check the attic, and if it’s not there, I’ll get some of my team over here so we have help.”
His words hit hard; I was so used to doing things alone that the offer of help threw me. “I can’t trust anyone,” I repeated like it was my mantra.
He smiled, and the gesture spread through my bones like the sun on a frosty day. “You trust me, though, right?”
I shrugged.
“You brought me here. I mean, you did it in the most fucked up way, but you asked for my help, so on some level, you must trust me.”
“I guess?” I replied, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.
“Right then, and I trust the people I work with. You don’t have to do this alone, Hana. Not now you have me.”
Tears burned the back of my eyes. “You have no idea what I’ve done or why I’m in this trouble in the first place.”
His eyes locked on mine, his fingers anchoring in the hair at the nape of my neck. “You were mine from the minute I laid eyes on you. That won’t change, Hana. No matter what.”
“But—” He didn’t let me finish.
“But nothing. Mine. Say it… tell me who you belong to.” The timbre of his voice ran through me like a physical touch, lighting me up from the inside and soaking my underwear.
“Yours,” I whispered, realising I was his, and I had been since the moment he showed up in my life. There was something strangely addictive and comforting about this man, and I knew I wanted more… a lot more. “Yours,” I said again with more meaning.
“Right, let’s check the attic, and if you can’t find it there, then I’ll call for backup.”