Chapter 24
Roxanne
The first thing I become aware of is the pounding in my head and the fact that I can't move.
A sharp pulse of panic shoots through me, and my eyes fly open.
For a few disorienting seconds, everything blurs together. The dim lighting barely lets me see the concrete walls I’m surrounded by. A sharp metallic scent fills the damp air.
My wrists ache painfully anytime I try to move them. Something tight is wound around my hands, biting into my skin.
I gasp when I realize that I'm tied to a chair. Fear consumes me all at once. The memory returns in jagged fragments.
I was at the pharmacy to get the new drugs I was recently prescribed. Bad nausea had sent me hurrying toward the restroom, but when I came out, someone grabbed me from behind.
That’s all I remember before the darkness enveloped me.
My breathing quickens as I shake my head frantically. I pull against the restraints again, harder this time, but the ropes don't budge.
The movement attracts attention because I hear several footsteps approaching me before I can even see them.
“She's awake.”
The voice echoes through the large, basement-like space. I lift my head and squint at them. Several men stand scattered around the room. And Tristan Sterling is one of them.
My stomach drops. I genuinely wonder if I'm hallucinating. Despite what I’ve gone through in his hands, I didn’t think he’d resort to kidnapping me.
How crazy has he gotten?
“Tristan?”
He looks terrible. His expensive clothes are wrinkled. Dark circles sit beneath his eyes. His normally polished appearance has been replaced by something frantic and desperate.
His expression brightens when he sees me awake. “Roxy.”
The relief in his voice makes my skin crawl.
“What is this? Why are you doing this?” I demand.
My voice comes out shakier than I intended.
Tristan glances toward the other men before looking back at me. He looks even more terrified of them than I am.
“It's fine,” Tristan says.
I stare at him in disbelief.
Fine?
I'm tied to a chair in what looks like the basement of a horror movie.
Tristan’s jaw tightens. “You see, I owe these people money. And this is my last resort.”
“What? What does your debt have to do with me?” I snap.
Tears bite the corner of my eyes as I watch Tristan cower even more. I wonder just how bad my luck was to have dated and even gotten engaged to someone like him.
How could I have been so stupid and blind?
What’s worse is that I don’t know how he expects me to help with his debts. Several evil scenarios fill my mind, and each of them makes me regret the day I met Tristan even more.
One of the men nearby laughs. The sound sends another chill through me. For the first time since waking up here, I properly study them.
None of them looks like businessmen. It’s clear they don’t care about laws or consequences.
My throat tightens as I glance at Tristan again. He looks away.
One of the older men steps forward. From the way he carries himself and how others treat him, he appears to be the leader. “I heard your boyfriend's very rich.”
My heart sinks. I finally figured out what Tristan hopes would happen. He must have assumed Asher cares about me because he paid off that debt. Now he wants to use me as leverage to get money from Asher.
The man smiles. It's not a pleasant smile. “Apparently, you're carrying his baby too.”
I glare at Tristan. I can’t believe he told them that. I wonder how he even knows.
My heart clenches protectively as another fear fills me. Knowing that it’s not just my life at stake drives me closer to the edge.
I force myself to breathe through the panic.
Tristan immediately jumps in. “Asher will definitely pay.” The confidence in his voice startles me. “He'll do whatever it takes.”
Another one of the men looks at me skeptically. “You say it's that Billionaire CEO, Asher Sterling, right? You sure she’s his woman.”
“I’m sure. He’s my brother, and she’s pregnant with his baby.”
“A rich guy like him can make another baby, though,” someone says casually.
The room erupts into murmurs of agreement, and the leader seems to be of the same mind.
Deep down, I hope that they realize I’m nothing to Tristan and let me go. However, a part of me fears they’ll want to get rid of me if I’m no longer seen as usual.
Tristan shakes his head immediately. “No. He loves her. I’m sure of it, so he’ll come.”
At those words, my heart stills. I almost laugh, but I manage to control myself. Tristan's words are just too absurd.
Tristan has no idea. He doesn't know Asher the way I do. He has no idea how carefully guarded Asher’s heart is.
Love?
I wish.
It hurts to even think about the word, knowing it’s something I’ll never get from Asher. Even though the way he looks at me now sometimes makes me wonder if he just might.
However, one thing is clear now: if my life is hanging in the balance of Asher’s supposed love for me, then I’m as good as dead.
A strange calm begins to settle over me. I resign myself to my bleak fate and think about my dear brother who’ll be left alone. I just hope the fondness I’ve seen Asher show him these past months extends to him looking after him when I’m gone.
Even if he can’t take him in, he can put him up with a family who’ll take good care of him.
Tears sting my eyes as memories of the time I’ve shared with Felix fill my mind. Just thinking of him being alone again hurts more than my reality right now.
I lower my head. The minutes that follow feel endless. Nobody tells me anything, and I gradually lose track of time entirely.
Then suddenly a commotion erupts upstairs. Every muscle in my body grows alert.
One of the men curses, while another reaches for a weapon. My heart begins hammering wildly as I watch the scene.
Someone is here. Someone actually came here. Did Asher send Jack then?
The basement door bursts open, and my heart stops instantly as Asher himself walks in with one of the kidnappers holding a gun to his head.
For a moment, everything else disappears as my gaze zones in on him. His shirt sleeves are rolled up, and his expression is unlike anything I've ever seen before.
His gaze finds mine immediately. “Roxanne.”
The way he says my name nearly breaks me. Relief hits so hard that my vision blurs. I stop the urge to cry so I don’t appear weak.
I can’t believe he actually came here. He couldn’t have come alone, right? He wouldn’t be that crazy.
I watch him closely. The relief evident in his eyes as he sees me makes me wonder again if this man really does love me.
However, one solid reminder of the baby in my womb kills the thought.
He must be here for the baby. The fact that he attempted to buy the baby from me already tells me how much he wants this baby.
The warmth in my heart fades before it can fully bloom. Still, I can't stop looking at him.
“You shouldn't have come,” I whisper.
His eyes never leave mine. “That wasn't an option.”
One of the kidnappers steps forward. “You came alone?”
Asher doesn't answer. He tosses the briefcase in his hand onto the ground. It lands with a heavy thud.
I frown, wishing I could smack Asher for giving them what they want before I’ve been released.
Asher smirks and nods toward me. “Let her go.”
That devilish smile of his tells me that he has something up his sleeve. Regardless of what it is, I just hope it goes well.
One of the thugs kneels, popping the briefcase's latches open, and a collective, greedy silence fills the room as the glow of the unmarked bearer bonds reflects in their eyes.
“It’s all there,” Tristan laughs hysterically, stepping out from behind the thug. “I told you! I told you he’d pay!”
“We’re done here,” Asher says, stepping toward me. “Let her go.”
The leader points at someone to untie me as Asher moves toward me.
“Roxanne, look at me?—”
Suddenly, the rusted metal roof of the warehouse shatters.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Flashbangs explode near the entrance, filling the basement with a blinding, white light and a deafening, ringing roar.
Tactical teams from the harbor side breach the lower windows, their red laser sights cutting through the smoke.
“It’s a setup!” the leader screams, firing blindly into the mist.
The basement erupts into absolute, chaotic violence. Tristan screams, bolting toward a back exit, while the other kidnappers return fire against the police.
Through the haze, I see the leader spin around, his face twisted in rage. Realizing he’s trapped, he raises his pistol and points it directly at my face.
“Roxanne!”
Before I can even react, a massive body throws itself over mine.
Asher crashes into me, his large frame shielding me completely from the chair to the floor. The wooden frame breaks under our combined weight as we hit the hard concrete.
A wet, sickening thud echoes right above my ear, followed by a sharp, ragged groan from Asher. The leader is instantly neutralized by a burst of gunfire from the police.
However, the world around me completely narrows down to the man pinning me to the ground.
“Asher?” I whisper, my hands shaking against the ropes that are finally loosening from the fall.
He shifts his weight off me slowly, rolling onto his back. My heart stops. The pristine white of his dress shirt is rapidly blooming with a thick, dark crimson stain right below his shoulder. Blood is spilling over his fingers as he presses his hand against the wound.
“Asher! Oh my god, Asher!” Pure, unadulterated terror takes over my body. I scramble out of the ruined ropes, dropping to my knees beside him. “Stay with me. Look at me!”
The tactical team is clearing the rest of the building.
Asher’s face is losing color fast, his breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps. But despite the agony tightening the lines of his mouth, his grey eyes lift to find mine.
Slowly, with a trembling effort, his clean hand reaches up and brushes his thumb against my wet cheek.
A small, weak smile touches his lips. “You’re… you’re okay.” His voice is barely a whisper. “You’re safe.”
“Don’t talk, please, just save your strength,” I sob, the tears blinding me as I press down on his wound. “Why did you do that? You idiot, you could have died?—”
“Roxanne,” he interrupts softly, his fingers curling weakly into the hair at the nape of my neck. He pulls me just an inch closer. “Listen to me.”
I choke back a sob, leaning down, my heart hammering an agonizing rhythm against my ribs.
“I love you, Roxanne,” he murmurs, his grip on my hair loosening as his strength fades.
The words wash over me in a flood of emotions. I spent so much time doubting him. He doesn’t even need to say the word. The fact that he jumped in front of a bullet has already confirmed it to me.
“I’ve loved you for a long time now, but I was too stupid to realize…”
His hand slides down from my neck, hitting the concrete floor with a dull, heavy thud. His eyes flutter shut, his head rolling slightly to the side as he loses consciousness entirely.
“Asher? Asher, open your eyes!” I scream, pulling his limp body against my chest. I bury my face into his shoulder as the medics finally flood the room. “Please, Asher! I love you too! Don’t leave me!”