Chapter 23 – Blair
I lay in bed that night, clutching my pillow to my chest as I remembered the way he sat next to me on the balcony. Our conversation was brief but full of emotion because, for the first time, I intentionally unloaded my burdens on him.
I complained to him about what was bothering me as if he were a stranger in a park. He didn’t get mad; he didn’t snap or yell at me for talking about him badly. Instead, he played along, replying like a total stranger offering advice.
It was one of the very few real conversations we’d had since arrival at the mansion. For some reason, this one hit me differently—in ways I wasn’t ready to admit yet. Nik had made it his life’s mission to prove to me he wasn’t the monster I thought he was.
The way he looked at me, the sound of his gentle voice, and the fact that he sat with me on the floor all painted a different picture of the Mafia boss wanted by the Bureau. I couldn’t find that monster I hated so much; all I saw was a human being—a gentleman.
Those cold eyes weren’t as empty as they used to be; they had something flickering in their depths. Not rage. Not dominance. Not condescension.
Affection.
That was what I saw in his eyes—pure, undiluted affection, the kind that made my heart skip. He spoke to me like a reasonable person, not a wild beast who used to delight in my pain. Even now, his words still lingered on the fringes of my mind.
He never said it directly, but he insinuated that he cared about me more than I thought.
And that alone melted my heart like ice cream.
He was right: Men like him weren’t trained to be emotional or to be true to their feelings.
Yet, he found a way to chip it in that I wasn’t just another name he’d crossed off the long list of women he’d lured into his bed.
I might have been silly or even stupid to have felt special, but I couldn’t help feeling that way. And when my hand accidentally touched his, it stirred up something inside me, something I had bluntly refused to name. Not yet.
I felt safe and at peace that night on the balcony. There was nothing sexual between us, and the force pulling us together was proof that whatever we shared or felt was beyond physical attraction.
Despite not speaking for long that night, we were both in sync, connected on so many levels. Like when he mentioned Maria, when he said he’d handle it. Nik didn’t have to go into details to buttress his point; the confidence in his voice and the firmness of his tone were enough to convince me.
When I looked into his eyes, I saw the determination of a man willing to find Maria at all costs.
Maria wasn’t my best friend, but she was close to me. I was already on the case when she went missing; her disappearance only pushed me to work harder. I was determined to find her, bring her home, and expose the criminals behind her kidnapping.
Now Nik had taken it upon himself to finish my mission of freeing Maria. As touching as that act was, it was also quite concerning. If, for any reason, he discovered the truth about me, I’d lose everything in an instant.
The fear of Nik realizing the truth and what he’d do to me kept me awake late at night. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was on the right side of this war because if anything bad happened—if this mission went south—I was the only one who would be directly affected.
Nik wouldn’t harm the entire Bureau; he wouldn’t target Director Martha Voss. No, I was going to be the one he focused on, the one to take the fall. Was it really worth it?
Even if, by some miracle, I managed to pull this off and survive unscathed, would I be able to live with myself? What would I do with the baby in my womb?
Men like Nik had eyes and ears everywhere in the city.
So, even if he was to rot in jail, there was no guarantee that I’d still be safe.
I would have to go to bed with one eye open every night.
I’d have to be on the lookout all the time—on the streets, in the supermarket, on the bus; nowhere would ever feel safe.
Did I really want to live like that with an innocent baby? Hell no.
Maybe I should just call it quits and come clean—tell him about the NCIB’s plan to find enough dirt on him and put him away for good. However, every time I ran the scenario in my head, it never ended well. In all the possible outcomes I imagined, I was either dead or miserable.
I wasn’t sure he had it in him to forgive me if he learned the truth. These Mafia men were keen on loyalty, and the one thing they never forgave was betrayal. Nik would accuse me of being a spy—and let’s face it, he wouldn’t be wrong.
In my defense, it didn’t start out with me being a spy; he wasn’t the target, not particularly anyway. The Bureau didn’t put me in his life to spy on him. It was a sudden idea that struck me when I realized my captivity might have helped me get closer to solving the case.
If I had known things would turn out the way they did, I never would’ve considered the idea at all. I thought I was doing my job—getting rid of the bad guys and doing the world a favor. But I was focusing on the wrong man.
Nik wasn’t behind Maria’s kidnapping; his organization wasn’t involved in human trafficking. He did me a solid by buying me during that auction because, in his own twisted way, he was trying to save me from those pigs.
Right now, I couldn’t even imagine belonging to any one of them. My life would’ve been hell, but the only difference would be the fact that I wouldn’t hesitate to bring them down. I wouldn’t feel guilty about it either.
Nik, on the other hand, had been lenient with me; dare I say, he’d been kind to me. He didn’t deserve to be betrayed, especially because he was never the target in the first place. Overwhelmed by guilt, I got out of bed and buried my face in my palms.
After rubbing my tired eyes, I strode out of the room to get some fresh air outside. I needed to clear my head, and the four walls of my room were suffocating me.
As I wandered the halls tonight, I noticed something strange: The mansion was unusually quiet. At first, I didn’t think it was something worth considering, but the more I walked around the house, the more the building seemed empty. Like the Mary Celeste.
No guards, no maids. Nobody except me. Even if all the maids were asleep, what about the guards? At this point, I realized something was off. On a normal day, I wouldn’t take two steps forward without sensing their watchful eyes on me. But tonight, it was different. And not in a good way.
I stopped in my tracks when I spotted a figure standing across the hallway, shrouded in the darkness of the corner. At first glance, I thought it was one of the guards. And I was about to ask him why the whole mansion was quiet tonight.
However, something seemed off about this figure. He stood like a statue in the shadows, looking right at me.
My eyes squinted, sensing something was wrong, but I dared to call out anyway, “Hello?!”
Silence.
“Are you one of the guards? Where’s everyone else?” I asked him, already mapping out my exit plan, should this be what I thought it was.
Again, no answer.
“If this is some sick joke, it’s not funny.”
The figure stepped out of the shadows quietly, revealing their masked face and the bloodied knife in their hand.
My eyes widened in fear. “Shit.”
He matched toward me like fuckin’ Jason from that popular Hollywood horror movie. I turned around, ready to run in the opposite direction, and my reflexes kicked in immediately. I ducked, dodging a powerful blow that could’ve knocked me out within a second.
My second attacker’s hand whooshed past my face, his fist slightly grazing my forehead in the process. Before I could get a grip on myself, he swung another punch. I trapped his arm between my hands and twisted hard, snapping it like a twig with a sickening crack.
He wailed in agony.
I kicked him hard in the neck, the impact denting his head into the wall.
By now, the other figure had caught up with me and was violently swinging his blade with practiced ease.
I weaved his advances, retaliating with a straight punch to his jaw, and before he could register the pain, I rammed my knee into his ribs.
He staggered backward, groaning in agony.
With lightning speed, I knocked the knife out of his hand, caught it midair, and jabbed the blade into his thigh.
Sensing another movement behind me, I pulled the knife from the man’s flesh and threw it at the newcomer.
The blade streaked through the air, flipping multiple times before catching in my attacker’s chest.
Two more appeared out of nowhere and rushed at me at the same time. Their strengths and tactics matched mine as we fought, throwing dangerous kicks and punches. They marveled at my skills, but unlike the others, they didn’t underestimate me.
The fight was intense as I fought with everything I had just to keep my baby safe. I wasn’t thinking about myself at that moment—I didn’t matter. The baby did.
Their blows were as heavy as their kicks, but I refused to back down, refused to give in. I wondered where Nik was now that I needed him the most. However, at this point, the only thing on my mind was survival.
After a while, I successfully knocked one down with a punch so powerful it almost snapped his neck. The last man standing was a pain in my ass, and I was sure I would’ve knocked him out, too, if he hadn’t cheated.
He let me get close enough to him, only to inject a needle into my neck. The effect was almost instant; my vision became blurry, my head was heavy, and my legs felt too weak to carry my weight. My hands flew to my temples as I staggered backward, the world swirling around me.
“Nik,” I called out softly, my body thudding to the floor.
A pair of boots came toward me with heavy footsteps, the sound echoing in my head. As I lay there, struggling to stay awake, I watched my attacker tower over me. My eyes closed, and my vision worsened by the second.
“Go to sleep now,” he said, his voice a gentle echo. “You’ve fought well.”
My heartbeat slowed down drastically, my eyes shut, and the world went dark.
***
“Blair…Blair,” a soft, familiar voice called out, their hand caressing my face. “Blair, wake up.”
A faint wince fell off my lips as I finally came to, blinking a few times to clear my blurry vision.
“Blair…” the voice called again.
A girl’s face hovered above me, her red hair cascading down her shoulders like a river of blood. She looked really familiar, and her voice sounded familiar. And it wasn’t until after my vision cleared that I realized who was staring at me.
“Maria?” My brows arched.
A sound escaped her mouth, somewhere between a chuckle and a sob, as she nodded her head. I sat up immediately and pulled her into my embrace.
“Oh, my God—it’s really you.” I held her tighter.
“How did you end up here?” she sobbed, wrapping her arms around me. “This is a horrible place, Blair. You shouldn’t be here.”
I looked around, noting the horrible sight of other women in this cramped space. They seemed exhausted, malnourished, and all I saw in their eyes was despair—complete and utter despair.
My jaw locked, fury coursing through my blood as I seethed in silence.
I rose to my feet, my eyes sweeping the surroundings, searching for clues about where we might be.
The air reeked of smoke and metal, the high walls were damp with just one window, a few inches from the ceiling, where none of us could reach.
“There’s no way out of here, honey,” one of the women said to me.
“There has to be one,” I replied, trying to be optimistic.
“Trust me, there isn’t,” she said, the conviction in her tone hinting that she must’ve tried and failed.
“She’s right, Blair,” Maria chipped in, her voice laced with hopelessness. “We’re trapped.”
I thought for a moment, my spirit refusing to break. “No, we’re not. We’re gonna get out of here. I promise.”
Just then, the metal door creaked open, and a man in a white tux walked in, a cigarette perched between his lips. Two other men flanked him as he stood before me. Every other woman in the room pulled away, scared half to death by his presence.
“It’s unwise to make promises you cannot keep,” he said to me, raising his head to look at my face.
I knew that voice sounded familiar—the bastard was wearing the same tux from the night his men kidnapped me months ago. “You,” I breathed, my expression dark with fury.
“Ahh, she remembers me!” He spread out his arms and laughed.
“I never forget a face,” I answered, my scowl deepening. “Especially if it’s a monster like you.”
“I can’t say I’ve missed your wits.” He chuckled, then gestured his cigarette at my face. “But I did miss that fire in your eyes.” He stepped forward. “You know, when my men told me that Nik’s most prized item was a fighter, I never expected it to be you.”
“I’m not his item,” I growled.
He slapped his forehead. “Oh, right! My bad. You’re the mother of his unborn baby.” He laughed. “Wow! It really is a small world. What a crazy turn of events.”
“What do you want?”
He raised his brows, a glint of confusion flickering in his gaze. “With you? Or with them?” He gestured at the other women. “Because trust me, you don’t serve the same purpose.”
Silence.
He dragged on his cigarette, released a puff of smoke, and added, “You see, they’re here to work for me. You, on the other hand, are here as bait.”
“Bait?” I raised my brows. “You want to use me to lure Nik out here?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You’re wasting your time,” he said, looking straight into his eyes. “He won’t come.”
“Oh, trust me, sweetheart, he will.” A mischievous grin tugged at the corners of his lips. “I kidnapped his baby mama, endangered the life of his unborn child…. He will come.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “In the meantime, make yourself at home.”
He laughed like a movie monarchical villain and headed back out.
“I hope you’re ready for him,” I called out, my voice stopping him in his tracks. “Because if Nik is half the monster I think he is, you’re in for a big surprise.”
He glanced over his shoulder with a corny smirk. “I’m counting on that, sweetheart.”
I watched him walk out of the room, and his men closed the door behind them.
Even if I wasn’t sure before, I was now.
Nik would come for me; I could feel it in my bones.
But at the same time, I was afraid for his safety.
Whoever this man was, he seemed to want him dead, and the mere thought of that made my skin crawl.
At this point, I could only hope and pray that Nik found us on time and that he put a bullet in that bastard’s skull.