AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t have much time to think about it because his hand shoved me against the oak desk, his weight pinning me down as effectively as any chains.
“Let me go!” I spat, but he only sneered, twisting my arm behind my back in a move that screamed of practiced cruelty.
“Carmen,” he barked without taking his eyes off me, “tie her up.”
I twisted my head to see my sister, her fiery hair all the brighter against the dimness of the study. Worry lined Carmen’s face, but there was resolve too. “Be reasonable…”
“I’ll do much worse to her than slamming her around if you don’t,” he said, then turned to Liam, who was sitting there, his wide eyes glancing desperately between all of us. “And if you even so much as move a muscle, kid, I will kill you.”
“Is this necessary?” Carmen asked.
Diamond nodded, using his chin to point at some rope that he just…seemed to have there. I wondered how long he had planned this for and the very knowledge of that made my stomach twist.
“Ade, I’m sorry,” she whispered, her fingers trembling as she pulled my wrists together and wound a length of rope around them.
“Just…be careful,” I hissed through clenched teeth, trying to kick out at Diamond, but he just pressed down harder, his knee digging into my spine.
“Enough.” The word was a whip-crack from Diamond, silencing any further resistance. He turned his attention to Liam, who had been watching with the sort of horrified fascination that seemed to be his default these days.
“Callahan,” Diamond commanded, “you tie her to Adriana. Make it tight.”
Liam’s face was pale, the youthful carelessness that usually danced in his eyes snuffed out by fear. Yet, he approached, his hands more steady than Carmen’s as he bound my sister to me. Our backs pressed together, our breaths mingling, we became unwilling partners in this macabre dance orchestrated by a man neither of us knew.
“Good.” Diamond finally stepped away, circling us like a shark scenting blood. With a swift motion, he yanked Liam down to the ground and secured him with the same ruthless efficiency.
“Listen up,” he said, standing tall, his silhouette framed by the bookshelves. “If any of you tries to get out of here, I’ll kill you. Except you, Adriana.” His gaze lingered on me, a promise veiled in threat. “You, I’m not allowed to kill.”
“Who are you really working for?” I demanded, my voice laced with venom.
“Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” he asked me.
“C’mon,” I said. “Give us something.”
But Diamond only smiled, a predator baring his teeth, and backed away, leaving us in a tangle of limbs and despair, fighting against ropes that refused to give.
The room fell into a tense silence, broken only by the sound of our strained breathing. Desperation clawed at my insides, but I forced it down. I had to think. I had to be the one to get us out of here.
“Ade,” Carmen’s voice was a whisper against my ear, as if she feared even the walls had ears. “You okay?”
“Been better,” I responded dryly, just as quietly, trying to shift my weight and relieve the pressure on my wrists. “Do you know who that Diamond guy is? He seems to know his way around.”
Carmen was quiet for a moment, her breath hitching slightly as she racked her brain. “Now that you mention it,” she murmured, “I might’ve seen him around. Could be one of Dad’s enforcers, though I never knew him to go by Diamond.”
“Great,” I sighed heavily, the ropes digging into my skin as a reminder of our predicament. “Just what we needed—Dad’s own hitman babysitting us.”
“Kid,” Carmen’s voice held a hint of steel, “you can’t blame yourself for this mess. Tristan...he’s got his own demons with Dad. He would’ve been in Silvio Orsini’s crosshairs with or without you.”
I let out a long breath, her words landing like punches in my gut. She was right, of course. Tristan and I were tangled in a web far larger than just the two of us—a web woven with threads of power, deceit, and family bloodlines that demanded loyalty above all else.
Once Malachy Callahan died, of course my dad would have tried to kill his heir apparent. That just made sense.
“Doesn’t make it any easier,” I confessed, the truth bitter on my tongue. “If anything happens to him because of me—“
“Stop,” Carmen interrupted firmly despite the volume, the fight in her voice grounding me. “We’re going to get out of this, and we’ll figure it out together. But first, we need to get these damn ropes off.”
“Wait,” I said. “What about Dad? What else do you know? What does this have to do with the financials?”
Now that she was literally tied to me, I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to make sure she didn’t weasel out of it.
