We’d go on boring dates, have mediocre sex, break up, get back together—over and over again.
And then again.
And again.
But our last encounter finally crushed me—I couldn’t get my dick hard for her. It just wouldn’t fucking work anymore. I feltnothing,as if there was no life energy left inside me.
I’d lie awake at night and wonder if this was the end for me because what kind of man can’t get hard for a knockout like Gianna?
But she was ugly inside. Cruel, shrewd, and dangerous.
Kind of like Xavier.
Jade took a seat on an armchair while Andrei paced the living room, both of them equally dejected.
“What? What’s with the long faces? We go in and get her.” I looked from Jade to Andrei, confused at his reaction. “We find out where she is and we just take her back.”
But instead of either of them responding, there was silence, like they didn’t even hear me, so I repeated my question, like a broken record. “What? What’s the problem?”
“We can’t do that.” Andrei finally looked my way. “We have no clue where he has her. She’sverypregnant. One wrong move and it all goes to shit.”
I locked my gaze with his, all of me heating up at his words. Was it fucking getting hotter in the house?
“Are you proposing we go through with his demand?”
“No—”
“Yes.” A woman’s angelic voice interrupted Andrei, and we both turned toward Jade, who sat with her shoulders pulled up and a crimson blush on her sweet cheeks.
I thought I heard wrong. I waited for her to shake her head, deny it, dosomething,but she just sat there, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. “We have to do it. I have to go back.”
“What?” I whispered, frozen in place.
“She’s probably with him, but that doesn’t matter because we all know that we’re not storming his house or whatever.” Jadewaved her hand, looking straight ahead. “We can’t play with Olga’s life like that and…” Jade paused and it began to dawn on me that she was serious. “He’ll involve my father somehow. If he hasn’t already. And that exposes both of you to imminent arrest.”
I had no idea this house had a clock, but something ticked in the background. Like a bomb.
I shuffled closer to Jade, refusing to accept her words. "Baby..." She was right here, right in front of me, and I had absolutely no plans of letting her goanywhere. "No way. There’s no way you're going back, okay?" I did my best to stay calm under the circumstances. "I won'tletyou go back. We just kill Xavier and then we’re done.”
Jade nodded slowly, her tears intensifying. She gazed up at me, such sadness in her eyes. “You can’t kill Xavier. You know that. This is too volatile a situation right now.”
My heart sank into my heels. What were these words?
"Jade. Listen to me.” I crouched down in front of her, the look in her eyes obliterating my entire heart. “This—this is just Xavier fucking Knox!” I laughed, barely able to keep it together. “We can get it done in under an hour. Fuck, I'll call whoever I need! We get Olga, Xavier goes, and all this gets resolved!"
Why weren’t either of them on board with my plan?!
"And what if something goes wrong? What if Olga accidentally gets hurt? She's eight months pregnant, Alex." Jade was trying to convince me to change my mind, but that was just ludicrous!
"She won't!" I blurted out forcefully. "We won't let anything like that happen!"
True fear coursed through me at the possibility of letting Jade leave my side.
"Andrei, get Roman's guys, fuck, anyone and everyone! We go in, get her, and that’sit!And then you and I will leave! Therehas to be a way to circumvent this,come on!We can’t follow that cocksucker's demands!”
Andrei paced somewhere behind me, sniffling loudly. This was like a car crash, but in slow motion, where each limb was being torn off my body slowly and meticulously.
"And what if she's not where he is?” Jade asked. “What if he has her somewhere else? What if you kill him and then we never find her? What if it's a trap?"
