"You can do your worst… but you're not leaving this place, babygirl," Adrian said, his voice calm, steady, and terrifyingly final.
Raya stared at him for a long second, the knife still pressed against her trembling throat. Her eyes searched his face desperately, looking for even the smallest flicker of fear, love, or hesitation.
Then she laughed.
Hysterically.
A broken, empty, haunting sound that tore from her chest and echoed through the grand living room like shattered glass. It wasn't joy. It was pain given voice, raw, manic, and heartbreaking. Tears streamed down her face even as the laughter continued, her shoulders shaking violently.
She had bet everything on how much Adrian cared for her. On how much she meant to him. On the connection they had built in the shadows of his dangerous world.
But now…
It felt like he would rather watch her bleed out right in front of him than let her walk away.
Her laughter hadn't even begun to fade when...
