Page 69 of Romi
My hands shook, and my stomach churned, and I questioned the wisdom of eating that big breakfast after all. With the guard taken care of, getting out of the house itself was easy enough, but I wasn’t sure my luck would hold out, so I quickly headed through the tunnel towards the secret back entrance.
The plan was for me to head to a coffee shop in the local village, where a taxi would collect me and take me to the airport.
I crept through the tunnel, sticking close to the wall. There were cameras throughout, but I knew where they were and how to avoid them. Sometimes, it paid to help Marko with stuff. You learned a lot of useful information. Feeling more at ease with every step closer to the exit, I grinned.
I’d soon reach the lane that ran behind our property, which went directly to the main road. From there, it was only a short walk to the village. The taxi should arrive a few minutes after I did, and then I’d be off to the airport without any of my brothers being the wiser.
A noise behind me startled me. It sounded like someone was coming, although the person was still quite a distance away. I should have known it wouldn’t be this easy; I chided myself as I took off at a run.
As I burst out of the tunnel, I ran straight into a wall of muscle. I stumbled back and looked up to see Ivor standing in front of me. He looked as shocked as I was at first, but he recovered quickly.
“Well, it’s my lucky day—just the very person I was hoping to find!” he said, grinning at me. It was not the friendly, flirtatious grin he usually gave me; this one was far more sinister.
The hairs at the back of my neck stood up, and I gulped as I instinctively knew I was in danger as he reached for me. This wasn’t good. Pushing my bag into his chest to put some space between us, I turned and ran back inside the tunnel, hoping that whoever was coming could help. Before I got more than a few steps, Ivor grabbed me from behind. One hand snaked around my waist and pulled me roughly back against him as the other slammed over my mouth, cutting off my scream.
He hauled me along as he backed up while I kicked at him and tried my best to bite his hand. Succeeding to nip his fingers, he turned me quickly and swung his fist in my face. My head jerked back under the force, and pain exploded in my jaw as my body crumpled and everything went black.
CHAPTER 35
ROMI
FIVE DAYS LATER - BEING SENT AWAY
Five days later, I was still being held at the safe house where they’d brought me after the beating. Two of our men guarded me at all times to ensure I couldn’t leave.
They were the only two here, and they’d been sworn to secrecy. None of the other men knew what was going on. My absence had been explained away. Apparently, the story was that I had returned to Russia on some family business. At least they hadn’t been made privy to my current state of disgrace.
The two guys who were here weren’t allowed to interact with me, so apart from one of them entering in order to give me meals and my pain meds, nobody had come in or out of my room for the last two days.
Although I was healing well, I was bored out of my mind and bloody sick of being stuck here, separated from the woman I loved. I huffed out an exasperated breath.
Unable to do anything else, I thought through my various options for escape.
Eventually, the door opened, and Luca, Anton and Marko entered.
I remained seated and watched them approach.
“Romi, what the hell were you thinking?” Anton asked, shaking his head at me.
“I love her!” I said, lifting my chin in a gesture of defiance.
“You should have talked to us!” Luca said, sounding exasperated.
Just like last time, Marko didn’t say a word to me.
“I’d planned to, but then Miki made that bloody stupid arrangement with Glowacki, and we didn’t know what to do. We’d hoped to find an alternative, get the wedding called off and then tell everyone,” I told them wearily.
Marko continued to say nothing and simply looked at me, an unfriendly look on his face.
“How long has this been going on?” Luca finally asked.
So, I told them, pouring everything out, relieved to finally be able to talk about it. I explained how I loved Sonia but had desperately tried to fight my feelings. However, once I realised that she loved me too, I couldn’t deny them any longer.
As I talked, they listened, and by the end, Luca and Anton even looked sympathetic. It was a better reaction than I’d hoped for.
“By going behind his back, you’ve not only betrayed Miki, but you’ve put Miki in a bad position. Glowacki needs to strengthen his alliance with us because he has had so many traitors over the last few years, and now he needs to not only solidify his position but also recruit new soldiers. That will all take time, and the backing of the Bratva is essential to him right now. Miki needs Glowacki because we have unknown enemies working behind the scenes, and until they are routed out, we need as much support and backup as we can get,” Marko said, finally breaking his silence.
“Miki can’t be seen as weak, and he can’t be seen to let you or anyone else away with going up against him without punishing you,” Luca added.