Chapter 5

• ROMANO
• "It was all a mistake; just give me one more chance, please, I'm begging you!"
• My gaze narrows at the man kneeling before me; the dim lighting of the warehouse casts eerie shadows on the walls as I toss my nearly finished cigarette to the debris-filled floor, crushing it with my boot.
• "You fucking call feeding our information to the enemy a mistake?" My finger grazes the trigger of my gun as I straighten up from the chair, causing the traitor to tremble, his eyes darting wildly around the room, a wet pool forming around the space beneath him.
• The bastard has pissed on himself. I sneer down at him in disgust, such a coward, yet he has the guts to betray me.
• "Please, b_boss, I'm sorry I made a mistake; remember how long I've served you; I badly needed the money!" He begs, wailing loudly like a fucking bitch that just makes me want to scatter bullets into his lying mouth.
• My uncle has always told me that loyalty, once lost, can never be regained; in the underworld, there are no second chances.
• A bad dog will always bite its owner.
• I'm still pissed that this mother fucker's actions have cost me a lot of loss, and he fucking has the nerve to beg to be spared.
• My cold eyes meet his frantic pleading ones even as I aim the nozzle of my gun against his temples, "You owe me a debt that will be paid in blood,"
• "Please, my wife is p_pregnant; she is in the hospital right now, putting to birth. Can I at least call her just once before you kill me? I'm begging you,"
• I stare at his pathetic, beaten-up form, I do not feel the littlest twinge of pity for him, yet my finger halts instantly on their own accord.
• Pregnant.
• The word knocks the breath from my lungs, and my chest suddenly feels too tight, as though a heavy fist is wringing the life from it.
• My gaze catches onto something just a few feet away from the bastard, It is some photograph of him and a young woman with an overgrown belly,
• I stare back at the traitor, it looks like he has brought out the picture to stare at it for the final time.
• Suddenly, I'm reminded of her.
• Jasmine.
• She's fucking pregnant too, and although I'm certain that she has done it on purpose to try to manipulate me, I still don't know how to deal with her.
• The image of her wide eyes tearing up as she begged me not to kill her child . . . Our child flashes through my mind; she had looked so innocent that it almost got me believing that the pregnancy may have been an accident.
• Almost.
• I know better than to trust any word that comes out from her deceitful, lying lips; she is every bit as cunning as she is beautiful.
• Am I going to abort my own child because I hate its mother? Thinking about erasing the life before it even gets an opportunity to breathe its first air feels like a hard punch in my guts.
• The child is innocent regardless of Jasmine's crimes.
• Fuck!
• "Boss, is there a problem?" Niko's voice snaps me back to the present.
• A problem?
• Yes.
• There fucking is!
• As I stare at the pregnant woman in the picture, I come to the conclusion that I'm going to keep my child; I can punish Jasmine for her trickery after the child is born.
• Niko, my right-hand man, notices my hesitation to kill the son of a bitch who betrayed me and surprise flashes in his eyes.
• Hell, I'm shocking myself too.
• "Get out!" I clench out, waving the betrayer off with my gun.
• The bastard gives me a confused look, staring up at me speechlessly with a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
• "You don't want to?" I growl, annoyance pouring into my heart when I see the tears of relief flooding his eyes.
• "Thank you so much, I'll never forget this..."
• "Just fuck off before I change my mind about and kill you. . . And you better not let me ever see you again, I won't be so merciful,"
• The last thing I need is his gratefulness; if it weren't for the conflicted emotions twisting up my insides, I wouldn't think twice before having to blow up his dickhead.
• He doesn't waste any time before running off through the door as weakly as his legs could carry him.
• I ignore the surprised look some of my men cast in my direction, knowing that none of them will dare to question my authority.
• Fuck, I need a smoke, but most importantly, a change of clothes.
• I stare at my bloodstained hands and shirt with a grimace, all the more reason why I should have killed that bastard for getting my hands dirty. If I don’t change, it might scare that pregnant woman... Damn it, I just startled myself with my own thoughts again.
• "Boss, a call came from home," Niko suddenly says from behind me, his grave expression instantly grasping my attention.
• "It's Madam, she left the house,"
• Again?
• Anger and disbelief rush through my blood, waxing them hot.
• When will that bitch ever learn?
• "What do you fucking mean by she left?!" I growl in a low dangerous tone,
• "The CCTV showed her leaving the gates... I've already ordered our men to search for her, but they are yet to find out her location"
• "How long ago?"
• "About thirty minutes sir"
• Hot, bubbling rage and a wave of uneasiness flood through my chest, and I want to crush something, preferably her delicate neck.
• Will she not stop leaving the house without my permission unless I cripple her legs?
• I have enemies.
• A lot of them out there that will want to use my wife against me, and if she falls into their hands because of her stupid actions. . . I'm fucking going to kill her.
• I hastily grabbed my suit that I had tossed aside, quickly threw it on, and snatched the keys from my assistant before speeding off toward home. I couldn’t wait for my incompetent subordinates to drive; I had to get that woman back as quickly as possible. Otherwise, her fate would be unimaginable. My enemies wouldn’t care whether there was an innocent child in her womb. To them, everything related to me deserved to die.
• I storm into the house, still overwhelmed by fury, there is no news of her yet.
• "Sir..."
• The housekeeper sobs at my deadly glare, my irritated gaze shifts to her young daughter and the rest of the guards I had left behind to watch over Jasmine.
• A whole bunch of useless creatures! How hard can it be to look after one small woman?
• "Sir, a fire suddenly started; we went to put it out, and that was when she left. We reported as soon as we noticed that she was missing. . . " One of the guards starts to explain and then cowers at my burning glare.
• My jaw tickles as I inhale raggedly and unevenly, I feel like murdering all of them.
• It's been two fucking hours and no one is fucking giving me an explanation about Jasmine's whereabouts.
• Every second that ticks past sparkles my heart with a stronger wave of anxiety.
• I pace like a restless predator thinking that not only has she put herself in danger, but my child as well.
• My cell phone vibrates and I quickly answer it, but not even one of all the incoming calls is the one I am waiting for.
• "Boss, we received news that she was last seen entering a train station. . ."
• Fuck!
• I smash the phone hard against the wall, causing it to shatter into several pieces.
• Can it be that . . . ?
• I hold the thought even as it starts to form.
• She wouldn't dare!
• I storm upstairs to our bedroom, the cool air and her familiar scent greeting my nostrils. The emptiness prickles my heart with further suspicion, and my keen eyes instantly land on the drawer to see the small item glittering back at me.
• I rush inside like a maniac, my brain splintering out of control.
• Her wedding ring.
• I yank the wardrobe open violently; it's empty, just like I expected.
• "Fuck!" The curse growls straight from my chest as the realization hits me hard.
• She simply didn't leave.
• It's a fucking escape.
• A red haze of anger submerges me and clouds my vision, venom wraps itself like a dark pit inside of my heart.
• Then, I laugh in disbelief, the deep sound vibrating from my chest into the whole bedroom as the men outside watch me uncomfortably as though I have gone insane.
• That soft gaze of hers has always possessed a flicker of defiance, but I have never actually thought that she would be foolish enough to act on it.
• Does she think she can escape me?
• I'm the one who owns the streets, who controls the shadows; she will never be free from me unless I allow it!
• "How long do you think you will be able to hide from me, little wife? Just don't let me find you!"