Page 126 of Crushed Vow

His boots hit the floor with heavy, deliberate steps as he entered, his presence suffocating.

“You wouldn’t have made it home without me,” he said. Each word vibrated with restrained violence.

I blinked. “What?”

“Manuel works for Luca.”

The blood drained from my face. My knees gave out, and I dropped onto the couch.

“What?” I whispered again, barely able to form the word.

Cassian didn’t sit beside me. He dropped into the chair across from me like a loaded weapon.

“The plan was simple,” he said. “He was meant to drive you straight to a warehouse outside the city. Luca was waiting. No cameras. No witnesses. No body.”

His tone cracked like a whip.

“This time, Luca wouldn’t make the mistake of getting caught. Not after the deal I forced him into. He can’t touch you directly—not anymore. But that doesn’t stop him from using men like Manuel. Doctors. Drivers. Ghosts.”

My mind raced—back to the dinner, to the flat tires, to the sudden detour.

“You’re lying.”

He leaned forward slowly.

“One of my men went to his house,” he said, voice graveled with hatred. “He made his daughter call him. He told her to say she couldn’t find her inhaler. That she couldn’t breathe. That’s why he stopped by. That’s the only reason you’re still here.”

A hollow silence stretched between us.

Everything fell into place.

The detour. The way he touched the wheel too tightly. The fake calm in his voice.

“You... you did that?” I choked, pressing shaking hands to my face. “You used his daughter?”

“I used what I had,” Cassian growled. “You think I’d let them take you again? You think I’d gamble with your life?”

My stomach twisted.

Then his voice dropped lower. “Didn’t I tell you not to go out without telling me?”

“I’m not your prisoner,” I snapped, defiance cracking through my fear like a whip. “I go where I want, when I want. Whether I tell you or not is my decision.”

He moved closer.

“You could’ve been kidnapped—or worse, killed. Do you even understand that? I risked everything for you. Everything. And still, you walked straight into a trap.”

His fists clenched.

“After everything we’ve been through, you still won’t listen to me.”

He faltered.

“Why?”

His voice frayed on the last word, like something in him was breaking.

“Because I don’t belong to you,” I bit out, even though my pulse was skittering like a trapped bird.