Page 61 of Forbidden Empire

I knew that.

Instead, her men had tied me up, wrists burning, and dumped me in this tiny room. Claustrophobic, yeah, but also…lavish in a strange way.

Like a hotel suite shrunk to the size of a jail cell, and all I could do was wait, breathing through shallow breaths and every muscle aching from the ropes.

For what, though? That was the question.

Why was she keeping me alive? What was Rhea planning?

I let my head fall back, chest heaving, sweat sticking my shirt to my back.

The monitors in front of me flickered with restless, shifting images.

I recognized them now. They were live surveillance feeds of Rhea’s casinos, her resorts, and a handful of dull, gray warehouses scattered across the city.

Her whole empire, mapped out in grainy color, just for me.

I was trapped in the heart of everything she owned, and there was nothing I could do but watch and wait.

She was a fucking force in Vegas.

Over the last few years, she’d scooped up property after property, carving out her territory like a wolf starved and seeing prey.

If she weren’t such a ruthless bitch, I might’ve respected her for it.

However, I couldn’t be impressed.

Not by her.

Not when I knew just how far she’d gone to claw her way to the top, how many people she’d stepped on, crushed, ruined.

Rhea was dirty. She was sly. And nothing but cold, hard ice pumped through her veins.

Everyone knew it, too. If you crossed her, your days were numbered. She wasn’t just playing the game. She hunted. She was a fucking predator who had no problems cheating.

And as my luck had it, I was the latest prey trapped in her net.

The question wasn’t if, but how long she’d toyed with me before tearing me apart, piece by piece.

My time was running out, and if I was going to survive whatever she had planned for me, I needed to keep my focus razor-sharp, attuned to every minute detail.

For what felt like the hundredth time, I scanned the small room, memorizing every nook, cranny, and object.

If I somehow managed to get free, I’d need every scrap of an advantage I could find.

My gaze caught on the doorknob. Locked from the outside. Once these ropes were dealt with, my next move would be straight for that door.

I wasn’t leaving my fate up to her. I was getting the fuck out, no matter what it took.

Every lock had a key. I’d find mine.

That was when it clicked. My heart stuttered in my chest, eyes wide as the door swung open.

Rhea strutted in like the queen of the universe, all attitude and malice.

Her hair was wild, a tangle of ginger curls that made her look like some modern Medusa.

She grinned, but it was the kind of grin that never touched her eyes. Those eyes, by the way, were bright blue and mean as hell.