Page 25

I winced at the aches that plagued my body as my eyes flickered, struggling to lift before finally opening. Groggily, I took in the surroundings—a dimly lit room with figures dancing in the shadows. My vision was still hazy, and the world around me remained blurry, like a camera lens struggling to focus.

My head felt heavy, as if weighed down by an invisible anchor. A wave of dizziness washed over me as my foggy mind tried to remember where I was or how I got there.

I blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the fog from my vision. The sound of heels clicking against the floor echoed in my head as a figure approached me.

“Wakey wakey,” the familiar feminine voice, soft and smooth, snapped me out of my swirling thoughts.

In an instant, memories of how Bella had come to my place and drugged me all came rushing back all at once. My vision cleared at the sound of her voice, and I jerked in fear. The sudden movement made me realize that I was bound to a chair, my wrists zip-tied to the armrest.

“You…” I said, staring at her with a hint of shock and betrayal, my voice faint and weak.

“Yes…me,” Bella said, lowering her upper body, her hands on her knees. Her lips curled into a deadly scowl, and a menacing frown settled on her face. It was almost like the woman staring into my eyes wasn’t the same friend I’d come to know.

I shook my head, my eyes squinting in confusion. “I don’t understand,” I stuttered, my pulse quickening. “What’s going on, Bella?” My lips trembled as I looked into those cold eyes of hers, devoid of remorse.

I honestly couldn’t recognize her, and the weight of her betrayal was starting to crush my soul. I hadn’t known her for long, but I’d really thought we bonded.

Bella’s hand reached out, and she caressed my hair, her evil smirk retained. “Oh, Clarice…poor, innocent, and naive Clarice Evelyn.” She clicked her tongue rapidly, her voice tinged with mockery. Bella wore a plastic sad face, a mocking gesture that broke my heart. “Did you really think that I was your friend? God! You’re even more naive than I thought.” She threw her hand up, staring at me with disgust in her gaze.

Her words pierced my heart like a knife, charging up my tear glands.

Bella straightened, her heels clicking on the concrete as she slowly circled me, her low, mocking laugh shattering my soul. “How’s my acting? Pretty impressive, eh?”

“Why?” The question jumped out of my mouth as tears streamed down my cheeks. “What did I ever do to you?”

“Oh, honey, trust me, this isn’t about you,” she replied, finally facing me once again. Bella looked right at me and said, “You’re just a means to an end, a pawn in this little game of mine.”

I’d never been more confused in my whole life, and it was as though my brain had completely shut down. I was unable to put two and two together, unable to think straight or figure out what she was driving at.

“I…I…I thought you were my friend. I trusted you, and this entire time, you’ve just been—what? Pretending?” The words burst out of me in a stutter, my voice tinged with hurt and pain.

“Trust is for the weak, Clarice,” she muttered, her tone low and unapologetic. “Don’t take it personally, but you’re just bait. The big fish will be here soon.”

I paused for a moment, trying to process her words. My eyes roamed the dimly lit room, taking in the sight of the heavily built men armed to the teeth. Those figures looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator —ruthless and dangerous.

If I were bait, as she said, it would only mean that whoever the big fish was had to be someone equally ruthless and dangerous. Why else would she have all these men here?

Using me as bait would insinuate that her target would care enough to want to come for me. However, her assumption was silly because there was no one in my life that fit that description.

Hold on a minute.

My eyebrows shot up in shock and surprise as one name popped into my head. “Wait a second. Are you talking about Raziel Tarasov?”

A faint grin twisted at the corners of her lips. “Atta girl. Now, you’re catching up.”

My heart stopped for a moment as a series of thoughts flooded my mind. A myriad of unanswered questions overlapped in my head, and a veil of bewilderment settled on my face.

Why would she think that he would come for me? Yes, we had sex a couple of times, but that didn’t mean that he cared enough to endanger his life. Or did it?

What the fuck had I gotten myself into?

“Bella,” I began, my voice calm and cautious. “I think you’ve made a big mistake.”

Her brows rose in astonishment. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” I replied, staring right into her eyes. “Look, I know you think kidnapping me would somehow lure Raziel here—but you’re wrong. It won’t. He doesn’t care about me that much.”

She bent over, her face mirroring mine as she looked into my eyes like she was searching for something. “Are you really that na?ve, or are you just lying to yourself so you won’t have to live with the guilt of being associated with a psychopath?”

Good question.

“Honey, I orchestrated this whole thing from the beginning. Trust me when I say Raziel will come for you.” Bella straightened, her hand withdrawing a gun from the back of her pants. “And when he does… bang .” The slight pause came when she mimicked the sound of a gunshot with the barrel pointed at me.

I hesitated, contemplating whether to ask the question ringing in my mind.

“Go ahead.” She flashed me a smirk. “Ask away. I know you want to.”

My throat wobbled as I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. “What did he do to you? Why do I see so much hatred in your eyes?”

Her jaw tightened, and her scowl deepened. “You’re his shrink, aren't you?” she asked. Almost immediately, she added, “Before you fucked him and asked to be laid off, the case, of course.”

She knew too much, and that was treacherously alarming. This meant that she’d been watching me, following me, and studying me like a book. Bella had indeed orchestrated this whole “friendship.” Nothing had happened by accident; it was all part of her grand scheme to get close to me.

The feeling of being used caused my expression to darken, a glint of anger swelling within me. “Who are you?” I demanded with a low, husky growl.

“My name is Bella. Bella Barlow,” she replied, watching me closely. “Does that name ring a bell?”

It did.

The DA’s office forced Raziel to attend therapy sessions after he unleashed his fury on a man named Damon Barlow. Judging by Bella's age bracket—late twenties or early thirties—she definitely wasn’t his daughter. Perhaps his sister.

“Your client-turned-lover battered my brother’s face and landed him in a fucking hospital,” she growled, her tone dripping with venom. “And what did the authorities do? They sent him to a therapist…to learn how to manage his anger issues. How do you call that a punishment?” She snickered, glaring at me.

“Maybe it isn’t,” I said, my voice calm and collected. “But this isn’t the right way to go about it either.”

“I know you’re pained because I pretended to be your friend, but this isn’t about you,” she said, taking a couple of steps closer. “I have it all planned out.” She paused, her eyes never leaving mine. “I know Raziel has anger issues, and that’s why I invited you to the yacht party and set you up with Greg.” Bella began encircling me again. “The plan was for Raziel to see you with another man and lose his temper. He was supposed to unleash his fury and beat Greg half to death in front of all those people.”

I listened to her, goosebumps crawling all over my skin as I wondered how she could be so cruel, coming up with such a plan.

“But then you had to intervene and drag Raziel away from the scene.” She stopped and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You know, thinking about it now, I realize this is actually your fault. If you had let things play out the way I planned them, Raziel would have been in deep trouble as we speak, and we wouldn’t be here right now.”

She was right. If Raziel had lost his temper that day and bounced on Greg the way he did to Damon Barlow, the court would’ve been left with no choice but to pick up a case against him. By interfering, I had unintentionally ruined her revenge plan.

“Because of you, Clarice, I had to switch to plan B,” she said, her expression softening ever so slightly. “And believe it or not, I didn’t want to come to this. You might be na?ve, but you’re not all that bad.”

“You’re making a mistake, Bella,” I said, staring right into her eyes. “Raziel isn’t someone you wanna mess with.”

“Honey, I’m not afraid of him,” she said, her voice laced with arrogance.

“You should be,” I said, my tone sharp and stern, unapologetic.

“Excuse me?” Her face contorted into a deeper frown.

“Bella, do you know why Raziel landed your brother in a hospital?” I asked, relaxing in the chair that held me captive, my eyes pinned on her.

“Because he’s a psychopath,” she stated, disdain and venom creeping into her tone.

“He is,” I said, my posture exuding confidence and composure. “He is the psychopath that beat a man almost twice his size half to death with his bare hands,” I explained, watching the glint of fear dancing in her eyes. “I was there that night, Bella. I witnessed the whole thing, and I saw the devil with my own two eyes. I watched him take down your brother with a single blow; I watched his demons find expression in his fury—the same fury that landed him in a hospital.”

She seethed in silence, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

I continued, “That’s the psychopath that you’re messing with.” I held her gaze, feeling my fear dissipate into thin air. “Piece of advice as his shrink: Run, Bella. Run. Run as fast as your legs can carry you.” My words were spoken with a deliberate slowness that only fueled her fear.

She tightened her jaw, trying to mask her terror, but I could see right through her. She was afraid.

“If Raziel is half the man I think he is, and he cares about me as you say he does, then you don’t wanna be here when he comes for me. And trust me…he will come,” I added, a faint, self-satisfied grin twitching on my lips.

“Let him come. I’m counting on that,” she said, trying to sound brave and unfazed by my words.

“Are you?” I asked, my smirk broadening. “Raziel will kill every last one of your men. He will break you in ways you can’t possibly imagine.” I paused, my confidence growing by the second. “Last chance, Bella. Run.”

I was bluffing to save my own skin, unsure of anything I said. But the moment I realized that my words were starting to get to her, I decided to use them to my advantage. Bella’s fear was evident, even though she concealed it with a frown.

She looked at me and smiled. “Nice try, Clarice. You almost had me. But I know a bluff when I hear one.” Her voice dropped to a sinister growl on the last statement.

Refusing to break character, I replied, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Suddenly, the dim lights flickered and died down, plunging the room into a shallow darkness. The moonlight filtered through the window behind me, its soft, ethereal glow draping over the room. At first, no one said anything, and the space was as silent as a graveyard.

I caught Bella’s eyes lingering on me, her grip tightening around her gun.

“What’s going on?” she asked one of the men, her attention shifting.

Before I could respond, muffled gunfire erupted from outside, striking terror into the hearts of my kidnapper. Bella fumbled for her flashlight, and her men readied their weapons, training them on the front door.

The gunfire continued, accompanied by the anguished sounds of wailing men.

“He’s here,” one of my captors muttered under his breath, his voice trembling slightly.

Raziel.

He’d come for me.

I felt my heart gladden at this realization, and a small smile played on my lips. A wave of confidence overshadowed me, prompting a light chuckle from my mouth. “Ah, you’re so fucked now.”

“Shut up,” Bella hissed, but her voice wobbled.

“You should’ve listened to me. You should’ve run when I asked you to,” I added, smirking, entertained by her sudden terror.

“I said shut the hell up !” she snapped, her voice rising in frustration.

The screams continued, and the sounds of rapid gunshots drew nearer by the second.

Raziel was coming, and nothing was going to stand in his way. They pissed off the devil; they kidnapped the woman he called his own. Now, he’d come to get her back, and he brought fucking hellfire with him.

Soon, all the sounds stopped—no shouts, no gunshots. Nothing but absolute silence.

Bella’s men exchanged nervous glances, their hands tightening around the weapons held up in front of them. Their fingers were ready to squeeze against the trigger at any given time as determination etched their faces.

Bella went behind me and placed the barrel of her gun against my temple, her hand shuddering subtly. She must have thought that having me at gunpoint was her one-way ticket out of there. But was it?

I should be scared. This woman had a loaded gun to my head, but my faith in Raziel’s ability to save me cast out all my fears. How was that even possible?

“Get ready. He’ll be here any minute,” Bella instructed her men, her tone hushed and stern. “Once that door opens, I want you to open fire, got it?”

They nodded in affirmation, guns aimed at the door. “Let’s kill this motherfucker,” one of them muttered, his voice dripping with venom.

The air was thick with tension as all our attention was directed toward the front door, anticipating an invasion. Outside the door, something approached, its slow and steady beat a harbinger of doom.

A sense of dread crept over the scene as approaching footsteps echoed through the silence outside. The figure’s pace was a cold and calculated threat that prompted an unsettling stillness, as if the very atmosphere was holding its breath in anticipation.

The confident clicking of footsteps drew nearer, thickening the tension in the room before stopping right outside the door.

“He’s here,” one of the men whispered, his hand trembling.

“Well, what’re you waiting for? Shoot him down!” Bella ordered.

My heart skipped in fear, and my eyes widened. “No!”

Bella’s men opened fire, their large arms vibrating as bullets pelted toward the front door, boring holes into it. They didn’t stop until their guns clicked empty.

I didn’t realize it when a lone tear streamed down my cheek, my heart aching. There was no way he was going to survive that if he was truly outside that door.

The men looked at one another, slowly lowering their empty guns.

“You.” Bella pointed at one of them. “Go check it out.”

He nodded, and with his gun held up in front of him, he took cautious steps toward the door while the others watched.

My breath lodged in my throat, my chest rising and falling as I prayed for some sort of miracle.

Dear God, please let him be alive.

I fixed my eyes at the entrance, and I heard the door creak as the man slowly pushed it open.

He flashed his torch across the hallway, but there was no one outside—not a single soul. “What the hell?” he mumbled, turning around to face the others, his back against the entrance. Where’d he go?”

My heart paused for a moment, and a faint, almost undetectable grin played on my lips as I spotted a figure rise behind him.

Before the men around could make any move, a knife slit the man’s throat from the back. His eyes widened, hands flying to his neck as blood gushed out, trickling through his fingers.

“Fuck!” one of the men cursed out loud, unsheathing a dagger.

Instantly, the figure, with inhuman speed, burst into the room with a blur of motion that left my captors stunned and reeled. He was so fast that they didn’t see who or what they were fighting against.

The atmosphere was filled with the sickening sounds of tearing flesh and cracking bones as these men screamed, their wails echoing through the room.

I watched in horror, my swirling mind struggling to comprehend the carnage unfolding right in front of me.

It was him. It was Raziel. I could smell his cologne.

With each passing second, limp bodies fell on the floor, torn and broken. Raziel’s deadly precision was remarkable, fearsome, as he took down his enemies in a matter of seconds with his bare hands and a dagger.

As suddenly as it began, the chaos ceased, and the room fell silent except for the sound of Bella’s jagged breaths.

I could smell her terror and feel her trembling body.

The lights came back on, revealing a black hooded figure looming in front of us. He held a dagger dripping with blood, his knuckles covered in the same.

Bella, who’d been standing behind me this entire time, wrapped her arm around my neck as if to choke me. “Stay back!” She pointed her pistol at the figure and then shifted her aim back to my temple. “I swear to God, I’ll fucking shoot her brains out!” Bella yelled, her frustration and fear crystal clear.

The figure slowly took off their hoodie and raised their head. Raziel's gaze met mine, and I felt my heart melt. My lips curled into a smile, even in the face of danger.

Raziel’s men burst into the room, armed to the teeth with their fiery looks cast on Bella.

“It’s over, Bella Barlow,” Raziel said, his voice thick and scary as hell. “Lower your weapon.”

She hesitated, her hand around my neck trembling as did the gun against my temple. “No,” Bella declared, her tone stern and firm. “I’m getting out of here, and she’s my way out. I know you live by a code. You can’t harm women, so you’re not gonna shoot me.” A hint of conviction crept into her tone.

Maybe she was right. Maybe Raziel and his men couldn’t harm her, but who said that I couldn’t?

Raziel looked at me while Bella blabbed about her immunity as a woman. He didn’t say a word, but his silence spoke volumes; it was almost like we were in sync for a second. In a weird way, I felt like I knew exactly what he wanted me to do, and as he nodded at me, I swung into action.

Bella’s face was directed behind me, and although my hands and feet were bound, it didn’t stop me from using my head. I gathered momentum, and within seconds, I swung my head backward with a sudden and powerful move.

My hind head connected with her nose, and a painful gasp came forth. The impact was so strong it disoriented her for a moment, causing her to stumble backward.

One of Raziel’s men bolted toward and snatched her weapon while two others rushed to hold her down.

Raziel sprinted up to me, and with a swift move, his dagger cut through the zip-ties that had me bound. Once free, I sprang to my feet and threw my arms around his neck, my heart swelling with emotions.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low and husky, his palm smoothing my hair backward.

“I am now,” I responded with the same tone.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered, his arms around me tightening.

I pulled my head back and stared into his eyes, my heartbeat steadying by the minute. “I didn’t think you were gonna come for me. I didn’t think you cared enough,” I muttered softly, placing a palm on his cheek.

“You were wrong,” he said with a sweet and smooth tone. “I do care.”

“Yeah. You proved it already.” I chuckled, staring into his eyes.

“And I’ll prove it over and over again,” he said, framing my face in his hands. “I meant it when I said that you’re mine, Clarice. It may sound possessive, but it’s true.” He paused, holding my gaze. “Perhaps I’m more obsessed with you than I thought.”

My lips curled into a smile, and I confessed my feelings as well. “I guess that makes the two of us because, honestly, I can’t stop thinking about you.”

He mirrored my expression and said gently, his breath warm against my skin, “I don’t want you to.”

My expression softened, and my eyes crinkled at the corners. “I don’t want to either.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulled me closer, and planted a slow, passionate kiss on my lips.

With my arms around his neck, I kissed him back, my head tilting to the rhythm of his. Confessing each other’s feelings somehow lifted a burden off of me, and I felt as light as a feather.

I owed this to Bella. Regardless of her twisted game, she was the reason behind this happy union. I heard her cursing and making a noise as she was being dragged away, but none of that mattered to me at the moment. As Raz and I kissed, the world around us seemed to melt away, leaving just the two of us.