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But men like Erasmo needed to remember they couldn’t beat the rest of the world into submission. Regardless of his plans and what he wanted for his family, he wouldn’t get it by kidnapping my wife and using her for his personal gain.
I didn’t care how long it took or what I had to do to make it happen, I wasn’t going to give up on her.
“Of course it is, since you didn’t have the self-restraint to think about anything other than getting laid! You deserted this fine family all for a whore, and you will go down with that weight on your conscience,” Erasmo rambled, forcing the pistol back against her head, making Anastasia flinch.
Anticipating the worst, not hearing that gunshot was all the hope I was offered, and I knew I was running out of time.
Erasmo was cornered with nowhere to run, making him more desperate. Anastasia was in his grasp with a gun to her head, and if I didn’t act, she would face that consequence on my behalf.
At a standstill with my hysterical boss, I could only think about getting Anastasia back and swearing to give her the best life moving forward.
Chapter 28 - Anastasia
There was no greater relief than seeing Nik there, along with the rest of the Levov forces. The moment we had stepped out, the two guards were taken out, and we were met with a wave of men.
Knowing my silent plea had been answered and they hadn't wasted any time looking for me meant the world to me.
But that didn’t mean it was over.
Nik’s grip was tight on his gun as he aimed at Erasmo, looking angry at the sight.
That cold, hard metal pressed against my scalp didn’t help my nerves. It didn’t give me much confidence, either.
Any time he was provoked or passionate about what he was saying, Erasmo would move it again, bumping it against my head. Each time, I’d have to come to terms with the thought that the next adjustment might be my last, and his finger might squeeze the trigger for real.
So far, he had been bluffing, whether that was due to fear, guilt, or feeling like he hadn’t fully said his piece yet, but I knew my luck was running out with every passing moment.
Despite the sheer number of armed men around me, I couldn’t be sure if I’d make it out alive. Sure, they would have no problem taking Erasmo down, but I would go down with him. I assumed that was why they hadn’t shot him yet. There was too much of a risk.
I wanted more than anything to run to Nik and wrap my arms around him. To let myself bask in the feeling of being rescued and returned home. To soak in his comfort that I so badly craved in that moment.
Even if I didn’t like being captured and bound by anyone, at least Nik cared about my safety. I couldn’t say the same about Erasmo.
But as badly as I wanted to bolt, I wouldn’t make it far with a bullet in my head.
I could feel Erasmo shaking with anger as the gun trembled faintly against my head.
“The fate of my family rested on your shoulders, and you couldn’t even respect that. That was all I asked of you. To think of my family and put them first, as I do. You swore to serve the Capris name for the rest of your life the day you were sworn in, and you dropped that oath like it meant nothing.”
“You don’t know how conflicted I felt,” Nik said, aiming firmly at the older man. “I didn’t want to betray you or anyone else. I only ever wanted the chance to make something of myself, and you helped me do that. As much as I appreciated your generosity, I couldn’t serve your cause anymore, Erasmo. You claim to despise Levovs and the like, but you wish to become exactly like them. What’s the use in killing a family just to become the very thing you hated?”
“It’s everything, you blind fool,” Erasmo fired back, tone bitter and shaded with fury. “When you can’t join them, you become them. The Levovs rarely form deals with other families, and when they do, most end with the smaller one being burned. But that’s how they like it. Use others when they need them, and discard them when they don’t. If the formula works, why change it?”
Erasmo didn’t know half of what my family went through. From their ex-associates actively joining forces with their enemies or just plain meddling behind their backs, they had been burned far too many times to completely let others in. Finding trust outside the family was rare, and it was no wonder.
My family wasn’t full of cold-blooded killers like everyone liked to assume. They were just and did what had to be done, but rarely did they ever act unprovoked. Most of the time, they were being attacked from the outside, and if it meant protecting everything that had been built under the Levov empire, then they had no choice but to act.
They had been attacked more times than I could count, which left me more and more paranoid about my brothers going to work. I never knew when I’d get that dreaded phone call, but it always felt inevitable.
“You can change it, Erasmo. At least, you can decide how this ends,” Nik said, taking the lead of the operation despite the others behind him. “If you willingly let her go, you can come out of this alive. But only then.”
It sounded like a hopeful compromise, but also unlikely.
As much as Nik was working to appeal to Erasmo, I was growing more anxious about the whole ordeal.
Standing there helplessly, I felt nervous energy coursing through me. Begging for the opportunity to do something. Like I couldn’t wait any longer, and I needed to take matters into my own hands.
But that felt incredibly daunting. I never had anything to do with the family business before, and I was incredibly out of my depth.
