I Saved a Mafia Lord's Dying Twins. Now His Deadliest Betrayer is Hunting Me

The silence in the room was deafening.

I stood frozen, the velvet pouch slipping from my fingers and hitting the hardwood floor with a soft thud.

The white powder spilled out, stark against the dark wood.

Damien stared at it. Then he looked at me.

"Damien, I swear," I choked out, stepping back. "I didn't... I just found it. Vincenzo was downstairs, and I heard him say..."

Damien raised a hand, silencing me.

He walked into the room, his face an unreadable mask of stone. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

He walked over to the spilled powder, knelt down, and examined it without touching it.

When he stood up, he didn't scream. He didn't pull his gun.

Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small, encrypted phone, and typed a quick message.

Then, he took three long strides toward me, grabbing my arms.

"Scream," he whispered into my ear.

I blinked, confused. "What?"

"Scream at me. Tell me to let you go. Now."

"Let me go!" I yelled, my voice trembling naturally from fear. "I didn't do it!"

"You betrayed me!" Damien roared back, loud enough for anyone in the hallway to hear. But his eyes, looking down into mine, were completely soft.

He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear. "There is a hidden camera in the smoke detector. Vincenzo's men put it there. We have to make them believe he won."

Relief washed over me so powerfully my knees buckled. He believed me. He trusted me.

I slapped his chest, playing along. "You're crazy! I saved your children!"

"You're a liar!" Damien shouted, grabbing a vase from the nightstand and throwing it against the wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces.

He pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me in a crushing, protective embrace, even as he yelled, "You're confined to this room! If you try to run, I'll kill you myself."

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, a silent promise.