All Chapters of The Cost of Saving Him: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

– Mina –The clinic did not breathe. It held its air like a body waiting to stiffen. The lights above us flickered as if the wiring itself was scared, shadows pulsing across the three beds lined against the wall.Luca is in the center, Frankie on the right, and Santo on the left.Three men who were never supposed to fall like this. I sat between Luca and Frankie with my bad leg propped up on a crate. Every inch of me ached, my stitches burning each time I shifted. The medic had warned me to stay still as if I had anywhere to go.Joey stood at the foot of the beds with dried blood stiffening the sleeves of his shirt. His hands stayed in fists, opening and closing without rhythm. Tony guarded the doorway, gun in hand, eyes sharp.The machines beeped softly. That was the only sound until my phone buzzed once in my lap, a single vibration. No preview. No name. Tony’s head snapped toward me. My thumb was already on the screen. Good girl.Two words from an unknown number. Two words that ra

– Mina –The SUV felt too quiet on the drive. Too clean. Too calm. That kind of silence only existed around men who did not need to raise their voice to break someone. Alaric sat across from me, legs crossed, fingers resting loosely in his lap. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes followed every breath I took. Every wince. Every time my hand trembled. Marco sat beside me, body tense in a way that made the whole car feel smaller.“You are losing blood,” Alaric said as if he were commenting on the weather. “That is what happens when someone tries to kill you,” I snapped. His mouth curved slightly. Not a smile. Just acknowledgment. “You walked into that clinic,” he said. “No hesitation. You walked into my world the same way. That is why you are here.”Marco’s eyes flicked toward me. He looked away when I met them. I stayed quiet. Pain pulsed down my leg and up my ribs, sharp and steady. The stitches tugged every time the car turned. The SUV slowed as we reached a warehouse. When the eng

– Joey –Luca woke up choking on his own breath. I knew the sound before he even opened his eyes. It was the wet drag of a man trying to come back when his body isn't ready. Machines beeped faster. The medic muttered curses. Tony moved toward the bed like he expected Luca to rip everything out and start swinging.I stayed where I was, one hand on the bed rail, the other clenched so tight I could feel the bones grind. I had been counting his breaths for hours. I counted them now, too.Luca's eyes opened slowly, heavy, unfocused. Then sharper. Then furious. He looked at me like he wanted answers and blood in the same breath. "Where are we?" he rasped. "Clinic," I told him. "Santo's people. Quiet place. Nobody's name on paper."His gaze wandered. He saw Frankie's body on the right bed. Saw the dark bruises. The busted ribs were wrapped tightly. Then Santo on the left, skin pale and gray around the mouth. His chest barely rising, barely falling.Luca's jaw tightened. "They're alive, right

– Mina –The door stayed shut long enough for the food to go cold. My ankle throbbed under the sheet, stitches pulling every time I shifted. The room had that quiet that came after violence, the kind that made walls feel like they were listening.I picked at the bread on the tray, forcing myself to chew. If I did not eat, I would pass out. If I passed out, I would wake up to something worse. That was how men like Alaric worked. They took what you did not protect.I stared at the empty chair where Marco had sat last. The way he could not look away from Alaric's hand on my face. The way guilt flashed across his eyes when he realized he was not the first monster in my story. It should not have comforted me. It did anyway.The lock clicked.I sat up straighter, pulse tripping. Two of Alaric's men stepped in first, big and bored and armed. Then Alaric walked in behind them, no coat this time, sleeves rolled up, cuffs neat. His shirt was the kind you wore to meetings where men pretended the

– Mina –Time had stopped meaning anything.Days blurred together, and nights merged into one. Sleep only came when my body shut down automatically. There were no windows or clocks, just the constant hum of electricity and the ache of new bruises under my skin. My ankle healed improperly. My ribs clicked whenever I took a deep breath. My lip had split open four times already.Alaric always made sure it was the same spot. He said he liked consistency.Tonight felt no different. They pulled me from the cot by my arms, my feet barely touching the ground. I didn't resist, knowing it would only bring more hits. My shoulder ached from being yanked too harshly. The concrete hall flickered in and out of focus as a guard forced me through another doorway.The room's lights felt brighter and more intense than usual. I blinked, trying to steady my vision, but it didn't improve. Everything at the edges looked doubled. Alaric was standing in the centre.His hands were folded behind his back. His s