All Chapters of A DEBT PAID IN FLESH AND SECRETS: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

 The ride back to the safe house was a blur of flashing sirens and Andreas’s heavy breathing. He didn't let go of my hand the entire time. When we finally got inside, he carried me straight to the bedroom and sat me down on the edge of the bed.A private doctor was already there, waiting. I sat silently while she cleaned the cut on my lip and checked the bruising on my neck. It stung, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the adrenaline still humming in my veins. My hand was tucked deep into my pocket, my fingers tightly gripping the small scrap of paper someone had slipped me in the crowd.Andreas stood by the window, pacing like a caged tiger. He had ripped off his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. He looked like he wanted to punch a hole through the wall."I'm sorry, Raine," he said, stopping in his tracks. He looked at me, his eyes full of a dark, heavy guilt. "I should have been there. I shouldn't have let you go to that ba

I sat in the surveillance room downstairs, the glow of the monitors casting a harsh, artificial light over my skin. My shoulder throbbed where the doctor had stitched me up, but I barely felt it. I was staring at the technical readout of the phone line I had given him.When I reached the bedroom door and saw him standing there with that phone, something in me snapped. I had given him that device as a lifeline, a way for him to reach me if the world turned ugly. But seeing him whisper into the receiver, his voice trembling with a secret I wasn't part of, felt like a physical blow.I tapped the screen, trying to pull the audio from the cloud server. My jaw tightened as a red error bar flashed across the monitor.Connection Terminated. Source Unreachable.I growled, slamming my hand against the desk. The call had been encrypted from the other end. Whoever he was talking to had a high-level scrambler. I couldn't hear a single word of what was said. The silence was more frustrating than a

My skin felt like it was buzzing. I had just finished my first dance in the new club, and the feeling was hollow. The stage was bigger, the lights were brighter, but the air felt cold. Andreas hadn't even looked at me during the whole set. He sat in the VIP lounge with his drink, talking to some men in suits, acting like I was just another piece of furniture he had paid for. And Val. Val had stayed in the shadows the whole time, his pale eyes tracking every move I made.I didn't want to go back to the dressing room. I didn't want to see the other dancers or listen to their chatter about how much money they were making. I needed to breathe. I slipped out of the side exit of the stage area and headed down the hallway on the third floor. This part of the building was supposed to be off-limits, but I didn't care. I needed to walk.The hallway was quiet, I walked slowly, my footsteps silent on the thick carpet. I was trying to figure out my next move. Andreas was shutting me out, and I was

 I sat in the chair across from Val, my heart still thumping against my ribs. The silver pen he gave me felt heavy in my hand. He was watching me with a look that made me feel like an insect under a glass jar. He didn’t seem to care that I had been snooping. He just seemed happy to have me where he wanted me."You look a bit pale, Raine," Val said. He took a slow sip of his water, his eyes never leaving mine. "Is the air in here too thin for you?""I’m fine," I said, trying to keep my voice from cracking. "You said you wanted to talk about new management. So talk."Val laughed, a short, nasty sound. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "Always so defensive. That’s what he liked about you, I suppose. The little stray with the sharp teeth. But the thing about strays is that they’re easy to replace once they start barking too much.""What are you talking about?" I asked."Andreas is cleaning house," V

 I stayed as flat as I could against the floor. The carpet was soft against my face, but the rest of me felt like stone. My heart was thumping so hard I thought the floorboards would pick up the noise. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to pray to a God I hadn't spoken to in years.I was trapped.The elevator doors finished opening with a soft ding. I waited for footsteps, for a voice, for anything. But there was only a heavy, thick silence. I peeked from under the edge of the sofa, my breath hitching in my throat.A person was standing there.They weren't dressed like Andreas or the guards. They were wearing a dark hoodie and heavy gloves. But the scariest part was the mask. It was a plain, white plastic face with no expression—just two hollow black holes where the eyes should be. They were holding a gun with a long, thin tube on the end. A silencer.My blood turned to ice. This wasn't Andreas. This was a raid.