Chapter 122
KATYA POV
A sharp sound cracked through the quiet and I froze. My head going down as if it was aid at . "What the..?" I didn’t get to finish as Another bang sound followed.
Then another.
Then more gunshots?.
Gunshots!
Here!
On this floor! My heart lunged into my throat, pounding so hard it made my hands shake.
Roo’s floor. it was coming from the only room next to mine. Roo’s room?!
A cold wave of panic slamd into before I could think. My robe belt slipped from my fingers as I scrambled to tighten it again.
"Oh God.. " I breathed, adrenaline flooding so fast I felt dizzy. Another gunshot. Then the unmistakable sound of glass shattering.
My breath hitched. My body was already moving. I shoved open my bathroom door, nearly slipping on the damp tiles as I sprinted into my bedroom.
My hands fumbled for the nearest thing—my robe tie, my hair, anything—trying to pull myself together and failing miserably.
"An attack?!" I whispered, fear slicing clean and sharp through every frantic thought. What should I do? what should I do? Hide! No run!
I didn’t even stop to think it through anymore. I didn’t argue with myself. I just ran. Barefoot, dripping, barely wrapped in my robe.
And threw myself into the hallway, my eyes landed on Roo’s closed door. There wasn’t anyone in the hallway.
My heart hamred so hard it felt like it might shake loose from my ribs. The hallway stretched out in front of —silent, empty, wrong.
Roo’s door stayed shut.
Gunshots didn’t co from nowhere. They didn’t echo like that unless soone was firing at sothing. Or soone.
I took a shaky breath, fingers gripping the edge of my robe as if it could shield from bullets.
What am I supposed to do? Run downstairs? Hide? Scream for the guards?
Or—
My eyes snapped to his door again.
Or go to him.
"No," I whispered imdiately, shaking my head so hard water flicked off my hair.
"No. That’s stupid. He’s got guards. He’s got Antonio. He doesn’t need—" Should I go get him?
I an, he’s still using a wheelchair, he wouldn’t be able to help himself.
What am I thinking. He wasn’t my responsibility. He wasn’t even my friend.
"He’d be the last person to help ," I hissed under my breath, clutching my robe tighter.
"He’d probably throw a tantrum if he knew I even thought of checking on him." But my feet stayed rooted to the spot.
My throat tightened painfully. For a split second, sothing sharp tore through the panic—anger, frustration, confusion.
I didn’t even know which one. Why was my brain acting like it mattered? Why was my body reacting like I was responsible?
I didn’t want to go in there.
I didn’t want to care. I dragged my hands through my damp hair, pacing one step to the left, one to the right, like a trapped animal trying to pick a direction.
If there really was an attack...
If soone was actually inside his room...
He wouldn’t be able to get away quickly.
He wouldn’t be able to defend himself the way he would normally.
I swallowed, throat burning. What if he was hurt? What if he needed—
"No," I snapped out loud, cutting it off before the thought could fully form. "I don’t care. I shouldn’t care." But the banging of my heartbeat wouldn’t stop. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
And my feet kept turning toward his door even as my mind scread the opposite.
This wasn’t logic. You hate him rember, he killed Frank. Aria is nowhere to be found.
Fucking hate him, Katya.
But sothing inside clenched anyway. A part of that refused to shut up, even now.
Help him.
Don’t help him.
Run.
Don’t run.
My mind was tearing itself apart.
My chest tightened, breath coming too fast, too shallow. My pulse was so loud I could barely hear anything else.
No. No more. No more of this back-and-forth. No more of this stupid confusion that only hurt in the end. My jaw locked. My spine straightened.
He didn’t need .
He wouldn’t want .
And I was so, so tired of being the idiot who wants to be a good person.
I took a step back, toward the staircase, then another.
Just go. Run. Don’t look back and my feet finally listened, finally chose over him. I turned sharply toward the stairs at the far end of the hall.
But as soon as I turned I faced as the elevator door dings opened. And n in dark suits poured out.
Not walking. They were rushing fast and ard with guns.
Real ones. I stumbled back instinctively, breath punching out of my lungs. No no no.
Not again. We are truly under attack. I need to get to nonna but then I saw soone moving to the front.
Mr. Antonio.
He’s at the front of the group, his eyes were filled with worry as they swept the hallway like a blade— sharp, calculating and deadly—before they landed on .
And when they did... he stopped.
The whole group behind him too. Mr Antonio expression changed in seconds. His worry eyes hardened into sothing else.
Sothing that made my stomach drop. Hate.
Hate aid directly at . Like I was the reason the alarms were going off.
Like I was the danger.
I couldn’t breathe. Why was he looking at like I was the gunman? Like I was the monster?
"Mr. Antonio?" I croaked, my voice faint, my body frozen completely in place.
"Jas. Cuff her"
My brain stalled. Cuff who?
?
I blinked, staring at him like the words hadn’t made sense. Like maybe the gunshots had ssed with my hearing.
"W–What?" I stamred, taking a step back. "Cuff who? ?"
Jas, I know that na! It was that guy. The Jas in question stepped forward and I could finally put the face to the na of the guy who manhandled when I didn’t had my eye sight.
He stepped forward imdiately at the order, his gun wasn’t pointed at the floor anymore. It was pointed at .
My heart lurched so hard I almost tripped over my own feet. "Wait—wait, I didn’t do anything," I burst out, raising my hands instinctively.
My voice shook. "I don’t understand. What’s happening?! Are we under attack?" But Jas didn’t stop. His expression wasn’t confused or apologetic.
It was cold and focused. And his hand was already reaching for the cuffs attached to his belt.
Cuffs.
Cuffs? Why cuffs? Why ?"What is going on?" I choked out, stumbling backward until my back hit the wall. "I didn’t do anything!"
Jas didn’t even blink. "Move your hands, miss."
"I’m not resisting! I just—just tell what’s happening!" My breaths ca faster, sharp and shallow.
Sowhere behind him, boots thundered on the carpet as the rest of the n moved—past us, toward Roo’s door.
Jas reached for my wrist. I jerked away instinctively. "Don’t touch !"
"Miss, don’t make this difficult," he warned, his grip tightening as he tried again.
"I didn’t do anything!" I struggled, twisting, trying to pull myself free without actually fighting him.
"Let go! Please—listen—I heard gunshots too! I thought we were under attack!" But it didn’t matter.
They weren’t listening. They weren’t even trying to.
Because at that mont, Antonio and the rest of his n finally reached Roo’s door. Their weapons raised. Bodies tense.
Seconds away from busting inside. And they all thought I had sothing to do with it.
My pulse pounded so violently it hurt. "I didn’t do this," I whispered, voice shaking for a different reason now. "Why aren’t you believing ?"
Jas clicked the cuffs open.
Antonio’s hand tightened on Roo’s door handle as he pulled the door opened. His voice imdiately ca out rough,strained and terrified. "Roo?!"
Everything went still. The hallway
The gun. Jas’ hand on my wrist
My own breath
It all paused—hanging on the sound of that single word.
A beat of silence.
Another.
And then a muffled voice, thick with sarcasm and sothing smug and annoyingly familiar, answered lazily from inside the room.
"In the flesh.".Roo.
My head whipped toward the door so fast my wet hair slapped against my cheek.
He’s... okay?
And he was standing!
My brain couldn’t process it. All I saw was his silhouette, yes but it was upright, solid, leaning casually against the back of his wheelchair like the entire floor hadn’t just heard bullets.
Like nothing had happened at all!
††
Happy new month
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