BOUND BY DECEIT

CHAPTER FIVE

SLOANE’S POV

The room was eerily silent, except for my heavy breathing. The cold from the concrete floor seeped into my skin, but I shoved the discomfort aside. I have bigger problems.

I need to find a possible way out. And fast.

My gaze flicks to the chains locked around my ankles. I tested them with a slight pull, sturdy, but the metal near the base was worn out. Rusted.

I cataloged every detail of the room. No cameras. No windows. Only the single steel door Luca had walked through, and I had no idea if anyone was guarding it.

A small tremor ran through my fingers. Think.

The chair beneath me was bolted to the floor, but the cuffs on the armrest had been removed. A big mistake on their part. That gave me enough movement.

I took a slow breath, leaned forward, my eyes shifting back to my feet. If I could get enough leverage I could—

A faint creak echoed as the chain links strained.

I froze. Silence. Then, footsteps.

Shit.

The heavy lock clicked, and the door swung open.

Damian.

He stepped inside, his expression unreadable. Unlike Luca, there was no amusement in his gaze. Just calculation.

"You're quiet," he said. "That usually means trouble."

I smirked. "Maybe I'm just tired."

Damian didn’t react. He crouched in front of her, eyes scanning her face with a sharp, knowing look. Unlike Lucas' scrutiny, he was sharper. Colder.

"You're hiding something."

I eased back into my chair, stretching my shackled legs forward like I had all the time in the world. “I’m chained in a basement or whatever you call this. So tell me Damian, what could I possibly be hiding?”

Damian doesn’t answer.

His hand disappeared into his jacket, slow and deliberate. When it emerged, something small glinted between his fingers.

A syringe.

Cold pricked down my spine.

He rolls it between his fingers, studying me like a puzzle he was about to solve. “Luca thinks he can break you with silly little games and intimidation.” His voice sank deeper.“Unlike Luca, my patience runs thin.”

My heart rate kicked up again, as a knot formed in her stomach, but I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Fear was what men like him feed off on, and I refused to give away any.

“Tell me who you’re working for,” Damian said, voice smooth and casual. Then sharper “Now, Sloane.”

I let out a slow breath, as I rolled my eyes. “You seem worse than Luca”

Damian didn’t react. No shift in his expression. No hint of amusement. He uncapped the syringe.

"You have two choices," he said. "Talk, or find out what's in this."

My pulse pounded, but my face remained neutral.

Truth serum? A sedative? A paralytic? Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good.

I needed a distraction.

My fingers curled against the armrests. I kept my breathing steady. Waiting. Timing.

Damian leaned in, his grip firm as he grabbed my arm.

Now! My mind screamed at me.

With no wasted time, I drive my forehead to his nose, a sharp crack splitting the air. Damian cursed, recoiling as he staggered backwards. The syringe slipped from his grip, skidding across the floor.

I didn’t waste a second as I twisted her body, grabbing the chain on her ankle, and yanking it hard.

Adrenaline passed through me. Move.

Ignoring the sting in my wrist, I lunged forward and ripped the gun from Damian’s holster before he could react.

"Stay down," I warned.

Blood dripped from his nose, but his expression was steady as he masked his pain. Unfazed. "Luca will kill you for this."

My grip tightened. “Not if I put him down first.”

I wasn’t going to wait for an invitation from him.

Fingers tight around the gun, I bolt for the door, heart hammering against my rib cage.

The hallway was empty. Lucky. But luck wouldn't last. I needed out. Immediately.

Adrenaline passes through my body as I move, each step quick despite the chaos clawing in my mind. The corridor stretches ahead, large doors lining on both sides, some locked, others left slightly open, teasing glimpse of the unknown.

I turned a corner. And slammed into someone.

A hand clamped around my wrist. Tight and unyielding, stopping me cold.

His dark eyes locked on mine, flicking over the gun in my grip, the blood streaked across my forehead, as fire still blazed behind my gaze.

His hold tightened, a sharp pain sending pain lancing up my arm.

I fought back, yanking against his hold, but he was quicker.

The gun was torn from my grip.

I barely had time to gasp before he slams me against the wall, his tall, imposing frame closing in, cutting any chance of escape.

“What the actual f**k do you think you’re doing?”. His voice was low, laced with danger.

I glared up at him, refusing to back down.

"Escaping."

Luca let out a slow, dark laugh. "You think I'd let you?"

My lips curled up. “You never had a choice.”

His expression darkened. "You really don't know when to quit."

He reaches for something at his waist,

I react first.

I struck out, aiming for his knee, but Luca was ready. Luca dodged. Catching my wrist in his large palms with a seamless practiced ease.

A second later, he slams me against the wall, knocking air out of my lungs.

Luca’s fingers wrapped around my neck, not squeezing, just holding me there, showing me who is in control.

His lips brushed up against my ears. “You’re only digging yourself deeper.”

My pulse hammered, but I willed a wide smile. “Perfect.”

Luca exhaled through his nose, amusement flickering in his eyes. "I should put a bullet in your skull Sloane.”

I smirked and didn't waver at his threat. "Then do it."

A beat of silence.

Without warning, Luca yanked me from the wall and hauled me over his shoulder.

I trash against his back with my bare feet kicking into the air,but his grip never faltered.

“This again?” he muttered, irritation roughing his tone.

My fist crashed against his back. “Put me down you goddamn bastard!”

“Not happening.”

He walks as if I weigh nothing, his pace slow, deliberate and unbothered.

I jacked forward, my fingers darting towards his holster, but a sharp snap sent my hand recoiling.

“Try that again,” he warned, voice dark, “And I’ll make damn sure you regret it.”

My teeth clenched together. “Meeting you is regrettable enough.”

Luca chuckled, low and dark. “You have no clue just how bad this is going to be for you, do you?”

The door creaked open.

I barely had a second to take in my surroundings before he shoves me inside.

I hit the mattress with a jolt, the soft bed sinking in beneath my weight. A bedroom. Not the basement. But still a prisoner.

Luca stays put at the foot of the bed, expression unreadable.

“You’re staying,” he says, with certainty lacing in his tone.

I push myself up, breath unsteady. “And if I don’t?”

Luca’s smirk sharpened. “Then I’ll chain you down.”

My stomach knotted, but I leveled him with a steady satire, giving nothing away.

He turned, towards the door.

“I won’t be back for a little while” he murmured. “Try not to do something stupid.

The door snapped shut behind him, the sound echoing as he left.

I pulled in a slow breath, my fingers curling into fists.

This was far from over

My gaze swept the room, hunting for a way out.

Luca believed he had me cornered.

He had no idea who he was dealing with.

And that? That would be his biggest mistake.