She glared at him as they shoved her onto her knees in front of him. The defiance in her eyes burned bright as she shrugged off the bedsheets, revealing herself in just his oversized singlet and a pair of panties.
Her arms raised in mock surrender as one of his men handed him the files she had tried to steal. "Now, Daddy, please don't punish me," she said, her voice sickly sweet, dripping with sarcasm.
He didn't respond immediately, his piercing gaze fixed on the files as he flipped through them from his seat in the armchair.
She knelt there, scanning the room for any potential weapon or escape route. She had to leave with those documents, today.
"Don't even think about it," his voice rasped, dark and commanding. He didn't look up. "Liam, make sure her bedroom windows are barred."
Her heart raced. "What?" she snapped, her voice laced with disbelief. "I don't understand what's going on."
"You're moving in," he said flatly, like it was a foregone conclusion.
She scoffed. "Bro, I fucked you one time, and now you think we should live together? Are you insane?"
"No. Not at all," he replied coolly, motioning to Liam, the cowboy-looking guy who had been kind to her—until now.
Liam handed him a shovel, which Damien promptly tossed to the floor in front of her.
The clang echoed through the room as it landed by her knees. "You're hired," he said, his tone devoid of humor.
Her eyes blazed. "I'm not working for you. I don't need your damn job. I'll be out of here before you can blink."
His lips twitched, almost imperceptibly. "I wasn't asking."
"Excuse me?" she spat, her voice rising.
He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other, completely unbothered. "You're hired," he repeated, "but not as a paralegal. You'll be working as a farmhand."
Her bitter laugh cut through the room. "You must be joking."
"Do I look like I'm joking?" he drawled, his serious tone sending a chill through her.
She struggled against the guards holding her in place, her voice rising with fury. "I am not farming! Whatever this is between you and them, I'm done. I don't want any part of it! Let me go!"
He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his expression sharp and predatory. "Miss Wilds, you should've thought of that before you decided to mess with a Mafia lawyer."
Her breath hitched, the weight of his words sinking in. "They didn't tell me…" she began, her voice faltering.
"Exactly," he sneered, cutting her off. "That's why you're dumb, Nikki. Don't you get it? You've been played."
" You walked right into my trap."