Bought by My stepbrother, the don

Chapter 30: Not ready

Carmen’s POV

I was anything but calm.

Fucking grenades.

The realization hit hard—that we had been in the presence of a suicide bomber. One that Nico himself had almost missed. My heart hammered loudly in my chest as I stared at the girl, then at Nico, who knelt in front of her, calmly prying the grenades off her body with careful precision.

She was still alive... but she was better off dead.

And just minutes ago, I had pitied her. Even if only a little.

Fucking stupid, I scolded myself, realizing I had actually believed her lies—about not knowing what it was, about her mother, about being innocent. The difference between Nico and me had never been clearer. In his place, she would have gotten free, stabbed me, and worse—pulled the pin on one of the grenades before she died.

"Here."

Nico’s voice cut through my thoughts as he handed me one of the grenades. I took it instantly without thinking, my fingers tightening around the cold metal as I found somewhere safe to hold it, my gaze returning to the girl.

Nico checked her naked body with no hesitation, no pause—no trace of lust on his face.

To him, she might as well have been wet paper he had to tear apart.

She groaned in pain, her body twitching weakly, but he didn’t so much as react.

"Do you think there could be more? Whoever this is clearly wants us dead," I said, the worry evident in my voice.

Again, the plan was elaborate—calculated down to the smallest detail. Pulling the guards into it had been the final nail in the coffin. They said they would have protected Nico, but I knew better. It depended on the situation. If a clean chance to kill him appeared... they wouldn’t hesitate.

"Nah. I think this was tailored towards me," Nico responded.

He gently slammed the young woman onto the ground, then slapped her when she only stirred, hitting her harder until her eyes finally fluttered open.

"I’m guessing most of the information we found on you was incorrect," he began, even as she struggled to stay conscious. "...Why are you willing to give your life for this?"

It wasn’t the question I expected. There were better ones—useful ones. Names. Leads. Something that could point us to whoever was behind this.

Her eyes rolled, her head lolling like she was about to pass out again.

Nico slapped her viciously—hard enough to split her already bloodied lips further.

"...Why are you ready to die?" he repeated, his voice colder now, a sharp edge of anger beneath it that hadn’t been there before.

He was taking this personally.

The last slap seemed to do it. Her eyes slowly focused on him, and then—unexpectedly—a weak smile spread across her lips.

"Why... why else?" she rasped, her voice barely holding. "I want you to die... you fucking bastard..."

Blood coated her teeth as she stared at him.

Nico leaned back slightly, still kneeling on one knee in front of her. He nodded once.

Then he raised his gun.

And pulled the trigger.

This time, I was too close.

The blood splattered onto me—but that was the least of my concerns in that moment.

"We need to leave," I said immediately.

She had two grenades that hadn’t gone off. That alone meant something was wrong. Something bigger.

"...They’ll attack us if they haven’t already," I added, my heart racing harder with every passing second.

Too many thoughts flooded my mind—but I shoved them all aside as I watched Nico rise to his feet, calmly checking how many bullets he had left in his handgun. It couldn’t be much. He had just killed everyone down here. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

He nodded once, his expression indifferent, before heading up the stairs.

He punched in the code, his body blocking my view.

He was tense—I could tell.

But I felt worse.

Nico had a gun.

I didn’t.

He could shoot. I could only stand there and watch if someone decided to blow my brains out.

That didn’t sit well with me.

So I followed closely behind him—close enough that if anything happened, I could at least use his body as a shield.

We stepped back into the warehouse.

The guards we had left behind were waiting.

Armed.

Their guns weren’t holstered like usual—they were already in their hands.

"Did something happen?" Nico asked the moment he stepped out.

One of them—the leader—stepped forward.

"No. But it’s better to be careful."

Nico frowned.

Then nodded.

That alone made my heart race even harder. Nico didn’t frown unless something was wrong.

Are they in on it too?

The thought sent a chill down my spine.

Five armed men.

And us in the middle.

That wasn’t a standoff.

That was an execution waiting to happen.

It wasn’t until Nico lowered his gun—and they slowly holstered theirs—that I finally managed to breathe again. They positioned themselves around us—some in front, some behind—as we walked toward the cars. Neither of us spoke.

When we reached them, the guards stationed there were already alert.

"Did something happen?" Nico asked again.

They shook their heads quickly. No one had come near. No movement. Nothing suspicious. They had already heard about the others. No one wanted to end up the same way.

Nico didn’t respond. He simply nodded and opened the car door, gesturing for me to get in before sliding in after me. I settled into the back seat.

My body was still—but my heart felt like it was on the verge of giving out. The car could have been tampered with. But that wasn’t even my biggest concern anymore. The guards around us? They were just as dangerous.

I had seen my father deal with traitors before. Killing them was the easy part. Finding them—that was what mattered. My gaze shifted to the man seated in front with the driver.

What if he suddenly turned around... Raised his gun...and shot us? The thought settled deep in my chest and in that moment, I realized something I hadn’t before.

Maybe... just maybe...

I wasn’t as ready as I thought to take over my father’s territory. My nails dug into my palms as I folded my hands over my thighs.

...and that realization scared me just as much as the possibility of dying.