Craving My Ruthless Ceo novel Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Roman’s POV

The phone rang and rang.

No response.

I stared at Anna’s name on my screen, my hand gripping the desk hard. Voicemail. Again.

Pick up, goddammit.

I rose from my seat and hit redial, pacing the length of my office

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Through the massive one-way window, I could see the main floor of The Dark Room spread out below. Bodies writhing on the dance floor, the bass thrumming through the building even though no sound penetrated up here.

And somewhere out there, Anna might be in danger.

“Fuck!” I tossed the phone on the desk.

Was she not answering to get back at me? Because she and Laurent were about to…

The thought of Anna losing her virginity to Laurent sent a violent surge through my chest. She was mine, even if I’d been too much of a coward to claim her properly.

I’d done my personal background check on him. Anna had no idea who he really was. A fucking party boy. A trust fund brat playing at being a businessman. His real hobby? Luring young girls into modeling contracts, sleeping with them, then tossing them aside when the next fresh face came along. France was littered with his conquests, girls who’d believed his promises of stardom only to end up used and discarded.

He wasn’t good enough for her. Not even close. No one was good enough for her.

When she hadn’t shown up to work a few days ago, I’d sent her flowers and chocolates. A peace offering. I wanted to give her time to calm down, knowing she was still upset and felt I’d rejected her when, in truth, I’d protected her.

But the silence had gone on too long. The not knowing had eaten at me until I couldn’t stand it anymore.

So I’d done what I always did when I needed information. I’d called Dave.

Within hours, he’d reported back. Anna had been picked up by a driver in a black Mercedes registered to Laurent Beaumont. They’d gone to a loft in the warehouse district that looked like a photography studio. She’d been there for several hours before they left.

The possessive fury that surged through me was immediate and overwhelming. She’d gone ahead with the lingerie photo shoot without my permission, ready to put her body on display for the world to see.

I’d wanted to call her immediately and order her to leave. But she would have reminded me I didn’t own her, that I had no right to control what she did with her body or her time.

So instead, I’d told Dave to handle it.

Dave had been creative, I’d give him that. A staged robbery as the photographer left the loft. His equipment bag snatched by masked men on motorcycles. The camera, the memory cards, the laptop. All of it taken in what looked like a random crime.

Anna had defied me. I’d warned her to stay away from Laurent, warned her that he was dangerous, and she’d done it anyway. This was the consequence.

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Chapter 176

My phone buzzed.

I stopped pacing and walked back to my desk, reaching for it..

A message from Dave.

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Dave: Uploaded everything to the secure server. Couldn’t get the physical drive to you right away, still cleaning up traces. Will deliver it once all is done.

Another buzz.

Dave: Also, working on tracking Anna’s exact location now. Will report back ASAP.

I typed back quickly.

Roman: Good. Send me her location the second you have it. And make sure there’s no trace of our involvement in the robbery.

Dave: Already handled. Clean as a whistle.

Roman: Thank you.

I opened my laptop and pulled up my email. The file was there, waiting. My cursor hovered over it for a moment before I clicked.

The images loaded one by one.

Bloody hell.

My hands tightened on the laptop until my knuckles went white as photo after photo filled the screen. Anna in lingerie. Black lace that left almost nothing to the imagination. Her body displayed like a work of art against a wall, her back arched, her lips parted.

She looked over her shoulder, the curve of her ass impossible to gnore. Anna on her knees, her eyes wide and innocent even as the pose

screamed

Sex

Heat flooded through me. My cock hardened instantly, painfully as I stared at the screen.

This was my Anna, half-naked and fucking gorgeous, her innocence somehow making the provocative poses even more intoxicating.

But that heat was quickly overtaken by fury.

These men, the photographer, Laurent, whoever else had been in that room, they’d seen her like this. They’d looked at her body, studied every intimate detail, directed her to pose in ways designed to seduce.

They’d seen her nipples through the thin fabric. Had watched the way the lingerie cut between her thighs. Had probably imagined doing exactly what I’d been trying not to imagine since the day she’d walked into my office.

I scrolled further.

Then I reached the ones that made me see red.

Topless.

She was covering her breasts with her hands, her back to the camera in some shots, artistic and tasteful even.

But there were other imperfect shots where the angle had shifted Where her hands had moved just slightly. Where her breasts were visible. Where her nipples were fully exposed.

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Chapter 176

I

I actually growled, the sound animalistic and foreign to my own cars.

How dare they?

Over my dead fucking body would these be displayed anywhere in New York, let alone the entire world.

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They had no idea who they were dealing with. No idea that the woman they’d photographed without proper authorization belonged to me.

I closed the laptop with more force than necessary, my jaw clenched so hard it ached.

Anna was going to learn a very important lesson when I got my hands on her. You don’t defy me. You don’t put yourself in danger. And you sure as hell don’t let other men see what’s mine

My phone buzzed again.

Dave: Got her location. The Dark Room. Second floor VIP section.

I stared at the message, my blood turning to ice.

Fuck.

The Dark Room. My club. She was here. Right under my nose this entire fucking time.

I should have known. Laurent had been here with her before. Of course he’d bring her back. The arrogant bastard probably thought he was being clever, parading her around in my own establishment.

I’d been looking for her everywhere, calling her repeatedly, and she’d been right here.

I moved to my desk and pulled up the security feed on my laptop, my fingers moving fast over the keys. The screens loaded, different angles of every floor, every room, every corner of The Dark Room.

Then I saw them.

Anna and Pierre on the stairs leading to the second floor VIP rooms.

My entire body went rigid.

No. Not Pierre.

Pierre Fontaine. One of Laurent’s friends, but worse. So much fucking worse. Laurent was a player, a user, but Pierre was something else entirely. Hedonistic tastes and appetites. The kind of man who didn’t take no for an answer.

I’d heard the stories about the girls he’d hired and how they came out shaking. Or worse, how they didn’t come out at all until security had to intervene.

I couldn’t confirm much because the girls were under NDAS and couldn’t talk about what happened.

The only reason he still had an access card was Zenco, my best friend and business partner. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be anywhere near my club.

He liked them young, innocent, vulnerable. He liked breaking them.

And Anna, with her wide eyes and her inexperience, was exactly his type.

“Fuck!” I slammed my hands on the desk, my heart pounding violently in my chest.

She had said earlier that she was waiting on Laurent, and now she wasn’t answering.

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Chapter 176

What if that bastard had already gotten to her? What if he’d hurt her? Drugged her?

Oh God.

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The thought sent ice through my veins.

I pulled up my phone and called security.

“Elliot, second floor VIP. Room…” I looked back at the screen, tracking their movement. They’d stopped at a door. “Room 7. Get there now. Don’t let anyone leave that room until I arrive.”

“On it, boss.”

I was already moving, storming out of my office, fists clenched.

Pierre had no idea who he was dealing with. No idea that the girl he was about to lay his filthy hands on belonged to me.

And if he’d already touched her, if he’d hurt her in any way, he was a dead man.

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