Craving My Ruthless Ceo novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Women Like Her Don’t Survive in My World

Roman’s POV

“That’s because there’s nothing else to tell.” Anna’s voice took on a defensive edge that cut me. “I already told you. I got into trouble and I tried to fix it myself.”

“Trouble?” I felt my anger rising, heat flooding through me. “Trouble that required three hundred thousand dollars in cash? Trouble that ended with you almost getting…”

I broke off, my hands clenching into fists as I forced myself to pull back from that mental image. From what almost happened.

If I’d been five minutes late.

No. Don’t go there.

I pressed on, my voice tight. “Have you thought about what would have happened if I hadn’t listened to my instincts? If I hadn’t sent Thomas to follow you?”

She opened her mouth, but I wasn’t finished.

“Whether you like it or not, you’re going to tell me the entire truth.” I stood up, unable to sit still anymore. The energy coursing through me demanded movement. “Since the restaurant, you’ve been acting strange. Especially after you got that text message. What was in it? Let me guess, Drago sending you the location? Telling you where to bring the money?”

She held up her hands in a placating gesture. “Mr Blackwood, please. I’m grateful that you showed up when you did. I am. But in the end, it all worked out, right? Can’t we just put it behind us and move on?”

The protective part of me snapped.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I practically shouted, running my hands through my hair. “Put it behind us? Do you think a man like Drago is just going to let you walk away after what happened tonight?”

“I gave him the money,” she countered stubbornly. “That’s all that should matter. That was the agreement.” She paused. “And with the beating you gave him, the warning, that should scare him off, shouldn’t it?”

I actually laughed, a harsh sound. “Are you really that naive? You think a man like that hasn’t taken dozens of beatings in his line of work? Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with?”

She just stared at me, fear creeping back into her eyes.

“He’s been to prison. Multiple times.” I counted off on my fingers. “He’s into racketeering, money laundering, illegal gambling, and loan sharking. The man runs half the underground in this city. And you think one beating is going to make him forget?”

She was visibly afraid now, her face pale, but she still wasn’t opening up. Still protecting whoever had put her

in this situation.

And that’s when it hit me.

She was protecting someone. Someone she cared about enough to risk her life for.

A boyfriend.

The thought made me even more upset.

Of course she had a boyfriend. The sleazy one she’d mentioned. The one who let her go to that party alone. The one who apparently let her confront loan sharks by herself.

What kind of man does that?

“I can handle myself,” she said, straightening on the sofa and trying to act tough, though I could still see her wincing from the pain of the bruises. “If he decides to come after me, I’ll handle myself.”

Couldn’t she understand that I was trying to protect her? That the thought of anything happening to her made me want to lose control completely?

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Chapter 32 Women Like Her Don’t Survive in My Wor…

“You’re out of your mind’ I stepped closer, my voice dropping into a warning tone. ‘Handle yourself? Just like you handled yourself earlier?’ I could hear the bitterness in my own voice. ‘Dammit, Anna. Who are you protecting? Tell me.’

She looked like I’d struck her, her strong-girl act giving way to fear.

7m not. Im

“Your boyfriend? Is that it?” The words tasted like poison. Just so you know, any man who would let you walk into that situation alone, who would let you confront his debts and put yourself in danger for him, isn’t worth protecting. He sure as hell doesn’t deserve you.”

To my complete surprise, she laughed. Not a happy sound, but one filled with disbelief. “You think I did all of this for a man?”

I felt heat creep up my neck. Was she mocking me? “What the hell am I supposed to believe? You won’t tell me anything.’

“I’m not covering for a boyfriend,” she said firmly, meeting my eyes for the first time since this conversation

started.

Relief flooded through me so intensely it actually scared me. Why did I care so much? Why did it matter? “Then who?” I demanded, my gaze locking onto hers. “Who is worth risking your life for? Who did you walk into that hellhole to save?”

She opened her mouth, and I could see her toughness crumbling in real time. “My… um…”

At that exact moment, Thomas appeared in the doorway.

Perfect fucking timing.

‘Mr. Blackwood,” he called with urgency. “A moment?”

I wanted to tell him to come back later. I was so close to getting the truth out of her. But Thomas might have the information I needed.

I looked back at Anna, exasperation burning through me. “We’re not done with this conversation. Don’t think for a second that we are. Il be right back.”

I walked over to Thomas, every muscle in my body wound tight with frustration and rage that had nowhere to go. “What’s the update?”

Thomas glanced toward Anna, then stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Dave completed the sweep. Drago and his men have been thoroughly convinced never to come near you or Miss Winters again.”

“How thoroughly?” I needed details. I needed to know she was truly safe.

“Broken ribs. Dislocated shoulder. Possibly a fractured jaw. We weren’t gentle.”

Thomas’s expression remained neutral. “We also made it clear that we have evidence of his operations. Tax evasion, loan records, names of everyone in his network. One wrong move toward either of you, and it all goes to the feds.”

“Good.” Something in Thomas’s expression told me there was more. “What else?”

Thomas hesitated, which was unusual for him. “We found out why she needed the money, sir.”

I controlled my breathing. “And?”

“Her mother borrowed over one hundred thousand dollars from Drago,” Thomas continued.

Relief hit me hard.

Not a boyfriend.

Thank God.

Wait. Why did that matter so much?

“She gambled most of it away. Then came back and borrowed more. She spent that on shopping, luxury items, and more gambling. When Drago finally demanded repayment and Mrs Winters had nothing left, he went to

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Chapter 32: Women Like Her Don’t Survive in My Wor…

their home.”

Thomas’s voice hardened. “When they couldn’t pay, he took them. Held them hostage until Anna came up with the money.”

“Them?” My blood ran cold.

“The mother and the sister. According to what Drago told us under duress, the sister was complicit. Shopping sprees, expensive restaurants, designer clothes. All charged against a debt they knew they couldn’t pay.”

Jesus Christ.

“And when Anna showed up with the cash?” I already knew. I already felt sick.

“The mother and sister ran. The moment Drago’s attention was on Anna and the money, they left her there.” Disgust bled into Thomas’s voice. “They abandoned her to face him alone.”

Bloody leeches.

What kind of family does that? What kind of mother takes her daughter’s money and then leaves her to be assaulted by a loan shark?

What kind of sister runs?

Hatred surged through me for the people who shared Anna’s blood but didn’t deserve her loyalty. Didn’t deserve her sacrifice.

And suddenly, everything clicked.

The pieces I had been missing fell together with devastating clarity.

That was why she came back to beg for her job after quitting so dramatically. Why she signed the NDA after telling me to fuck off.

She needed the money to rescue her family.

Even knowing what they’d done. Even knowing they’d squandered a fortune and left her behind.

She still sacrificed herself for them.

It was admirable. Noble, even. The kind of loyalty most people only pretended to have.

But it was also incredibly naive. Dangerously so.

She had so much to learn about life. About protecting yourself first. About cutting people off when they drain you dry, even family. Especially family like hers.

But I could teach her that. I would teach her.

Maybe she really was different from the opportunistic, self-serving women I usually encountered. Different from everyone in my world who only cared about what they could take.

Maybe Anna Winters was exactly what she appeared to be, genuinely good in a way I had forgotten existed.

And that thought both thrilled and terrified me.

Because women like her didn’t survive in my world.

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