The Sweetest Temptation
Chapter 92: Fear and Despair

Chapter 92: Fear and Despair

"I need to check what is happening, Beatrix. Stay here okay I will come back for you?"

Beatrix wanted to protest that it was too dangerous for him to go out there but seeing the uneasiness and anxiety radiating from him she just nodded.

She knew how much Damien meant to Rhys and losing him would ruin him, especially if he just sat here and did nothing.

"Alright please be safe." Beatrix whispered and pressed a kiss on Rhys’ forehead.

Rhys nodded at her and pressed a switch which opened the secret room in her bedroom. She saw a glimpse of her room and her heart stopped in her chest.

It was a chaotic and disorganized space. The couch that she was sitting with Rhys a few minutes ago was broken into pieces scattered across the floor. The walls and ceiling had partially collapsed, and there was debris such as broken glass, plaster, and drywall scattered throughout the room with the room charred.

The strong smell of gas entered her nose and she scrunched her face.

It looked like the house was bombed...God she hoped Damien was fine. Looking at the chaos the possibility seemed really slim. The fact that they were even alive was a miracle.

She had no idea how they built this safe hidden space. Probably for emergencies like these.

She sat down on the floor and every second she spent waiting for Rhys to come back felt like torture.

********

Rhys’ heart thumped in his chest as he took in his surroundings. The once huge mansion had been reduced to a pile of rubble.

The structure of the mansion was destroyed by the collapse of walls, ceilings, and foundations. The place was charred with a heavy scent of chemicals lingering around.

He started looking for Damien, he knew it was going to be hard but he had to find him.

He went to the place that used to be the gym and the place had totally collapsed. It was hard to believe this was the last place he saw his brother.

He checked everyplace where they had incorporated a secret room and Damien was nowhere to be found.

He raked his fingers through his hair, frustration coursing through him.

His brother was a workaholic. Could it be that he was in the office? Or someone had taken him?

Rhys rushed to where the office was and when he got there his heart stopped altogether in his chest when he saw the scene that laid out in front of him.

The office that he had personally decorated to Damien’s taste, was destroyed.

The windows shattered, the furniture ruined, and the floor littered with concrete and glass.

But nothing, nothing in the 28 years of his life was as horrifying as the sight of Damien.

Damien’s lifeless body was laying in a pool of glass and blood at the center of the room.

Rhys’ eyes opened wide, his muscles frozen in place while he stood in complete shock and disbelief.

His heart might as well have been ripped from his chest because it didn’t want to start back up again, skipping every other beat as he tried to believe that what he was seeing was actually real...

Crimson blood flew away from Damien’s body, the floor staining in its wake.

It was as if a piece of him had been ripped away from his very soul as he rushed to Damien’s lifeless body lying on the floor.

"Brother....Damien, hey." His whole back was burned by the radiation and half of his face was disfigured.

A deep sense of hurt spread through Rhys. He was afraid to even check for his pulse to see if he was still alive.

The shock was too much for his soul to bear. But Rhys knew that the more he delayed the inevitable will happen.

He checked Damien’s pulse and even though it was really faint he felt it pulsating against his fingers.

The sound of footsteps nearing the place they were made his blood ran cold. He had no weapon near him and he was in an open space completely vulnerable.

A torchlight fell on him and he completely stiffened, the pall of dread hung over him, numbing him to inaction.

"Fuck Rhys!" He heard Xavier and he let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

All his life he had been protected by Damien and this was his first time experiencing how brutal the mafia world was.

"D-Damien save him...." He managed out.

Xavier padded to him and looked at Damien lying on the floor.

"Shit! This is worse than I thought. We have to take him to the hospital!"

"We need to leave now!!" Xavier yelled, snapping Rhys out of his stupor.

Xavier picked Damien from the floor and ran to his car with Rhys behind him.

Everything happened in a blur for Rhys; he didn’t even know when Xavier had called an ambulance, when they had met them in the middle of the road and when he had gotten into the ambulance.

"We are losing the pulse." The paramedic shouted, causing Rhys’ heart to practically stop.

His hands began to shake at the thought of losing Damien. He was all he had left, he couldn’t imagine losing him too.

"Do something!" He shouted at the men. "Save my brother ! Save my brother or I swear to god I will kill you all!" Rage would be an understatement to describe how Rhys was feeling.

The pain that he felt in seeing his brother lying in his blood was something indescribable.

"He is in critical condition." The paramedic informed them while talking to the others.

"Inform the doctors to prepare for urgent surgery."

Rhys felt his heart shattering with every passing second.

His eyes trained on the heart monitor that was barely showing any signs of movement.

"Come on Damien Fuck!. You have to wake up. Please..." He whispered, his hand squeezing Damien’s own.

"He is not breathing!"

And that was enough to cause Rhys’ world to freeze.

************

Beatrix paced uncomfortably in the space. She couldn’t help but get nervous. Rhys too hadn’t come back yet.

Should she go out and find out what was going on? He had told her to wait for him and he would come back for her but she couldn’t help but get worried.

If there was really danger out there she would just be a distraction for them. So she decided to wait for Rhys.

She had read enough and watched enough movies to know how this played out. She would only be putting herself and them in danger.

She waited patiently for them but her anxiety peaked up as the seconds went by.

Her heart was pounding in her chest and her palm was getting sweaty.

Even though she didn’t want to admit it she knew whatever that was happening was bad. Really bad. The silence in the enclosed space was not helping her already paranoid mind.

What the hell was going on?! She needed to know...she could feel in the pit of her stomach that something wasn’t right.

God please protect them. She had gotten used to living with them so much that she couldn’t imagine her life without them.

She heard the door opening and her heart slammed hard in her chest.

"Beatrix!" She heard Ava’s voice.

God what was she doing here?

"Ava?" She asked hesitantly.

Why was she here at this time of the night and during when they were under attack?

"Yes!" The door fully opened and she entered with an unfamiliar man following behind her with a gun in his hand.

If Beatrix wasn’t scared and anxious of her life right now she would have swooned over the man.

He was freaking gorgeous. He was the only she had seen who could rival Damien’s and Rhys’ looks.

"Oh my God Beatrix are you okay?" Ava pulled Beatrix into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"Y-yes...what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

She asked suspiciously. This was a hidden room she couldn’t have just known she was hiding here.

"I got a call from someone...he said he was called Xavier? I had no idea how he got my number but he told me about you and Damien. I had met Damien and knew he was your fiancé so I listened to him. Also we heard the blast in town.

He told me to come for you. He knew that my boyfriend was ermm.....a powerful man so I could help you." She said awkwardly.

Beatrix glanced at the man behind Ava and she couldn’t help but shiver. He nodded slightly at her.

A powerful man indeed. The aura radiating off him was intimidating.

"O-okay so do you know where Rhys and Damien are? Rhys went to look for Damien but he never came back. I’m afraid—"

Ava exchanged a glance with her boyfriend and she knew whatever that they were hiding was bad.

"What? What are you hiding from me?"

Ava gave Beatrix a sympathetic look and sighed,

"I’m sorry Beatrix—"

Beatrix shook her head and stepped back. Her body trembled and she felt that empty uneasiness in her stomach.

"What do you mean you’re sorry?! Where are they? Fucking tell me right now!"