Beneath Her Bastard Boss

Chapter 161 Chapter 161 Consciousness returned to Keira in waves, each one bringing with it a fresh surge of pain behind her eyelids. She wasn't instantly aware. Whatever they had used to knock her out was effective.

The floor beneath her was cold and hard. Her head throbbed. Her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton.

"Alexei," she mumbled, the events before her blackout rushing back in fragmented pieces.

She forced her eyes open, blinking against the harsh fluorescent light. She was in skind of storage room, concrete floors, metal shelving stacked with boxes, a single window high on the wall letting in a sliver of moonlight. Her once-beautiful crimson dress was torn at the hem and smeared with dirt.

"Glad to see you rejoining the living." Alexei's voice cfrom her left. She turned her head to find him propped against the wall near sshelving only a few feet away, his tuxedo jacket gone, white shirt stained with blood from a nasty gash at his temple. His hands were bound like hers, but he seemed alert, his eyes clear despite the injury. His head must be hurting like hell.

"Are you okay?" She shuffled toward him, wincing as her bare feet scraped against the rough concrete. Why had they taken her shoes? Or had they fallen off? "I've been better." His mouth twisted into a humorless smile. "You?" "I feel like I've been hit by a truck." She looked around the room, searching for exits. One metal door presumably locked. The only high window, unreachable without something to stand on. She could see the window had bars on it, so even if they could reach the window, they couldn't get out. But they could call out for help.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Skind of warehouse by the docks, judging by the smell and the shipping containers I glimpsed when they brought us in." His eyes never left her face. "You've been out for about forty minutes." "The men that took us?" "I injured one. I heard them talking. They dumped us in here and left." Keira's stomach dropped. "Did they say what they want?" "Money, I assume. Ransom. It's usually money." His voice was oddly calm, almost clinical. "Though no one's made demands yet." She scooted closer until they were side by side, her shoulder pressed against his. The contact helped her racing heart, grounding her in reality when panic threatened to take over.

"This is real, isn't it?" she whispered. "We're actually being held hostage. I can't even hope this is a nightmare." "I'm afraid it's very real." His eyes softened as he looked at her. "I'm sorry, Keira. You shouldn't be here. This is my fault." "How exactly is this your fault? Did you call up skidnappers and say, 'Hey, could you graband my assistant tonight? We've got nothing better to do."" A small smile tugged at his lips despite the gravity of their situation. “There it is. I was worried they'd drugged the fight out of you." "Never." 1/3 Chapter 161 "I shouldn't have sent the bodyguards away." Keira gave him a level look. "Did you see the guns those guys were carrying? I would say you saved your people's lives." She held up her bound hands. "Can you get these off?" "Been working on mine." He shifted, showing his own restraints, which were frayed where he'd been sawing them against a sharp edge of metal shelving. "Almost there." "Good. Because I'm not planning to die in a warehouse wearing a designer dress or this young, I want to be really old when I die." Alexei's expression grew serious. "No one's dying tonight." "You're bleeding," she said softly, noticing fresh blood trickling from his temple.

"Head wounds. They always look worse than they are." He sounded like one of those action heroes from a blockbuster film. She could almost picture him tearing off part of his shirt to bandage the injury before continuing the fight. But she knew his head had to hurt.

So, she didn't believe him, but arguing wouldn't help. "What's the plan, oh, fearless one, once you get free, of course?" "First, I get you out of those." He nodded toward her restraints. “Then we find a way out of here." She looked around again. Not sure how Alexei planned on doing that unless he turned all ninja on the kidnappers or was the next MacGyver. "That's your plan? That's barely even an outline." "You have a better idea?" "No," she admitted, "but I thought royals were supposed to have special training for this kind of thing." Wishing now that she had taken ssort of training on how to fight.

"We do. Basic hostage survival. But it mostly involves staying alive until rescue arrives." He resumed working his restraints against the metal edge. "I never paid much attention. I was too busy being a royal pain in the ass, remember?" "This is not the tfor jokes, Alexei." She shot him a warning look.

"It's exactly the time." His voice was low, urgent. "Fear will paralyze you. We need to stay sharp and alert." "I can tell you... I'm scared, Alexei." She had never been so scared in her life. But she promised herself if she got out of this alive, she was going to take sclasses... maybe kickboxing.

"Something would be wrong with you if you weren't scared." Alexei reassured her.

A sudden noise cfrom the other side of the door. They both froze, eyes fixed on the entrance as the sound of footsteps approached.

"They're coming back," Keira whispered, fear clawing up her throat.

"Listen to me," Alexei said quickly, leaning close. "Whatever happens, letdo the talking. These men want something, and they needalive to get it. You're..." He hesitated.

"Expendable," she finished for him. She had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. And he was right; they didn't need her.

Had they only snatched her to buy themselves escape time, preventing her from sounding the alarm? Screaming for help.

"No." His eyes flashed with something fierce. "Never that. But they might not see your value. So, stay quiet, stay small, let them think you're too terrified to be a threat." "I won't need to act because I am terrified?" 9/2 MON, IFAug Chapter 161

"Just don't run off at the mouth, Keira. You can do that atonce they leave.ele spftened just slightly. "You can do this. I've seen you face down ambassadors and billionaires without flinching. You handlejust fine." The lock rattled. Alexei quickly moved them away from the shelving, putting distance between them.

The door swung open, and two men entered, both masked and armed. One stood by the door while the other approached, weapon trained on Alexei.

Could it be a positive sign that their faces remained concealed? If they revealed themselves, it would signal they intended to eliminate both captives after securing whatever they were after. With masks still in place, Keira clung to the possibility they might survive this ordeal. "The prince awakens," the man said, voice muffled by his balaclava. His accent was Eastern European, but not Wystovian. "And his girlfriend. Good." Keira was about to say she wasn't his girlfriend but stopped herself. Alexei had told her to stay quiet. She was thinking she might be of more value if they thought she was Alexei's girlfriend.

"What do you want?" Alexei's voice had changed, taking on a harder edge Keira had never heard before. "What does anyone want with a prince?" The man laughed coldly. "Money. Power. Revenge. Take your pick." "If it's ransom, my father will pay;" Alexei said evenly. "There's no need to involve the woman. Let her go.' Keira understood the standard protocol regarding ransoms, Wystovia, like most nations, refused to negotiate with hostage takers. Rescue or escape was their only hope "Oh, but she's insurance. To make sure you behave." The kidnapper moved closer, gun still trained on Alexei. "Besides, she might have her own value. She is a pretty little thing...'

Keira's skin crawled at the assessment. She kept her eyes down, remembering Alexei's (instructions to appear Week, but her mind was already racing. The zip ties around Alexei's wrists were nearly worn through. They needed time. The kidnapper crouched down in front of Alexei. "Your father has been contacted. The negotiations begin soon. Until then-" he glanced at Keira, "-we'll keep ourselves entertained." E