Chapter 84

Michael’s look of pure disbelief remained firmly in place as I shot up from the table. He shook his head and gave a frustrated look. Soon, the three of us were making our way down the hall toward the main entrance.

“David, you can’t be serious about any of this.”

“But, Michael, I thought you of all people would be thrilled to know that Mia was soon to be single...Aren’t you the one who’s held a torch for her since you were both children?” David asked pointedly.

I nearly stopped short and glared at Michael over my shoulder with shock. Meanwhile, Michael buried his face in his hands with embarrassment.

What the actual hell was happening? Did Michael really feel that way toward me?

‘But the two of us hardly even know each other,’ I thought briskly. ‘How could he possibly feel anything romantic toward me?’

Seeing one of David’s men rushing through the front doors, tore me out of my train of thought. The man looked ruffled and completely out of breath. “Sir...Derek has already torn through the first line of defense. Man is thoroughly ticked off and not appearing to be stopping any time soon.”

A vicious snarl tore through the air, accompanied by a deep voice that sent chills down my spine. “Not much of a defense, if you ask me.”

The doors slammed open a second later. My eyes widened as I took in the unnerving sight of the enraged, inhuman state of James. My heart skipped in my chest. His clothes and hair were disheveled and there was a bit of blood on his hands.

“I suggest you get yourself a better group of men who won’t end up folding by the sight of money, Durant,” James growled with a hint of arrogance in his voice. “All it took were a few hundred dollar bills and more than half of your little army fled the scene.”

“Fucking useless they were anyway,” David snarked.

“James,” I called out.

It all felt so surreal. He actually came for me. He didn’t burn the contract—he was literally standing no more than ten feet away. Perhaps, I haven’t succeeded in pushing him away completely. Maybe...Maybe our relationship wasn’t over just yet.

Was it silly to feel hopeful? Perhaps, a bit premature...The situation we all found ourselves in was not going to be an easy one to get out of.

James snapped his attention in my direction and tried to move toward me. David reached into the inner, side pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small handgun and aimed it at me. James stopped short and failed to hold back a grueling snarl.

“Stop it, right there, Derek. One more step and I kill her right where she stands.”

Both Michael and James let out raging growls under their breath.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Michael questioned.

“I would rather have my niece die by my own hand than by the hands of a stupid, heartless Derek.”

“How dare you think that I would ever cause Mia harm,” James hissed. “I love her. I know I’ve done a shity job at proving it to her, but it’s the truth.”

“Exactly how much do you love her?” Davis asks skeptically. “Clearly not enough to put her life at risk like this...I gave you two options, you could have simply picked the first one. With that contract no longer valid, I could easily have set Mia up with a respectable man who would never turn against her. Like Michael, for instance.”

James turned to Michael and glared at the man in seething displeasure. “Is that why he stole her in the first place? Did he drag her all the way here to play matchmaker for you? If I find out that you laid a single finger on her, I will rip you apart.”

Michael sneered at James’ presumptuous ideas. “Oh, please, as if I would need help trying to convince Mia what a complete waste of time it was, tying herself to you!”

“Stop it!” I shouted. “All of you just stop it! This is utterly ridiculous!! David for Christ’s sake, how I choose to live my and with who is no one’s goddamn business! Michael, you know I will always care for you, but I do not feel the same level of love for you that you may feel toward me...And, James...we do have a lot of issues to work out but...maybe there’s a reason why fate decided to link us together.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” David questioned.

I let out a long breath.“James and I are fated mates, David.”

I noticed something dangerous flicker across the older man’s eyes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, well fate has been known to make mistakes before...” Suddenly, a devious smile spread across his face. “So, you’re willing to throw away your life on fate, is that it?”

I did not favor the particular tone of his voice. I could tell the demented wheels were turning inside of his head with each second that went by. My gaze slowly dropped to the gun he kept tightly in his grip.

This situation was becoming more and more unpredictable with every passing moment. We all watched David reach back into his pocket with his free hand and, this time, take out a single coin.

“How about we let fate decide how things play out then, shall we?” he asked playfully.

My heart skipped several beats.

“What?” James asked with confusion.

“Heads—you die? Or Tails—Mia dies,” David clarified.

Michael must have been feeling the same uncomfortable way about David’s insane plan. He tried to talk sense to the older man but to no avail. “If this is going to cause such an issue, I’m more than able to settle on taking out Mia.” David turned to glance at me with a strange tenderness in his eyes. “Surely, you see that it’s not a personal issue, dear.”

David cocked the gun and held it back to the center of my chest.

James shouted in objection. “NO!! For fuck’s sake, if you’re so hellbent on killing someone, then choose me!”

“What?!” I yelled.

“Go ahead, Durant. As long as Mia walks out of this place safely and unharmed, I’ll let you fire the entire round into me if you so wish.”

“James, please, don’t do this...” My voice broke with crippling emotion.

A long pause went by and the tension finally broke. David must have seen the honest feeling that was between James and me. He let out a sigh in defeat before lowering the gun.

“I may be a rough old man, but I’m not blind yet. I can see that the two of you obviously feel something for one another,” he sighed. I felt a brief flicker of hope in my chest.

“Fine. The two of you are allowed to leave. But know this, Derek. If I even catch the slightest idea that you are mistreating Mia, I will hunt you down and do away with you the way I should have finished off your family.”

James’ brows furrowed with confusion. I swiftly grabbed his hand and made a break for the doors. I couldn’t trust my nerves to remain strong much longer. The second I felt the cool night air hit my face, I was struck with an unbearable wave of nausea.

Before I could stop myself, I doubled forward and ended up emptying the contents of my stomach while letting out a horrific cry.