How did they know I was here? Were the Wolves following me too? I shake the thought from my head instantly. Of course they were following me, Russo said as much.
Knowing how this is going to end, I try to step around Kai, but he throws his arm out like some kind of steel pole, blocking my advance.
The four Wolves seem to be shaking with anger, or maybe it’s fear. After all, Kai, Sebastian, and Eli have a bit of a reputation for being some of the most lethal guys in the game. “She’s ours now,” one of the Wolves spit, his hand flinching by his side for his gun, but he shouldn’t bother. No one pulls a gun or shoots faster than Sebastian. They’ll all be dead before they’ve even got their gun out of their pants.
Eli scoffs. “She’ll never be yours.”
The Wolf who had spoken scans his dark gaze over the boys and then finally rests his glare on me. “Too late for that now, isn’t it, princess?” he says with a sick smirk. “Call off your dogs. It’s time for them to go.”
Kairo steps forward, taking point. “The fuck did you say?”
No, no, no, no, no.
I race around Kairo and put myself between the two gangs. I meet the eye of the Wolf before looking at Kai and the boys. “He’s right,” I tell him, feeling the knife slice right through me. “It’s time for you three to go. You’ve said what you came to say, and nothing has changed. Leave.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sebastian says, looking as though I just stabbed him in the back, which in all honesty, I think I did.
“Please,” I say, desperate to keep the peace here. “Unless you’ve changed your mind, then there’s nothing else that needs to be said. Just go before something happens.”
Sebastian meets my eyes before shaking his head in disappointment. Without another word, he stalks back to his car, absolutely gutting me. I've never seen him look so broken and hurt in my life.
Eli is next. He looks at me just like Sebastian had, but he’s more aware of the threat standing in front of him. “This ain’t going to end pretty,” he warns me.
“I know,” I tell him before watching as he slinks away, leaving Kai staring straight ahead, more than capable of handling the three Wolves on his own.
“I know what you’re fucking planning,” he tells them, not bothering to look down at me. “Let this be your warning, if you touch even one hair on her body, I will personally end you.”
The three Wolves swallow back fear and do their best to look confident, but they’re fucking shaking at the thought of having to face down Nic’s second in command. Not another word gets said, they just stare, the hatred between them thicker than anything I’ve ever felt.
I take a hesitant step toward the Wolves and turn to face Kai straight on, showing where I stand, and with that, he shakes his head and walks away.
I watch as the two cars pull away and drive out of the empty parking lot, but the second the Wolves step toward me, I retreat faster than my feet can take me. I race toward the Audi, terrified of being alone with these guys. After all, I am meant to be jumped at some point and after all that bullshit, I’m kinda hoping today isn’t the day.
I dive back into the Audi and get my ass out of there, ignoring the twelve missed calls from Colton and the thirteenth that currently has my phone screeching through the car. All that matters is getting home.Chapter 12“Come on,” Colton says, hooking his arm over my shoulders as we walk out of the shitty restaurant that just held the world’s worst business dinner. I mean, there is no way that Colton is going to allow those douche canoes to get in bed with him. They were the dodgiest guys I have ever met, and that’s saying a lot coming from me. “Let’s get out of here before they come at me with more ‘paperwork’ to back up their ridiculous claims.”
I laugh. “I mean, I’m not going to pretend that I understood anything that just went down in there, but even I can tell that those numbers weren’t real.”
“Exactly. They’re just another company on the verge of bankruptcy. They came here hoping that some stupid eighteen-year-old kid would fall for their bullshit and pull them out of the hole they dug.”
I glance up at him, lacing my fingers through his as we walk out to his car, only after he was made to pay for the meal that we were just invited to. I mean, poor form. Again, I don’t know shit about this world, but I can more than understand that if you request an audience with Colton Carrington to try and fool him into partnering with your broke ass company, the least you can do is cover the bill. I highly doubt anyone has slid a check across the table toward Colton and asked him to split it before. That kind of shit just doesn’t happen around here and says more about them than we learned during the whole dinner. “Does that happen often?” I ask, referring to him constantly being asked to partner in businesses.