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"He wasn't. He came here to kill me."
I look between the two of them, missing something but not really wanting to know what it is. The only important thing is Heath's still here with me.
I hug him again, so thankful he's still here, and he squeezes me back tightly. I wince and suck in a deep breath from the pain in my side.
"What's wrong?" Heath asks, concerned.
"It's nothing," I lie, knowing how Heath would react, and from the looks of him, he doesn't need anything else to stress about right now.
"It didn't sound like nothing." He looks me over then lifts the side of my shirt so he can see for himself. And for the first time, I see just how badly Julian bruised me.
"You're hurt."
"Looks like finger marks to me," Kobe calls from the front, his eyes watching us in the mirror.
"Julian did this to you? I'm going to fucking kill him." Heath's eyes are murderous, and I believe him. Right now, I think he would end him with his bare hands.
"No, you're not. This is madness! No one is killing anyone."
"I should have been there with you. I knew right from the beginning he was fucking trouble. What is he even doing here?"
I stare back at him, not sure what I should even say. He's already so mad, and so am I, but I won't have him trying to be some hero here in my defense. But I can't lie to him either. "He's on some power trip, angry because the business deal he had with my father fell through, so now he wants to fuck me over and steal my label for himself."
"We're not going to let that happen, Amelia," Kobe promises.
"I don't think we have any choice, Kobe."
I love my label. I have poured four years of my life into creating it, with my own blood sweat and tears. It helped me recover from Declan leaving me and taught me how to gain my independence and really make something of myself. I would be devastated to have to give it all up because of some arrogant motherfucking French asshole who thinks he can throw his weight around and come out getting what he wants. But in reality, it's just a label; I can do it all over again if I have to. And without me, Julian won't be able to keep it going, not in the same way, because he won't have my unique take on women's fashion. If I can't work out how to stop him, I will just have to let him have it, because the only thing that is important to me now is my family.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
AMELIA
"WhatthehellamI going to do?" I ask the three men sitting in my office. I have been up all night tossing and turning, trying to think up ways to stop Julian from getting his greasy hands on my label, but so far, I have come up with nothing.
Heath's by my side, his hand gripping my leg like he's trying to keep his own shit together so he doesn't totally lose it and do something stupid. Brandon and Kobe are on the other couch, both here for support. Even though we were pretty sure the threat of my dad wanting Heath dead is under control, Kobe stayed with us again last night. Heath and I have only spent a couple of days with him, but already I see him as someone I want in my life forever. I can see why Brandon loves him so much. He's a tough bastard when he has to be, but he also has a massive heart and really cares about the people around him. He didn't want to leave us, knowing what I had to deal with today.
None of us know exactly what Julian is capable of. Leo has done a little research into why he and my father would have even been doing business together, and what he found has everything making more sense. For years they have been using the House of Blanchet name to launder money, and it looks like his plan is to use my label the same way here in America.
I'm getting more anxious by the second because I still don't have a plan. It's been nearly twenty-four hours since Julian was here, and I know he's going to be back any minute, expecting my answer. There's obviously no fucking way in hell I'll let him use the name I created to hide his illegal business dealings, but saying that and getting away with it when I now know just how scary and powerful he is isn't going to work like it would with any other person.
"What exactly did Julian say?" asks Brandon, still trying to catch up with the program.
"In short? He wants to own me."
Heath's grip on my leg tightens.
"And since I married Heath, he's going after my business. My father has sold him both the warehouse and my studio space properties, giving him the power to do whatever he wants with the spaces since he is now the landlord. But he only wants them so he can control me and I guess use my label to hide whatever he's up to here. I have no idea what to do."
"Brandon won't let that happen, and neither will I," says Heath, sounding like he is about to take matters into his own hands. Since his run-in with my father yesterday, he has been on edge, never moving far from me, and whenever he can, he has a hand touching me, keeping some contact between us. He told me what happened in that hotel room, and I know he is more surprised than anyone that he is still here with us today. I hate my father for what he did to him, because I can already see it's going to affect Heath for the rest of his life. While he was protective of me before, now it's at a whole new level.
There is a knock at the door, and I jump, my nerves so on edge. He must be here already. Panic races through my body. "Come in," I call to Summer.
She walks in with a box. "This came for you," she says. "No address or anything, it was on the back step." A shiver runs up my spine. The last time I got a mystery box delivered to my office it was from Heath's stalker, but she's dead now.
"I've got it," says Kobe, taking it from Summer and giving her a wink. She smiles way too sweetly at him then closes the office door slowly. He takes a knife from his pocket and slices open the tape. Looking inside, his face turns puzzled.
"What is it?" asks Heath, his voice full of concern.
