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My balance leans to one side, and I fall hard to the ground. With no hands to brace my fall, my head slams hard into the concrete, my vision and blurs and disorients. No. I can’t black out now. I need to help Johnathan before it’s too late. No matter how hard I try, I can’t fight it, and the darkness swallows me once more.
CHAPTER33
Johnathan
The wind whipsthrough my jacket as I wait outside for Isabella. Of course she would pick the day of the most snow we’ve seen in months to set up this meeting. Did she pay off the weather too? I look down at my phone and text Jax an update, telling him to stand by. There’s no guarantee that Isa would be cocky enough to leave Kylie unguarded, but as long as she was here with me, I could at least track her movements.
The car rolls up, and I shove my phone into my pocket, moving from my comfortable stance on the wall. Looks like it’s showtime.
Isabella emerges dressed in all black, a white muff covering both her hands. A dark empress ready to claim her kingdom. I watch as she walks past me without a single greeting, those lips pursed in a twisted scowl. For someone who’s about to get everything she wants, she doesn’t look too happy about it. I can’t really remember a time that Isa was happy about anything, but today seems like that kind of occasion.
I follow silently behind her, the dining hall alive with live music and the smell of food. This celebration of life party seemed like it had heavy accents on the celebration part.
“Johnathan!” Leonardo yells, face flushed as he walks toward me through the crowd. “Glad you could make it.”
He wraps a heavy arm around my shoulders, and I force a smile. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, sir.”
“Come. Let’s get you a drink to celebrate!”
He leads me toward the bar, the usual set up of chairs and tables pushed aside for his guests to mingle. Are all these people in on the plan, or are they just innocent bystanders covering up his latest scheme? I glance back at Isabella, who’s whispering to one of her men. He nods at her before leaving back out the door, and I try not to panic. There has to be a way to text Jax before we run out of time.
“All right, what can I get you?” Leo grunts, shaking me a little. “Anything you want is on me tonight.”
“I’ll take a rum and Coke.” I smile, whipping out my phone. “How about take a photo to celebrate this occasion? I need some new ones for my office, and I don’t want to look too drunk to my clients.”
“Absolutely,” Leo cheers, hugging me closer. His voice dips low as I set up the camera. “If you do anything to fuck this up, I’ll end you where you stand. You know that, right?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I say, holding up the camera in front of us. “Say, ‘money.’”
“Money!” Leo cheeses for the camera and finally lets me go, grabbing our drinks.
I quickly send Jax a thumbs-up text and shoot the photo to Leo. “There, now you have a copy for your office.”
“Lovely.” He hands me my drink, eyes cautious. “Who better to surround yourself with than family on a day like today? Am I right?”
I hold up my drink. “To family.”
He clinks my glass, and I nearly chug the whole drink in one gulp. Hopefully the rum will calm my nerves long enough to get through this thing. I know I told Jax that signing everything away is no big deal, but the thought of even holding a pen right now seems impossible. Even if it is to save Kylie.
“Johnathan,” Isabella calls for me. “A word?”
I down the rest of my drink and slam the glass on the bar. “Coming.”
My heart is beating overtime, fear slowly encroaching the closer I get to her. The look in her eyes tells me that whatever she wants to talk about, it’s nothing good. I follow her through the throng of people toward the bathrooms, the shadowed hall anything but comforting.
“What do you want, Isa?” I spit.
“I want more than fifty percent.”
“You’re fucking with me.” I laugh, nearly mad. “How much more could you want?”
“I want seventy percent and full control of future partnerships. Clearly Ronsberry Law Firm has an issue with who they do business with.”
“Clearly.”
She shakes her head, a small smile on her lips. “You can jab me all you want. But a company like Ronsberry has no need for a leader who doesn’t know how to keep business and pleasure separate.”
One of her hands emerges from the muff with her phone, the surveillance footage of the office on the screen. I blanch as the video plays out my desires.
