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“No.”
“Do you really want me to ask Carlo to carry you away?” I ask. I know she wouldn’t want to cause a scene in front of all her party guests.
Her shoulders sag as she looks at me, panic flitting across her eyes. Her friend Sky steps forward, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.
“Come on, Dany. You need a drink. I’m sure Josh can handle himself,” she says sensibly, leading her away.
I nod at Carlo, giving him a look to take care of her, and he follows the women. And then I’m left alone with Joshua Hart. His arms are crossed at his chest, his posture confrontational. He can kick it down a notch. If I was going to kill him, I wouldn’t do it in front of all the guests. Plus, I suspect Daniella will never forgive me if I do. And I have a vested interest in keeping her happy.
“Here’s how it’s going to go, Hart,” I begin. “You’ll stay away from Daniella. If I even catch you within twenty miles of her, then you’ll regret it.”
My words are lazy, unbothered, but I’m so fucking serious about it. And he can tell.
“Or what? You’re going to kill me?”
The man doesn’t fear for his life. That’s cute. And a lie. But there are worse ways to destroy a man than death.
“I hear the Hart Media Industry has been facing some problems lately. Tax evasion, suspicions of fraud.”
His brown eyes are wide as he takes me in. “You—” He falters. “You’ve been fucking with my family’s company.”
“No. You’ve don’t done that all by yourself. Just some information that fell into my lap but, if you think I wouldn’t destroy you and your family without blinking an eye, then you’re delusional.”
“I think you’re the one that’s fucking insecure. All this because I talked to Daniella? Or maybe it’s because you know deep down that she'd rather be with me.”
The man really has no brain cells. I chuckle, but the sound has no mirth.
“Baiting me is the completely opposite of what you should be doing right now, Joshua.”
“Let Daniella go. You can have any other woman you want.”
“But I want her and I have her.”
“She’s not yours. Daniella and I—” His next words end before he can voice them.
Faster than he can blink, I have my hand around his collar. The gesture comes so easily to me. Holding a man’s life in my hands. Very slowly, I apply pressure.
“There is no Daniella and you,” I say, my voice deadly calm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her start to approach, but Carlo holds her back. The rest of the party edge away from the scene. I take this all in while still trying to squeeze the life out of the man in front of me.
“Christian,” my mother say sharply, stepping behind me. Topher’s on her arm, and my brother watches with barely disguised amusement. “You will not kill anybody at this engagement party.”
“He pissed me off,” I tell her, still squeezing. Joshua’s starting to turn a little red.
He pushes at my arm but his attempts are useless. I apply just a little more pressure. His eyes are starting to take on that sheen I recognize. The one that shoots a thrill through me. Fear.
“Christian!” my mother yells.
“Let him do it,Mamma,” Topher says in a tone that slightly grates on my nerves. “Judging by the look on Daniella’s face, this might be the one thing that’ll finally drive her away. Maybe then he’ll finally see sense.”
My jaw clenched, I let go of Joshua. He falls to the ground, gasping for breath, while I turn to my brother.
“What?” Topher asks innocently.
My gaze goes to Daniella but she’s not there. Carlo gestures at the doors to the ballroom and her retreating form is the last thing I see. Fuck! Losing my temper like that was definitely a mistake.
* * *
