Page 79 of Taking Chances
“How sad that you chose this path,” Bradley said as he also rose from his chair, strolling toward Lorien as though this hadn’t been the crazy event it was. “You could have walked out of here, but instead, you behaved this way. That was your choice.”
“She’s mine,” Lorien spat, his voice strained and crazed. “I won’t give her up, not ever.”
Bradley crossed his arms, standing to my side. He peered down at me. “He’s forfeited his life. He knew what the cost was to his actions, yet he acted anyway. He isn’t even regretful for it now. In short? He’s signed own death warrant on this, and given you’re the official owner of yourself”—Bradley let out a short laugh at that, as though still amused by my play—“I give his life to you. Using this feels fitting.” He pulled the blade Lorien had attacked me with from the table, then pressed it into my hand.
I turned my gaze toward the men—who were all on their feet, watching. The violent desire in their eyes was something I understood well.
They all wanted me to do it. They wanted me to take this blade and plunge it into his chest, to end the problem immediately and permanently. It was what they would have done, what Nem would have done, what both my parents would have done. In fact, it was what every person in my life would have done.
I’d wanted for so long to be like them all, and here was my chance. Except, when I looked at Lorien’s face, when I watched him struggle, I no longer found that desire.
I held the blade up, waiting until Lorien locked his gaze onto it. “I could kill you here and now,” I told him, “but that isn’t who I am. I said that I’ll pick my own path, and that includes now.” I opened my hand and let the dagger fall to the ground. “You’re not worth changing who I am for, and I won’t let you control my future, not for a single moment.” I turned toward Bradley. “He’s yours to do with what you want.”
Bradley chuckled, then nodded, gesturing for his men to take Lorien away. Amazingly, Lorien said nothing else, seemingly shocked by the turn of events. Perhaps he’d thought that, if nothing else, I’d take his life, that I’d end things. He’d probably even thought that if I killed him, we’d have some connection forever, that I’d at least remember the ghosts of this moment, haunted by the memory.
Instead, I’d walked away, and he had to deal with the consequences of his own actions. He could take the coward’s way out.I wouldn’t have wanted to be on Bradley’s bad side—I doubted Lorien would last long in that position. Whatever happened to him, though, it wasn’t my problem, not anymore.
“So, we’re done here?” I asked.
Bradley smiled, then bent to pick up the dagger I’d dropped. He moved it in his hand, rolling it around in his palm, his comfort with it telling me he was certainly not just a businessman. That was the way a person who had used a blade enough times touched one. “So it seems. This isn’t the way I expected this to go, but if nothing else, you’ve kept me quite entertained. Take this, Ms. Williams, as a token to remember what happened here.”
“Like two hundred-and-fifty million isn’t enough to remember,” I muttered.
He snorted but still pressed the blade into my hand. “Even so—you overcame Lorien. You faced off against him and won. If nothing else, take this as proof of that. You’ve earned it.” He turned his gaze to the side, toward the men, then smirked. “Now, I suspect you all have some catching up to do, and if I don’t wrap this up, I doubt your men there will behave themselves much longer.” He nodded, then took a step back. “You and I are bound now, Ms. Williams, so I look forward to a long and productive future for us both.” With that, he walked out, his guards leaving once he’d gone.
Jarrod peered around, then shrugged. “Well, as glad as I am to see you safe, I have zero desire to see that makeup process between you all, so I’ll take my leave. Call me tomorrow, Kenz.” He walked over and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, then strolled out without another word.
It left me there with only Hayden, Char, Vance and Tor. I turned toward them, a strange fear overtaking me.
After so much, after all we’d gone through, what if they no longer felt the same? What if without the danger, without the stress, we had nothing between us?
I forced myself to lift my gaze, steeling myself against whatever I found there. The moment I did, everything shifted around me.
I found strong arms caging me in, and aggressive lips crashed against mine. I jerked backward, afraid the blade still in my hand would cut the person who had grabbed me, but they seemed entirely unwilling to let me go.
“You’re a fucking idiot.” Char’s angry voice would have made me laugh at any other time, but his kisses kept me from doing it.
Just as quickly, someone else caught my chin, turning my face, and softer lips took mine. This kiss was coaxing and oddly sweet, passionate but teasing at the same time. I didn’t need to even open my eyes to know it was Vance, his skill and confidence impossible to confuse for anyone else. Plus, I could feel the way he used his right hand, his damaged one, and he held my chin tightly with the fingers he still had.
For one brief moment, I wondered just how long we had in this room. Could I get away with locking the door, stripping them down, and drowning myself in them?Bradley owes me at least that much, doesn’t he? Two-hundred-and-fifty-million dollars ought to buy me a couple of hours here.
Vance pulled back, his soft laugh warming my lips. “Just wait till we get home, Kenz, and I promise you all you can take and more.” He offered one more kiss before pulling away.
Hands wrapped around me from behind, one slipping around my throat, but where it had terrified me from Lorien, I relaxed against the strong chest behind me. Tor used his thumb to turn my head to the side, so I looked over my shoulder, and found his lips pressed to mine. His kiss was sweet and gentle, as though I were precious to him, like each touch was a way to worship me. He broke the kiss, then trailed his lips against my ear just as his rough, soft voice whispered, “mine.”
My head felt cloudy, my body heavy, as though the stress from the day stole all my energy. Just as I reached out, my legs weak, a familiar body caught me.
Hayden wrapped his arm behind me, pinning me against him as he stared down at me. His dark eyes bore into me, intense and unwavering. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” I asked.
His lips tipped up to one side. “Home, because I missed you a hell of a lot, and there isn’tnearlyenough sound proofing here for what I plan to do.”
And those words, which should have scared the hell out of me, only excited me.
If that didn’t prove just how hopelessly in love I was with these men, nothing would.
Epilogue