Chapter 64 64
Roman's Pov
I stood in Clyde's office, my hands tucked in my pocket while staring at the city stretched beneath the glass.
“Dominion Industries has been fully transferred,” Clyde said behind me.
“All subsidiaries. All liquid assets. Everything now belongs to Maisie.”
I nodded once, triumph filling my chest. Xavier had handed over his empire with a smile on his face and delusion in his eyes. He was convinced that he'd secured the one thing he thought mattered — Maisie. If only he knew.
“Maisie didn't hesitate?” Clyde asked.
“Not once,” I replied. “Maisie never hesitates when she should.”
I turned from the window. “What about the clause?”
Clyde exhaled. “Still buried as planned. Xavier didn't notice when he signed away the company in Maisie's name.”
I poured myself a drink and didn't offer him one. “Xavier is many things but he's not stupid. Maisie will have to be careful.”
“Why'd you say that?” Clyde's brows furrowed.
“Men like Xavier don't just love. They become obsessed. They claim their prize how they see fit.” I explained.
“How'd you know?” Clyde asked.
I grimaced when I recalled how I'd nearly proposed to Kylie years ago and how Xavier had stolen her from me. Or for better references, she walked out on her own. Xavier had fought for her in ways I never could. He'd been obsessed and put her on a pedestal — something I'd been afraid to do.
“I just do.” I shrugged.
Clyde crossed his arms over his chest. “Then what does she do?”
I didn't answer immediately because the truth sat heavy in my chest.
“What she'd always wanted to do for the last three years,” I said finally. “Win… but pay for it.”
Clyde frowned. “Pay for it? That sounds odd.”
“It does.” I lied but it didn't.
There are things I'm keeping from Maisie that I wished I could tell her but telling her would jeopardize everything we'd both worked for.
I wanted her to win but I also wanted to win too.
The main reason why I chose Maisie to be part of my revenge plan wasn't because I was attracted to her or because I saw potential in her. It was because she was also my target. When I'd planned to destroy Xavier, I planned to destroy her too. And till now, that goal hadn't changed.
“I know this isn't my story to tell but…” Clyde seemed to hesitate for a moment before he finally admitted to me. “... the actual reason why the Healer's Project was revived wasn't only because it was originally Maisie's idea.”
My brows arched with interest. “What are you talking about?”
Clyde sighed. “You didn't hear it from me but… Maisie planned to weaponize the Red Howl and inject Xavier with it.”
My face blanched. “Wait. What?”
“Xavier had known her daughter had the Red Howl yet, he did nothing about it. He accused Maisie of lying to him and on the night Aria died, he abandoned Maisie to stay with Kylie and her son. I don't think Maisie has completely gotten over the death of her little girl's and because of that, what's Xavier to suffer the same fate she did —”
I didn't wait for him to finish before I grabbed my coat. “Did Maisie tell you where she is right now?”
“She texted an hour ago that she'd left DI with Xavier so they're probably somewhere on a date.” He shrugged, then narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“The Healer's wristband was launched a few days ago. What does that tell you?” I reached for my keys.
“Shit!” Clyde dragged his hand through his hair. “Maisie's gonna inject him with it. Today.”
“I have to stop her, not because I care about Xavier,” I slipped into my coat. “but because the only hands that should be stained with his blood are mine. No one else's.”
I took the elevator to the underground parking lot and rushed to my car.
“Don't do it, Maisie.” I mumbled as I climbed into the driver's seat. Damn it. What didn't she tell me? What if she got caught? This wasn't part of our plan.
‘Killing her wasn't part of the plan either,’ my wolf accused.
I clenched the steering hard. He was right. I'd made a deal with Maisie, leaving out the fact that I'd have to kill her the moment she gets her revenge. Now, I wonder if that deal would still be valid.
I pressed my foot against the gas and sped out of there.
Xavier was a sucker for luxury so he'd definitely want to show off to Maisie. And the only place he frequented was the MIRAGE. Thanks to my membership, I got into the club and began my search for them.
I asked for whereabouts and got no response. However, when I passed a few dollar bills to some of the bodyguards on standby, they sang like a canary.
Xavier and Maisie were in the club's library. Maisie was probably the one who suggested it. What better to kill him than in the most quiet and unsuspicious places in the entire club.
“Damn it, Maisie.” I cursed and continued my march.
I found the door and pounded an impatient fist against it. It swung open a minute later, revealing a skinny, bespectacled man with confusion stamped on his face when he saw me standing there. “Can I help you?”
“Where’s Ma — Chloe?”
“She’s upstairs, but who—” I shouldered my way past him, which wasn’t hard considering he weighed a hundred sixty, tops.
“Hey, you can’t go up there!” he yelled. “They’re in the middle of something.”
Fuck. That. If Maisie was having sex—a dangerous rhythm pulsed behind my temple at the thought—that was all the more reason for an interruption. When Xavier becomes horny, he becomes one of the most dangerous creatures in existence. But I knew Maisie better than anyone. She wouldn't get together with Xavier even if he was the last wolf on earth. The weasel had cheated on her, and she didn’t seem like the type who’d crawl back to someone after they treated her terribly.
Once I reached the second floor, I didn’t need to guess what room she was in—I heard sounds bleeding through the half-open door at the end of the hall.
Behind me Spectacles pounded up the steps, the latter still blabbering about how I couldn’t be up here even though I was already fucking here. I didn’t know how he survived this long. He was a total numbskull.
I opened the door all the way and froze.
Not sex. Worse.
Maisie huddled next to Xavier on a cream-coloured couch. They were whispering and laughing while staring at Xavier's phone, so engrossed in their little tête-à-tête they didn’t notice they had company.
My temple pulsed harder.“What…” My voice sliced through the air like a whip. “Is going on here.”
It wasn’t a question. I knew what was going on.
The syringe in Maisie's hand, the way her fingers curled behind Xavier's head, the way his pupils dilated… she'd already made him drunk and was in the process of injecting him with the virus.
Maisie’s eyes widened with alarm when she spotted me. “Roman? What are you doing here?”
“I tried to stop him,” Spectacles panted, out of breath. Living proof that skinniness does not equal fitness.
“He’s here for you, babe.” Xavier drawled, his eyes glowing with amusement. “You, sir, look super hot, by the way. Who are you again?”
Damn. He was a goner. Probably won't remember anything from this.
“I know what you're thinking of doing with that but don't.” I took a step towards her.
Her face fell but she quickly schooled her features. “It doesn't matter, Roman. He has to suffer the same way Aria did.”
“As much as it pains me to admit it, he doesn't,” I bit out. “We’releaving. Right now. And Xavier, here, is going home.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin in defiance. “I trust you, Roman, but right now, you have no say in what I can and cannot do.”
“I can!” I snapped.
“No, you don't. I have to do this.” she snapped back.
The simmering in my blood had reached a full boil. “We're. Leaving. Now.”
“No-oh.” Maisie’s glare intensified, and she dragged out the word “no” until it had two syllables.
“Hey, dude, I don’t mean no harm.” Spectacles let out a nervous chuckle. “Like she said, this is …”
I shot him a glare and he scurried out of the room with his tails tucked between his legs. My gaze fell on Xavier. The idiot was lying on his back now, too dazed to recognize any of us or his surroundings in general.
“Maisie?” I stretched my hand towards her. “Let's go. This isn't worth it.”
She scoffed. “That's a lie and we both know it.”
She was calling on my bullshit and this time, she wasn't wrong.
I leaned forward and she backed away.
“Roman, stop.” She shook her head.
I lunged forward and she squawked in protest when I carefully snatched the syringe out of her hands.
Maisie stepped back for a minute, then reached for the syringe in a poorly concealed attempt to catch me off guard.
I’d expected the move, but I still grunted at the impact as she scrambled over me like a fucking spider. Her breasts grazed my arm, and her hair tickled my skin.
My blood heated at the sensation.
She was so close I could hear her breath coming out in soft pants. I tried not to notice how her chest heaved or how smooth her skin felt pressed against mine. They were dangerous, twisting thoughts that had no place in my mind right now.
“Give it back!” she ordered. It was almost cute how she thought she could order me around.
“No.”
Maisie narrowed her eyes. “If you don’t give it back, I swear to the Moon I'll kiss Xavier right now.”
Another bolt of fury sizzled through me. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
Our faces were inches apart, our words so soft no one could hear them except us.
Nevertheless, I lowered my head so I could whisper right in her ear. “If you dare me, Maisie, I'll kill Xavier myself and all of your preparations will be for nothing.” A wintry smile touched my lips. “You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
There were two ways to threaten people: attack them directly, or attack those they care about. I wasn’t above doing either.
Maisie’s mouth trembled. She believed me, as she should, because I meant every word.
“You’re an asshole.” she hissed at me.
“Yes, I am, and don’t you forget it.” I straightened and snapped the syringe in two. “Let’s go.”
Maisie didn’t argue, but she also refused to look at me as she stalked past me without another word.
As we found the exit, I made a call to the Pack Mansion.
“Safe” should be the last state Xavier should be in but not for long.