Chapter 240 240

Chapter 240 240
Nat

Color leached from Noah's skin as Elias walked up to our table, menace oozing out of every pore.
His presence hit like a silent storm. He stood tall and unyielding in a fitted black shirt and jeans, jaw tight, eyes like burning coal as they bore into Noah with thinly veiled rage. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, and I knew—just from that look—that if I wasn't sitting between them, Noah might already be laid out on the floor.
Noah's chair scraped slightly as he instinctively jerked back, alarm spreading across his features. "Elias," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I…what are you -"
"Shut up," Elias said coldly, cutting him off with a voice sharp as a blade. The weight of his anger made the air feel heavy. He didn't yell. He didn't need to. The calm fury emanating from him was worse. Way worse.
Elias stepped forward, slowly, deliberately, and dropped into the chair beside me. He sat like he was coiling himself in, holding back the full force of what he wanted to do. His fists were clenched on the table, the tension rolling off him like heat waves.
"Sit," he ordered Noah without taking his eyes off him.
Noah obeyed like a man facing execution, easing down onto the seat like it might turn to fire beneath him. He licked his lips nervously and adjusted his glasses, all the while his eyes were darting all over place, probably trying to see if he could safely make a run for it.
"Don't even think about running." Elias informed him in a frosty tone. "Don't say a word, just sit there and listen while I talk. Understood?"
Noah blinked, visibly rattled, mouth snapping shut as he swallowed hard. Then, shoulders slumped in defeat and he hung his head and nodded slowly.
I shifted slightly in my seat, watching the scene unfold with grim satisfaction. Let him squirm. Let him feel the edge of the noose tightening.
Elias's posture was deceptively casual, one arm resting on the table—but I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers curled slightly as if still debating whether it was worth punching Noah right then and there.
"You're going to get up," Elias said, voice low but lethal. "You're going to walk out of this hotel with us. Quietly. No scenes. No attempts to run. No calls, no texts, nothing stupid. If you try anything…" He leaned in, voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "You'll regret it. I promise you."
Noah nodded shakily, sweat beading at his brow. "Okay… okay."
I smiled then, slow and mean, the kind of smile that made his eyes flick to me in fresh panic. I leaned forward, a slow, vicious smile curving my lips. "And if you so much as twitch in a direction I don't like, I'll beat your ass right here in front of everyone'," I said sweetly. "I've been dreaming about it, Noah. Don't give me a reason to make it come true."
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Understood."
"Good," Elias said, rising smoothly from his seat. "Let's go."
The waiter reappeared with my coffee, looking mildly startled at the tense trio at the table. I stood abruptly, ignoring the steaming cup, and Elias rose too.
Flanking Noah on either side, we moved through the restaurant. A couple of diners glanced our way, but no one seemed particularly interested—we weren't causing a scene. Not yet, anyway. I almost wished Noah would try something funny so I could make good on my promise, but to my disappointment, he kept his head down as we passed the concierge, his steps jerky with nerves, and I could practically hear the gears in his head spinning, trying to figure out what was going to happen next.
But he wouldn't find an answer.
Because this time, we were in control.
And the Dubois family?
They were about to find out they had crossed a line in a very bad way.
At the parking lot, Dex and Jack were waiting by the car, their expressions mirroring ours. Without a word, Dex opened the rear door and gestured for Noah to enter. After a moment's hesitation, he obeyed, giving me one last look which I ignored as I got in beside him, with Elias on the other side, keeping him trapped between us.
The SUV rolled through the massive steel gates like it belonged there, the armed guards nodding as we passed. I sat stiffly in the backseat, ignoring Noah, who looked like he was headed to his own execution. Which, considering Elias's mood, wasn't far off.
The property we pulled into wasn't just large—it was sprawling. Secluded. Palatial. The kind of mansion you'd see in a movie, all marble columns and oversized glass windows reflecting the late afternoon sun. My eyes swept over the security cameras tucked discreetly into the corners of the roofline, the armed guards positioned near the front door, and the landscaping that was just too perfect to be real.
"Jamie Carlton used to live here," Dex said from the front seat, sounding far too casual for someone about to dump a man in a shed. "Action guy with the buzz cut, remember? Elias bought it two days ago. Cash."
Of course he did.
Inside, the place was immaculate, tastefully furnished and smelling of unlimited wealth. I could hear the soft beeping of monitors and murmuring coming from somewhere down the hall, and as I glanced around, I spotted a woman in scrubs passing quietly from one room to another, tablet in hand.
Ah.
I had to give it to Elias, when the man wanted something done, he moved quickly and decisively. He hadn't just pulled Maya and the babies out of the hospital, he'd brought the hospital to her. I couldn't help the way my throat tightened with emotion, a tiny pang of envy that I quickly erased from my mind.
Say what you wanted about Elias, and fuck knows I had several things to say, but the man didn't do anything halfway. And when it came to Maya and the twins, he'd moved heaven, hell, and the better part of the Los Angeles real estate market to keep them safe.