Chapter 145 I'd Take a Bullet, Not the Blame

Chapter 145 I'd Take a Bullet, Not the Blame

Isabella's POV:

I stared at my phone, frozen in shock as Emma's voice continued to rip through the speaker. The barrage of curses and threats made me wince.

"Isabella, what's wrong with you?" James asked with an amused smile, walking into the living room.

I snapped out of my trance and glared at him. "You're fucking laughing?!" Without hesitation, I hurled my phone straight at his chest. James caught it just before impact, his reflexes quick despite his casual demeanor.

"I just took that verbal beating for you!" I hissed, rising from the couch. My eyes narrowed as I approached him. "Who did you send to handle Vivian?"

James's brow furrowed in confusion. "I sent Elio, of course." He shrugged, clearly not understanding my fury. "What's the problem? Elio's never messed up before."

"Well, he fucked up spectacularly this time," I muttered, pacing around the room. I ran through the events that had triggered Emma's wrath, explaining how Elio had taken Vivian directly from under Alexander's surveillance team's noses.

When I finished, James rolled his eyes dramatically. "Are you serious? Donna's brain isn't working, and apparently, neither is yours."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I stopped pacing, hands on my hips.

"The people who saw Elio grab Vivian work for Alexander!" James emphasized each word like he was talking to a child. "They were obviously assigned to follow Vivian. Do you think Alexander's men are incompetent? If someone took their target right in front of them and they didn't notice, they'd be fucking dead by morning."

The realization hit me like a slap.

"If I were you," James said, heading toward the stairs to the second floor, "I'd call Alexander and chew him out instead. Ask him what kind of people he's using to follow targets. Next time, tell him to use some incompetent idiots who wouldn't notice if someone disappeared right in front of them."

I stood frozen, processing this advice. "Wait, you want me to call Alexander Sterling and yell at him? Are you trying to get me killed?"

James paused on the stairs, looking back with a smirk. "Then accept your beating like a good Consigliere. You've got to choose—take the scolding or risk death." With that, he disappeared upstairs.

"I'll take the scolding," I muttered, shaking my head as I headed to the equipment room. Our security system definitely needed an upgrade.

---

Three days later, I was running through the airport, dragging my suitcase behind me while simultaneously trying not to lose sight of James, who was sprinting ahead with his own entourage of men.

"James, I swear to God!" I shouted with anger. "Next time you want to flirt with some random woman, could you maybe check the time and place first?"

James shot me an apologetic glance over his shoulder but kept running.

"Standing at the airport entrance hitting on a fucking flight attendant?" I continued my tirade. "We arrived two hours early, and we still missed our flight! Now we'll get to the hotel around the same time as Donna, and if she arrives before us, we're both dead."

Our group of twenty men hurried through the airport toward the parking lot, where we found a row of black SUVs waiting. After checking the license plates, we located our four vehicles and quickly loaded the luggage.

As soon as everyone was inside, the SUVs peeled out of the parking lot, racing toward the hotel.

"Isabella, James—we've got company," Elio announced from the driver's seat, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror.

I turned simultaneously with James to look through the rear window. Five identical black SUVs were following us at a matching pace.

"Aren't those the same cars from the airport?" James asked, his playful demeanor suddenly serious.

"Yes. Someone knew we were coming," I replied, my mind racing through possibilities of who might have leaked our travel information.

"Speed up," James instructed Elio. "Call the other cars and tell them to try to lose our tail."

After several sharp turns and some creative driving through narrow streets, we managed to shake our pursuers. The four SUVs pulled into the hotel driveway, and I felt a momentary sense of relief.

That relief vanished instantly when a row of blinding headlights illuminated our vehicles from the left side of the entrance. The intense light bathed our SUVs, making it impossible to see who was behind the beams.

"Son of a bitch, who's trying to get themselves killed?" Elio growled, reaching for his weapon.

"Hold on," James said calmly. "Let me check who these people are first. Everyone stay put."

James stepped out of the SUV and walked directly into the blinding lights, seemingly unafraid.

"Ram him," a voice from one of the opposing vehicles commanded.

One of the SUVs' engines roared to life, the vehicle lurching forward toward James.

"Everyone stay put. Elio, don't move," I ordered when I saw Elio preparing to drive our SUV forward to intercept.

At the last possible moment, the advancing SUV screeched to a halt, stopping just inches from James. I relaxed, a knowing smile forming on my lips.

"How did you know they wouldn't hit him?" Elio asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Because I figured out who's behind those lights," I replied, opening my door to join James.

As our twenty men filed out behind us, I strode confidently toward the opposing vehicles. I reached for the driver's door of the lead SUV, fully prepared to yank it open.

"Isabella?!" James called out, not understanding my actions.

"Remember what I said at the airport?" I called back, throwing him a sympathetic look.

Before James could respond, I pulled the door open. A long, shapely leg extended out, followed by another, both clad in tight black jeans. As the figure emerged fully into the light, James's eyes widened in recognition.

"So, you two were in a rush to catch a sale?" Emma's voice was cold as ice as she crossed her arms, staring at us. "You were driving so fast. Took me forever to catch up. Still not fast enough, though."

"Donna..." James whispered, finally remembering my warning about arriving late.

"Donna," I echoed, and our men followed suit, each showing the appropriate respect to our leader.

"Donna, I didn't want to be this late," I quickly explained. "But James was flirting with a woman and missed our flight. I had no choice."

"You're just going to sell me out like that?" James looked at me in disbelief.

"I'd take a bullet for you," I replied smoothly, stepping behind Emma, "but I'm not taking Donna's wrath for you."

In perfect unison, all twenty of our men followed my lead, positioning themselves behind Emma without a moment's hesitation.

"You traitors!" James pointed at Elio, speechless with indignation.

"Donna," he finally said, turning to face Emma directly. "It's all my fault. I take full responsibility." His voice grew increasingly desperate as he added, "What do I need to do to earn your forgiveness? I'll do anything... anything at all..."