Chapter 49 The offer
Sage's POV
I walked into the room with Diego following close behind.
Through the half open door, I could see Ryder standing in the hallway. His jaw was clenched so tight he looked like he would attack Diego. Jaxon stood beside him with one hand on Ryder's shoulder like he was physically holding him back.
Diego closed the door but left it open a few inches like I'd asked. Then he settled into a chair like he already ruled the place.
"Please, sit," he said, gesturing to the chair across from the desk.
I stayed standing. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Our future." He leaned back and studied me with those calculating eyes. "I understand this situation isn't ideal for you. Your father arranged this marriage without your input, and now you're expected to honor an agreement you never made."
"Then you understand why I can't go through with it."
"I understand why you don't want to. But what you want and what you can do are very different things." He pulled out his phone and scrolled through something. "I would like us to marry within one month from now. That gives us thirty days to plan a ceremony and begin our life together."
"I'm not marrying you."
"You'll move to my territory in Arizona. We have a compound outside Phoenix, very secure, very comfortable. You'll have your own space until we get to know each other better."
"Did you hear what I said? I'm not doing this."
Diego put down his phone and looked at me directly. The charm dropped away, leaving behind cold expression underneath.
"I heard you. But you're not hearing me." He stood up and walked around the desk. "This isn't a love match, Sage. I'm not expecting romance or passion. What I'm offering is partnership. Respect. Maybe even affection over time if we're both willing to try."
"I'm in love with someone else."
"The enforcer. Yes, I noticed." Diego's expression didn't change. "That's unfortunate but not insurmountable. Many successful marriages have started with one or both parties loving someone else."
I stared at him. He was talking about my life, my feelings, like they were minor inconveniences to work around.
"I won't give him up," I said.
"I'm not asking you to. Not immediately, anyway." Diego moved closer but stopped just outside my personal space. "Here's what I'm offering, Sage. Marry me. Honor the contract. Fulfill your duties as my wife and the alliance's symbol. Do those things, and I'll make sure your Ryder stays safe."
My stomach dropped. "What does that mean?"
"It means the Blood Sisters have reach that extends far beyond what the Steel Wolves can protect against. It means accidents happen to people who stand in the way of important alliances. It means I can ensure those accidents don't happen to anyone you care about."
The threat was delivered with a smile and reasonable tone, which made it even more terrifying.
"You're threatening him."
"I'm offering protection. There's a difference." Diego tilted his head. "Break the contract, refuse to marry me, and the war that follows will destroy everyone you love. Especially him."
"You'd kill innocent people over a contract?"
"I would defend my family's honor and the agreements we make. Your father promised you to me. He pledged allegiance in exchange for protection and alliance. Breaking that promise has consequences."
I wanted to hit him. I wanted to scream that I wasn't property to be traded like cattle. But the cold calculation in his eyes told me he had already considered every argument I could make.
"And if I refuse?" I asked quietly.
Diego's smile widened. It didn't reach his eyes.
"Then I'll kill Ryder myself." He said it casually, like he was discussing the weather. "Slowly. Painfully. And I'll make you watch every second before the Blood Sisters burn this clubhouse to the ground with everyone else you love inside it."
The air left my lungs. Through the half open door, I could see Ryder watching us. He couldn't hear what Diego was saying but he must have seen something in my face because his expression darkened with concern.
"You're a monster," I whispered.
"I'm a man who understands that power means nothing if you're not willing to use it." Diego moved back toward the desk. "Your father understood that too. It's why he made this arrangement."
"My father is dead."
"Yes. Unfortunate timing, really. If he had lived, he could have explained to you why this marriage is necessary. Why fighting it will only cause more pain." Diego smoothed his jacket. "But he's not here, so I'm explaining it to you now. Marry me, and everyone you love survives and your club maintains its glory and territory. Ryder lives to fight another day, and maybe you even find happiness eventually."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll destroy everything and everyone you care about. Starting with that enforcer who can't stop looking at you through that door." Diego's voice stayed pleasant but his eyes were cold as ice.
Bile rose in my throat. This man, this polished monster in expensive clothes, was calmly describing how he would destroy my family if I didn't comply.
"You have until tomorrow night to decide," Diego said, checking his watch like this was just another business meeting. "That gives you twenty-four hours to weigh your options and make the right choice."
"There is no right choice."
"Of course there is. Choose me and everyone lives. Choose him and everyone dies." He moved toward the door. "It's really quite simple when you think about it logically."
He opened the door fully and turned back to look at me one last time.
"I'll see you tomorrow evening for your answer, mi amor. I suggest you choose wisely."
Diego walked out of the office with his head high and his smile back in place. Through the now open door, I watched him shake Jaxon's hand and exchange pleasantries with Elena like he hadn't just threatened to murder everyone I loved.
Ryder's eyes met mine through the door but he wasn't sure whether to find her me in the office yet. I'm sure he wanted to know everything the bastard had said.
But I couldn't tell him. I couldn't put into words the impossible choice I was facing.
Marry a monster to save the man I loved, or doom everyone by choosing my heart over their survival.