CHAPTER 60 - Stupid Position

Luca flags down a taxi, and it swerves to the curb. Once I’m inside, he quickly slips in beside me.

“Drive,” he tells the driver, his voice urgent.

“What’s happening?” The driver glances back, confused, but he starts driving anyway.

I look back and see four men rushing to get into a car, but Baron and Victor intercept them, fists landing hard on their faces. As the taxi rounds a corner, the sight of them fades, and worry fills me, wondering what might happen to my bodyguards.

Who on earth are those men?

“Are you in danger? Should I take you to the police?” The driver’s voice is filled with concern.

Luca sighs with relief. “They are useful anyway.” He is referring to my bodyguards. I hope he’ll finally grow to appreciate their presence; he’s never been fond of having them around.

“Excuse me?” The driver sounds more confused than ever.

“No, not the police station,” I interject, then give him the address of our hotel.

A call comes in, and I answer. It’s Mr. Russell.

“I’m so sorry, sir. We had to—” I start, but he cuts me off sharply.

“I can see you managed to escape.”

“What?” I exclaim, suspicion coursing through my mind. Did he send them?

“You had the nerve to walk right into a lion’s den by trying to meet me. Thank your stars, Ivory. Your guardian angels saved you today, but next time, I won’t hesitate to take my revenge on you.”

“Were you enemies with my father?” I can’t hold back the question.

“Fucking bitch!” he snarls before ending the call.

“Mr. Russell sent them,” Luca deduces before I even explain.

I nod slowly.

The taxi takes us to the hotel, and we quickly begin to pack, knowing it’s unsafe to stay here another night. Thirty minutes later, Baron and Victor arrive, visibly roughed up. I feel a wave of relief but worry about the bruises they acquired in the fight with those men. We’ll deal with that later.

Grabbing our suitcases, we waste no time and head out.

***

Our next flight takes us back to New York, and I am still too shocked to continue the journey. So, for the time being, my trip to meet some of the shareholders is on hiatus.

The more I think about it, the more fear travels through me. If I hadn’t made this journey with these three men, I would’ve possibly been dead. They sensed the danger I was blind to and helped me escape it.

Luca hasn’t said anything about what happened, and I am a little on edge as I try to figure out what is going on in his mind. I know Luca enough to know that when he is silent through situations like this, a storm is building up within him, and it is only a matter of time before he explodes.

When we arrive back at my apartment, Luca insists on escorting us inside, making sure I get home safely.

“You both look like you got hit by a bus,” I say to Baron and Victor as we enter, trying to lighten the mood. And it works.

Throaty chuckles emanate from Baron and Victor, but Luca maintains the hard look slating his face.

“You’ll have to pay us for this,” Baron teases.

“And what do you want?” I raise an eyebrow, waiting for his response.

“Spicy hot noodles would do,” he grins.

“Anything for you.” I smile and then glance at Victor. “How about you? Noodles?”

He nods with a tight smile.

I turn to Luca. “You?”

“Next time, make sure you know exactly who you’re going to meet,” Luca groans. I’ve triggered the storm. “Fuck, a Zoom meeting would even work.”

“I doubt a Zoom meeting would have done much good. I’ll be more careful next time,” I quickly retort.

“So you’d rather risk your life for a stupid position?” he snaps, his voice rising.

Anger flares within me, and I take a step toward him. “What did you just say?”

“Give it all up.” He dares continue to spurt rubbish. “You are risking your life because of the baseless power you are pursuing.”

“Do you think this is about power?” I snap. I could feel the rage burning within me as I continued. “I don’t freaking care about power. All I want is to keep what fucking belongs to me.”

“It’s not worth it. Come on—”

“Get out!” The words explode from my chest as I cut him off.

“Ivory—” He tries to continue, but I cut him off again.

“I said, get out!” I storm to the door and fling it open, motioning for him to leave. He has no right to tell me how to live my life or make my choices. If it means risking my life to achieve what I want, then so be it. At least I’ll know I didn’t back down like a coward or a quitter.

He looks at me in disbelief, then shakes his head and heads toward the door.

He stops in the doorway, his gaze hardening as he looks back. “Are you really doing this?”

I avert my eyes, remaining silent, refusing to answer. He sighs and walks out, and I don’t hesitate to slam the door behind him. I don’t care that my action holds a bit of ungratefulness to it after all that he has done for me. He pushed me too far.

Frustration boils in my veins as I turn around to see my bodyguards looking at me cautiously.

“What?” I snap at them.

“Are you okay?” Victor asks carefully.

I take a deep breath. “Of course I am.”

I’m obviously not okay.