Chapter 120 120. Shoot Me, I Dare You
The door was already slightly ajar. Ronan had positioned it that way as a trap waiting to spring.
Lucien pushed it open slowly. His eyes swept the room in one bloody glance-Maya and me huddled on the floor, blood streaking down her face, five armed men, scattered destruction, Ronan standing over us with a gun.
His face went cold. Not angry nor panicked, but cold and deadly.
Two of Ronan's men moved to grab him, but Lucien stepped inside willingly.
"Let them go, Ronan."
"Search him," Ronan ordered.
The men patted Lucien down roughly, pulling his phone from his pocket and tossing it across the room. It skittered under a cabinet. He didn't have any weapons, or wore a wire. Just Lucien in his expensive suit, looking at his brother with absolute contempt.
"You really thought you could build a case against me?" Ronan laughed, gesturing at the destruction around us. "Look at this. I destroyed everything. You can't win against me, brother."
"I have everything I need." Lucien spoke eerily calmly. "You broke into private property, assaulted two women, threatened murder... and you did it all in front of witnesses."
"Witnesses I'm taking with me." Ronan grabbed me by the hair, yanking me to my feet. I cried out as he pressed the gun to my temple. "I already told your little toy, but since you joined the party late, I'll repeat it one last time. You marry Jessica within the week, transfer Elysium to me, find Nadia and bring her to me, or your fuck toy's brain goes BOOM!"
Lucien's eyes flickered to the smashed laptops on the floor. Something passed across his face too quickly to read.
"And if I refuse?"
"Don't make me repeat myself!" Ronan's grip tightened in my hair. "After blowing her brains, I'll mail her body parts to you... starting with her pretty fingers. The ones she uses to write those trashy books."
"You're not that creative." Lucien's tone was almost bored.
Ronan's face flushed with rage. "You want to test me?"
"Two of you," he barked at his men. "Finish destroying everything. I want no trace of this evidence left. You two, hold him. And you-" He gestured to the man nearest Maya. "Keep that gun on the friend. If anyone moves, shoot her first."
The men moved into position. Two started destroying the remaining files, tearing papers and smashing storage devices. Two grabbed Lucien's arms, forcing them behind his back. The fifth kept his weapon trained on Maya's head.
"Stop it! Stop!" I screamed through the pain coming from Ronan's hands in my hair, but it changed nothing.
That's when we heard it.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Loud, aggressive pounding on a door down the hall.
"Camila! Open up! It's Rafael!"
Rafael? Is he drunk? Does that look like unit 4D?
Each pound and shout seemed to annoy Ronan even more.
His face crinkled. "Deal with that. Now."
One of the men holding Lucien released him and headed for the door with one from the duo assigned to destroying equipment.
Now it was three against three-Maybe.
In that split second of distraction, Lucien lunged at the remaining guard holding him, twisting the man's wrist in one smooth motion. The gun clattered to the floor. Lucien drove his elbow into the man's throat, dropping him instantly.
I drove my elbow backward into Ronan's ribs as hard as I could. He grunted, his grip loosening just enough. The gun went off. The shot went wide, punching a hole in the ceiling, and plaster rained down.
I dropped my full weight, slipping from Ronan's grasp, and rolled away across the floor.
Maya grabbed a broken laptop beside her and swung it like a weapon. It connected with the third's face with a sickening crunch. He went down screaming, hands clutching his shattered nose.
The first guard Lucien had disarmed was back on his feet, charging at Lucien. They grappled, crashing into the filing cabinets. The guard was bigger, using his weight to pin Lucien against the wall, but Maya hit the back of his head with a broken laptop.
He crumpled, and now it was just Ronan.
He'd recovered from my elbow strike and fall, coming at me, face twisted with fury. I tried to scramble backward but he was faster, tackling me to the ground. His hands found my throat.
"Stupid bitch," he hissed. "I'm going to make you suffer for-"
Lucien grabbed him from behind, hauling him off me. Ronan twisted, throwing a wild punch that connected with Lucien's jaw. Lucien's head snapped back but he didn't let go.
They went down together, trading vicious blows. Ronan was stronger than I'd realized. Each landing hits made Lucien grunt with pain. Lucien drove his fists into Ronan's ribs over and over, he was slower than Ronan.
Blood sprayed. Someone's nose broke-I couldn't tell whose. They rolled across the floor, knocking over boxes, destroying what little evidence remained intact.
Ronan got on top, hands wrapping around Lucien's throat. Lucien's face started turning red.
I grabbed the gun the first guard had dropped. My hands were shaking so badly I almost dropped it.
"Get off him!" I screamed.
Ronan smiled at me through the blood coating his teeth. "Shoot me, I dare you."
The door was kicked wide open.
"NYPD! Nobody move!" Police flooded in, weapons drawn, shouting commands.
"Hands where we can see them!"
"Down on the ground! Now!"
Ronan released Lucien, slowly raising his hands. Blood dripped from his split lip onto Lucien's shirt.
The two guards who'd left to investigate Rafael were being dragged back in cuffs, one passed out, the other with bloodied face. Now it made sense why Rafael knocked at the wrong door.
When they cuffed Ronan, he was still smiling.
"Separate them for questioning," the lead officer ordered. "EMTs, we need medical here."
Lucien stumbled to his feet, immediately crossing to me. He pulled me into his arms so tight I could barely breathe. I buried my face in his chest, shaking uncontrollably.
"You're okay," he murmured into my hair. "You're safe. I've got you."
Rafael appeared in the doorway with the police, eyes scanning the room frantically until they landed on Maya. He rushed to her, pulling her up gently and pressing kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, anywhere he could reach that wasn't bloody.
"Thank God you're okay," I overheard him say. Maya clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder. Even through my own terror, I managed a small smile.
The EMTs arrived. One tried to pry me away from Lucien to check my injuries but I wouldn't let go. Finally, they just worked around me, examining the bruises on my arms and neck while Lucien held me.
Another EMT was with Maya, pressing gauze to her temple, murmuring about stitches. Rafael held her hand, refusing to move.
A third checked Lucien's split knuckles and rapidly swelling jaw.
As police escorted Ronan toward the door, he stopped, turning back to look at us.
"You think this is over?! When I testify, I'm taking everyone down with me! Don, all his associates, everyone who ever worked with him. If I burn, we all burn together, including your..." his voice faded down the hallway.
"You guys are coming with us too," a grim looking officer said to us four.
The police station was fluorescent bright and smelled like burnt coffee. We spent hours separated in different rooms, telling our stories over and over.
Yes, Ronan broke in. Yes, he threatened us. Yes, he destroyed our properties.
By the time they let us go, it was past midnight. Maya had seven stitches in her temple. Lucien's jaw was purple and swollen. My throat ached every time I swallowed.
Rafael drove us back to my building in silence. When we got there, I finally let myself think about what we'd lost.
Our months of scrubbing. My name would be involved in Ronan's investigation.
"What are you thinking of, my queen?" his smooth voice interrupted my thoughts.
"The night's air. It's nice," I lied, tightening our joined hands.
"Come on, Fiera." His words carried a hint of amusement. "You didn't think I'd put all our eggs in one basket, did you?" He pressed a kiss to my temple. "I've been doing this too long to make amateur mistakes."
I stared at him. "What?"
He pulled a small USB drive from his pocket, holding it up to catch the light. "Rafael and I copied these last night."