Billionaire's Second Chance At Love

Chapter 104

James pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips. "Of course. I'll see you at your place after I'm done here. You should leave now. Don't want you to stay for the ugly part."

Jenna looked grateful before making her way to Ronin. She touched his face. He jerked his head, trying to scare her away.

"Don't!" Ronin snarled. "Keep your filthy hands off me."

"Filthy?" Jenna looked offended before grabbing his chin, assuring the men holding him wouldn't let go, and moved her face close to his. "There was a time when you couldn't get enough of these same filthy hands, Ronin. Didn't expect you to forget it that soon." For a second, hurt flashed in her eyes. But he figured that might have been his imagination. There was no way someone like her would regret their actions. James and Jenna seemed like those who reveled in it.

"Not that it matters anymore." She shrugged before releasing her hold. "This is goodbye, Ronin. Before I leave, however, I want you to know that there was a time when I did like you very much," she gave him a peck on the cheek, ignoring the way he glared. "But then that time passed and everything changed. And that being said, I don't know about James, but I'll definitely miss you. Goodbye. Try not to haunt me in my dreams, okay?" She pouted, as if this was all fun and games. "You know I need my beauty sleep, don't you?"

After Jenna walked out of the house, James turned to the trio. They were all being held by his men, making him confident that nothing that night could go wrong.

"Alright. The time for talks is over. Let's get you all prepped."

At his signal, one of his guys ran out and came back with loads of ropes.

Carmen could see where this was going. "Don't be stupid, James. Think twice before diving into more trouble than you already are." She hoped he'd understand the sense in her words, or at least feel some hesitation that might buy them more time. "This isn't a joke. You can't get away with this."

James shook his head. "Don't bother trying to convince me, darling. Your reasoning might work on these two over here," he pointed his gaze at Eric and Ronin. "But it doesn't faze me at all. You know why?" He asked, glancing at his men tying the three of them to the columns. "I'm not someone you can manipulate with your sweet talk. I mean, why do you think I never got married or had any kids?" He paused, as if expecting any of them to give a response he was hoping for. None did. "Because I don't like distractions. Or burdens. Or anything that ties me down. That's how I roll, you know? And tonight, my dear, you and your little crew are about to learn just how little I care about anything holding me back."

He glanced over his shoulder at the man standing behind him. "Are we ready for the fireworks?"

The man nodded. "Yes, the whole place is covered with fire accelerant, just like you asked."

Carmen's heart pounded with fear, and she exchanged a glance of shared dread with Eric and Ronin.

James grinned wickedly, his eyes gleaming with a twisted satisfaction. "Perfect!"

"You're a sick bastard, James. You think burning this place down will solve your problems?" Ronin spat out, defiance burning in his eyes.

James chuckled, a chilling sound that echoed in the dimly lit room. "Problems? My dear, this is the solution. A cleansing fire to rid myself of the nuisances in my life. This is the perfect ending that all of us deserve."

"Let's talk this out, come on!" Eric begged, struggling against the ropes. "Don't be stupid. I can still be useful to you. If you let these two go, I promise I'll stay by your side. I would never betray you. Please! Just think about it."

James sighed, looking sympathetic as if he genuinely felt sorry for his nephew. "Sorry, Eric. Can't do. These two know too much. And you and I both know that once they get out of here, they will come after me with the entire law enforcement. And I can't have that." He shrugged. "And after you know what I plan to do with them, I can't spare you either. This was the exact reason, you know? The reason I hid the fact about Willow from you. If you would have known how I beat the hell out of her, you'd have flipped. And that would have made things very difficult for me."

Like Eric, Ronin wasn't about to stoop to begging. His eyes burned with mad anger, fighting harder against the ropes. "You asshole! You won't get away with this. We're not finished here."

James turned to Ronin. "Unfortunately, we are done here. I have nothing more to say and I'm pretty sure there's nothing new you can tell me either." He clasped his hands together, smiling, as if finishing his speech. "Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. I'll be sure to pass on my condolences to your parents. Until then."

He signaled to his men, and one by one, they all exited the building.

"James."

"Stop!"

"Don't do this, James."

"You can't just leave us here to die."

"Please, stop."

No matter how much they yelled, James never looked back. He closed the door and followed the trail of accelerant his men had spread away from the building. Retrieving the lighter from his pocket, he scoffed. "This all ends now."

He lit up the lighter and a small flame of fire danced in front of his eyes. "Goodbye, Kiddos. This is gonna break my brother's heart. Then against, hearts are meant to be broken, aren't they?"

A/N: Who else wants to choke James? :(