The Rich and Scandalous

(8)Seeing Red

"I'm still not seeing the big dilemma here..." Leigh trailed off, until her mind started to piece everything together.

"Tony is hell bent on getting that money. At first, all he had to do was wait until I turned twenty-seven, but now that I have claimed a wife, he will stop at nothing. Even if it means hurting you," he explained, taking huge steps backwards. 

Leigh's first instinct was to laugh. This had to be a joke, after all. She found it hard to believe that Jason would all knowingly put her into a situation where she was in danger, just to get his money. Then, it struck her. She didn't know Jason all that well to begin with. So, who's to say that he cared about her safety and wellbeing? She suddenly felt like a naive fool. She had given him a chance, let him in and he had failed her epically. Before she knew it, she was seeing red.

"You selfish bastard," she exclaimed, jumping up from the bed and ready to strike him across the face. "You don't care about anyone but yourself!" Her fist lashed out, but he only caught her fist and pinned it to his body.

"I moved you here, didn't I?" he asked as if he was some sort of saint. "You're safer with me than anywhere else." Leigh shook her head, her cheeks burning with heat. She hated the man in front of her. She didn't understand how she had allowed herself to think otherwise.

The McFarroll's were trouble. His parents had appeared to be nice when they helped her parents, but now her parents were practically indebted to them. And now, Jason had her in his grasps and making her serve as his own personal puppet.

"I will come back for my things later," she said, her teeth gritted as her face twitched from her anger.  She ripped her hand from his grasp and backed away. "The deal is off. I hope you never get a cent." She stalked towards the door but wanted nothing more than to wipe the blank expression off of his face. For someone who was losing the only hope he had to get his money, he was remarkably calm. This only made Leigh more furious. It was as if he knew she would be back.

"Don't be dumb Leigh," his voice said, making her stop in her tracks. "Rather you believe it or not, only I can protect you. If you leave, you would practically be serving yourself to them on a silver platter."

"I would rather take my chances with them, than with you," Leigh said as she looked over her shoulder. "At least it wouldn't be unexpected when they stab me in the back." Leigh turned back to the elevator, but not before she saw the hint of guilt flash in Jason's eyes. She felt her heart tug for him, but quickly dismissed it. He didn't deserve her sympathy.

After all, he was the one who stabbed her in the back.

Leigh had never drove so fast home before in her life. She was furious, and even though the situation made her feel a bit paranoid, she still kept her eyes forward. Her house wasn't far, and she was pulling up within seconds. Taking a minute to calm her breathing, she rested her hands against the drivers' wheel. She didn't know what to do with herself. She had begun to trust Jason and he had betrayed her as if she didn't matter. She was beginning to think that there was something between them more than sexual attraction, but she was clearly wrong.

Taking a sigh, she stepped out of her truck only to scream when she heard an explosion. It all happened quickly. Her eyes were slowly following the noise, and that's when a bigger explosion hit. Her parents' house blew up into tiny chunks and her body was being thrown back against the asphalt. She coughed, not understanding what was happening. She threw her body to the right when an unknown chunk of wood on fire was plummeting down on her.

Standing to her feet, her eyes began to water at the sight before her. Her parents' house was no longer standing, and what was there was engulfed in flames. She fell to her knees, her body shaking as she realized that her parents were inside. Her heart hurt, it was as if someone had a death grip on it. Her body shook uncontrollably as her vision blurred with the pool of tears forming down her cheeks.