"No."
The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it. Immediately both men turned to face me. Surprise clouded Miguel's face while Chance's was a mask of anger.
Oh crap.
Biting my lip, I shrank back a couple of feet, eyes trained on the floor. For a moment it was silent, but then laughter boomed through the room.
"No?" Miguel asked incredulously. "You let your bitch say no?"
Chance froze, his gaze sharp, calculating. I knew he was pissed at me. Hell, I was pissed at myself too. My emotions and nerves had gotten to me. I'd let my fear show.
Suddenly, an arm shot out and grabbed me. A hand clamped around my bare skin, fingers and nails digging in tight. A startled gasp of pain left me. My eyes looked up into beady black irises.
"If you were my bitch, I would've already had my men take you outside and break you into submission. Consider yourself lucky."
The hand was gone a second later, leaving me breathless in its wake. Desperately, I tried to quell my hands from shaking.
I crossed my arms, trying to form any type of barrier against Miguel. Chance still hadn't made his move. Subconsciously, my eyes traveled to his shoulder where I knew his gun lay holstered.
Thinking about weapons made my thighs brush against each other. I gave a mental sigh of relief when I felt my knife holster.
If Chance wasn't going to defend me, than I sure as hell would.
"So what's it going to be, Burke?" Miguel asked, still not taking his eyes off me.
I shrank back further. Chance surprised me by stepping next to me. "Nine million and no Candi. That's the deal. Take it or leave it."
I almost sagged in relief. For a moment, just a split second, the terrible though of Chance letting Miguel get his hands on me flashed across my mind. I'd pushed the thought away as fast as it came, telling myself that Chance wouldn't give me up.
And, true to his words, he didn't.
Whilst I was rejoicing with happiness, Miguel looked like he'd just eaten a whole bag of Warheads. His brow narrowed, eyes darkened, and never in my life had I seen anyone clench their jaw so tight.
"I don't get why you won't let me have the girl for the night. If anything, it would be good for her. My men and I could teach her some respect."
Chance was shaking his head before Miguel finished his last sentence.
"I'm afraid I can't let you have Candi. Mainly, because I planned on having her for myself tonight in celebration of our deal. I rather not have her beaten and worn out from you."
Relax, it's a lie, I had to tell myself.
Chance didn't want me like that. He had his pick of any woman in the whole world. I highly doubted he'd want me as a bedroom companion. After all, I had less experience than a fifth grader when it came to the whole dating/hooking up thin.
Distracted by my thought, it took me a while to realize that Miguel was laughing. "You're a very selfish, yet lucky man, Mr. Burke. I would kill many men to have this jewel in my bed."
Chance's eyes narrowed as his arm shot out and wrapped around my waist. His fingers, resting against the soft skin of my abdomen, were warm and comforting.
"So have we come to a deal?" Chance asked.
My body had already begun to relax. Miguel was going to agree to Chance and then this would be over. One giant nightmare forgotten forever.
Miguel opened his mouth. My weight shifted and body sagged. Here we go.
"No."
My mouth dropped. It was as if time had frozen. I watched Chance go from mild to strung tight as a rubber band. My eyes didn't miss the way his hand twitched towards the gun in his shoulder holster either.
"There is no deal without the girl," Miguel continued.
"Then I guess we'll be leaving."
Chance's hold tightened. He tugged me towards the door, our drug deal completely forgotten.
"You can't. No one says no to me. You made a deal and will keep your end of the bargain." Miguel took a step towards us.
In my peripheral vision I saw that Carlos had returned and was advancing towards slowly. Chance, while on edge, was still calm.
"No. the deal was nine million for just the drugs. I never said anything about the girl."
I didn't miss the way Chance positioned himself in front of me protectively. His other hand pulled at the lapels of his jacket, right where his gun rested.
The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Miguel.
"So you want to fight now?" He was still coming closer along with Carlos. My eyes widened when I noticed that Carlos had pulled a knife out of his pocket.
Here we go. Shit's about to go down.
At Miguel's question, Chance shook his head. "Fighting was no my intent when I came here, however I'm still leaving and if you want to fight, then so be it."
Miguel cocked his gun. "Nine million for the girl."
"No."
Many things happened in that moments to come.
Carlos was the first to react. However, Chance, being faster, reacted quicker as Carlos rushed us. With movements faster than I thought possible, my boss shoved Carlos, causing both him and his knife to clatter to the floor.
Miguel seemed to have snapped out of his trance. With practiced movements, he swung his gun around, aimed it at us, and fired.
Again, Chance was quicker. Just as the shot rang out, Chance tackled me to the floor. We hit the tile hard and I let out a yelp, but there was no time to think about the pain.
Chance had already gotten up and was throwing punches at Miguel. For a second, I watched as each man exchanged blows, however their movements were too fast for me to tell who was winning.
I'd forgotten that Miguel wasn't our only opponent. So, by the time I remembered Carlos, it was too late. Cold, meaty hands wrapped around my throat and squeezed.
I gasped, desperately trying to suck in air but it was no use. Frantic, I tried to lick, claw or hit any area that I could, but it was no use. Carlos was a brick wall.
Black spots danced across my vision and I knew that I was going to lose consciousness if I didn't do anything. As the seconds continued to pass I grew weaker and weaker. I was on the verge of unconsciousness and had just about given up when a deafening bang sounded through the room. Warm liquid splattered all over me.
Immediately, the hands were gone. With nothing to support me anymore, I fell to the floor, hitting my head against the coffee table in the process. More hot liquid dripped down my face. I wasn't sure if it were blood or tears.
For a moment I just laid there face down. The hotel room had gone quiet except for soft footsteps coming closer. I bit my lip, desperately hoping that it was Chance coming and not Miguel.
The footsteps grew closer and then abruptly stopped right next to me. A second later, warm hands touched my shoulders and I was shifted so that I lay face up.
The hands were soft, surprisingly gentle. Moving my head, I looked up into the worried blue eyes of Chance Burke. I almost cried for joy.
"Piper," he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that I was alright.
His hands moved from my shoulders to my lower back. Supporting all my weight, he lifted me into a sitting position.
"Are you okay?" he asked. His eyes looked me all over, checking for any visible injuries.
My hand moved from my side and grasped my throbbing throat. "I think so," I croaked.
Chance relaxed slightly. "I shot Carlos. He's dead. I managed to rough Miguel up but he escaped when I came to your aid."
My skin crawled knowing that Miguel was still out there somewhere. No doubt he'd be looking for revenge too.
"Do you think you can stand?" Chance asked.
I nodded.
Chance's hands slid to my waist and gingerly lifted me off the floor. I swayed slightly, but gained my footing with Chance's help.
"What are we supposed to do now?"
Chance's irises darkened. "Miguel's still out there and he's thirsty for blood. We need to eliminate him before we can carry on with any of our deals. But for tonight, we're done."
~
Every part of me was shaking as Chance led me to the car. My teeth clanked together. My palms were slippery with sweat. Even Chance's palm, placed on the small of my back quaked slightly.
Flecks of blood flaked he shift. He'd given me his jacket to put on considering my torn, bloodied dress barely covered me. I'd lost one of my Louboutins back in the hotel room. I chucked the other one in a garbage can on our way out of the back of the hotel.
Damn shoes. What a worthless waste of money. Even though I didn't have makeup on, a different kind of war paint covered my face--blood.
Carlos' blood from when Chance had shot him. Also, blood from a cut I'd gotten when I banged my head on the coffee table. The wound, while still small laceration, bled like a bitch.
Chance was beaten up too. His lip was split and a slight bruise was forming on his cheek. Granted, Miguel probably looked a lot worse.
I knew Chance could fight but damn, I'd never seen someone get beaten to a pulp in real life. I wanted to root for Chance to kick Miguel's ass, but at the same time it was a slightly unnerving to watch your boss pummel someone.
"Piper," I jumped and turned to face Chance. He was looking at me, concern softening his features.
"Do you want me to take you to your apartment or do you want to crash at mine again?"
I was conflicted. On one hand, I wanted to stay with Chance, where I knew I'd be safe and protected, but on the other hand, I wanted my space. I chose the first option.
"My place, please."
If Chance was surprised, he didn't show it. His hand however, shot out and cupped my chin. He tilted my head back, eyeing the cut right above my eyebrow.
"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital? Your cut isn't serious but it may need a stitch or two."
Chance's hand trailed down further until it came to a rest on my neck, right above my collar bone. "You should probably get your neck checked out too. These bruises are already looking vicious. Or, if you don't want to go the hospital, you could always come back to my place and I could have a doctor come there."
I shook my head. "Can you just drop me off at my apartment? I'd prefer to go home and rest."
"But you're hurt," Chance protested, eyes darkening.
I shrugged. "I'll be fine. I've been through worse."
Chance looked unsatisfied with my answer, but nodded nonetheless. He held my door open as I climbed in the Range Rover. The leather interior was warm against my chilled skin. Chance climbed in beside me and a moment later, pulled out into the ever-busy New York Traffic.
Physically and emotionally exhausted, my eyes shut and I surrendered myself to sleep.
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Hey, long time no update--I know. School started and I've been super busy with academics and sports so I've barely found any time to right. However, my volleyball season is coming to an end as well as my quarter exams so updates should be more frequent now.
Anyway, thank you those who continue to stick by this story! And, as always, please be sure to vote and comment on this chapter!!!
-Katherine