Max pulled out the keys from the ignition after leaving the Harley outside the office. His hand pulled out his phone to check for the calls. His steps were fast, his cowboy boots walking on the white marble floor of the building almost silently.
Shawn had been of more use than he looked like. But the thing was that he did not know what to think of Hope getting kidnapped. He did not know what condition she was in with Varys. His fist clenched tight at the thought, a vein in his jaw jumping at the mere thought. She was his responsibility. And it had been days since he had been unable to find her! Varys had planned out each move very smartly and left a clean slate behind, with no trace of Hope anywhere to be found.
Stella's face immediately turned red. It was like a light switch getting turned off. One minute she was fighting with all her might like a wild animal and then in the next second she was turning red in shyness. Max would have called it funny if she had not driven him up the wall in frustration."mwhha ha mu...," Stella mumbled, but since Max's hand was still covering her mouth, the voice came out all muffled and incoherent.Max turned his face upwards to the sky, released a long, heavy, controlled sigh, and then removed his hand from Stella's mouth, while still keeping a firm hold of her arms.
Hope stayed quiet and glanced away from him. She wanted to say she was enjoying this, but admitting anything would be a betrayal. She couldn't just forget what he was or who he was so easily. The blood might be washed off, but it still stained her mind."Hope?" Varys pointed out across the park where a family of ducks paddled through the water. "I brought some bread, let's go feed the ducks. You still like that, right?" the corners of his lip twitched, and he bit his lip as he searched her face."You can't feed them that," Hope scolded as she glanced away from him. Damn him for being hopeful. She didn't need to deal with that."Huh?" Vary's eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?""You'll hurt the ducks," she replied. She glanced around the park again and noticed a tiny shack across the lake. The feed name was proudly displayed across the side in bold red font. "There, you can get food for them there."Varys nodded and held out his hand to her. "Let's g
They got back to the mansion and Varys was true to his word. He marched Hope into her room and using a pair of shackles, cuffed her to the bed. "I don't know why you keep pushing me. I hope it was worth it, that call you made.""For what it's worth, I wasn't calling to reach him. I just wanted my uncle to know I was safe," Hope replied. She hadn't objected to his treat
Varys' voice haunted Max even in his waking moments. So what if he'd been childhood acquaintances with Hope? That wasn't about to stop Max from finding her and getting her away from that madman, that killer.How could he live himself if he left her there?Max glanced up as he heard the click of a shoe on his dummy tile. The office was empty except for him, so that left only one answer; intruders.
Dead. Ethan growled.All of his men, fucking dead, and they didn't even manage to take out the man he had sent them for.Ethan glared at the man that stood before him and the little weasel twisted himself in an attempt to not meet his eyes. "It's not my fault." He whimpered, his voice coming in soft little whines."Not your fault?" Ethan replied. "How are you alive, and everyone else is dead? Explain why you weren't inside that building when I ordered all of you to be." He le
"Speak." Varys sat behind his desk as he watched the man fidget in front of him.Whatever the news was, it wasn't good. His fingers curled into fists. Would he have to kill Hope?"It's about her past, her ex." The man ended with a gulp.
Varys' words weren't enough. Nothing was enough. Hope imagined what would happen to Vincent and Max if Ethan got his hands on them and bit her lip so hard blood seeped into her mouth."Hope, calm down."Varys' words were as if they were underwater. She could hear them, but they were dull and couldn't break through the wall of panic.
No! There was no way she could let him go. He was turning away from her again, walking away. He was going to end up just as she'd assumed he was all this time. She wrenched her arm out of Marco's grip and ran to Varys.He must have heard her steps because he turned as she barreled into him and hugged her tight to his chest. His heart beat against her ear, and while it was comforting, it didn't make the fear dissipate. "Varys, you can't die on me."
"Oh my God," Hope gasped and buried her face in Vary's shoulder, grimacing, "Stella is drunk. Not a good sign."Turning her head to the side she peeked a look at a completely drunk, wobbly Stella rolling her finger around the tie that Max was wearing mumbling something while winking at him, trying so terribly to be flirtatious while Max put a fist over his mouth, clearly trying to stifle his laughter.She felt Varys' shou
Hope pushed against his chest. "We're in the hospital," she hissed as she stared at the door.Varys smirked and pulled out a key. "And I have enough money to own this place." He slipped out of bed and locked it. "Better?" he challenged.
Hope woke up to the rays of sunshine warming her face through the blinds. Her head still pounded, but at least she didn't feel like she was fighting to stay alive. Varys was asleep at the foot of her bed, his arms used as pillows as he gently snored. With his hair all messed up, he went from the hot mafia boss to the cute boyfriend from so long ago. Well, cute soon-to-be-husband now.She didn't want to wake him so she forced her body to calm itself as much as possible as she just watched him sleep. The day before's proceedings was a huge nightmare by this point and she had problems figuring out
Varys sat beside the bed as a chorus of beeps drove him insane. But as much as he hated them, those beeps meant Hope was alive. She was still fighting. The doctor looked at him and nodded. "She'll be fine, she's had a tough experience, and I worry about the trauma it might have mentally caused her more than her health. The poison has been counteracted."The rock that had been crushing his chest slowly dissolved. "And your other patient?"
Varys.Varys had made it back to her, though her uncle wasn't with him. She bit back another cry as the man tightened his hold on her hair. At least it wasn't her neck this time. He lifted her by it until her toes scraped the floor. "How about it, Varys?" he demanded as he shook her. "Drop your gun, or I'm going to bash her brains in."Hope had no doubt he'd be true to this word. This man had went
The mansion was dark when he got back. None of his men remained. Varys' deep scowl only increased. Every step he took the worry inside him just continued to grow. How had things gotten this corrupted in his organization? He had more men than Ethan, so why was it full of more traitors?"Varys?" whispered a voice up ahead. "Is that you?" he recognized the voice, but he was in considerably worse shape than when he'd left him.
Hope was in the strange guard's hold as the doctor hovered over Max. "Here, take these, you'll feel better in no time."Max's eyes were rolling by this point, but he listened to the words. He opened his mouth and the strange pills vanished within. He swallowed and Hope winced. "What did you give him?" she demanded as she struggled to break free. The man's grip was like an iron vice. Nothing she did was budging him, and the way he stared at her as if she didn't exist. It gave her the creeps.
"Hey, Boss?"Varys didn't have to look over. "I know," he replied as he pushed harder on the thin pedal of the gas. "We've been tricked.""I'll take responsibility. I never thought we'd have so many traitors in the family."
"Are those wraps getting bloodier?" Hope questioned as she probed Max's side.The man grit his teeth. "Damn it, Hope, stop prodding me, I'm not a piece of meat here, not for you anyway."