I glanced around us and realized we were getting stares from other people. I did my best to ignore them as I turned to Linda, who was drinking like a fish. “You shouldn’t drink so much. It’s bad for your health.”
“Don’t worry. I can hold my liquor well!” she said with a faint smile.
I sipped from my glass of juice and found myself gradually zoning out. Even in my daze, I was still checking my phone periodically.
My actions bothered Linda so much that she decided to set me straight. “Scarlett, do you know what’s the scariest thing in the world?”
I shook my head. Linda clinked glasses with me before replying, “It’s indecisiveness. The longer you procrastinate, the easier it is to lose the most important things in your life.”
The next thing I knew, she had taken my phone to make the call I had been so reluctant to make.
I was about to grab my phone back when a voice rang out from behind us. “Ms. Stovall?”
I was taken aback by the sudden intrusion and couldn’t help but frown when I turned to look. A familiar face came into sight, and only then did my frown turn into a smile. “Hi, Mr. Watson!”
“Ms. Stovall, this is the third time we’ve run into each other this month. I guess this is what they call fate, wouldn’t you agree?”
I smiled back politely as I got up from my seat. “I’m sure you have work to attend to, Mr. Watson. I shall leave you to it.”
Just as I was leaving with Linda in tow, Derek and his subordinates circled us and stopped us dead in our tracks.
I furrowed my brows as I turned to Derek. “Mr. Watson, what’s the meaning of this?”
Derek was still smiling, though he now had a lecherous look to him. “How are you still so full of yourself, Ms. Stovall? Do you not know the situation you’re in?”
“What do you mean by that, Mr. Watson? I’m sure I haven’t offended you in any way, so there’s no reason for you to threaten us like this,” I replied as calmly I could.
He chuckled before shifting his gaze to Linda. “You look like you’ve been doing well. You’re still as beautiful as ever.”
I was stunned, but before I could react, Linda had jumped in. “If you’re here for me, leave Scarlett out of it.”
“Then you’d be glad to hear that I’m here for the both of you!” Derek exclaimed.
He then looked back at me, lips curled in a sinister smile. “Scarlett, even after everything you’ve done for Ashton, he still dumped you? I can see why, though. I saw the lady he was with today, and she was stunning! If I had to choose between you and her, I’d pick her too. That said, I’m still rather fond of you, so what do you think about getting together with me?
“Derek, you disgusting pig!” Linda yelled, shielding me from him. “You know why you had to escape to A City, or do you want to be back in Dellmoor?”
Linda must have pushed all the right buttons because that immediately riled Derek up. “Is that a f*cking threat?”
Linda remained composed as she continued, “You know very well if it’s a threat. Don’t forget how you ended up in A City. If I can destroy you once, I can do it again.”
A slap came down fast and hard on Linda. It was so sudden that no one saw it coming.
Linda held her face in shock as blood trickled down the side. “I have been f*cking nice to you, haven’t I?” Derek growled. “You have done me dirty once, but I won’t let it happen again. Don’t assume I can’t do anything to you just because you have the Murphys to protect you.”
Derek looked around him and gestured to his subordinates. “Take these two women to the room upstairs.”
“Go to h*ll!”
Linda had only just gotten her words out when she got another tight slap.
“Shut the f*ck up! If the Murphys are really that capable, I invite them to bring it on!”
A group of onlookers had gathered round to see what the commotion was all about. However, Derek remained unfazed by the attention he was attracting and merely got his subordinates to send them away.
We were just two women up against a group of burly men. Unable to fight against them, we were soon brought upstairs and thrown into a hotel room with Derek.
He leered at us as he paraded around with a devilish grin, his beer belly now even more protruding. “It’s been a while since I’ve had so much fun. I’m going to enjoy myself to the fullest today.”
Linda got flustered and started flinging items at him, all of which he successfully ducked.
Not wanting to take the risk of either of us acting up again, Derek called for his subordinates to tie us to our chairs.
“Ms. Stovall, look what you’ve done to yourself. If you had cooperated with me right from the start, I’d have gladly taken you in after Ashton dumped you. You could have avoided all this.”
The smug look on Derek’s face as he spoke to me made me feel sick to my core, so much so that I didn’t even feel like replying.
He dragged a chair in front of me and sat on it, locking eyes with me. “It’s still not too late now. If you get together with me, I can provide you with a comfortable life. What do you think?”
“Will you stop being so gross?” I shouted. If my hands weren’t tied up, I’d have slapped this pathetic excuse of a man.
Instead of being offended, Derek howled with laughter. “What a character! No wonder Ashton fell for you.”
