Mr. President:A Billionaire & Virgin Fake Fiance Romance(99)

He raises his gun at me, but I grab his wrist and twist his arm around,  only stopping when I hear the nauseating sound of his bones breaking.

"Fucking wish you're dead after this, motherfucker," I yell through clenched teeth, kicking the man closest to me in his ribs.

I hear fucking bone crunch.

I don't fucking care.

The first guy tries to rise up, but seeing the look in my face he wavers.

I don't fucking take a chance. I run the three steps over to him and kick him.

Hard.

My foot hits his face.

He crumples.

I'm breathing hard. Fucking seeing red.

I kick both their guns as far away from them as I can, and then finally turn to Destiny.         

     



 

"You okay?" I ask her, and she closes the distance between us and presses her mouth against my own.

"I am now," she whispers at me. "Let's get out of here." Holding her  with one arm over her shoulders, I take her to the passenger's seat in  the limo and then take my seat behind the steering wheel. The  men-definitely not cops-are crawling toward their guns, but the moment  they hear the roar of the limo's engine they roll to the side to let us  through.

Now more calmly, I take us through the late New York's traffic and head  right down to my apartment in the Financial District. I'll be close  enough to Python if anything happens and, besides, I need to get to the  bottom of this right now.

I have a few questions, and I fucking bet that Destiny has the answers.





76





Destiny





For the first time in hours, I feel safe. Standing with Austin in his  apartment, it feels that the real world can't get to me here.

And even if it does, Austin would just kick its ass and send it on its  way, just like he did in that alley. I don't even want to think about  what would've happened if he hadn't showed up when he did.

I mean, Lester is out of control, and if he got ahold of me, knowing him as I do … I'm shuddering.

The commissioner has a mean streak to him, you know? He always had a  knack for extortion, but I just took saw him as another dirty cop-dirty,  but not evil.

But I was wrong.

Lester is looking more and more like a New York devil, and I'm starting  to realize that extortion might be just be one of his pastimes.

"Thank you," I mutter as I sit down on Austin's couch and he hands me a  glass of water. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my hands as I  wrap my fingers around the glass.

"Hey, babe," he says, sitting next to me, tucking a lock of hair over my  ear. "No need to fucking thank me. I'm just glad you're okay."

I put the glass to my lips and start drinking-the cold water calming my  nerves. I try to push Lester's evil grin to the back of my mind, and  then I look up at Austin. There's relief in his eyes, but there's also  concern. By the way he's looking at me, I know that he has a few  questions dancing on the tip of his tongue.

"Just get it out," I tell him, sighing. I place the glass of water on  the coffee table in front of me and fold my hands on my lap, feeling  that the time to come clean has finally arrived. I just hope it's not  too late.

"You asked for it," he chuckles lightly before he starts, licking his  lips while he looks for the right words. "What was Lester doing at your  club? What was that all about? Because that dude came to fight a war  tonight, not close down a fucking strip club." Pursing my lips, I look  into Austin's eyes and swallow down all hesitancy. Time to come clean.

Here I go.

"He was carrying out his threat," I say drily, breathing in as I prepare myself to tell Austin the truth. All of it.

"What threat?" he asks me in that patient tone of his, his eyes  narrowing slightly. I notice his fingers twitching, and I'd bet a full  year's income that he'd like to choke out Lester as much as I do.

"Lester, he …  Austin, he was forcing me to spy on you," I finally tell  him, the words tumbling out of my lips and blowing up in the air of his  apartment. "He wanted me to tell him about what was going on in Python."

Austin has nothing on his face. He's quiet.

"Shit," he whispers, looking away from me and turning his gaze outward,  to the New York skyline outlooking his wall-to-ceiling window panes.  Even though it's still night, the city keeps on glowing, its bright  lights cutting through the darkness. "I should've known."

"He threatened he'd close my club if I didn't keep tabs on you," I say.  "And he wanted me to find someone …  The woman you were talking to.  Mistress Strokes, you called her, I think."

"That fucking bastard," he whispers again, balling his hands into fists,  anger dripping out of his words. Oh, he wants to choke Lester, alright.  "Destiny, why didn't you trust me?"

He finally turns to me, his words making my heart feel smaller and  smaller. Right now, I just wish I could vanish into the ether.

"I …  I don't know, Austin," I start, that sadness inside of me turning into desperation.

What if he tells me to get out of his apartment?

What if he tells me that he never wants to see me again?

It's in this exact moment that I finally realize something: I'm in love with Austin Price.

That's right. I'm in love with Python.

I felt it in the way my heart beat every time our gaze met, and I felt  it every time I thought of him, that soothing warmness blanketing my  mind and taking over my dreams. I'm in love with Austin, I think to  myself, the words echoing inside my head.

"I'm sorry," I repeat, "I really am." I can count on the fingers of one  hand the times I said these three words, I'm sorry, but they never  sounded so real as they do now. If only I could turn time back.

"Don't," he says, turning his body to me. Don't say you're sorry! You  lied to me! I trusted you! My imagination starts putting words into his  mouth, a deep-seated fear making my fingers shake. "Don't say you're  sorry, Destiny," he tells me, just like I imagined, and I feel my fears  creeping into the real world. But then he continues to speak. "It's not  your fault. It's all on him, that fucking prick."

He gets up from the couch and I just look in silence as he walks toward  the kitchen counter and grabs a bottle of aged whisky sitting there. He  uncorks the bottle and fills two glasses with the amber liquid.

Throwing his head back, he drinks one of the glasses in one single gulp  and then refills it. Only then does he come back to the couch, pushing  one of the glasses into my hand.

"Lester has been trying to close down Python since the moment it opened  its doors. I just never thought he'd go this far," he says to me.

I'm quiet, letting him continue.

I mean, a part of me is wanting to hear this, you know?

Whatever secret Austin has, whatever drama he's got with NYPD, it just fucked up my club.

So yeah, I may be sorry, but I'm also going to need answers. If not now, then soon.

"You see, Destiny," Austin says as he turns to me, a serious look on his  face and I can tell I might just be getting those answers now. "Python  is much more than just a bar or a strip club. We do something important  there, and I guess we ended up being more than a nuisance to Lester and  his cronies."

My mind is buzzing with questions, but I can't press Austin any further, not now. I want to.

God damn, I so want to.

But I can tell now isn't the best time.

But soon, like I said, I'm going to need to know.

For now, I can trust him.

Still, I can't help but wonder about the we he keeps talking about.

And what exactly is going on at Python?

Is he talking about his haven for women philosophy, or is it something  more than just that? Either way, it doesn't matter. Because I trust him  and, whatever the conflict is between him and Lester, it won't change a  thing.

I trust Austin's judgment more than anything right now, and I won't let  all the things Lester told me about him cloud my mind. That bastard  tried to poison me with lies, but that stops now.

"Austin, I … " I start saying, but I stop, not finding the right words. I  sided with Lester, and I worked with him to spy on Python and Austin …   And, God, that's making me feel horrible. He presses one finger over my  lips and hushes me with a smile.

"You don't need to say anything," he whispers, smiling gently. Leaning  into me, he brushes his lips tenderly against my own. "I promise you:  we're going to get through this. We'll find a way."

As I look into his eyes, I find all my fears fading away as if they were  being carried by the wind. I believe him. I believe him in a way I've  never believed anyone before.

Austin is going to make it all right, I just know it.

How?

Because I love him.

Yeah, you heard me. You know, in case you didn't hear me before.

Destiny Renee is in love with Austin "Python" Price.

I nod at him, a shy smile creeping on my lips. "We'll get through this," I repeat, belief turning into certainty.

Yes, we're going to get through this.





77





Austin





She's calmer now, and the way she bounced back from being chased by  armed thugs …  That tells me that she doesn't really need a savior. Fuck,  if I hadn't showed up I'm betting that she might have kicked those two  guys' asses all by herself. That's Destiny; she doesn't need a savior.