King of Deception: A Secret Billionaire Romance (Billionaire Kings of New York Book 1)

16. The Collapse

sixteen

“How are you feeling?” I asked as I tried to channel all of my concentration on the police car ahead of us.

“I’m… Ehm… Whose car is this?”

Reaching for her fingers, I clasped them in mine. “God, you’re shaking.”

“Abel,” she pulled her hand away, “where did you get this car, and why’s your name programmed in it?”

Squeezing my eyes shut for a second, I tried to hold in my frustration. “Can we focus on you for—”

“And why did you call that detective instead of nine-one-one?”

“I—He’s a friend of mine.”

“Back to the car, then. Whose is it?”

As we slowed down to stop at an intersection, I turned to her, sighing. “Will you at least tell me how you are? Put my mind at ease. Did he hurt you?”

“How do you think I’m feeling?” she raised her voice. “My wrists are sore and there’s a fucking brick on my chest that just won’t budge. Abel, what’s going on? I suddenly feel like I’m talking to a stranger and not my boyfriend!”

What a perfect time to call me that.

My throat tightened.

Repeatedly blinking, I shook my head while I gripped the wheel with both hands, squeezing them and pressing on the gas pedal. I wanted her to know—I was going to explain everything. Just not like this. Not under these circumstances.

Luckily, we arrived at the precinct and saw the officers pull Jude out of the back of their car. With his hands behind his back, his shirt was stained with his blood.

“Did he hurt you?” she whispered, and my chest ached.

Turning to look at her, I knew that my face reflected only a fraction of the feelings that were tearing through me. “I’m fine.”

“Then let’s go.” Without waiting for me, she opened the door and got out. I had to race to catch up with her.

Inside, we were greeted by the team in charge; Captain Nilsson, Detective Diaz, and Officer Brown.

Leaning over to the Captain, I whispered, “I really appreciate this, but can she wait in your office for now?”

“Of course.”

Approaching us were Detective Monaghan and Jude on their way to another room. As they walked past us, the latter turned around, scowling at me. “I knew I recognized you; you’re the Drakos heir!” He then chuckled, shouting as he walked on, “Well done, Ella Bella! Well done!”

Looking away, I tried to touch Ella’s arm before she took a step away, widening her eyes in disbelief as she looked at me as if for the first time. Her gaze painfully scrutinized me while everyone’s eyes remained on us.

“The Drakos heir?” she breathed as if trying to process it. She then inched closer. “Philip Drakos, Abel? That’s who your father is?”

My jaws clenched as I stopped my tongue from uttering something I would regret—and in this scenario, that could have been anything. Instead, I closed my eyes and looked away.

The Captain then approached, addressing her. “Miss Boraine, please, will you join me in my office?”

“Philip Drakos’ son?” she mindlessly murmured as she began to walk away with Nilsson, her eyes not leaving me as her shoulder brushed against mine.

Abel, focus. Focus. My brain urged me, so I quickly pulled out the phone, texting Iris.

Not returning to office. Postpone all meetings.

I, then, called Nathan.

As soon as he picked up, he said, “Hey, I was just on my way to you.”

“Change of plans. Come to Captain Nilsson’s.”

“The precinct? What are you doing there?”

“Ella was attacked. Her ex was arrested.”

“Fuck me,” he sharply inhaled. “Alright, I’m on my way.”

In the Captain’s office, Ella sat at the other end of the room as if trying to stay as far away from me as possible. Monaghan joined us with another officer while the Captain settled behind his desk, observing.

“Miss Boraine,” Monaghan started, “we’re gonna try to wrap this up as quickly as we can so you can go home and rest.”

Her eyes, glassy and dazed, stared at him.

“Alright,” he sighed. “Would you take me through what happened?”

“Jude and I broke up about seven months ago,” she half-mindedly said, looking down at her fingers. “At first, he pretended that it was okay. But then, four months ago, he started contacting me again, asking for another… chance.”

“Was he violent in any way before today?”

I looked at her, dying to hear her answer.

“He—” she paused, and I saw her swallowing with difficulty. “Yes. But never like this.”

“Okay, we’ll get to this in a minute. What was it like before?”

My heart raced as I heard her say, “He picked fights about every man in my life. Friends, colleagues… even strangers at bars. He—” She shook her head as her eyebrows wrinkled, all while looking downward. “He had fits of rage where he would throw things. Break stuff. He destroyed my company laptop once, and I had to have it replaced.”

“And what about you?” he dipped his head. “Did he ever attack you physically?”

Her lower lip trembled, and it took all of my energy not to go over there and hug her. I watched her lips shake before she mumbled, “Once.”

“What happened?” he insisted. “Please, Miss Boraine. We have to know.”

“The first time I hinted at taking a break, he…” for a fraction of a second, her eyes glanced up at me before going back to her wringing hands. “He shoved me into a wall.” She lifted up her hand, touching her right temple. “The side of my head was badly bruised, and I had to wear my hair differently for a couple of weeks.”

Shooting up to my feet, I mumbled, “Fucking…” from under my breath.

The Captain instantly scowled at me, “Sit down, Mr. Drakos.”

Grinding my jaws, I harshly ran my fingers through my hair, looking away as I flopped down on the chair. I looked at her, and she was looking at me, almost ashamed.

“Let’s go back to today, then,” Monaghan continued. “What happened?”

“He came to my office and called my cell, demanding that I meet him in the lobby… threatening to make a scene if I didn’t.”

Her voice grew distant in my ears as she recounted everything that I already knew. Nathan’s name flashed across my phone screen, so I stood up, announcing, “Nathan’s here.”

“Mr. Drakos—” Monaghan lifted a hand.

“We’re getting a restraining order, Detective.”

“Abel!” Ella finally addressed me, albeit angrily.

“Oh, that’s not what you want?” I raised my eyebrows. “You wanna lay down and take more punches?” Immediately I regretted the way my words had come out.

“You’re not gonna speak on my behalf,” she hissed.

The door parted open, and an officer let Nathan in. Smiling and nodding, he proceeded to shake hands with the Captain and Monaghan.

“Mr. Wright, I’m glad you’re here,” the Captain said, gesturing for him to take a seat. “We seem to have conflict.”

“Ella.” Nathan leaned over as he sat next to her. “I’m sorry about what happened, but we’re gonna do—”

“We’re gonna get a restraining order,” I stated matter-of-factly. “Aren’t we, Mr. Wright?”

Surprised, he looked at me with a look that begged for me to take it down a notch. “We’ll do whatever Miss Boraine wants to do,” he dipped his head.

Forcing a chuckle, I threw my hand in the air and looked away, sighing.

“I just want him to leave me alone,” she announced, looking at the Captain.

“Then I’m afraid we might have to pull some strings to do what Mr. Drakos suggested,” he nodded, pressing his palms together. “You think that’s something you’d like us to pursue?”

She looked at me with bitterness in her eyes. I couldn’t blame her. This morning, I was Abel, the waiter. Now, I was Mr. Drakos, blatantly demanding that the precinct captain expedite a restraining order process by simply requesting it.

I didn’t attempt to keep track of time since it seemed to stop completely while the tension between Ella and me grew with exponential proportions. Every glance, every word was laden with resentment, anger, and a deep sense of betrayal.

Did I feel guilty? Absolutely. Was I going to abandon her now? Never.

When everything was done, Nathan, Ella, and I headed toward the exit.

“This is my number.” Nathan handed her his card. “Please, feel free to call me any time.”

“Thanks,” she whispered as she accepted it.

“I’m gonna take you home,” I announced.

“No, I—” she tried to protest.

“I do agree that it’s best,” Nathan interrupted her, subtly giving me a meaningful look. “At least for today. You shouldn’t be alone.”

She scowled at him and said nothing. He quietly smiled, patting me on the shoulder, “I’ll see you later, buddy.”

And we were alone, walking over to my car. Ella was determined not to look at me or speak in any way, and again, I couldn’t blame her. I had promised not to hurt her, but in the worst timing possible, I did. I had proved to be a liar, and there was nothing I could say to defend myself.

In the car, every molecule of air that entered my lungs carried the unspoken tension that ticked like a bomb waiting to explode. Ella kept her sight on the road through the window, leaving me with no chance to read her expression.

If only she would talk to me or at me. Scream, shout, call me names. The silence was so much more painful, and she must have known that.

And me… all I knew was that I didn’t want our ride to end because it could simply be our last. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before I had to slow down at the foot of her building.

Finally turning to me, Ella’s face and the tears in her eyes took my breath away.

“I want you to know that I’m not blaming you for anything,” she said in a low, steady voice. “I’m a disaster magnet, and that’s exactly what you are… another disaster.”

“Ella—”

“It’s not my first rodeo, as you already know by now. So I’m gonna be okay. I just hope that you learn from Jude’s mistakes and understand that I never wanna see your face again.”

“Can you at least—”

“No, I can’t. At least have the decency to let me recover from this on my own terms, Mr. Drakos.”

Biting my lip, I forced myself to watch her open the door and get out, gently closing it behind her as if nothing had happened. I then held my breath as my eyes followed her walking away, disappearing into the building.

How long did I wait there in my car, wishing that she would come back down? I couldn’t tell you. All I knew was that I was in no state to drive.

When I finally managed to move, I drove as quickly as I could, suddenly unable to remain seen on the streets. I wanted to go home. I needed to be somewhere familiar.

Stepping into my living room, I was greeted by Dylan’s kind eyes, happy to see me. He wagged his tail for a moment as I patted him on the neck. As soon as I sat down in my chair, he came to me, lifting up his nose and sniffing my hand. His tail slowed down as he settled at my feet, staring up at me.

“Yeah, buddy,” I rested back my head. “I fucked up.”

I was no better than Jude. In fact, Ella had all the right to believe that what I’d done was much worse.

Just like that, everything I’d tried so hard not to ruin had fallen apart right before my eyes. Naked whispers upon soft pillows. Intimate conversations under the moonlight. Ice cream dates in the warm sun. Feelings I was too prudent to admit to.

Everything came crashing down in flames, raining on me.

And I deserved every last burning drop of it.