Chapter 50
Chapter Fifty
SEAN
There has to be some mistake. Mykela can’t be the mole; she’s been with us for years.
I’m running on autopilot as I head to the front door, where I know Mykela is waiting. I don’t want to open that door, not now that I know she’s selling our information, putting my Princess in danger. I’ve never wanted to hit a woman before, but right now, I could kill her.
Guess the numbness has been burnt away by the fire of rage flowing through my body.
“Let her in and take her to Christian’s office,” Terry had instructed. “Keep her away from Jaz. We are coming up.” For the plan to work, I need to let her in. Taking a deep breath, I plaster on a smile and open the door.
“Hey! What are you doing here?” I ask, stepping back so she can enter.
Mykela walks in wearing light blue skinny jeans and a thick, warm jumper. Considering I can count on my hand the number of times I've seen her in any makeup, it's strange seeing her in with a full face of it. Her light red hair, usually in a messy bun, has been straightened and now hangs down to the middle of her back.
“I wanted to pop up and check everything is going okay,” she smiles as I close the door.
“Well, it's good to see you. Come through to Christian's office. He’s down in the gym, so we can talk there.” I lead her through the house and to the office and signal for her to take a seat on the sofa.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I send a quick message to my brothers.
Sean: We are in the office. I will see how much I can get out of her, so listen at the door.
I put my phone on the desk with the screen down in case they message back. I quickly busy myself making two glasses of water whilst trying to remain calm. The last thing I need is for her to get her back up, thanks to the alcohol.
“You been enjoying your downtime?” I ask, placing a glass in her hand.
“Meh, it's been boring, to be honest. I’ve missed everyone, so I thought I would pop up.” She looks down at the glass; it's almost as if she's nervous. “I know it's against protocol and shouldn’t be here. But I've been worried. I guess I can’t stop worrying about you, even when I know you are locked in.” Looking up at me through her lashes, she smiles sadly. “How is Jasmine doing?”
Hearing Jasmine's name on her lips makes me want to reach out and grab her by the throat. I don’t know what the guys have learnt, but for Terry to sound so worried when I said she’d arrived, it must be something bad.
“She’s distraught and is struggling with everything. She doesn’t know what to do with herself,” I lie. When I left her and Mrs Brown in the sitting room, Jasmine was laughing as the two of them played with the dog.
“Can I ask you something?”
Looking back to Mykela, I force myself to relax back into my seat.
“You know you can,” I smile.
“I don’t know how to word this without it sounding shitty, but bear with me,” she starts, fidgeting nervously. “But is this really what you all want?” I open my mouth to argue, but she puts her hand up to stop me. “Hang on, let me finish.” I nod my head but continue to watch her closely.
“I’ve known all of you for what? Four years?” I nod as she continues. “In that time, your biggest issues were due to your relationship with her. People are using her to get to you or your wedding. I just worry that none of you are going to end up happy. You deserve better, Sean.” I don’t miss the way she says my name at the end, singling me out from the others.
“I hope you’re not blaming Jasmine,” I warn. Mykela shakes her head.
“No, I like Jasmine; she’s a sweetheart; she’s just … misled. I don’t think she truly knows what she wants, which is understandable considering the abuse she suffered. But I worry the five of you will end up miserable.”
“How do you know about her past?” I ask, frowning.
“I helped Christian track down the ones who abused her. He killed them all.” Before I can say anymore, she continues. “Let’s face it, she has a stronger relationship with Christian. What if they decide one day to keep things just between them? What happens to you?”
“If Jasmine ever picks one of us over the others, we will step back and let them be together without interference. It’s something we have talked about as a family.” I never thought I would have to defend our relationship like this, especially not with our staff.
“Look, I know I’m being out of line, but I care about you, Sean. You are different from your brothers, and I can't stand by and let them bully you into being in something that just doesn’t suit you.” She moves closer on the sofa, making me want to put more distance between us, but if I get up, she may become insulted.
“My brothers have never forced me to do anything I don’t want to.” I have to stop myself from saying more, knowing I need her to speak to me openly.
Mykela sighs as she places a hand on my leg; for a second, I think it’s a reassuring touch, but then I look into her eyes and realise what she’s really up to.
“Sean, you can't be happy, I mean truly happy. You deserve someone who treats you as well as you treat Jasmine. Someone who would never leave your side, not some girl who would never choose you, and is happy going from one of you to the other, not giving a shit if you may need her or not.”
This time, there is no hiding the shock on my face as I jump to my feet.
“So what do you suggest I do, Mykela? Leave? Who am I leaving? Jasmine? My brothers? Or both?”
“Personally, I think the best thing that could happen is for you to get away from this place, from their business, because you are too good to be caught up in all the shit they deal in. They bring you down, and you deserve better. You aren’t a thug like them. You hate violence and need to do all you can to distance yourself from them.” She moves closer until she’s right up in my face, and I can't believe I didn’t see it sooner.
“Think about it, Sean. Think about how much easier life would be if Jasmine stayed with your brothers and you were free to love who you want to love.” I need to keep this going because if I play my cards right, I will get a full confession from her. “Tell me you’ve never considered it, and I’ll back off.”
I haven’t, not for one moment, but I stay silent in the hope she will think that I have. I purposely look away from her, but she cups my face between her hands and encourages me to look at her.
“I can see you have, and I have seen it for a while. Don’t think I haven’t seen your shoulders slump when you hear Jaz is with one of the others. Or how you force that smile every time you walk into the room and she sits on one of the others’ laps. I hate seeing you so miserable. You deserve so much more than she’s willing to give you.”
Please God, if you ever listen to anything from me, please make sure Jasmine is not outside this door listening.
“You’re right; I hate seeing her with my brothers,” I reply quietly. “I have thought about leaving a few times, and even more so with the wedding being off, I feel like she should leave with the others, and I could just go off on my own.”
“Then do it. We could leave tonight.”
“We?” I ask, playing dumb, knowing precisely what she hopes will happen.
“Of course; you can't go anywhere without me.” Mykela grins as she rests her hands on my chest. “I know you need time to get over Jasmine, and I understand completely. But maybe one day you will realise that I’ve always been here since the moment we met.”
“You have?” I’m not acting, as I had no idea.
“Of course. Why do you think I worked so hard to become your personal guard?”
“I had no idea.” Again, I realise just how blind I’ve been.
“It’s okay, you do now, and maybe one day you will return my feelings.” She continues to smile at me, and I feel sick to my stomach. Even though I know all this is a lie, it feels wrong. “What do you say? Shall we run tonight?” She looks so hopeful, but I need to get more out of her.
“We can’t,” I sigh, turning away. “I can't leave with everything going on. I need to know they are all at least safe. They are still my family.”
“They will be fine,” Mykela says behind me, touching my shoulder.
“No, they won't. Someone is after each of us, and I can’t leave them in danger.”
“No one is after any of you. You sorted it when you sorted Mitchell.” I turn to argue, but Mykela smiles and nods. “Trust me.”
“But the dress, the flowers, and the security system, so many things have happened, and I can't leave until we know the threat has gone.”
“Babe, it will be fine,” she smiles, cupping my face again, as I try desperately not to recoil from her touch. “I think you will find they weren’t trying to hurt anyone, just get the wedding postponed, giving them time to scare Jasmine away.”
I pretend to think about it for a second before making my eyes bulge from my head.
“Did you…?”
“I did what was needed to buy us more time,” she smiles. “I knew if the wedding was cancelled, and Jasmine disappeared, I could get you to realise what’s right in front of you.”
The woman is a fucking psychopath.
“It can't have all been you?”
“It was,” she smiles smugly. “It wasn’t easy, but with a little help from my brother, I taught myself how to hack the system, which helped me get into the dress shop, florist and the hotel. Slipping the night staff some sleeping pills helped with the hotel. He thought I was just a friendly guest and still has no idea he fell asleep, which gave me time to cause the damage needed to the ceremony room.”
“But how did you get into Maximus’s phone to message me the night of the lockdown?” It’s something we haven’t been able to work out.
“That was easy; he always leaves his phone in his car. All I had to do was unlock it with the spare key I borrowed from the office, send the message and then delete it from his phone but not yours.” Of course she would know everything we do; she has watched us for years.
“But why the dresses? That was aimed purely at Jasmine, even though you claim to like her.”
“I do like her, which is why I don’t want her to marry your brothers.” She takes a step forward and cups my cheek. “Babe, your brothers are evil. They kill without a second thought of who they leave behind. I will never understand how sweet and caring you are when you’re related to them and Tommy.”
“My brothers do what they need for us to survive,” I argue instinctively. “Everything they do is for our family.”
“Normal people don’t live like this, babe. They don’t kill and steal. They don’t hunt people down because of their past. Christian could have just reported them to the police; they didn’t need to die.”
I open my mouth to tell her they did deserve it, and I hope he made their deaths painful. But I need to keep her on my side.
“The stag do?” I ask quietly. “I could have been killed.” Mykela’s eyes darken as she shakes her head. “That was Mitchell and his men getting out of control. He was the only main threat. After that night, you were safe. I made sure of it.”
“So if I leave, are my brothers and Jasmine free? No one will turn up to hurt them if they lower security?” Mykela shakes her head and smiles.
“So, we can leave and never come back if you want. You can stay with me until you get on your feet. Or we could move into a temporary home until we find somewhere else? Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”
I nod, causing her to squeal and throw her arms around my neck.
“What do you want to do?” she asks, releasing me.
“You head off, and I will pack a bag. We can meet up somewhere, or give me your address, and I will come round.”
Mykela nods excitedly before heading to the desk and writing down her address. When she hands it to me, I can’t miss the huge smile on her face. How long has she had these feelings for me?
“Before you leave, try to persuade Jasmine to run. Your brothers will bring her down like they have done to you, and I do like her. You are just too good for her.”
“Jasmine would never leave my brothers. Nor will they ever let her.” Neither will I, and I need to make sure she knows that if she has heard any of this.
Mykela watches me for a moment before leaning in and kissing my cheek. I jump back on instinct, not wanting her to touch me. I’m disgusted with her and all she has done. Just as I think she has seen how repelled by her I am, she smiles and cups my face again.
“You take all the time you need. I have waited this long for you; I can wait a little longer until you realise how much you love me, too.”
I can’t bring myself to answer, so I just nod and head to the door. Stepping back, I run my fingers through my hair.
“You go out first. I’ve got to at least leave them a note, so they don’t try to find me.”
“Good thinking. Message me when you are on your way. I let her open the door and stand to the side. I’m so glad that I did, as the first thing Mykela saw was a furious Jasmine as her arm swung out and punched Mykela in the temple, knocking her clean out.