LAILAH
THIRTY-SIX
Peering around Jay, I saw Micah toe-to-toe with a short, rotund woman. She was dressed in a skintight black dress that did not flatter her shape, and was dripping with gems. Her dark auburn hair was pinned up, and her face was covered in gaudy dark makeup.
Was this the woman that Micah didn’t want to share the same room with? Seeing how he was looking at her, I no longer thought he had ever hated me. The look of disgust that he was giving this woman would have curdled milk in seconds.
“Don’t you talk to me like that, you ungrateful brat. You're lucky that anyone in our family took you under their wing. Do you know how much I have done for you?” she shouted back.
Micah scoffed at her and motioned to her outfit. “Looks like I’ve been the one taking care of you. How much have you spent out of my trust, you stupid cow? This is more than the contract you signed would afford you as the CEO of my family's business and estates.”
“How dare you!” the woman screeched and raised a hand to slap Micah.
Now I’d had enough. No one was allowed to hit my boys. Without even thinking, I sent out a burst of power that knocked her away from Micah and on her ass as I marched over to them.
“Madam Lazonick,” a man cried out, rushing over to help her get to her feet.
“Get off me,” she grumbled, shaking the man off once she was upright and brushed herself off.
I had now reached Micah’s side and stood proudly next to him.
“Do you have any idea who I am, you little bitch?” she growled, sparing me with her gaze.
I gave her a smile that was more teeth than would be friendly. “I don’t give a fuck who you are, I won’t let you talk to him or me like that. If you don’t watch your mouth, I’ll do it again.”
“I am Micah’s legal guardian, and the person who is entrusted with looking over all of his family assets until he is twenty-one. If he wants anything left to inherit, I would suggest you watch yourself, you little chit.”
I laughed, unable to take this woman seriously.
“It just so happens that I have a brother who is a lawyer, and I know the laws are different here in Europe, but I have a feeling that what you’re doing is considered illegal.
It might even count as fraud, which in most places would get you put in jail.
So, I would take a step back and tone down the threats before you end up behind bars. ”
As I talked, I could feel my power twining its way around her, making her feel the weight of my threat.
It would seem that our weapons may not inflict any damage to humans, but our power was another story.
I didn’t want to truly hurt this woman, but fearing what might happen was acceptable when it came to protecting my people, my family.
“Who. Are. You?” she gasped.
I leaned forward so I could whisper in her ear, letting the word fall from my lips. “Synergy.”
Hearing her gasp, I held her in place with my power so she couldn’t pull back. “Just so we are perfectly clear, Micah is mine, so when you fuck with him, you fuck with me. You might be his family, but you’re not mine.”
Putting a smile on my face, I stepped back and freed her from my power and wrapped my arm around Micah’s waist. Hesitantly, he put his arm around my shoulder, but when I put my hand on his chest, he held me tighter.
“If you don’t mind, we have a Christmas party to enjoy, and you are not welcome here,” Micah spoke, his voice hard, leaving no room for question.
Yet that didn’t seem to stop his aunt. “You don’t have the authority to do that.”
“Then I’ll say it. You are not welcome here, Muriel. I made it clear that you were not to show up at this gathering. Micah is the shareholder in this company, not you. Now leave before I have you escorted out,” Oliver said, coming to stand with Micah, resting a hand on his shoulder.
Muriel huffed and thought about saying something, but just grabbed a glass of champagne and chugged it before waving to her attendant.
“Don’t think this is settled, Micah. You still have three years until you can take over.
” Turning on her heel, she made her way out of the ballroom, shoving people out of her way as she went.
“Can’t imagine why I’ve never heard you talk about her,” I drawled, looking at Micah.
“Everyone has that family member you not so secretly wish you could kill,” Micah muttered.
Oliver chuckled, waving over a server that had a tray full of drinks. He handed us each one. “I think we all need one after dealing with that.”
I wasn’t sure what it was, but the short tumbler was half full of amber liquid. I took a sip, and the spice of the drink hit me first, then the smooth liquor caressed my tongue. Not having had much liquor before, I had no clue what I was drinking, but it was delicious.
“What is this?” I asked, taking another sip.
“Spiced brandy. Old family recipe that we only have made during the holidays,” Oliver explained. “I wouldn’t drink it too quickly—it sneaks up on you.”
“Good to know.” I smiled as he wandered back to Adriana.
Micah set his drink down on a table next to us and placed his hands on my hips, turning me to face him. “What did you say to her? I’ve never seen her look so scared before.”
I gave him a soft smile and shrugged my shoulders. “Nothing really, just told her I didn’t like how she was treating you.”
Micah frowned at me, not believing me at all.
“Shouldn’t you be proud that I stood up for myself?” I teased, poking him in the chest.
“I would be, if you were really standing up for yourself, but you weren’t. You were defending me,” Micah griped.
I searched his eyes, trying to see if I could figure out what about that had upset him.
“Micah. I don’t think you really know how I feel about you.
I’ve claimed you as one of my people, and I will do anything for people that are close to me.
It’s the five of you and Cami; you guys have become my family out here.
When someone does something to you, it’s like them doing it to me. ”
Micah’s eyes filled with so many emotions, I couldn’t pick them all out. “Why would you do that? Getting close to people only gives them more power to hurt you along the way.”
I smiled softly at him, knowing what he was getting at. “Those that are worth being part of my family may let me down or hurt me, but the difference is, they wouldn’t have done it intentionally. They will also do whatever it takes to earn back my trust.”
“How can you know that?” Micah asked, his grip on my hips getting tighter.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I have faith in them. Trust is not given or earned lightly, but all of you have never given me a reason not to put my trust in you. Eventually, you will see this too, but I’m not in a rush. I’ll wait till you're ready.”
I hadn’t at all known I felt that way until the words came out of my mouth, but now that they had, I knew it was the absolute truth. Cami and these men of mine completed me, and I was going to show them that we were better together, rather than butting heads and arguing.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brayden making his way over to us with a determined look on his face.
“Looks like it’s showtime,” I whispered, placing a kiss on Micah’s cheek as he let me go.
As Brayden reached us, I felt fear slam into me from our connection. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“She brought Charlotte with her,” Brayden said through clenched teeth.
“Fuck,” Micah growled.
I looked around the room, and my eyes landed on Parker’s mom. “I have an idea. All of your families are very close, right?”
Brayden’s brows creased as he looked at me. “Yeah, I guess it’s been a while since they have all gotten together.”
“That's even better. I’ll be right back,” I said, rushing off towards Dolly.
Dolly smiled at me when I reached her, but then the smile faded and her face became more serious. “What’s happened, darling?”
“I need you to do something for me and not ask any questions, because I don’t have the time to answer them,” I said quickly in a hushed voice.
Dolly just nodded, the look of a protective mother shining in her eyes. “I need you to find Charlotte Dolton and keep her away from her governess that brought her to the party.”
“Done,” Dolly said, and she was off like a shot.
That had been way easier than I expected that to be.
Seeing Hudson and Jay, I signaled them to follow me, noting Parker was already with the other two. Once all together, I explained what I did.
“That was brilliant, Trouble! There is no way that shifty governess will suspect anything odd when an old family friend wants to catch up. I think it's been years since they’ve seen each other, lots to talk about,” Parker said proudly.
“Now we have to set the rest of the plan in motion,” Hudson said, pulling out his phone and passing it around. We all had one more look at the blueprints so we knew where to go.
I held a hand out in the middle of our circle and quirked an eyebrow at the others.
Parker grinned and plopped his hand on mine, followed by the others, until it was just Micah.
He rolled his eyes and set his on the top of the pile.
I gave a sharp nod, and we broke, no cheer needed.
I just wanted them all to acknowledge that we were all in this together.
Scanning the room, I found the exit that I needed to take and slipped out into the hall.
I pulled the black zip ties out of my pockets and zip-tied the doors shut.
I did the same for the two others before I made my way out into the garden, where we would have the confrontation.
We needed to make sure none of the party guests accidentally made their way out here and got hurt in the crossfire.
We didn’t expect Ms. Tabitha to go down easy.