Chapter 8 #2
The words hit harder than I expected, and suddenly, I understood how it had fallen on him back then, how it was falling on me now. Not by choice, but because there was no one else.
“You can’t give up on us,” I said, my voice tightening.
“I’m tired,” he said simply.
“Of what?”
“Of life.”
The room went quiet.
“What about June?” I pushed.
His gaze softened. “I tried,” he said. “But you and I both know… her heart was never mine.”
I swallowed, unsure what to say. Right now, it was hard to believe that. Hard to accept that everything I’d seen, everything between them, wasn’t real. And it was even harder to believe that the person she loved might be me.
No. That didn’t make sense.
“After everything she’s done for you?” I asked.
“Yes.” He nodded once. “And now it’s my turn to do something for her.”
My jaw tightened. “By sending her into danger? You’re asking her to take charge of the triad when you might not even be there to protect her.”
“I’m not sending her into anything.” Dannie shook his head. “Everything will fall into place when the time is right. I’ve already made arrangements. No harm will come to her.”
“How can you be so sure?” I snapped. “You can’t possibly protect her if you’re dead.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Because I know her. She’ll figure it out.” He paused, his gaze steady. “What I can do… is give her her life back.”
“That’s coward talk,” I snapped, my voice rising. “You’re asking her to walk into a war you don’t even know how to survive.”
“That’s where you come in.” He cut me off, his voice sharper now, more intense, as if he’d been waiting for this moment. “Listen. Laura’s betrayal caught me off guard. All I wanted… was to give June everything.”
He let out a slow breath. “My assets. My businesses. Enough so she never has to worry again. Never has to depend on anyone.” He paused, studying my face. “I was going to let Laura take control of the triad,” he admitted, shaking his head slightly. “But she won’t be safe if my uncle’s involved…”
The words landed heavy. Final. A cold weight settled in my chest.
“What does that mean?” I asked, my voice tightening. “You think he’ll come after her?”
Dannie didn’t answer immediately. That was answer enough.
I took a step closer. “She’s not part of this,” I snapped. “She has nothing to do with your uncle, your family, your—”
“She’s with me,” Dannie cut in quietly. “That’s enough.”
I clenched my jaw. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
And I meant it, even if I didn’t know how yet.
Dannie watched me for a long moment. “I know,” he said. Simple. Certain. “You’ve been handling your own security for years. You know how to protect what’s yours. You can handle yourself.”
His eyes didn’t leave mine. “And if the triad has the right leader, the right direction… things fall into place. The streets stay quiet. People follow. They don’t need to be owned. They need to be led.”
“You don’t know that,” I pushed.
“Yes, I do,” he said. “You do too.”
A chill ran through me.
“When he had us taken,” Dannie continued, “there was a kill order.” My stomach dropped. “If it wasn’t for Auntie Five going behind his back… you and I would already be dead.”
A shiver crawled down my spine. “Are you saying…” I swallowed, my voice lower now. “He was planning to kill me back then?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation. No doubt.
“So if he finds out now that we—”
“He won’t hesitate.” The words fell out of Dannie’s mouth like a death sentence.
I stood there, suddenly aware of what I had stepped into. I thought I was helping June. Just helping. Now I was in the middle of something much bigger. Much darker.
“You see what I’ve been dealing with my whole life?” Dannie said quietly. “And now the universe is finally giving me a way out.” He let out a slow breath. “And I’m ready to take it.”
“No,” I said immediately, firm and unyielding. “You’re not dying.”
My voice tightened. “I won’t allow it. You don’t get to leave. Not again. Not after everything.”
He didn’t argue. He just looked at me, then changed the subject.
“Once you get there,” he said, “Squirrel will find a way to contact you and June.”
I frowned. “What do you mean? Where is he now?”
“He’s in hiding,” Dannie said. “His loyalty to me puts him on my uncle’s kill list.”
“And he’ll know what to do?”
“There’ll be others with him,” he said. “People we can trust.” His eyes met mine again.
I let out a short, incredulous laugh. “And they’re just supposed to fall in line and listen to me?” I shook my head. “I don’t even know what I’m doing.”
“They will listen to June. You just need to guide her,” he said. “I’ve done my research. I know how ruthless you run your business. And this isn’t that different.”
I stared at him. “You’re joking.”
“I’m not.” His voice stayed calm. “At the end of the day, it’s still about money, power, and influence. Sometimes reputation comes into play. Pride. Face. But people are simple. They want what everyone wants.”
“Except some are willing to take it further,” I said.
Dannie nodded, “Exactly.”
I shook my head. “But I don’t have that in me,” I admitted.
Dannie studied me, his gaze sharpening. “I’m sure you do.”
I let out a quiet, humorless breath. “You’re wrong.”
He didn’t argue. Instead, he said, “Your cousin, Jenny. She did what she had to do to protect her children—and you.”
The image hit me before I could stop it.
Her face. Cold. Determined.
Then Chen, on the floor.
Blood everywhere. Too much blood.
I remembered standing there, frozen, unable to move or think. Useless.
“I don’t know if I have what it takes,” I said, the words heavier this time. It wasn’t doubt anymore. Just truth. I was tired of repeating it, and even more tired of him not hearing it.
“You do.”
Except Dannie didn’t know me. Not really. He didn’t know what that kidnapping had done to me or what it had taken from me. It hadn’t made me stronger. It had broken something inside me, leaving me hesitating, second-guessing myself, freezing whenever it mattered most.
The universe had a cruel way of balancing things. Two brothers had been taken. One came out stronger.The other became a coward, falling apart at the sight of blood.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” Dannie said.
Before he could continue, the door opened and Lincoln stepped inside.
“Where’s June?”
“She went to get something,” Dannie said. His expression changed as he looked at Lincoln. “What’s wrong?”
Lincoln shut the door behind him and turned the lock.
“Laura.”
Dannie’s face hardened. “What about her?”
“She raided your suite.”
“What?” Dannie pushed himself higher against the pillows.
“Her people tore the place apart. They were looking for something—or someone.” Lincoln’s gaze moved between us. “Luckily, Lucy had already left Shanghai.”
My jaw tightened. “Anyone hurt?”
“No. Not this time.” Lincoln stepped closer.
“That means you need to leave now,” Dannie said. “Don’t waste any more time.”
The urgency in his voice cut through everything.
“We’re leaving now?”
June’s voice came from the doorway.
She stepped inside with a paper bag in her hands, looking almost painfully normal—too normal, too calm. Her eyes moved across the room: Lincoln, Dannie, me. She studied each of us, reading the silence, sensing that something had changed.