CHAPTER 4: Brave Little Thing

Lance's POV 

She keeps glancing at me then throws her gaze out the car window as I speed through the tarred road.

I can tell she is exploding with so many questions.

The wedding dress is a mess now, but damn! She still looks like the most beautiful disaster I've ever seen.

But then, of all the women I had to crash into, it had to be Theodore Martins' daughter. Why did I miss researching who her dad is?

Good thing the helicopter caused enough mess, he could have seen my face and that would mean a different kind of unraveling.

Should probably keep my distance from his family.

I look at her, the breeze playing with her hair as she stares out the car window.

“Are you good?” I ask, trying to break the silence.

“No, I’m sorry, I’m just... It’s all happening so fast.” Her brows furrow and her face spells panic.

“But how did you do that, Jonathan? How did you pull that off?!” Her voice suddenly comes out rushed and full of wonder, like a kid seeing fireworks.

“The men, the helicopter, the cars, the guns? Oh my God! How did you time it so perfectly? I mean, you showed up at the exact second the priest said the vow, it was like magic!” Her words are so fast and breathless, like she couldn't stop even if she wanted to.

I smile and look at her. "You know, Marina Palm Beach is my property. So it was kinda easy to monitor things."

Her mouth falls open. “Your property? Wait… so you watched the wedding?! Just like that? You set up cameras?”

I chuckle. "Yea, then I moved when it mattered.”

Her hands fall on her mouth, then she shuts her mouth, trying to contain the amusement. "And those men? Who are they? How did you hire them?"

“Ok, you’re asking too many questions now.”

Then she shuts her mouth, collapsing into her seat.

“They're my men, I only needed to make a call.”

“Wait a minute! They're gone!” She gasps, looking back.

“Yeah, they're supposed to be,” I say, glancing at her. “I came to take you from your wedding, not drag a whole show along the streets.”

I see how her eyes sparkle, how she looks at me like I’d just come down from the clouds.

The way she ran to me… like a bride running to her prince. Like she knew I’d catch her, trusting me with her world. That image has burned into my head now.

Her gaze stays on me, soft and full of some kind of admiration I couldn’t yet understand.

“Come on, Sugarlips,” I smirk, “You keep looking at me like that I might think you’re in love.”

She looks away quickly, but I see the smile she tries to hide.

Her phone suddenly rings. She groans, snatching it out from somewhere under that heavy wedding dress. My eyes catch a glimpse of her thigh.

Smooth and unblemished. The kind of skin that makes a man’s hands itch just to feel it.

I grip the steering wheel tighter, forcing myself to look back at the road. Focus, Lance, and fucking drive.

She answers, and I can hear the tension in her voice shift.

“Dad…” Her voice lowers, almost small. I keep my eyes forward, but I can feel the storm brewing next to me.

“Where are you Ramona?” Theodore’s voice bangs through the speaker, loud enough for even me to hear.

“Who are you with? And who the hell is Jonathan Brown?”

“I’m safe, Dad. I’m safe…”

“Safe? Ramona, tell me who the hell is Jonathan Brown?!” 

She stares at me for a bit, I can see the freight in her eyes, her voice completely silent.

“You planned this, didn’t you? You planned this right under my nose!”

Her eyes shut tightly, I see her tremble, and I hate it instantly.

“You don’t know what you’ve done.” Theodore hisses through the phone. “You think you’ve grown wings? You think you can pull something like this and just walk free? Ramona, listen to me! Just ten minutes! You have just ten fucking minutes to show up here or you're not gonna like the result of your actions!”

She is trembling now, but she keeps her voice steady. Brave little thing.

“Just leave me alone, Dad! I don’t love Malik! Don’t you understand? I just don’t lo…”

“Shut up!” he barks. I see her eyes go glossy, like the tears are right there, but she blinks them back.

“Ramona, tell me where you are.” Theodore persists.

“I'm with a friend dad…”

“What frie…!” then he chokes, I can hear voices of people calming him down.

“You don’t know what you’ve done,” he says again, his voice threatening her. “You’ve grown wings? Right! Let’s see how high you can go with those.”

Then the call ends.

She lets out a breath, like she’d been holding it for so long.

I glance at her, keeping one hand firm on the wheel.

“I’ll take you somewhere safe. You can stay as long as you need, until you’re ready to go home.”

Her voice shakes. “I don’t want to be a burden. Are you sure? You don’t even know me.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m sure.” My eyes fix on the road.

“Thanks so much Jonathan.” She says, cleaning off a bead of tear dropping down her cheeks.

Would be so good to hear her call me Lance for once.

“You'll be fine.”

She looks at me nodding, then her gaze darts out the window, lost in thoughts.

The silence between us stretches for more than 10 minutes, at least we've arrived.

“We're here”

“Ok, I’ll… I’ll run your payment,” she says, pulling out her phone.

“Oh yeah… that.”

I wonder, would it be suspicious if I asked her to leave it?

But then, her face changes. Her lips press together and her gaze darts away for a few seconds then snaps back to her phone. 

She lifts the phone higher, like she is searching for a better signal. Her thumb keeps swiping and tapping.

Minutes pass. She doesn’t say anything, just swiping and tapping the screen, her panic already clear.

I keep watching. “Is everything okay?”

She lets out a shaky breath. “I don’t know, it's my payment apps, they’re acting weird.”

Her voice drops, still tapping her phone. “I can’t seem to access any.”

Ah… Theodore. You move fast, old man.

I glance at her again. She is still struggling, trying to refresh, trying to log in. Her hands trembling.

It hits me really hard. Seeing her helpless.

“Your dad moved faster,” I say, trying to end the silence.

She turns sharply. “What? What do you mean?”

I almost choked from a laugh, her naivety is fully loaded.

Then I meet her gaze. “He can do that right? Make calls and instantly freeze your accounts?”

I see the realization hit her like a punch.

She slumps back into the passenger seat, the phone sliding down into her lap.

“The payment can wait, you know? What matters is you’re out of that cage.” I glance at her, smirking. “But you still owe me.”

She looks at me. Like she wants to say something. Her mouth opens, but her words stop halfway.

Then my phone screen lights. Jenny’s name flashes on the screen.

I slide my finger across, answering without thinking. 

“What the fuck, Lance! How long have you been screwing that bitch?!” her voice came out like a shattering glass.

I chuckle. 

“What is it, Jenny?” I say, keeping my voice smooth.

She wasn’t having it. “Don’t fucking play dumb, Lance! You think I haven't seen the goddamn video? Ohhh, you’re such a piece of shit. I knew you were a lying asshole!”

“You’re nothing but a cheat! A goddamn cheating, two-faced son of a bitch! You made me look like a fool, you fucking…!” she pauses then lets out a deep breath.

Damn! This is spreading faster than I thought.

“I was only gone for just two days and I'm getting tagged in videos of you claiming a new bitch?”

“Well fuck you, Lance!” she screams. “Thanks for making this so much easier!”

I smile then end the call. She keeps getting funnier by the day.

First she runs off to some dude that gave her a ring, now she's all over my business.

I lean back in my seat, then glance at Ramona.

She is already shooting me a strange look, her brows twisted in confusion.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Why was she calling you… Lance?” she asks, her voice tiny but sharp.

Oh, here we go.