Chapter 4

Even pinned to the table, Rhys kept taunting me. He snorted. "Who do you think you are, bitch? You think you can make me regret anything? Argh..."

Orion's grip tightened.

"Orion, don't forget your parents up in the north end of town, and all your people. Kill me, and you think they'll make it out?"

That made Orion stop.

When Rhys saw him back down, he went on. "Orion, you're good at what you do. Here's an idea: hand this woman over, and I'll make you a low-level captain in my crew."

"Not a chance!" Orion didn't even think about it.

In this world, money, power, and status always came first.

I never imagined that, with money and status right there for the taking, he'd give up both without a second thought just to protect me.

He leaned close to my ear and whispered, "In a minute, I'll fire to distract them. Run for the north end of the port. Someone is waiting there for you."

I searched Orion's face. "Orion, if you die, can I still get away with acting like a brat? Will people pick on me?"

Orion looked at me tenderly, his voice firm. "Even if it kills me, I won't let anyone hurt you. But for you, I'll stay alive."

My breath caught. I'd never expected anyone to risk his life just to protect me.

My hands slowly curled into fists at my sides. I couldn't treat this like a game anymore.

I didn't want him to die. I wanted him to live.

Orion fired the first shot, and everything turned to chaos.

In the confusion, Diana pulled me behind a shipping container. "Come with me. I'll get you out of here!"

But I stopped and shook my head.

Diana's eyes went red. "Just go! You only like the boss for his money and power, and he's about to lose both. Get out of here, or you'll die too!"

Bullets slammed into the container, and Diana shielded me without thinking.

But before long, Rhys's men had disarmed Orion's people one by one, then dragged Diana and me out too.

Diana jumped in front of me. "She's just Orion's useless trophy girlfriend, someone he keeps around for fun. Don't touch her!"

I never expected Diana to stand in front of me, especially now. She'd always looked down on me.

Ever since I'd come here, everyone had talked behind my back about how Orion's pampered trophy girlfriend was good for nothing but spending money. Whenever I saw Diana, she made no effort to hide her contempt.

But right now, watching her shield me, I realized the people here weren't as bad as I'd thought.

They had sharp tongues, but when it really counted, they protected their own.

Rhys looked Diana and me over like we were toys and laughed. "Perfect. I'll have both of you!"

He moved closer until his hand almost touched my face.

Orion's expression changed. "Stop! I'll sign! Let them go!"

Rhys smiled, pleased, and had someone bring the contract right away.

I stared at Orion. His decision erased my last doubts.

He was really going to give up everything he'd fought so hard for, just so we could walk out alive.

But I didn't want him to lose everything for me.

His organization, his family, and his people all deserved to be safe.

Did these people really think Orion had no one behind him and that they could simply walk all over him?

I'd played Orion's pampered trophy girlfriend for so long, and he'd protected me every step of the way. Today, it was my turn to protect him.

I'd wanted nothing to do with my hidden identity or the power that came with it. But now the person I wanted to protect was right in front of me, and I wasn't going to let him carry all of this alone.

"Don't sign."

Everyone froze.

I shook off the man holding me, gave the inside of my ring a small twist, and opened the family's private line.

"Father, the West Coast keeps tearing itself apart. Maybe it's time the Sorrentino family stepped in to bring this mess under control."

I looked up at Rhys, and my voice went cold.

"Within 20 minutes, I want them to understand exactly who they've crossed."