Page 18 of Possessive CEO

“Hiya, Mr. Erickson!”

I whirl around and see them. Two guys. One skinny, one massive. I do a quick check and don’t see any visible injuries on both Emily and Melissa. I look at Emily and fully expect her to be breaking down, but she’s staring back at me, eyes full of trust and relief.

She knows I won’t let anything happen to them. Damn right, baby girl. I’ll wring their necks before I let them touch you.

The guy waving the gun around must be Janus. The other one must be his muscle. These two have shit for brains. No doubt about it.

“I got your money. Give the girls to me,” I rumble.

“Check him, Mike. Gotta make sure he has nothing else on him,” he says, motioning his head to me.

The big man, Mike, is faking confidence. He’s big alright, but so am I. If they think they can put me down easily, then they’re a lot dumber than I thought. But first, I need to make sure the girls are safe.

Mike walks closer and pats me down. I smirk at the skinny guy and say, “It’s funny you think I need a weapon to kill you. I can do that with my bare hands. And without breaking a sweat. I have the money. Now give me the girls.”

Mike backs up and waits a few steps from me. He crosses his arms and scowls, trying to look intimidating. I glare at him and he quickly flicks his eyes to the skinny guy.

“You’re a billionaire. Why are you with her?” And the fucker actually points the gun at Emily’s temple. She snaps her eyes shut and grits her teeth to silence her whimpers.

I’m gonna lose my head if I don’t have her in my arms soon. He moves closer and smells her hair. I almost snap, acid spearing through my chest. Bellow lodges in my throat, and I have to physically lock my muscles in so I don’t get blinded by rage. The girls’ safety is my priority.

“What business is it of yours?” I answer.

He shrugs. “Nothing. Just curious. Man like you can get any woman—supermodels, actresses—but you go for her. Leaves me wondering. Girl’s never been much. I’m Janus by the way.”

“Give them to me.”

But he’s not listening. He’s busy giving his opinion about MY life. But I’m looking so closely at him, I notice his arms twitching. He’s sweating profusely even though the air is cool and it’s far from humid. He’s also scratching the side of his face and his forearm.

“Nah, we can talk a bit. You and I. I’m also a bit of a businessman meself.”

“We can talk all you want. Just let me get both girls to safety.”

He laughs throatily, continues to wave his gun, and ends up doubling over to cough. He hawks and spits on the side. “Ya got the money?”

Without a word, I raise the suitcase and his face lights up. “Now we’re talking,” he chuckles as he licks his lips. “Check it, Mike. We don’t want this billionaire shitting on us, right?”

To me, he mutters, “You understand, don’t ya? Need to make sure you’re not crossing us. Last thing I need is leaving here and finding out it’s missing 100 grand.”

Mike grabs the suitcase roughly, lays it on the floor, and touches the bills. I don’t know how they’ll verify it’s the right amount. Dumb shits.

He nods to Janus who says, “Damn. Maybe I shoulda asked for 100, right? Man like you probably won’t even notice it missing. Say, how about ya go ask someone to add 50 more?”

“You fucker,” I snarl.

His smile drops and he pushes the gun roughly to Emily’s temple. “You gonna do it or do I blow her brains out?”

That’s it. That’s fucking it. I flip the suitcase, scattering bills all over the floor. Mike immediately gets on his knees to grab each one. With that momentary distraction, I launch myself to Janus. He drops the gun and I kick it away.

Adrenaline surges through my veins. I grab Emily and tell her, “Go bring Melissa to the car and lock yourselves in. Call 911. If you see anyone other than me leave this building, leave. Go!”

I watch them run downstairs from the corner of my eye. Mike is still busy tucking the bills inside the suitcase. Janus tries to crawl toward the gun but I step my shoe on his hand, hearing the satisfying crunch of broken fingers. He screams and I crouch down to grab his hair, but Mike realizes he needs to help.

He grabs my shirt and tries to throw me off Janus, but he forgets I’m far from small or weak. I hit his face with my elbow, feeling it collide with his nose and mashing it in. Even with blood pouring down his mouth and chin, he lunges toward me, fists swinging through the air, propelled by nothing but raw aggression.

I sidestep him and launch a series of counter-attacks, his grunts filling the air as my fists connect with his torso. He staggers backward, huffing and clutching his stomach.

Meanwhile, Janus seizes this opportunity to strike. He aims a kick at my midsection, trying to knock me off balance. Instead of avoiding it, I catch his leg and he’s so thin I snap his shin easily.

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