Juliet Must Survive | 𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒂𝒉.

Chapter 7

The plan was simple: they would wait in the car until her father showed up with his entourage for the trade. If they spotted someone trying to ambush it, Maurice would drive the car into the middle of the commotion where they would scoop them up and retreat back to the cottage.

It was obviously very risky and a considerably dangerous position to put themselves in, but Trish especially wanted to stick to it. If the transaction went without any trouble, then the rest would be smooth sailing. If commotion ensued, they would be able to prevent anymore losses and Isaak wouldn't have any other choice than to involve them. It was a win-win, though one option would cause significantly less anxiety.

Han wasn't completely on board with this plan; he'd originally wanted to sneak off from the cottage and follow his target by himself so that whatever happened next wouldn't affect Trish directly. That all fell through when Maurice discovered him climbing out his bedroom's window, seeing his perfect opportunity for revenge by busting him. However, Han was able to persuade him to team up, though not without the help of a few very persuasive green bills.

Of course, he knew better than to voice his concerns to Trish herself, coddling pissed her off more than socks with sandals. Plus, he already saw her in action and she was more than capable to defend herself, so he had no excuses on that part. He could go the honest route and just tell her that he cared about her too much and didn't want to see her get hurt, but it was unlikely to make her change her mind. The girl was relentless, but she wasn't invincible.

Parked in an alley across the hotel, the trio waited for the arrival of Isaak and his men, having probably taken an alternate route in order to avoid any sabotages. Behind the wheel, Maurice was leaning back comfortably in his seat with his eyes shut after having reassured his passengers for several minutes that he wouldn't fall asleep.

Trish kept staring at the hotel's entrance, her legs still bouncing with anxiety. Han did the same, drumming his fingers on his knees and strategizing for whatever could come next.

The radio was still on, playing significantly lower in the background. Trish started humming along to Mint Condition's Breakin' My Heart, her gaze still fixed on the Lux Plaza. She watched the men who stood outside acting like makeshift guards chatting casually like they didn't have a care in the world, as if they weren't potentially the same people behind her attempted murder.

It was something she could never understand; how easily it came for some people to commit so much violence and be able to live with themselves after what they've done. It was one of the reasons why she never wanted to know what her father did precisely of his days, it would just be too painful, but she wasn't dumb.

Besides, even she had some skeletons in her closet, mainly a tall, dark, ambitiously dangerous one.

A skeleton that couldn't seem to stay in the ground.

Suddenly, the footmen at the entrance opened the front doors to let a group of Chinese men step outside and they looked around, searching for something approaching the horizon. A White man then appeared in the middle, wearing a business grey suit, black tie and had greasy slicked back blond hair.

Behind him stood a Black man dressed in the most awful leopard print suit she'd ever seen with another Asian man in casual clothing next to him. Three black BMW's arrived one after the other, stopping at the entrance.

"That's them," Trish leaned over and nudged Maurice awake, quickly backing away as he wiped the drool from his face.

The White man had an aggressively wide smile when he walked up to Isaak after he came out of the last car and shook his hand with vigor. They talked to each other a little, probably going through the formalities, before the host gestured at his guests to follow him inside the hotel, his smile unwavering.