1.1 ʟᴏᴠɪɴɢ ᴍᴀʏʜᴇᴍ | ✓

59 | out in the open

F I F T Y - N I N E |out in the open—

C A P R I C E

"What happened?"

Colt lowered the phone and breathed roughly. "The gym... They're in trouble."

"What? Why?" My question went unanswered as Colt headed to his room. He grabbed the gun that he plastered under the bed.

That woke me up.

I donned some proper clothes as I thought of a way to integrate this into my plan. "What trouble is it?"

"I couldn't hear him well. But it sounded like they were being attacked."

"That's not good!" I exclaimed as I trailed after him.

Colt halted, looking at me with concern. "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna go with you."

"Caprice--"

"No. Stop benching me. You just gave me a ring, Colt. Do you really think I'll let you go alone?"

"If it's because of--"

"Let's go." I disregarded his complaints and rushed to the gym. I had things to do too. At this rate, Colt might find out about my identity in the worst way possible.

We reached the gym and I frowned at the empty streets. The night was young and the weather was hot. There's no way this was possible. There was a loud crash that spurred Colt into action. He pushed the door open.

I gasped at the scene.

Men were scattered all over the place, breaking and destroying using baseball bats and golf clubs. Wood splinters flew in different directions as they broke tables and chairs. I winced when the glass wall shattered on the right.

And in the middle of the chaos, Taylor and the others stood with defeated expressions. AC saw us first. His eyes widened as he gasped. "Look out!"

Colt punched the guy coming towards us. "What the fuck is this all about?"

"Well, well. If it isn't the main guest of the evening..." A man strolled towards the entrance hall from the kitchen. The light hit him and everyone saw how he was eating an apple in nonchalance.

"Sonny?" Colt breathed out in anger. "You've got to be kidding me."

Sonny?

The Sonny from the clubhouse?

The Sonny I ran over?

The Sonny I told Indy to extract?

The Sonny who knew my real identity?

Fuck. If I have known he would come back like this, then I wouldn't have made an enemy out of him. Should I run? I could see the door wide open behind me.

"Carlo and I had an agreement," Colt declared. He stepped forward, shielding me from the other man's gaze. "Get out of here."

Sonny chuckled. He walked with confidence as he blatantly displayed the gun tucked on his waist. "I don't care what you and Carlo talked about, pendejo. You are the reason Patron threw me away! He estado oyendo a ese viejo tonto hablar hasta que... and then, he favored Salvador instead of me?"

Colt raised his gun at the same time Sonny did.

"Ah, as formidable as ever." Sonny directed the gun at Taylor. "Or not."

"Bastard," Colt hissed.

"See? I tracked you down using the club's records. And this old man sent you there. I wondered what happened to the great Thanatos. You always told me that there were no shackles nor cages that could contain you and yet... You are staying with these people?" He mocked. Sonny spouted things that made Colt's jaw clenched, tighter and tighter.

But all I could think of was to get out of here.

I had planned for Colt and me to talk. Alone. Where I could explain myself. But I was careless. I thought I had a lot of time.

I was mistaken. Then, I switched to another plan. Maybe if I did something amazing like save the gym... maybe he wouldn't care about my lies. I admit that it was sly and utterly deceiving but my defense mechanism was kicking again.

"Don't worry though... I'm not here for you," Sonny said. His statement caused a stir of confusion over the people present.

"What?" The man, few meters away from me, complained. "I thought we were here to beat him."

"Shut up, trash," Sonny snarled before he turned to me. His gaze was a mix of hatred and excitement. "I'm here for you, Miss—"

I moved backward.

"You don't get to do that! Catch her!"

"Priz!"

I winced as a sudden weight engulfed me, forcing me to the ground. Commotion erupted as I tried to get my bearings back. I looked up to see Aiscelle shielding me from the turmoil behind her.

Somehow, Colt had tackled Sonny to the ground. His gun slid farther away while his men scrambled for order. Acrylic and Eli helped him that it turned into a full-blown assault.

"Are you okay?" Aiscelle asked, staring at the blood on my palm.

I winced as the pain made itself known. This was embarrassing. Not only did I try to ran away but I also let Aiscelle save me.

Pathetic. So pathetic, Caprice.

Aiscelle helped me up. My palm ached from the glass shards but I managed to smile. There was a question on her eyes as I shoved her to the side and headed straight for the pandemonium.

"Enough!" I yelled.

Everyone turned to me with bewilderment and that one second of hesitation allowed me to catch Sonny's gaze.

I marched towards him. "You want me, right?"

Sonny straightened, eyeing Colt a wary look before he addressed me. "You caught on fast."

"No." Colt growled next to me as he reached for my wrist. His fingers gripped me tightly, hiding me behind him."You're not allowed anywhere near her."

"Oh, what's this? Do you also know who she is? Is that why you're with her?" Sonny chuckled as he spat out blood on the floor. "Well, of course. Why else would you be with the granddaughter of SM's chairwoman?"

Oh, god.

I steeled my nerves as I waited for  Colt's angry demand of an explanation.

Or even his looks of confusion.

Hell, I was expecting his anger.

But none came.

I was met with silence.

Don't tell me that he already...?