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Chapter 738:
Cole was already halfway to the door, his hand on the knob. He would go there. He would drag her out. He would lock her in this penthouse, where she would be safe, where she couldn’t get herself killed. He didn’t care if she hated him for it. He didn’t care if she never spoke to him again. As long as she was alive.
Your love is a noose.
Father Thomas’s voice exploded in his head like a gunshot.
Cole froze. His hand tightened around the doorknob until his knuckles turned white. His whole body shook with the effort of holding himself back. The beast inside him was roaring, begging to be let loose, begging to protect what was his.
But he couldn’t. Not this time. Not if it meant losing her forever.
He took a deep, shuddering breath and slowly let go of the doorknob. He turned around, walked back to the couch, and sat down, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes closed.
When he spoke again, his voice was perfectly calm—the cold, calculating voice of the Wall Street predator who had built an empire from nothing.
“Lucas, listen to me very carefully,” he said. “I want you to make sure she is absolutely safe in that club. Not a single hair on her head gets hurt. If anyone so much as looks at her the wrong way, you break their legs. Understood p>
Lucas chuckled. “Sure, I can do that. But you know I don’t get involved in personal drama, Cole. This is going to cost you p>
“The Compton Group’s commercial real estate project in Lower Manhattan next month,” Cole said, without hesitation. “Your security company gets the exclusive contract. No bidding. No negotiations p>
There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. That contract was worth over fifty million dollars—more than Lucas’s entire company made in a year.
D𝘰w𝗻𝗅𝗈𝖺𝖽 р𝖣𝖥s 𝗳re𝗲 𝗈𝗻.со𝗺
“Holy shit,” Lucas said, his voice suddenly serious. “You’re not joking, are you p>
“No,” Cole said. “I am not. Now, I want you to find Lexi. Tell her she is going to cooperate with Joan. Whatever Joan wants, she gives her. Whatever Joan tells her to do, she does it. And she gets Joan that recording. Tonight p>
Lucas hesitated. “Lexi’s a pain in the ass, Cole. And if word gets out that my girls are wearing wires for clients, it’ll ruin my business p>
“Then tell her that if she doesn’t cooperate,” Cole said, his voice dropping to something glacial, “the IRS will be knocking on her door tomorrow morning. They’ll seize every asset she has—her apartment, her car, her jewelry, every dollar she has stashed in offshore accounts. And then she’ll be deported back to Ukraine, where her parents are still waiting for her. I think you know what happens to girls like her there p>
Lucas was silent for a long moment.
“Got it,” he said finally. “Lexi will cooperate. You have my word p>
“Good,” Cole said. “And Lucas—one more thing. She can never know I was involved. She can never know I helped her. If she finds out, she’ll throw that recording in my face and walk away. And then I will hold you personally responsible p>
He said it with a quiet, deadly intensity that made Lucas go still, even through the phone.
“Understood,” Lucas said. “My lips are sealed. No one will ever know p>