Page 69 of I Am Lioness

Hazel gasped. “Knox…”

“I'm okay, I promise.”

“Jason I swear to God if you hurt him, I’ll…”

“You'll what?” He asked darkly. “Kill me? If you want your precious man to live another day I suggest you choose your next words wisely,Lioness.”

The line went silent. That he was threatening my life didn't scare me in the slightest. I was much more worried of what was running through Hazel’s mind.

“Please don't hurt him,” she whimpered. “I'll do anything you want.”

“Ding, ding, ding… That happens to be the correct answer!”

“What do you want?”

“Your fucking money, that's what.” Jason snapped.

“Money? That's what this is all about?”

“Didn't I tell you everything was about money? But no, you didn't listen to a word I said, and then you fucking screwed me. For three years I watched over your ungrateful ass and you discarded me like I was no one, so now, I'm going to screw you.” His voice carried through the room, dripping with hate and resentment.

“J-Jason, I'm sorry but you left me no choice.”

“No choice?” He scoffed. “You had plenty of choices, one of them being to stick with me, but you never gave me the time of day.”

“I-I…” Hazel stammered.

“Yeah, yeah, at a total loss for words. Cut the shit. You know damn well how I felt about you. Anyway, moving on,” he said in a lighter tone. “Shall we talk numbers?”

“How much?” She asked.

“How much is sitting pretty in that bank account of yours?”

The sound of frantic clicking could be heard through line.

“Just under one mil.”

My eyes widened. What the amount was didn't matter to me, it was just shocking to hear.

“Perfect. I want it all.”

“You can have it,” she said without hesitation. “Just please don't hurt him.”

“I can’t promise you anything because well, I might get bored awaiting your arrival. We’re in one of the warehouses on Harbor Island. Bring your checkbook.”

A door clicked shut. “I’m leaving now.”

“Oh, and Hazel?” His voice was severely quiet. “No funny business. Come alone.”

And then he ended the call.

They drugged me again. After tossing my phone on the floor without care, Jason pistol-whipped the side of my head and Lexi promptly sidled up behind me with the rancid cloth. I was out in seconds and when I finally came to, my head was pounding in protest.

My eyebrow stung too and I could feel a warm trickle running down the side of my face. Turning my head slowly, I found Jason and Lexi seated several feet away, whispering softly to one another while they enjoyed a drink as though holding someone against their will was a casual occurrence.

“Don’t hurt him.” Hazel’s voice carried through the room suddenly, bringing their hushed conversation to an end. Jason snapped his eyes toward the sound, a Cheshire Cat grin splitting his smug face in two.

“Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up.” He said, setting the glass down on the table and rising to his feet.

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