Page 129 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
"And you're calling Briggs Paul now?"
"That's his name."
"Well, if Porter is out there, he's already awake. Go tell him to come in."
"He was worried you were going to fire him, you know." I slid off the bed.
"Really?"
"He probably thinks you don't like him because you call him by his last name."
"He asked me to call him by his last name. And I'd never fire him. He saved your life."
The way James said it made it seem like there was nothing in the world that could outdo that. Because he felt the same way I did. He was my whole world. And I was his.
"I'll go get him." I opened up the door. The hallway was completely empty except for Briggs. And he was sitting on the floor. Crying. I let the door close behind me.
"Paul, what's wrong?" I put my hand on his shoulder.
He cleared his throat and stood up. But he didn't look any less exasperated.
"Are you okay?"
He shook his head. "Penny, I'm so, so sorry."
"I already told you that there's nothing to be sorry for. You couldn't have known what was going to happen. Please don't be upset about that."
"No." He pulled out a handkerchief as he shook his head. "I'm sorry for this." He placed his hand with the handkerchief in it over my mouth and pushed me back against the wall.
I tried to scream, but his hand muffled my voice. A strange smell filled my nose.
"They threatened to kill my wife and daughter," Briggs said.
I clawed at his hand.
"I know you understand that. I know you'd do anything to protect him. You have to understand."
I kicked him as hard as I could and reached for his throat. He was so much bigger than me.
"Please forgive me."
I thought my mind would grow fuzzy. Or I'd start to fall asleep. But nothing really happened. My body just felt strange. And the smell was everywhere.
He glanced over his shoulder and pulled out his phone. "It's done." He hung up the phone and looked back at me.
"I didn't have a choice, Penny." His eyes had never stopped looking teary. His face looked distorted as everything started spinning. He let go of my mouth. I tried to tell him not to leave,but nothing came out of my mouth. I tried to scream, but again there was only silence. My body slumped to the ground. The ground twisted in front of me and my eyelids grew heavy. The last thing I saw was Isabella walking toward me.
Devotion - Chapter 35
Friday
"He's so handsome, isn't he?"
I slowly opened my eyes as James' hospital room came into focus. I had a terrible headache. I tried to lift my arms but I couldn't. I looked down at my hands. My wrists were bound to the chair handles with duct tape. My eyes flashed toward the voice.
Isabella was smiling at me. Her hand was on the side of James' face. "Wouldn't you agree that he's handsome?"
"James!"
