"I do." My body shuddered.
Sylus's intimidation was a hell of a lot, but something in me enjoyed pushing his button—a man like him who stood at the top of the world, someone who people, including my father, had to think twice before provoking too far.
The priest, though stunned, went ahead to mutter the rest of his lines and announced with a smile, "You are now married."
The signed folders my father and Sylus held were exchanged between them and a full smile emerged on Amadeo's wrinkly face. He reached out for a handshake, but Sylus gave nothing but a glance, ignoring the gesture.
"You'll be called shortly, Mr. Legan. The contract will be finalized in two months, and I hope nothing goes wrong by then," he said to my father behind a warning, a dry smile on his lips. "Your daughter isn't exactly what I'd prefer, but she'll do."
Funny. We'll see how long I'll do, Sylus.
My father smiled at him. "We'll be waiting for your call, Mr. Jones. Hopefully, my daughter won't be giving you too much trouble."
"Hopefully," Sylus pointed out and snapped his fingers. His entire bodyguards within the hall followed immediately, and they exited the church as if I didn't exist.
"You've got to be kidding me." I turned to my father, who was already gazing at me with threats in his eyes. "Mess up, Harley, and I assure you, you won't be able to deal with the consequences. This contract is very important to me, so if you know what's best for you, behave with Mr. Jones. He is not a man you should mess with."
A grin tugged at my lips, and I shrugged. "I'll decide that myself." I stormed past him with my hands balled into fists, stalking after Sylus, who was walking to the matte black Rolls Royce parked outside.
He didn't let me come with him, but instead had me board a different car. As offending as it was, I had no choice but to get into the SUV driven by two of his bodyguards. We sped off into the road, heading straight for his house.
We were ten minutes out of the busy road when the driver suddenly took a turn into another dark route. I frowned, tilting my head in a bit of confusion. Sylus's car didn't take this route, so what was going on?
"Hey, where are we going?" I asked.
Neither of them answered me and I immediately reached for my phone, but I stopped at the feel of a cold metal suddenly pressed against my forehead. "What are you doing?" I raised my eyes to look at the black-haired one, staring at me with warning in his gaze.
"Drop the phone. Now!"
"Are you kidnapping me? Sylus—"
My words were cut short as a sudden bright light flashed, blinding us for a second. Looking up, I only had time to hear the honking of both cars before the loud bang of a gunshot sounded and everything went absolutely blank.
Tires screeched, everything fell into chaos, and the car barrelled off the road, crashing right into a pole. My forehead slammed roughly against the window, cracking it, and I momentarily went deaf as if I'd been submerged underwater.
"Urgh," I grunted, lifting my head to look at the two bodyguards, but I went still, my gaze crossing over their slumped bodies. They were dead, both of them, I think.
Oh god.
I quickly opened the door, ignoring the blood streaming down my face, and got out of the car. Every instinct screamed to run, and I hissed, my head banging in pain. I staggered in the opposite direction to get away and grunted as I smacked into something. I stepped back and looked up into an unfamiliar face.
My breath immediately caught in my throat.
Was he one of them? But he was dressed just like Sylus's bodyguards. The stupid satin suit with a blue undershirt. He definitely wasn't one of them, he didn't seem like it. Did this mean I was safe, or…was he the bad guy?
Vigilance flashed in my eyes.
"Ha! You really are a sharp one, just like my boss said," the man said to me suddenly, grinning before he pulled out a pistol.
"Who's your boss?" I asked.
"Why—"
"James! You jerk!" Someone groaned from the car and we both turned our heads. One of the guards was still alive and he was glaring at the man aiming at me with betrayal in his eyes. "Why…d-did you hit us? Weren't we—" He coughed up spurts of blood, clearly on the brink of death. "We are working together on this. why?"
"You're not needed anymore. I am doing most of the job and I won't be sharing my payment with any of you. so kindly rest in peace now." He turned to me, removing the safety of the pistol. "As for you…"
A car raced towards us and pulled over. "You don't have to know who my boss is. It's none of your business." He gestured to the car with a slight tilt of his head. "Get in the car, Harley."
I swallowed thickly. "You know my name."
His smile fell away. "Get in the fucking car you brat, or I'll shoot you right here and be done with it."
I could run, I could take that gun from him, or better yet, I could beat him if I tried. But my vision was getting too fuzzy. I felt dizzy.
"Move!" he yelled. I didn't even get to obey before I felt something solid slam into the back of my head, and my ears rang so loudly that I screamed in pain.
Darkness closed in on me at a rapid pace. I staggered from one side to another, before I eventually lost it and collapsed into large arms.
Shit.
Was I going to die before even making it to my new husband's house?