Great, just great.
Scout just had to be attending a late-night meeting with one of our more...questionable partners in a place two hours away from New York.
Men like Will were no good at anything but setting traps.
And women like Scout-no matter how sharp they appeared-end up walking straight into traps like Will's thinking they had some sort of control.
But truth was, she didn't.
We got to Philadelphia faster than we should have.
Faster than logic could allow.
The hall was just as I expected, crowded and suffocating, just the Will Gates style.
"She should already be in the private lounge with Mr Gates." Daniel informed.
I actively ignored all the stares and attempts of the business elites present to catch my attention as we headed toward the private lounge.
A man, probably one of Will's bodyguards was standing right in front of the door blocking the entrance.
Danger sign number one.
"Sir-" He tried to stop I and Daniel from entering.
"Move."
That one word and perhaps the dozens of men in black suit standing on guard behind me finally made him move aside.
I tried to turn the door knob but the door didn't open.
Danger sign number two.
Before any of my bodyguards could volunteer to break the door down, I kicked it open myself.
The sight that greeted me matched my expectations perfectly.
Scout was cornered between the sofa and Will's body, his hands were on her wrist as she tried to angle herself away from him.
"Take your hands off her."
My voice didn't rise.
It didn't need to.
They both turned to me.
Scout's eyes met mine first.
Shock, relief and something I couldn't quite name flashed through her eyes.
The man scoffed.
"Russo, this shouldn't concern you."
"It does."
I watched him closely as he still refused to move away from her.
He grip tightened around her wrist.
"You're interrupting my business."
My bodyguards moved to drag him away from her but I stopped them with a wave of my hand.
This was Will's last chance.
"Let. Her. Go."
Three words.
My final warning.
Time seemed to slow a bit as the room went still.
Even the music that was playing outside the lounge felt distant.
I was curious to see how much further Will would push things.
But fortunately for him, he wasn't that stupid.
He finally let her go-ever so reluctantantly.
Scout immediately stood and rushed to my side.
Good.
At least she knew the right person to seek protection from.
"Russo, surely you wouldn't want to ruin our partnership over a misunderstanding."
Misunderstanding my foot.
His choice of words was rather amusing.
I moved closer to him, close enough for him to fully decipher the depth of my words."I plan to ruin much more than just that."
His confidence finally swayed.
"You can't do this over a mere woman."
"I can. And I will."
My words came out more like a promise and not a warning.
He scoffed.
"Don't tell me you have a thing for your employee, that's un-Russo like."
I simply smiled.
"Touch any of my people again." I lowered my voice. "And there won't be anything left for you to negotiate with."
Will stared at me as though he wanted to rip out every working organ in my body.
I turned to Scout. "We're leaving."
She nodded her head slightly before she slumped on me.
My brows twitched uncontrollably.
"You drugged her."
Will smiled smugly.
"So what if I did?"
I hissed and turned to face Daniel.
"Take her to a nearby hospital."
Daniel nodded before carefully taking Scout away from me.
The moment Daniel left with Scout I turned to face Will.
"To think I actually planned to let you off easy." I said, more to myself than to him.
I grabbed him by his collar before landing a smooth blow on his left jaw.
I kept hitting him till one of my bodyguards held me back.
"He's not worth it boss."
The bodyguard's words somehow managed to cool me down and I flung Will out of my hold.
"Take him back to the Gates mansion, tell his father I won't be letting things slide." I gave my final instruction before walking out of the lounge.
I ignored the people in the hall just as I did when I came in, paying them no attention.
By the time I got out of the hall Daniel was already waiting for me with the driver.
The driver came down and opened the door for me before hurrying back to the driver's seat.
"How is she?" I asked.
Daniel informed.
"Dr. Dwayne has given her the antidote, she's resting in your villa."
"Hm. Let's go to the villa we'll leave Philadelphia tomorrow morning." I instructed.
"Roger that boss." Daniel smiled.
The driver started the car and turned in the direction of the villa.
Daniel teased.
"I wonder what your wife would say if she found out you cared so much about her best friend."
"She's not my wife."
"It's a bad thing to deny one's wife you know." Daniel continued.
"I'm not denying, but she's not my wife...yet." my reply was laced with frustration.
"Whatever you say." Daniel shrugged.
"You're becoming more and more like Adrian you know." I commented.
Adrian was the only person I knew who found joy in making dangerous jokes.
The car came to a stop in front of my villa in Perkins Estate.
I and Daniel got down from the car while the driver took the car to the garage.
The villa was the same as when I'd last been there about two months ago on a business trip.
On entering the villa we went straight to the guest room where Daniel had kept Scout.
She was still sound asleep when we entered the room.
"When will she wake up?" I asked Daniel.
"The Dr Dwayne said she should be awake by tomorrow morning." Daniel responded.
I instructed.
"Don't let anyone at the office find out about this."
"Okay, you should go and take your shower and rest up too." Daniel said. "Today's been quite hectic for you."
I nodded before we both left the room to our separate rooms.
Daniel had a room of his own in all my villa's.
The first thing I did when I entered my room was to take of my cloths And go straight to the shower.
I had a maid who came over every once in a while to clean the villa. Hence, my room was in good condition.
In the shower, I let my thoughts run wild and all the happenings that took place in the morning came rushing back.
Someone was trying to kill me.
Someone wanted me gone.
Someone wanted me off the face of earth so badly they'd send a suicide assassin to end me.
What bothered me the most was the fact that I was sure that it wasn't just someone but some people.
"Mom, I miss you." I said to myself.
I felt a gust of wind blow past me as though it was trying to tell me that everything thing would be okay with time.
Just as I stepped out of the shower I heard someone scream.
The first name that came to my head was Scout.
What could have gone wrong again this time.
Sighing I rushed out my room and went straight into the room she was in.