Chapter 465: Delete It
Mina was furious, she did not understand how Mills was able to find her, and she was terrified when the woman escorted her back to the Lee mansion. The only plus side to Mills, was that unlike president Lee, the woman did not strip her of her phone before shoving her into her room, nor did she shut the door.
In some ways it was an insult to Mina, almost as if Mills were daring her to run again, and so she took the bait. She went to the backyard of the Lee mansion and slowly made her way over to an area that had a built-in service ladder. It blended in as part of the mansion's design, but Mina had seen people using it. Not wanting to waste any more time, Mina climbed the structure and made her way onto the roof. She laid flat on her belly, hoping to wait for nightfall before making her way down on the other side.
After an hour, Mina could hear President Lee shouting for people to find her and she smiled in satisfaction. She knew they would never check the roof, but then she felt someone nudge her with their foot and she turned to see Mills smiling at her. The woman sat next to Mina and laid back in a way that suggested that she was unbothered by the commotion from below.
"I don't know what the relationship is, but if you don't want him to start shooting people, you should give him a call." Mills then got up and left the rooftop, leaving Mina to stew in her own thoughts.
----
Ian was feeling frantic when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and blanched when he saw a photo he had secretly taken of Mina pop up. With shaking hands, he answered the phone, not knowing if she was calling, or someone else had found her device.
"If you want me to stop running, you need to stop everything you are doing. No threatening my friends or family, no forcing me to stay in your home, and no telling me how I can and can't live my life."
"Mina, all of those things are for your own good."
"And do you think I don't have my own best interest in mind? If I no longer have use as bait; let me return to my family."
"But after the incident last night I can't assure your safety unless you are with me." Mina laughed cynically.
"You can't assure my safety at all. I gave you my conditions, what is your counter?" She was fully aware that the man would not easily agree to all her terms.
"I will not threaten your friends or family, but I cannot guarantee that no one else will. You can return to your apartment after the investigation involving last night's events has been concluded. If I do something you do not like, you can tell me, and I will try my best not to do it again." Mina did not know why, but President Lee's last offer sounded more realistic than if he had said he would stop doing everything she hated altogether. "Where are you?" he suddenly asked, but Mina was already making her way down the ladder and back into the backyard. She looked for a place to hide, before telling the man where he could find her.
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Mina was preparing to bathe when Mills came strutting into her restroom. She narrowed her eyes at the woman who wrapped her into a tight hug. She was angry, but Mills seemed to take her feelings as a joke, and Mina knew it was in part because she did not know the truth.
"I'm not marrying your brother now," Mina said as a jab, and Mills sucked in air.
"What? Why? I was just doing my job." Mina picked up a little piece of metal and tossed it at Mills.
"When did you attach it to me?"
"Let's hurry and shower," Mills said, ignoring Mina completely.
----
Ian was in bed, but he was unable to sleep. His head was still throbbing, but he was not sure if it were from the drug he ingested or from Mina. He kept feeling like something was not right with the woman, who had unexpectedly called him and turned herself in. It was taking Ian's entire being not to make sure she was still in her room. Unable to withstand the urge, Ian crept toward the guestroom. The door was open, and he could hear Mills, Mina, and Drax laughing loudly inside. He walked in, and Mina quickly shoved her phone behind her back.
"What are you watching? he asked, and Drax left with a guilty expression on his face. Mills also dipped out of the room, leaving Mina and Ian alone in her quarters.
"It's a movie," Mina lied.
"Let me see," he ordered, and Mina reminded him that he promised not to do anything she did not like. "I haven't done anything; I am simply asking you to let me see what movie you were watching. Maybe I would like to laugh too." Mina let out a chuckle with a light snort, and Ian became suspicious.
Ian lunged for Mina who turned her back to him, cupping her phone against her midsection. He tried to grab it, but he would have to touch her intimately to retrieve the device, and he was sure that would fall well within the realm of things she did not like. Ian saw Mina's fingers moving and he poked her side, trying to distract her, but he drew a loud giggle instead.
"Are you ticklish?" he asked, poking Mina until she lost her composure and revealed the phone in a way that he could grab without touching her.
With the device now in his possession, Ian opened the video file and his face instantly turned red. He placed his hand over his mouth and sat down on one of the single seater sofas in Mina's room. He was looking at himself, belly rolling and jumping around in a way that was beyond embarrassing.
Ian could do nothing but stare at the screen, and when he saw himself gyrate his way toward Drax in an attempt to mimic Mills, he lost it, letting out an audible gasp that set Mina off. She had been chuckling in the background, but his gasp thrust her into full blown laughter that would have been music to Ian's ears if she were not laughing at him. Instinctively he tried to delete the video, but the phone required a password, because the file was not stored on the device, but in a cloud-based storage system.
"Delete it," he ordered, but his words only served to drive Mina further into laughter. She was clutching at her stomach and doubling over in a way that made it hard for Ian not to chuckle.
Not believing that only one video existed, Ian scrolled through Mina's cloud, and found photos of himself making the most absurd faces, and when he found the ones of him posing seductively, he physically felt his pride fall from his body. Mina was still laughing; she had taken a seat in her usual spot and was dabbing the tears that had built on the sides of her eyes. She looked up at him and burst into another fit of laughter that made Ian turn red in shame.
"Mina please delete them," Ian begged with his head hung low. He never wanted to see that video again, and if Drax were not his friend he would have considered having the man killed just to avoid the potential of having him open his mouth about his actions while drugged. "I swear I thought he was a robot." Mina screamed with the words. She was hysterical in her laughter, which mirrored the same sweet sounds he had heard coming through the phone. In that moment, Ian had never been more thankful for an embarrassing situation in his life.