Chapter 601: Go Together
Drax stormed into The Red House completely prepared to quit his position early. He did not care why Cam needed Mills, they may not have been friends, but they were like family and a heads up was in order. He found himself punching random guards in the face as he shouted up and down the halls looking for his fiancé.
Drax's heart dropped when he noticed the signs of a struggle in one of the guest areas, and he followed the flow of debris into an area of the mansion that he had seldom visited. He spotted Ellie pouting with two black eyes and a swollen lip, while Cam was explaining the achievements of the women displayed on the wall.
Other than a small bruise on her jawline, Mills looked fine, in fact she looked happy. Drax knew that the woman had been spending lots of time with his mother and Fiori, who were all about women empowerment. In between that time, she was with Mina and their friends, who simply male bashed any chance they got. It led her to want to go back to school, and she had been self-studying to prepare.
"What the hell happened?" Drax asked, making Ellie grunt. He checked the little girl's injuries first; she was clearly the loser of the fight, and he did not want to have to explain to the girl's father that his fiancé was likely the assailant.
"You're marrying a monster; do you know that?" Drax nodded his head slowly. "I'm still single. She could have at least spared my face." Mills laughed, sauntering over toward where Drax and Ellie stood, making the girl take on a defensive position.
"Mills," Drax said, not entirely sure his woman was not coming over to shut Ellie up.
"Come on Draxy; you know me better than to think I would beat up on a little girl who has already lost." Ellie narrowed her eyes, and Drax nudged her in warning. He knew that she was hot headed, and he did not want Mills to break any of the girl's bones.
"I don't believe that you haven't been trained. You obviously learned from someone."
"I did," Mills admitted. "That person learned by fighting seamen, and I learned from him." Drax did not like the reverie in Mills' eyes as she spoke, and while he wanted to question her about it, he knew it was not the time. Their relationship was still in repair and the last thing he wanted to do was push her away with jealousy.
After finding out exactly why Mills had been summoned, Drax stared at Cam who just shrugged. He told the man that he was not serious about killing him, but as for Mina's parents, the man had no problem taking the couple out. As far as he was concerned, they were just using their daughter for money, and the information he had previously gathered about the pair served as proof to him.
Cam also believed that Mina was in the situation she was in now because of her parents. She sent them all the money she had, and they never questioned her. He did not have children of his own, but he remembered when his parents sent him abroad for his education. They were not the most loving people, but they called often, visited regularly, and his mother's favorite thing to ask was 'what did you eat and when?'
The reason Ellie and Mills had even fought was because Cam had told the girl she could poison Mina's parents, and Mills stopped her. Not seeing a reason to intervene, Cam allowed the women to fight until Ellie could not continue. He had not actually called the hit on Mina's parents off, but he had placed it on hold, pending Ash's surrender.
----
Ash knew that President Cam was not joking about Mina's parents, and as much as she disliked the couple, she knew that her friend would be devastated if anything happened to them.
From university, Mina always had a warped sense of loyalty toward her parents that neither Ash nor Willow could understand. She kept her phone service active specifically for them, yet they never called. She saved up all her earnings, but never got to spend it on herself.
The few times that Ash had ever seen Mina buy herself anything was when she needed hygiene products. Even then, the girl knew how to make one bottle of bath soap last forever, and she could go the entire day on one meal. If Ash and Willow had not noticed that their friend was unhealthily thin, she likely would have burned out, trying to survive on enriched crackers and cheese.
Ash knew that she would have to turn herself in, but she did not want to. A part of her was telling her that Mina would be better off without her parents, but the logical side of her knew that the woman would be broken and ultimately blame herself; the way she did when anything went wrong.
Stepping into CEO Rue's office, Ash locked the door behind herself and stood in front of the man, who was looking at her with a perplexed expression. She unbuttoned her blouse, telling him that she was on borrowed time, and wanted to go out with a bang. The man tried to stand, but she pushed him back into his chair straddling him as she kissed his neck.
"You don't have to look at me," she said, knowing that Cylus was not attracted to her. He had admitted to thinking she was an interesting person, and while they had lots in common, he, like all other men, was too distracted by her appearance.
"This isn't a funny joke." Ash pressed her lips against Cylus' covering his eyes with her hands.
"This is the last time you will ever see me," she promised while using her free hand to unbutton the man's pants. At the end of the day, men were men, and while he had verbally expressed his distaste for her, his body was acting against him.
Cylus did not know if it was the fact that the last woman he had been with was Vanya, or how soft Ash's lips felt against his, but he found himself leaning into the woman before bending her over his desk. They were at each other hard and fast, and true to her word, she was the best he had ever had.
When they were done, Ash simply put her clothing back on and left without words. Cylus thought back to Oric's previous comments about how he felt when Willow would just leave, and he could see how it could be uncomfortable. He was still getting his clothing back on, and the awkwardness of what had just occurred only became more awkward.
Not understanding what had just happened, Cylus texted Ash, who replied with a cocky response that made him smile. It had only been a week since the woman had come in as his assistant, but in that time, he had found her presence comfortable and interesting. She had a unique perspective, and things that he usually found annoying to do became fun when she was around.
Ash always made jokes that seemed so out of place for a woman who was less than beautiful, but nonetheless, it somehow made them even more funny. She was self-assured in a way that made Cylus question if his standard of beauty was off.
[You do not have to quit you know? I am okay with what happened between us,] Cylus sent, hoping to get a serious response from the woman, but he was out of luck.
[Told you I would be the best.]
----
Ash did not immediately turn herself in. She went to her tiny apartment, showered, ate everything she had been saving in her fridge and when she was certain there was nothing else she wanted to do, she made her way to where Mills was waiting. The women were able to drink too much before the girl who Mina called phantom showed up with huge dark glasses.
Mills laughed at the girl, calling her an amateur who had yet to learn to wear her scars. That seemed to set the phantom off, and she threatened Mills with physical violence before Mills' fiancé joined the table and pulled them apart.
Ash found herself wondering if her friendship with Mina was worth her life, and she suddenly had the urge to run, but she was able to force it down before it became too intense. She knew that the President was unlikely to kill her flat out, but she also knew that whatever he wanted from her would not be fun or easy.
After drinking enough to pass out, Ash allowed Drax to lead her out of the bar and to The Red House where President Cam was waiting. He sent her to a guest room to 'sleep it off' but Ash noted how the room locked from the outside. She had also been stripped of her phone, and any other electronics she wore. The only thing the man did not check was her bra, which was a mistake because she had a small GPS tracker inside of it, and she had already sent the information to the group chat.
It would only be a matter of time before Mina found her and she hoped that whatever infatuation the President had with her friend would be enough to negotiate on her behalf. It was not exactly a test of Mina's loyalty, but in a lot of ways, she wanted to know if the woman would also sacrifice herself for their friendship.
Ash was unlike Mina, where she expected the best from everyone. She was a realist, and she always expected the worst, never hoping for the best.
----
When Mina saw that Ash had texted the group a link, she knew something bad was going on. She had already confronted President Cam, who pretended not to know what she was talking about, but the coordinates she received had last picked up Ash's location as outside of The Red House. She quietly gathered her things, but President Lee was already staring at her as if she were a mosquito in the room that he had been waiting to kill.
"Where are you going?"
"To the restroom," Mina responded, she dropped some of her things pretending that she had only been adjusting it.
"I have a restroom in my office," the man said, and Mina grit her teeth, forgetting that President Lee had a small bedroom attached to the space. "Don't lie, I already told you that Mills is with Drax."
"Fine, I'm going to get my friend." Ian shook his head before standing.
"Alright, let's go together."