Chapter 606: Targeted

Mina and Dom pulled up outside of the Lee facility. She was confused as to why the man had brought her to the location, but she could only imagine it had something to do with the information she was hiding. The day that Harvey Walsh had dropped her off in her old neighborhood, he specifically told her that if she said anything to his son or to President Lee, he would target her friends. The man had already compiled a list of all the men who claimed to have slept with Willow, and Mina knew from her friend's later confession, that she had indeed tried to sleep with many people but was unable to.

Mr. Walsh then moved on to Jay, who apparently used to fight for money. Mina did not actually find that to be embarrassing, but she knew the implication was that the girl was a criminal, and it would have a negative impact on her career. Emma had sent racy pictures of herself to James, but the worst by far was the implication that Cylus and Vanya had worked together to target President Lee.

Mina knew that was a complete lie because the man who had shot her specifically said that he had only come for her, but Mr. Walsh did not plan to send the information he gathered to the young President Lee; he planned to send it to the senior Lee. She knew from President Cam that the rest of the Lee family was pretty much in the dark about her, although she did not know how it was possible, but she assumed that the older Lee family only got involved in matter when it started to affect their interests, and so far, nothing she had done publicly was against the Lee group.

As a result, Mina had hidden Mr. Walsh's involvement, and as she was asked, she tried her best to stay away from Zane, whose father believed she was dating or had been dating. Mina did not have to ask where that came from, because she had misled Nancy the first time they met, and the woman must have taken the information back to her ex's father, with whom the woman was romantically involved with. Mina shuddered at the complexity, and Dom, thinking she was cold, gave her his jacket.

"Why are we here?" she asked, concerned that she had once again gotten herself into trouble with President Lee.

"It's the safest place for you right now." Mina was confused. She did not think the situation that occurred was the worst that could have happened to her, so she questioned Dom about it. "Miss Ruby, Miss Ellie, and Miss Luna were also attacked." Mina grabbed at Dom's arm, asking for details but he did not have many. He just knew that the situation was being deemed as critical and her safety had been made a priority.

"Please take me to President Lee. I want to ask him about Miss Ruby. What about my family? Are they safe?" Dom could see that Mina was about to work herself into a panic. She kept saying that it was her fault for not saying something sooner, and he knew she would not calm down until she had been brought to his boss.

When Mina walked into the interrogation room behind Dom, she could see the back of President Lee. His hand was raised into a fist, and he was crouched down over something that she later realized was a person sitting in a chair. Mina called out to him and when he turned to face her, she flinched. His expression was completely dark, hate filled, and, in that moment, she was brought back to the hotel room where they had first met.

"President Lee?" she questioned. She knew who the man in front of her was, but she had not seen his expression look so hateful in such a long time that she did not want to believe her own eyes.

"Why are you here?" Mina could hear the anger in the man's tone, and as he approached she caught sight of the bloodied figure that was tied to the chair and took a step back before she remembered what she had come for.

"President Lee, what is going on? What are you doing?" She asked, unable to stop her voice from quivering. The man strode up to her holding her arms tightly as he walked her backwards. His eyes were distant in a way that Mina recognized; he was acting out of anger.

"I told you Mina. Not everyone is innocent. Not everyone is like you." Mina blinked forcefully with each word the man spoke, and he pushed her back toward the entrance.

"Get her the f*ck out of here," he said to Dom, pushing Mina into the man as he turned to walk back to the person he was interrogating. Mina was scared, but she did not like what she was seeing, and despite herself, she pulled away from Dom and grabbed onto one of President Lee's arms. "Mina, save your concern for someone who deserves it," he snarled, but the woman did not let go.

"President Lee, I'm not concerned for that man. I'm worried about you." Ian's entire posture relaxed as he allowed the woman to spin his body to face hers. "Please think about what you're doing. I know you are angry, but that man clearly is not going to tell you anything. There are better things you can do with your time. Where is your nan? Where are your sisters?" Ian knew his family was fine, Cam had arranged it, but he found himself nodding at Mina.

"Mina, I need you to leave this room now," he said calmly, and the woman nodded. She appreciated that he had not cursed again, and she could see he was using a great deal of restraint while speaking to her, so she extended to him the kindness he had shown to her when she had lost control with Miss Maggie.

"Okay, I will leave," she said, as she held onto the man's hand and pulled him toward the exit with her. "Dom, watch that man," Mina ordered, but the man was rigid as he observed the way Mina was pulling his boss away from the area. He was waiting for President Lee to lash out, and his mind was trying to determine what the proper course of action would be.

"Mina…" President Lee warned, but the woman hushed him.

"President Lee, you are angry. You need to calm down before you do something you will regret. I know that man is guilty, but you aren't thinking clearly right now, and I don't want you to make the same mistake-" Mina paused, wanting to bring up the situation between them, but aware that making the correlation might trigger a negative response. "Please trust me." Ian clutched at his jaw wanting badly to push the woman away, but the look she was giving him was different from any other expression he had seen her wear.

"Dom, make sure he doesn't die before I come back." Mina flashed a tight smile, and Dom could not believe that she had been able to talk his boss down. He had witnessed Luna Lee try to do the same thing without result. In fact, her own brother had ordered her to be locked in a room until he was ready for her release, but with Mina, the icy man had practically melted.

----

Ian sat behind his desk with his hands folded in front of his face. His leg bounced up and down as he stared at the woman across from him. She had been hiding information from him, everyone had told him that she was, yet he chose to believe her because he wanted her to trust him. He wanted her to see that he would stand by her side even if her story did not make sense, and he wanted to show her that he was trying to make an effort for her, but she had used it against him.

"Mina, why didn't you tell me that Zane's father was the one who took you that day?" He asked, struggling to keep his voice at a speaking volume. The girl looked frightened, but she was not crying, and she was not avoiding his gaze; she simply stood there staring back at him.

"Because he made it clear that his target was me and Miss Meagan. He said that she was losing him investments, and he threatened people I care about with things that could ruin their lives."

"And don't you think that in hurting you he would attempt to hurt me?" Ian asked. "Mina, why couldn't you trust me enough to just tell me?"

"Because I..." Mina knew lying again would not help her, so she swallowed her pride and told the truth. "I am still afraid of you, but I'm telling you now because I don't want you to waste time."

"Let's go," the man ordered, and Mina nodded guiltily.

----

The drive back to the Lee mansion was quiet, dark, and eerie. President Lee did not say anything to her, but he occasionally struck his steering wheel in frustration, making silent tears fall from Mina's eyes. Her mind was racing, and she kept telling herself that she had earned a place right back behind the bookshelf, a theory that only seemed magnified when Zane was called and berated her for not saying something sooner. She could not even defend herself to the man, who described his father as disturbed.

When President Lee alighted from his car, Mina chased after the man, afraid that if she did not stay close to him, he would think she had hidden information from him on purpose. She was shocked to see President Cam in the man's study, and he handed Ian a stack of documents that made Mina's heart race. The President left, and Mina took a seat in the chair where she normally sat, only it did not feel inviting or friendly at that moment. She was afraid, and she felt as though she had been played into a secondary trap.

Mina watched President Lee pour himself several drinks before mustering the courage to try and stop him. She slowly approached, and removed the bottle from the desk before removing the glass from his hands.

"She isn't waking up," the man whimpered, and Mina felt her heart spasm. She knew the man had visited his nan while she was on her way to the Lee facility, and she knew that whatever he saw had driven him into the rage she had witnessed.

"Please stop drinking." Mina set the glass on the opposite surface, and when she turned back to President Lee, the man pulled her into a hug from the middle. His face was against her abdomen, and his arms tightly wrapped behind her back.

Mina stiffened, but she did not push President Lee away the way her brain was telling her. She gently patted his shoulders, trying to remain calm in the situation, but unsure if she could keep her composure, which completely shattered when the man planted a kiss near her navel. Her stomach flipped with the unfamiliar sensation, and she pushed him away, but he used his strength to keep her held to him as he stood and pulled her in closer. She pried the man off and started to run away, completely terrified when she heard the man's footsteps falling behind her.

"Wait. I am drunk. I'm sorry," he called from behind her, and she could swear she heard him sobbing. She turned to see the man stop and slouch down to the ground before leaning against the wall in defeat, and her heart ached on his behalf.

Stopping by the stairs, Mina walked back to President Lee, using her foot to kick at his shoe, getting his attention.

"I'll go make us some coffee."