Chapter 65 - The Rendezvous Part Two (1/2)
At first, Jake thinks Bella's hand would ċȧrėss him up his thɨġh, and he welcomes it—for once in his life, he's not the aggressive one in this foreplay. If Bella wants to touch him down there and waken the dragon, right here in this bar, then so be it. He could die tomorrow. So Jake closes his eyes in anticipation.
Yet, what he doesn't see is how Claire deftly grabs with her other hand the glass of whisky, still with its contents, and with the strength of her entire being, smashes the glass against Jake's face.
The pain is instantaneous, and it drowns him. He tries to open his eyes, and sees only her blurry silhouette against the dim light of the bar. ”What the…”
Claire kicks him in the groin. Unbelievable pain explodes there, and he doubles over. Jake couldn't believe this is happening. He attempts to stand up but his vision whites out once again as Claire slaps him across the face so hard that the momentum sends him falling on his back.
”Stay away from me,” Jake hears Bella mutter as she stands over him. ”And stay away from Gabriel. Drop all those stupid charges. Because if you don't…”
Jake feels Bella's warm breath in his ear. He cowers in fear, expecting another blow from this surprisingly strong woman. ”Please don't,” he whimpers like a wounded puppy.
”Sure,” Claire whispers. ”But know this. I'm only not suing you to high heavens because I'm giving you a chance to go away, to start a new life elsewhere, outside this city. So take this opportunity. Get away. Drop all your made-up, gadfly charges against Gabriel. If you're still in this city tomorrow, I'll go straight to the district attorney's office and file a massive case against you. I'll find all the women you date-raped in the past, I'll go big on social media and tag you as a sėx offender, I'll do everything to send you rotting in jail for the rest of your life.”
”You…you can do that?”
”Oh, yes,” Claire says. ”And more. Gabriel is only being patient with you because he's inherently a good person. But me? I'll use Gabriel's resources to make your life a living hell, I will testify, and you know how charming I can get with people. So consider this the best deal you'll ever get: before the massive shit hits the fan, get out of our lives.”
Jake Magno says nothing. He groans in pain and tries to get up. But Claire digs her heel on his groin, sending Jake crying out in pain. ”I didn't hear you say yes,” she says.
”Y-yes,” Jake whimpers. ”Yes.”
”You're gone tomorrow.”
”Yes,” Jake says, trying to look at her but could not because of the blood in his eyes. ”I-I'll go.”
Claire gazes at him for a moment, and without saying a word, turns her back on it all. She walks out of the bar like it's just an ordinary day, like she didn't just smash a man's face and threatened to ruin his life. The chauffeur, upon seeing her with bloodstains in her hand, dutifully gives her a box of tissue and a hand sanitizer.