Undressed By His Arrogance-Chapter 265: I Want Him Here
The city lights flickered against the windows as they pulled away from the hospital.
Ivy held Winn’s hand tightly, not caring that her own fingers trembled. Every few seconds she glanced at him. He sat with his head against the seat, eyes open but unfocused.
He wasn’t reacting.
And that terrified Ivy.
Her own eyes wouldn’t stay dry—her lashes were sticky, cheeks blotchy, throat raw. She tried wiping her tears discreetly, embarrassed to cry more than the man who had just lost his sister. But the grief kept hitting her in waves: Sylvia dying to save her.
And Winn... Winn adored his sister. Now her light was gone, snuffed out.
She slid closer, resting her forehead gently against his shoulder.
The drive to the Orchard mansion seemed longer than usual. The bodyguard slowed as they passed the high iron gates. The mansion rose in the dark.
When the car finally rolled to a stop, Winn opened his door mechanically and stepped out.
Ivy made to get out also, fingers curling around the door handle—but Winn stopped her with a gentle touch to her wrist. "Go home, love. Please."
Ivy paused, lips trembling, as if her heart needed to argue with him before her brain could agree. She studied him, looking for any micro-expression, any crack that would tell her he needed her to stay. But his face was a perfect storm: calm on the surface, deadly underneath.
She finally nodded, the motion slow, reluctant. "Okay." She turned toward Reese, wiping at her cheeks. "I’ll be here in the morning. I want him here, okay?"
Reese dipped his head. "Of course, Miss Morales."
Winn shut Ivy’s door quietly, and stood there staring as her car rolled down the long circular driveway, and finally disappeared beyond the iron gates.
He turned, jaw clenching as he faced Reese. "Prep another car."
"Of course, sir."
Winn strode into the mansion.
He went straight to his bedroom.
Inside, he crossed to the walk-in closet. Past rows of tailored suits and shelves of shoes, he reached the matte-black biometric safe built into the wall. The lock clicked open.
He pulled out the guns. Two handguns, cleaned, loaded, maintained. He slid the holster strap over his shoulders, adjusting it.
By the time he stepped out of the house, Reese had already brought another car around—a black AMG sedan, sleek and lethal.
Reese swallowed hard when he saw Winn—guns strapped, shirt sleeves rolled up, eyes dark and haunted.
"Give me the keys," Winn ordered, sliding both guns securely into the holster as he approached Reese.
"Boss... come on." Reese held the keys behind his back.
Winn stopped inches from him. "Reese," he said. "Today is not that day. Not today."
Reese squared his shoulders. "Then I’ll drive you."
"I said—" Winn snapped, stepping closer, the tension electrifying. "Give me the goddamn keys!!!"
Reese held his ground. Barely.
"Sir," he rasped, throat tight. "If you’re going to war tonight... you’re not going alone."
Winn’s eyes burned with a fury so deep it could drown cities.
"It’s not your war," Winn snapped.
"Boss, you know I will walk with you through fire." He gestured subtly to Winn’s holstered guns. "This is fire."
Winn’s eyes narrowed. "You know what I am going to do?"
"Yes, sir," Reese answered without hesitation.
"And you know I will not come back from it?"
Reese swallowed hard, the Adam’s apple bobbing visibly. "I understand."
Winn stepped closer. "If you do," Winn growled, "you will know wanting you to stay is giving you deniability."
"Boss... I signed an NDA when I got this job."
Winn’s nostrils flared. "Son of a bitch!" He yanked open the backseat door and shoved himself inside, slamming it hard enough to shake the entire frame.
Reese exhaled sharply and slid into the driver’s seat. He didn’t need directions. He already knew: the Kane estate. The place where Tom Kane lived.
They rolled out of the Orchard mansion.
The city was a different creature at 5 a.m.—hushed, bleary, vulnerable. Delivery trucks rumbled in the distance. A few joggers trotted by, unaware they were sharing the dawn with a man carrying vengeance.
Reese kept glancing at the rearview mirror. Winn sat almost statue-still, head resting against the window, staring at nothing. His fingers tapped silently against his thigh in a steady rhythm.
A few houses from the Kane estate—a car suddenly swerved in front of them.
Reese reacted instantly.
The brakes screamed, the seat belts snapped tight around them, and the back end of the AMG fishtailed slightly before catching traction. Winn’s body jerked forward. He sat still, eyes narrowing, watching the car.
Reese didn’t hesitate. His pulse spiked, but his hands remained steady. He shifted into reverse, one arm thrown over the passenger seat as he twisted his torso to look back, ready to back them out and away from the potential ambush. Tires screeched against the pavement as he reversed.
But the driver exited the vehicle with his arms raised, palms open. "I just want to talk."
Reese’s foot hovered over the accelerator. Winn leaned forward, eyes narrowing into slits. "Who is that?" he muttered, as if the man’s silhouette offended him on a cellular level.
"No idea, sir."
The stranger stepped forward into the faint glow of the streetlamp. "Winn! I just need to talk!"
Reese hissed softly. "Stay in the car," he told Winn, but Winn was already pushing the door open, stepping out.
Reese got out first and approached the man. "You have any weapon on you?" he demanded.
"Don’t need it." The stranger shrugged off his jacket, letting it fall onto the hood of his car. He turned around, arms lifted so Reese could inspect him. His shoulders were broad but slumped, his age already showing in his physique.
"I’m not here to fight."
Winn stepped into the glow then.
The stranger swallowed hard. His eyes shimmered.
"You cannot do this, Winn," the man said.
"And who the fuck are you?!" Winn barked.
"My name is Tim Kane," the man said finally. "And I am your father."
(This Chapter is courtesy of MissyDionne. Sorry it took so long. Its still early morning here. Just edited this and posted before even prepping for work.)
