He made a run for it.
“Get back here!” Johnny yelled as Connor shoved past several men and ran inside the manor and into the beautiful lobby.
“Where’s Rory?” he asked Andrew when he spotted his friend sitting on the couch, going over paperwork and looking better than he had in months.
“In the ballroom. Why?” Andrew asked, but Connor didn’t have time to answer him, not with five seriously pissedoff James brothers after him.
“You have some explaining to do!” Reese, one of the Bradford twins and a fucking cop, shouted, drawing his attention.
Scratch that, he had five James brothers, a little prick bastard and two seriously pissed-off-looking Bradfords after him and he probably only had seconds to convince Rory that he loved her and wasn’t after her company before they beat the shit out of him. Not wanting to waste another minute, Connor made a run for the ballroom, shoving men aside as he ran down the long hallway. The entire way, he could hear them chasing after him and he’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t a little concerned about the ass whooping that he was about to receive, but he was more terrified about losing Rory.
He was just about to run through the open doorway of the ballroom when Rory stepped out, looking down at the clipboard in her hands and unaware of all the men barreling down on her. She’d barely looked up when he grabbed her arm and gave it a pull towards the elevators. He didn’t have a plan, but he hoped like hell that this would at least buy him a few minutes.
“What the hell are you doing?” Rory demanded as he yanked her into the elevator, pushing her behind him as he slammed his finger against the “Close Door” button just as her brothers and cousins abruptly turned and headed for them.
“Come on, come on, come on!” Connor muttered, panicking as the door started to close, but not fast enough.
Her brothers were getting closer until all they had to do was put their arms out to stop the doors from closing, taking away his only chance to make this right. Just when he resigned himself to a trip to the hospital and losing Rory, something unexpected happened. The two Bradford twins reached out and grabbed Craig and Johnny just as they reached out to stop the elevator doors and yanked them back, allowing the doors to close.
“What the hell is going on?” Rory demanded.
“First things first,” Connor mumbled as he reached out and pulled the emergency elevator button. The elevator shook hard once as it came to a complete stop. When the alarm began to blare, he flicked it off, took a deep breath and turned around to face the woman that he loved.
“I love you,” Connor said, needing her to know that. “I’ve always loved you and no matter what happens, I will always love you.”
“You son of a bitch!” Bryce shouted, reminding Connor that it probably wouldn’t take the brothers long to crack those doors open and kill him.
“I love you too, Connor, but what the hell is going on?” Rory asked, shooting a nervous look past him at the closed doors.
“I need to tell you something,” he said, cringing when the banging behind him started.
“Yeah, looks that way,” Rory mused, shifting her gaze right back at him.
“Did I mention that I love you?” Connor asked, shooting her a nervous smile as he tried to figure out how exactly to explain the whole fucked up deal he’d come up with without Rory going for his balls.
“Start talking, Connor,” Rory said, arching an expectant brow as she folded her arms over her chest.
Since time was a serious factor, Connor decided to get right to the point. “I fucked up.”
“And...”
“There was more to the deal than I let on,” Connor said in a rush. “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning because once I realized that I was still in love with you, I didn’t want it any longer.”
“What didn’t you want any longer?” Rory asked with a putout sigh, the same one she always used when he was telling her how he’d screwed her over. He felt himself relax, somewhat.
“The plan,” Connor said, searching desperately for the right way to explain his original plan to her without making her hate him.
“And why did Darrin and Reese attack my brothers?” she asked.
“Because of me,” Mr. James suddenly announced from behind him, making him curse when he realized that at some point during their conversation, the doors had been opened.
At least the doors worked quietly and efficiently, Connor thought as several pairs of hands grabbed him and yanked him out of the elevator. As Craig pulled back his fist and let it fly, Connor hoped that they didn’t break his jaw so that he could beg Rory for a second chance. That’s if she came to visit him in the hospital.
“Mother fucker!” Connor gasped as Craig punched him in the stomach, causing his legs to give out, but before he dropped to the ground, Bryce and Sean were there, picking him right back up for more.
“Stop!” Rory cried, moving to help him, but her father stopped her by stepping in front of her and blocking her path.
He kept his eyes locked on her as he told the twins, “She doesn’t get past me until we’re done and you make damn sure that no one interrupts us.”
