Between Two Brothers

CHAPTER 9.

ISLA'S POV

I snatched my bag and stormed out, pushing past the velvet curtains and the stunned hostess. The cool night air hit me like a slap as I flagged down a cab, my phone buzzing insistently in my pocket. I didn’t look back.

In the back of the cab, I pulled out my phone. A message came in, almost immediately.

"Unknown: Anonymous tip led to a surprise health inspection at your mother’s restaurant today. Violations cited. Lease renewal in jeopardy unless resolved quickly. Thought you should know. Careful on who you trust."

My blood ran cold. The timing was too perfect. Too cruel. Was this Dare’s doing? Julian’s warning shot? Or Victor pulling strings from the shadows? I clutched the phone, nausea rising. Mum’s restaurant was her freedom, her health, everything we’d fought for. And now, it was dangling by a thread.

I gave the driver new directions. The Blackthorne tower. Even at this hour, the lights burned in the penthouse. Desperation clawed at me. I couldn’t let this happen. Not tonight.

The private elevator deposited me into the empty executive suite. My heels echoed on the marble as I approached Dare’s office. The door was ajar, light spilling out. He sat behind his desk, jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up, nursing a glass of whiskey. His head snapped up when I entered, surprise flickering before the mask of cold control returned.

“Back so soon?” His voice was rough, edged with the remnants of his earlier fury. “Couldn’t resist running to me after your little dinner date?”

I closed the door behind me, locking it with a click that sounded too loud. “This isn’t about us, or Julian. My mother’s restaurant got hit with an anonymous health inspection today. Says it was violations, which definitely isn't true. There is a threat on her lease rights. Fix it, Dare. Or I walk—no, I burn every bridge and take my chances on the street.”

He set the glass down slowly, rising to his full height. The distance between us felt charged, electric. “And why would I do that? You stormed out of here earlier like you couldn’t wait to fall into his arms again.”

“Because you still want me here,” I shot back, stepping closer despite the fear twisting in my gut. “For your revenge, your control, whatever sick game this is. But I’m negotiating new terms. More personal availability? Fine. But you will protect my mother. No more impossible schedules designed to break me. No more Serena’s sabotage.”

Dare rounded the desk, closing the gap until I could feel the heat of him. His eyes searched mine, dark and stormy with that obsessive intensity I both feared and remembered too well. “You think you can bargain with me, little maid? After choosing him tonight?”

“I didn’t choose anyone,” I whispered fiercely. “I chose survival. For my mother and for me. And my survival is Julian.”

His hand came up, fingers hovering near my cheek without touching, just like the night before. The air between us thickened, heavy with unspoken history and raw want. “Personal availability,” he murmured, the words laced with dark promise. “That means you’re at my side. Day and night. No more secret dinners. No more Julian. And when I demand answers, you give them, fully.”

My pulse raced, trapped in the intensity of his gaze. The threat to Mum’s restaurant hung like a sword, but so did the pull of him—the boy I’d loved twisted into this ruthless man. “Agreed. But the inspection vanishes by morning. And you keep Victor away from her.”

A slow, predatory smile curved his lips. “Deal. But remember, Isla—this makes you mine in ways you can’t undo.” He leaned in, breath ghosting my ear. “Welcome to the real cage.”

I stepped back, heart pounding, but the deal was struck. As I turned to leave, his voice followed me, low and possessive. “One more thing. Next time Julian calls, you will need my permission,before you can answer it.”

The door clicked shut behind me, leaving me alone in the darkened suite with the weight of my desperate bargain. The game had shifted again. And I wasn’t sure I could survive the rules.