Chapter 8 Kill Him

With Efrain there, Theo felt a surge of confidence.

His face twisted with venom, eyes burning with hatred. "Go on, say something! How do you want to die, huh? Weren't you so tough a minute ago? Weren't you such a great fighter? Show me that attitude again! You got the guts?"

Theo wasn't done. He turned to Efrain to make his case. "Mr. Lowe, you have no idea how out of line he was. I told him straight up that I'm your guy, but he had zero respect for the Lowe family. He said you were nothing, that you'd be scared stiff if you ever faced him."

Nathaniel had said none of that.

But that didn't matter.

What mattered was that Efrain would only believe Theo.

If Theo said Nathaniel said it, then as far as Efrain was concerned, he said it.

Sure enough, Theo's words hit their mark. Efrain's brow furrowed, and his eyes went ice cold.

"What? He actually said that?"

"Every word of it. They can all back me up. Mr. Lowe, why would I ever lie to you?"

Theo gestured to the people around him. Cameron and Theo's crew immediately started nodding.

"That's right, I'll vouch for it. He really said that."

"Mr. Lowe, he was completely out of control. Just because he can throw a punch, he thinks the Lowe family is nothing. You can't let him walk away from this."

Leah quickly stepped forward to defend Nathaniel. "That's not true! Mr. Lowe, Nathaniel never said anything like that!"

She glanced back at Nathaniel, her eyes full of emotion — and guilt.

She was going to get him killed.

Nathaniel was talented. If she hadn't pushed him into playing her boyfriend, he would have had a bright future ahead of him.

But now he was about to die right here.

Efrain was nothing like Theo. He was the heir to a second-tier family, ruthless and calculating — not someone an ordinary person could handle.

You could tell just by looking at the Lowe family bodyguards around them. They were in a completely different league from the Calvino family's thugs — sharper in appearance, and far more capable.

Nathaniel could take on a dozen Calvino guys by himself.

But there was no way he could fight off a dozen Lowe family bodyguards on his own.

Efrain let out a cold laugh. "Well, well. Nobody's ever had the nerve to disrespect the Lowe family here. Looks like you're the first."

"Mr. Lowe, that's really not what—"

Leah tried to explain, but Nathaniel cut her off.

"So what if I did?"

Leah froze and turned to look at him.

He was admitting it?

Was he out of his mind?

Before Efrain showed up, Nathaniel talking big was one thing.

But Efrain was standing right here. Where was Nathaniel getting this nerve?

Did he actually have no fear of dying?

"Ms. Adams!" Cameron moved to Leah's side and tried to pull her away. "This guy's lost it. You really want to stick with him? Mr. Lowe will take you down with him. You know better than anyone how much reach the Lowe family has."

"Get away from me!" Leah shook him off hard. She had nothing but contempt for someone like Cameron, who'd turned on his own people. She looked at him coldly. "Mind your own business. If I'm going to die, I'll die standing next to Nathaniel. He had the guts to stand up to both the Calvino family and the Lowe family for me. He's worth it."

Cameron fumed. He'd tried to help, and she'd thrown it back in his face. Fine. Her call.

He stepped back and washed his hands of the whole thing.

But Theo pushed forward. "Ms. Adams, I get it — you can't see any way out, so you've decided to go down with him. But you're wrong. If you come to me right now and ask for my help, you know how I feel about you. I'll put in a word with Mr. Lowe myself. I promise you won't die."

Leah looked at Theo — face covered in scars, cheeks swollen like balloons — standing there without a shred of shame. Her contempt reached a new high.

She let out a short, sharp laugh. "Theo, wasn't the beating Nathaniel gave you enough of a lesson?"

That landed right where it hurt. Theo's swollen cheeks burned, and the rage in his eyes nearly boiled over.

"Leah! You ungrateful little— I've given you chance after chance, and you dare look down on me? Fine. You want to die with this piece of trash? I won't give you that satisfaction. I'll lock you in a cage and make sure every day of the rest of your life is worse than death."

Nathaniel looked over at him.

"Say that again."

Theo had been rattled ever since Nathaniel beat him earlier.

The moment he caught Nathaniel's eyes, his body started shaking. But with Efrain right beside him, he forced himself to hold his ground. "So what if I say it ten more times? What are you going to do about it? Mr. Lowe is here — you're finished, Nathaniel. You should be on your knees begging like a dog, just like Leah. Let me break your arms and legs. If I'm feeling good after that, maybe I'll let you live."

Nathaniel rolled his wrists and walked toward Theo, a slight smile on his face.

"Looks like you didn't learn a thing. That's fine. Let me remind you."

Theo scrambled behind Efrain in a panic. "Stay back! Mr. Lowe, stop him!"

Efrain's voice cut through the air. "Stop right there."

Nathaniel paused and looked at Efrain calmly.

"You're Efrain, right? This whole thing had nothing to do with the Lowe family to begin with. I'll give you a chance to walk away right now. I won't come after the Lowe family — you have my word. But if you insist on protecting Theo, don't say I didn't warn you."

Efrain looked like he'd just heard the most ridiculous thing in his life. His expression stretched into exaggerated disbelief. "I'm sorry — did you just say you're giving me a chance?"

Laughter broke out around them. Even Efrain's own men couldn't hold it in.

Then Efrain's smile disappeared. His face went cold.

"And what if I do want to protect Theo? What are you going to do — kill me?"

"Want to find out?"

"Sure."

Efrain stared at Nathaniel. Nathaniel stared back.

The temperature dropped. The whole place went dead silent.

Then Nathaniel moved.

He lifted his foot and walked toward Efrain and Theo.

One step. Two steps.

Steady. Unhurried. Expression blank.

Efrain's brow tightened. "I said stop."

Nathaniel kept walking.

"I told you to stop!"

Still walking. Ten feet away from Efrain now.

Close enough to be dangerous.

Efrain didn't hesitate any longer. He raised his hand and gave the order.

"Shoot him."