I turned around and pretended like I didn't see her. I wanted to go back out but three men were already standing outside the door. Their look told me everything I needed to know. Trying to leave wasn't a good idea.
I took a deep breath and put on a fake smile. I walked to their table while silently praying Max wouldn't cause a scene. But I was more worried about how and why he knew Mirabel.
I sat across from them.
"Ava, my darling. It's good to see you again." Max took my hand and gently kissed it.
Mirabel looked tense. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' while Max called for a waiter.
I was confused and scared. My feet were trembling. I could hear my own heartbeat. If the restaurant was even the slightest bit quieter, they would've heard it too.
"Why so tense? Relax. Both of you."
He didn't raise his head from the menu. He acted like he could sense our unease, and it wasn't completely impossible with the way we sat quietly.
"So," he finally raised his head to look at me. "Mirabel tells me you've had some history." His smile wasn't comforting.
"We're old friends," I answered.
"Ah, I see. Well, I'm sure you already realized I asked her to bring you to me."
"I didn't know I was going to be seeing you here."
He laughed. "If you did, would you have come?"
I looked away from him and back to Mirabel. She couldn't keep eye contact with me.
I was sure she brought me here against her will. But what could he have possibly threatened her with?
"What do you want from me?" I tried not to scream.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You're completely useless. What did I ask you to do last time?"
"Excuse me?"
His smile dropped. "That wasn't the answer to my question."
I hesitated. "To deliver a message."
"Good. I need you to deliver another."
"What message?"
"The first one spoke for itself when I left you lying next to the trash. And I got the perfect reaction." His smile widened again. "This time, I need you to tell Leon that he's running out of time."
"What? I don't understand."
"You don't have to. It's none of your concern."
"You kidnapped me. It is my concern."
"And I'll do it again if you push me."
I leaned back in the chair.
The waiter brought three cocktails. He offered Mirabel and me a glass.
"Cheers."
We reluctantly took them.
Mirabel finished hers in seconds. I barely touched mine.
"It was nice meeting both of you."
He stood up to leave.
"You know you won't be able to meet with me like this again."
"I'll just have to find another way then. I never run out of ideas."
He started to walk away again, then stopped.
"Deliver my message. Maybe I won't have to come for you again."
He turned around and walked out.
Mirabel burst into tears immediately.
"I need to go," she said repeatedly while trying to pack her bags.
"No, wait, hold on."
I stood up, walked over to her, and gently held her down.
She continued to cry. I tried to hide my confusion as I patted her back.
"Shh, it's okay."
Thankfully, no one could hear us since we were at the far end. But people were going to notice eventually if she kept it up, so I held her shoulders and looked at her.
"This isn't the time to cry. Tell me everything."
She kept crying.
"Listen, I can help you. But I won't know how until you tell me your relationship with Max."
She finally calmed down.
"He took my mum."
I stayed quiet. I tried to be patient enough to let her finish.
"When my mum got sick last year, my dad couldn't handle it and became an alcoholic. I had to find a way to get money for my mum's medical bills after he took all my savings."
She sniffed as she held back tears.
"Take your time." I tried to ease her tears.
"He came from nowhere and offered to pay all the bills. I took more loans to pay him back, but I was never able to fully pay him back. So he took my mum. He told me if I didn't get you to see him, he'd kill her."
I was in shock. I couldn't say a word. I stared at her blankly.
"I'm so sorry, Ava. I didn't want us to start talking again this way."
I immediately felt bad for her.
"No, don't apologize. You didn't ask for this. Neither of us did."
"But I brought you here."
I wiped a tear from her face. "He would've killed your mother. It was either her or me, and you made the right decision, okay?"
She nodded, trying to smile. I held her tighter as she hugged me.
After minutes of just holding each other for comfort, she let go and looked me in the eyes.
"I'm not going to try to go past my boundary by asking, but I know Max wouldn't want to see you this badly if you weren't involved in something shady. Max isn't the one to play with. He's always one step ahead, so please be careful."
I couldn't say anything. I was shaken to the core.
I just picked up my purse and hurried out.
I got into the car and immediately called Leon.
"Is everything okay?"
"Max showed up."
I could feel the shift.
"Are you safe? What did he say?"
"I'm on the way home now. I'll explain everything when I get there."
I wanted to hang up when —
"Are you safe?!"
I paused. He didn't yell loud enough to frighten me, but it was high enough for me to hear the worry in his voice.
"I am. He didn't do anything to me."
He sighed in relief. "Okay. I'll be waiting."
I hung up.
For the next few minutes, I was torn between worrying about what Max would do to me and what I was feeling toward Leon.
I knew I didn't like him. There was nothing exactly special about him. But I couldn't shake off the butterflies I felt every time he spoke a certain way.
As we approached the main gate, I could see Leon standing outside looking directly at our car.
He opened the car door for me and waited for me to come out.
I was smitten… which wasn't exactly professional-like. I hated it.
"Are you going to tell me what he said?"
"Aren't you going to tell me to relax first?"
"You're never letting this die out, are you?"
I sighed. "He told me to tell you that you're running out of time."
He raised an eyebrow for a split second. I knew he understood what he meant.
"What does that mean? What did you do?"
He gave me a look.
"Of course."
"Okay fine. I'll give you an explanation."
"When?"
"When I decide to."
"And what difference does that make?"
He shrugged his shoulders, then turned around.
I looked down at my phone.
A text from Alicia.
"Who's Max?"