31 Proposals Too Late Chapter 14
Tyron’s voice was laced with a suppressed storm, each word ground out through clenched teeth, “Where is Katniss?”
Listening to Tyron’s voice brimming with anger, Octavio leaned against the railing, smoothing his cuff slowly and de- liberately. “That’s a strange question. Isn’t she dead?”
“I heard from the people downstairs that it was your own choice? Tsk tsk… Such a beautiful woman, and you were willing to let her go! Now she’s dead, and I’ve lost both the person and the money. I haven’t even come to settle ac- counts with you, yet you’re the one coming after me?”
Tyron pressed his tongue against his cheek.
Then, suddenly, he smiled—a smile that sent chills down the spine.
He slowly raised his hand, and all his men behind him simultaneously lifted their arms, the black muzzles of their guns uniformly aimed at the second floor.
The air inside the casino froze completely.
“I’ll ask one last time.” He stepped forward, crossing the chaos on the floor, his voice dropping to freezing point, yet boiling with murderous intent. “Where are you hiding her?”
The one who answered him was not Octavio.
Instead, it was the sound of police sirens coming from outside the door.
Benjamin’s face froze; today, they had all come with real guns.
Tyron’s expression grew even darker.
This was Octavio’s territory; naturally, his preparations were more thorough.
He clenched his fist, his eyes full of hostility. “Retreat!”
On the second floor, Octavio waved at him with a beaming smile.
But as soon as Tyron left, his smile vanished instantly.
“Take Derek to the hospital!”
Then, he turned and went back into the private room.
In the moonlight, a striking figure stood by the floor–to–ceiling window, holding a wine glass.
From that vantage point, she could just see Tyron returning in defeat–his face gloomy, his brows tightly furrowed.
It was as if she wanted to imprint the scene in her mind, her eyes fixed on him until he drove away.
Octavio raised his eyebrows, a fleeting, indescribable emotion flashing in his eyes.
“You really went all out–calling the police on my turf. I can’t tell if you’re getting back at him or at me!”
Katniss ignored his teasing words and simply swirled the wine in her glass.
“Everything you wanted, I’ve arranged it all. Three days from now, we owe each other nothing.”
Octavio didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he walked past her, and while she wasn’t paying attention, snatched the wine glass from Katniss’s hand and drank it down in one gulp.
Katniss furrowed her brows, trying to put some distance between them.
Unexpectedly, Octavio deliberately leaned in closer to her.
His long fingers circled tightly around her slender waist, intentionally pulling her closer to his side.
“Katniss, after all these years with Tyron, if you haven’t learned anything else, you’ve certainly mastered his ruthless- ness and coldness.”
Katniss curled her lips into a smile and pried his hand off her waist.
“Mr. Velez, you have plenty of women to play with. Leave me out of it.”
It was both a hint and a warning.
Between Katniss and him, there was only interest–nothing else mixed in.
The moment she turned away, a flash of self–mockery flickered in Octavio’s eyes, so quick it was almost unnotice-able.
Katniss didn’t care what he thought. She turned, picked up her bag, and left the private room.
Octavio had promised to help her leave, and also to help her bury Leon back in her hometown.
To be buried beside her grandmother.
When she grew old, she would be buried there too, keeping watch over them.
She handed over everything she had promised Octavio, without holding anything back.
That very night, under a new identity, she boarded a car heading back to her hometown.
Before leaving, she wanted to see Leon and her grandmother one last time.
Tyron was already suspicious about her death.
She had to get to a place where no one could find her before he discovered the truth.
All these years, she had been too tired.
Katniss never wanted to live the way she used to again.
To be caution, the deliberately took the bus to leave.
Just as the bus was about to depart, a voice called out, “Wait!”
