Chapter 30
Chapter 30:
The crowd parted. Azalea Koch strode through the gap wearing oversized sunglasses, flanked by two members of her own entourage.
“My father would be very disappointed to hear that someone under his protection is being harassed on campus,” Azalea said, her voice laced with ice.
The crowd buzzed. Under his protection?
Azalea walked up to Eliza and threw an arm around her shoulders. She lowered her sunglasses and looked directly at Celeste. “If you touch her again, I will have my father call your father to discuss his company’s latest quarterly report. I hear it wasn’t great p>
It was a veiled corporate threat, and Azalea was a Koch. In this city, that name carried the weight of law.
Celeste went pale. She yanked her hand back. “You’re lying. She’s a nobody p>
𝖳𝗿𝖾𝗻𝖽𝗶𝗇𝗀 ո𝗈𝗏еl𝗌 on 𝗴𝘢𝘭𝗻o𝘷е𝗅ѕ.𝘤о𝘮
“She’s with me,” Azalea said, her tone absolutely final. “Which makes her somebody you don’t want to mess with. Now get out of my sight before I lose my patience p>
Celeste glanced at the phones recording her humiliation from all angles. She backed down. “Whatever,” she muttered, and pushed through the crowd. Laughter followed her.
Azalea steered Eliza away toward the building. “You okay?” she asked, dropping the act the moment they were clear.
Eliza exhaled a breath she had been holding far too long. A real smile crossed her face — one that reached her eyes. “I am now.” She glanced at Azalea. “What was all that ‘under his protection’ business p>
“The ultimate power move,” Azalea said, winking. “It keeps people guessing but tells them everything they need to know: you’re untouchable. Plus, it genuinely unnerves people p>
They walked into the building together, a united front.
Fifty yards away, in a parked black sedan with tinted windows, Anson Hyde watched. He gripped the steering wheel until the leather creaked beneath his hands. He saw the car. He saw the confidence. He saw the Koch daughter close ranks around her.
He couldn’t touch her socially anymore. She was insulated by money and power and loyalty. He needed a different approach.
He picked up his phone and dialed. “I need to know the exact nature of her relationship with Dallas Koch,” he said into the receiver. “Is she a guest? A mistress? Something else entirely? Find out if he has any real weaknesses.” He hung up, staring at the doors through which Eliza had disappeared.
“Contract or not,” he whispered, “you’re mine, Eliza p>
In the study down the hall, Dallas sat alone in the dark.
The blue light of a security monitor cast sharp shadows across his face. He was watching footage from the campus parking lot, rewinding the moment Celeste raised her hand to Eliza. His fist tightened on the desk, knuckles turning white. He hadn’t been there. He had been in a boardroom while his wife was being hunted. The self-loathing settled in his mouth like something bitter. He wasn’t angry at Azalea for speaking up. He was angry at himself for making it necessary.