Chapter 78 Agreeing To Her Terms
The gun barrel was cold against her forehead.
Veyra did not blink. She did not flinch. She looked straight into Xander Hale’s red, furious eyes and held his gaze.
"You’re not going to shoot me," she said.
Xander’s hand trembled. "You don’t know that."
"If you had any intention of pulling that trigger, you would have done it already." Her voice was calm and low. "You would not have stopped to talk. You would not have let me see your face. You would not be standing here, hesitating."
His jaw tightened.
"So go ahead," Veyra said. "Pull the trigger. But think about what happens after. Your mother is dying. If you kill me, you lose any chance of saving her. Dr. Harrison will never treat her. The police will hunt you down. And you will spend the rest of your life in a cell while your mother dies alone."
Xander’s hand shook harder.
"Or," Veyra continued, "you can lower the gun. We can talk. And maybe, just maybe, we can find a solution that helps both of us."
The seconds crawled.
Then Xander lowered the gun.
He took a step back. His chest was heaving. His face was still red, but the murderous rage had dimmed. Replaced by something else. Confusion. Desperation.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked.
Veyra reached up. She pushed the gun aside with two fingers. The metal was still warm.
"I’m someone who can help you," she said. "If you let me."
Xander stared at her. His men stood frozen around them. The afternoon sun beat down on the concrete.
"You said your relationship with Old Gao is extraordinary," Xander said. "You’re not lovers?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"
"A friend. A patient. Someone he trusts." Veyra paused. "And someone who trusts him."
Xander’s eyes narrowed. "If you’re not his woman, then you’re nothing to him. I could take you. Use you to make him talk."
Veyra shook her head. "You already tried that. With him directly. How did that work out?"
Xander’s face darkened.
"You kidnapped Dr. Harrison," Veyra said. "You threatened him. And what happened? He called your bluff. He told you he would destroy you. And you let him go."
"That was different."
"Was it? You think threatening me will work any better? Dr. Harrison is not a man who caves to threats. The more you push, the harder he pushes back." She stepped closer. "If you kidnap me, he will call the police. He will call his friends in high places. He will make sure you never see daylight again."
Xander’s jaw worked. He glanced at his men. They looked uncertain.
"I’m not bluffing," Veyra said. "And neither is he."
Xander’s grip on the gun loosened. He tucked it back into his waistband.
"You know a lot about him," he said.
"I know enough."
"Then you know I need his help. My mother—"
"I know about your mother." Veyra’s voice softened. "I know she raised you alone. Worked three jobs. Sacrificed everything."
Xander’s expression flickered. For a moment, the hardness cracked. Underneath was something raw. Something wounded.
"Then you know why I can’t let her die," he said.
"I do."
"I’ve tried everything. Every doctor. Every hospital. They all say the same thing. She needs someone like Old Gao. Someone with his skill. His experience." His voice dropped. "I can’t lose her."
Veyra looked at him. At the desperate man beneath the bully. She did not forgive him for what he had done to Clare Clark. But she understood his fear.
"You went about it the wrong way," she said. "Threatening him. Kidnapping him. That was never going to work."
"Then what will?"
Veyra took a breath. "Let me talk to him. On your behalf."
Xander’s eyes widened. "You’d do that?"
"I already have. We discussed your mother today. At lunch."
He stared at her. "You discussed my mother? With Old Gao?"
"I asked him to consider treating her. Not because you threatened him. Not because you kidnapped him. Because her life matters. Because she doesn’t deserve to suffer because of her son’s mistakes."
Xander said nothing. His hands were shaking again.
"But," Veyra continued, "if you want his help, you have to earn it. You have to change. You have to stop being the man who slaps old women and threatens shopkeepers and kidnaps doctors."
His jaw tightened. "You’re asking me to—"
"I’m asking you to be better. For your mother’s sake."
She pushed the gun aside completely. It hung uselessly at his side.
"Xander," she said, using his name for the first time. "You cannot afford to provoke people you cannot afford to cross. Dr. Harrison is one of them. And so am I."
He looked at her. Really looked at her. As if seeing her for the first time.
"Who are you?" he asked again.
"Someone who wants to help your mother. But only if you help me first."
Xander ran a hand through his hair. His men shifted uncomfortably. The tension in the air was still thick, but the violence had drained out of it.
"What are your terms?" he asked.
Veyra straightened her shoulders.
"First," she said, "you leave Clare Clark and her daughter alone. Permanently. No threats. No intimidation. No forcing anyone into marriage."
Xander frowned. "The old woman from the pizza shop?"
"Yes. Her name is Clare Clark. Her daughter is Megan. You will not go near them again. You will not send your men. You will not make demands. You will forget they exist."
Xander grumbled. "That old woman refused to let her daughter marry me. Made me look like a fool in front of everyone."
"You slapped her. In her own shop. In front of her customers." Veyra’s voice was cold. "That is not how a man treats a woman. That is how a bully treats someone weaker."
Xander looked away.
"Second," Veyra said, "you stop your practice of forcibly abducting young women. No more threats. No more coercion. You want a wife? Find one who chooses you. Freely. Willingly."
Xander’s face reddened. "You don’t understand. My family has been hounding me to get married. My mother—before she got sick—she kept asking when I would settle down. I was desperate."
"Desperation is not an excuse."
"I know." His voice was quiet. "I know."
He looked at the ground. Then back at her.
"Fine. I agree to your terms."