Desire Me If You Can [Novel] - Chapter 62

“Something seems to have gone wrong.”
Joshua, sitting at an outdoor table at the café, gave a vague smile and asked while looking at Dane, who was slouched in his chair with a frown on his face. Dane twisted his arm behind the backrest, tilted his head back, and looked up at the sky as he spoke.
“I think I need to kill Grayson Miller.”
So something happened, after all. Joshua thought to himself, then spoke in the same way as before, trying to calm Dane down.
“As I said last time, he’s not a man worth that much, Dane.”
Dane snorted in response, then raised his head slightly, glaring at Joshua with a scowl.
“Why does that crazy bastard keep talking about self-defense like it’s some excuse?” “Self-defense?”
“Yeah.”
At Joshua’s question, Dane spat out his words roughly.
“Whenever anything happens, he just goes wild and claims self-defense. It’s like he’s doing it on purpose. Is he really that insane?”
Joshua, who had been quietly listening to Dane’s complaints, finally spoke up.
“I haven’t heard that Grayson has such a habit… but I could look into it.”
Dane immediately snorted in dismissive disbelief.
“Forget it, he’s just a crazy bastard. What’s the point of looking into it?”
“Well, you’re probably right. Thanks.”
Joshua, always smooth in his manners, readily agreed with Dane’s words. Just then, the waitress brought over the menu, and Joshua greeted her naturally with a smile. The waitress, her face lighting up with the warmth of his California sunshine smile, returned the smile before turning to leave. After she was gone, Dane, still in the same position, mumbled under his breath.
“With three kids, he really should stop showing off.”
“I’m just being polite. Nothing wrong with kindness, right?”
Joshua said, setting the menu down.
“Someone in front of me is lacking social skills.”
Though the words were clearly grating to Dane, he just let out a short laugh. Joshua, sensing that Dane wasn’t quite pleased, tapped the table, silently urging him to make a choice. Reluctantly, Dane took the menu, setting it aside after picking one of the dishes marked as best. After ordering, they began talking seriously.
“I’ve roughly planned things out. All you need to do is handle the transport, we’ll take care of the rest.”
Dane, sipping his tomato juice, silently waited for more details. Joshua, lowering his voice slightly as if speaking to a confidant, continued without missing a beat.
“You don’t need to rush. We’ve already been waiting for years, so waiting a few more days is nothing. But we need to succeed in one go. If we fail, there won’t be another chance.”
“And?”
Dane, clearly annoyed by the obvious advice, asked.
“So, when are we aiming for?”
“Everything’s almost ready.”
Joshua said, then continued.
“As for our plan…”
While Joshua continued explaining, Dane listened in silence. It was a straightforward plan, as Joshua had initially said. The problem, however, was that Dane had been assigned the most dangerous and difficult task.
To kidnap Grayson Miller.
“As you already know, Grayson is an extremely powerful alpha. That means he’s not easy to deal with. Being an extreme alpha means regular drugs won’t work on him. If we want to kidnap him, we’ll need at least ten people to surround him, but with that many people involved, we’ll definitely attract attention.”
“So, you want me to do it alone?”
“You were in a special forces unit, right?”
Joshua spoke as though it was someone else’s problem, though he himself wasn’t offering  to take the risk. The reason he wasn’t doing it himself was probably because of the high risk of being caught. Grayson Miller would surely realize why Joshua was approaching him. Even if Dane were the one to approach, Grayson would be suspicious too, Dane thought.
“So, you want me to handle everything from drawing him out to finishing the job?”
“I can offer a bit of help.”
At that point, the waitress brought the food. Watching as Dane pressed down hard on a large signature sandwich, Joshua spoke again.
“I’ve arranged for a car and a helicopter. Of course, I’ve also got a helicopter pilot lined up.”
“A helicopter?”
Dane paused, about to take a bite of his sandwich. Joshua nodded and smiled.
“I’ve prepared a mansion for Grayson in the mountains.”
It seemed that after waiting for so long, they had been preparing for just as long. Dane was curious about what exactly Joshua planned to do with Grayson there, but there was no worry or concern-just a simple curiosity. As he raised his sandwich to his mouth, he warned Joshua.
“Don’t forget, I’ve planned for a very deep conversation with that bastard.”
Joshua flashed a grin and looked at his friend.
“Of course, Dane. I haven’t forgotten.”
With a bright smile, just like the California sun, he added.
“We all have the same goal.”
After confirming Joshua’s response, Dane began eating his sandwich. After a brief pause, Joshua spoke again.
“Before we start, there’s something important you need to know.”
Dane, still chewing his sandwich, gave him his full attention. Joshua continued.
“You can’t let the Miller brothers hold anything like a stick. Any type of stick in their hands will turn into a weapon.”
Dane reacted with a delayed response.
“What?”
Joshua explained seriously.
“Ashley Miller was a hockey player in high school. He was the captain and even MVP. So, if he gets a stick, he’s good with it.”
“So?”
Dane still asked, frowning.
“Did he teach them how to beat people?”
“I don’t know about that.”
Joshua stepped back but quickly added his own guess.
“But maybe it has something to do with that whole self-defense thing you mentioned earlier?”
It was a reasonable assumption. After all, when Grayson used that excuse, he truly went berserk. As Dane kept silent, Joshua gave one last piece of advice.
“It never hurts to be careful. You should keep that in mind.”
Dane continued chewing his sandwich, still silent. After a while, they exchanged some casual talk before parting ways. The D-Day was set by Dane.
And that day arrived sooner than expected.
“Ezra’s party? Grayson Miller is going?”
Dane, changing his clothes in the locker room, instinctively sensed an opportunity when he heard the conversation from Diandre. Diandre, casually putting his shirt into the cabinet, spoke nonchalantly.
“Yeah, Ezra’s a funny guy. He actually believes Miller’s a good guy, you know? Even though you two have had such… history.”
Diandre shook his head, but Dane could understand. Ezra, with his inherently kind nature, trusted people easily, and his belief in others rarely wavered. This time, it was no different. Grayson had obviously cast some ridiculous spell over Ezra, and it would take considerable effort to dispel that illusion.
“So it’s all a misunderstanding.”
Just as expected, Ezra suddenly interjected and scolded Diandre. With both of them falling silent, Ezra continued.
“Miller isn’t that bad of a guy. Don’t judge him by his extreme alpha traits. Not everyone like him is weird.”
Diandre looked at Dane with a look of disbelief, then turned to Ezra with a sneer.
“You know a lot about him, huh? About Miller?”
“More than you guys do.”
Ezra confidently declared.
“You guys shouldn’t be so quick to judge. What goes around, comes around.”
“Yeah, yeah, we got it.”
Dane waved off Ezra’s words and then asked.
“So, Miller’s coming to your daughter’s birthday party? Have you told him the time and place?”
“Of course, I’ve told him. I even told him not to spend more than $50 on a gift. He was really touched, since it’s the
first time he’s been invited to a friend’s kid’s birthday.”
“Friend?”
“Friend? You and Miller?”
Dane and Diandre both raised their voices in shock. Ezra nodded with a pleased smile.
“Yeah, you two should be nice to Miller. That kindness will come back to you.”
Diandre shook his head in disbelief, but Dane had other thoughts.
“Looking forward to it.”
Dane muttered to himself, and Ezra, excited, responded.
“So am I! You don’t know how busy my family is with the preparations. I went to the store yesterday…”
Ezra kept chatting, but Dane’s thoughts were elsewhere. He thought about his conversation with Joshua and wondered whether Ezra would be disappointed if Miller didn’t show up to the party. He felt a small pang of guilt, but it wasn’t out of concern.