Page 93 of Bound By Flames
I chuckle. “Yes, I think food is definitely the way to a man’s heart. Ares is obsessed with Larry’s cookies, I see a pile of them each night here and each morning there just gone, pouf! Wait, maybe I should keep an eye on my cook since I'm not the one actually cooking.” I roll my eyes dramatically, watching her laugh silently.
She’s cool. It's so nice to make new friends, especially ones who get you and respect your boundaries.
I pull out of the fridge all the meals Larry made with sushis, lasagnas, chicken curry and a huge salad. Then I take out the plate he made for me with tomato, strawberries, basil and boiled eggs.
“Pick what you want, girl.” I try to encourage her to make herself at home.
“Thank you so much, it looks really good,” she writes without asking me why I’m not eating like her and I’m grateful that she isn’t.
We eat together talking about the series we’ve just watched and giggle at a video of her chubby orange cat, Harley. After watching yet another episode of our show, we both get to sleep. I made one of the guest bedrooms extra cozy with more pillows and books for her. I even added a few snacks I thought she could like. Once we say goodbye, Rose yawning and waving one last time at me before closing her door, I head to our room, changeinto my silky pink shorts and cami and sneak into Ares’s side of the bed.
Umm.
Yes I’m acting like a teenager sniffing her boyfriend's pillow but damn. His scent is like a drug to me. I turn off the light, crossing my fingers and making a silent prayer.
Stay safe.
Just as I’m about to doze off, I hear the sound of wood cracking. That must be the wind. It’s been pouring rain for hours. I wonder where he is, if he’s safe. Yet, a few seconds later, the sound of a door squeaking convinces me that there is someone walking near the bedrooms. The idea of a stranger bursting into my room makes me want to jump out the window and run to the woods.
Stay calm, don’t panic, you’re safe here, just call him, he’ll know what to do.
Without waiting another second I slide to my side of the bed and grab my phone.
“Can’t really talk right now. What do you need princess ?” His voice is unusually hoarse, out of breath, as if he had been running.
“I think—I think there’s someone behind the door,” I whisper, borderline panicked.
“It’s Cal, one of my men. He’s making rounds. I got all of them tracked and reporting to me every fifteen minutes,” he states without a doubt in his tone.
“Rea-really?”
“You’re safe, princess. Go back to sleep. I’ll be there soon.”
“I…I wish you could be there, like right now… I have a bad feeling.” I sound like a crying baby, but seriously, sometimes you can feel it in your guts that something wrong is about to happen. I know he’s the boss and I’m well aware that he’s juggling many important things tonight but still… Mafia and gangs are ourlives, this is our normal and I feel in my stomach that I need to be close to him right now. “Could… I know you’re busy, but…could you come back now ? I…I really need you.”
A gunshot echoes on the line, voices of men crowding our call as one loud cry of pain fills the call.
“Ares? Ares, are you still there?”
(click.)
Ares
The hunt was finally over.
I could see the contour of his fucking throat under the dim light of the poker table in the abandon warehouse he had chosen to meet up with a gun supplier. The guy in question had never been clean and I had kept my business away from him to avoid any chances of one of his oversight leading him to the feds or worse.
Here they were, playing poker with other men who would soon meet their maker. It needed to be done, I couldn't take any more threats targeting my men's family. Nor mine.
One picture of her taken at the coffee shop on one of her outings with Ash and Shadow had landed on the doorsteps of the club two days ago. A large red cross marked her sweet, angelic face.
I couldn’t sleep at night knowing my girl was walking with a target on her back.
No fucking way.
It had to stop, and from his presence on my territory tonight, his plan was about to succeed soon if I didn't put an end to it. Nero, the head of the Italian Chapter, owning Philadelphia,had tried to bite more than what he could chew. Rushing his expansion, installing distrust in his rank, creating chaos around him.
Greed was the kind of sin that could bite you back in the ass and he was about to taste just how reckless he had been.
