1. One

Joey

Present day

"There was trouble at one of the drop off points today. Someone on the plane out for delivery wasn"t one of our men and the money was used as a decoy." Isaiah sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

glance his way, wide eyed. "I guess we will be changing locations now. What"s to say the DEA agent didn"t send a message to his friends before having his brains splattered all over the concrete?"

His expression grows more serious. "There"s no knowing for certain, so we had no other choice but to shut that location down. We will be using a different drop off spot from here on out. Louis is already setting it up. We have to move quickly to ensure our clients are getting their product."

"And the man who was operating the plane?"

"He"s dead too, apparently he had a deal in place with the DEA if he helped bring down our operation. The DEA is the least of our worries right now."

I look at Isaiah, tilting my head and furrowing my brows. "What do you mean?"

"One of the men who attacked us two years ago is back. It appears he didn"t die like we thought he did."

My eyes grow wide. We never did find out who those men were or where they came from. It was as if they appeared out of thin air. Their vehicles and phones were all dead ends, leading us nowhere, but we were sure we had killed them all. One of them was taken to the basement of one of our casinos where Marcus tortured him for answers, but he didn't get much out of the man.

"How is that possible? I saw him bleeding out, barely able to make it across the street. I was more than sure I saw him die before we rushed out of there."

He shakes his head, running his fingers through his beard. "He got away, but didn"t stay gone for long. He"s been caught on two of the club"s cameras. "

"What do you think he wants?"

He shrugs, sighing loudly. "Perhaps to finish the job. You think he works for your father or brother? We are the new competition after all, and your father was always quick to get rid of any kind of threat toward his business or family."

"No, I don"t. I think he may work for yours."

I go silent, staring ahead. I find it odd that my father would let all this time pass before coming after me again. Something deep down inside tells me someone else was involved. If my father wanted someone dead, he didn't waste any time getting it done. My father is very much like Isaiah in that sense. He hates wasting his precious time and he feels that's exactly what prolonging things did. "Why wait two years? Why not finish the job sooner?"

He leans back in his chair. "Maybe because we would see them coming and they know we"d be ready for whatever came our way. They probably figured we"d forget after all these years and saw it as a good opportunity to attack again."

They are very wrong if so; I never forget a face. "What if it wasn"t my father?"

"What if it was? We should at least look into it and I think it would be good to double your security when you leave work or home."

I nod, finally tucking in my shirt and buttoning my pants. I was too wrapped up in our conversation to care about how I looked after Isaiah had fucked me against the large office window. "I think that"s a good idea."

"In fact I think you should take both of mine for the day."

My eyes grow wide. "And what about you?"

"I can take care of myself."

I laugh, rolling my eyes at his lack of confidence in me. "You Juventinos, always thinking you"re invincible. I"m not taking your guards. It"s out of the question. I"ll be fine with my two for the day."

He stands up from his chair and slowly walks my way. "I just want to make sure you"re taken care of, you know? It"s the only way I will have any peace of mind. Please, at least take one of my men. I can call someone else to accompany me home."

"You promise you'll actually do it?"

He nods, smiling, and reaching for my face. "I promise, my Roo. I know you need your peace of mind too."

Smiling, I press a kiss to his lips. "Don"t take too long getting home."

"Haven"t you had enough of me already?" he asks, pulling me into him, squeezing my ass cheek.

"Never. That was only to hold me over until you finish working. Like I said before, don"t take too long."

"Well, the sooner you leave and stop distracting me, the quicker I can finish up here." He gestures toward the paperwork scattered on the floor that we had knocked off the desk after not being able to wait to have a taste of each other. There are times our clothes go flying off each other before we can even consider our surroundings.

"All right, fine, I"m going. Hope you enjoy the view on my way out." I shake my ass as I slowly move through the door. His laughter disappears when I shut it behind me. I signal to two of the guards, letting them know I"m ready. The driver is already done doing his check on the car by the time I reach the back door. "All clear, Daniel?"

"Yes boss," he says with unsteady words, unable to meet my eyes. That"s strange behavior for him. I shake it off, assuming it"s nothing more than him having a bad day. I wait for the guards to enter the car first before sliding in the back seat. The car is silent as Daniel pulls onto the road. He drives down a dark alleyway, taking a route I"m not used to. Instead of questioning it, I lean my head against the glass, staring down at my incoming text message with a huge smile on my face.

Isaiah: I"ll see you when I see you.

I read it a few more times as Daniel speeds up, taking us down another back way I don"t recognize. My phone falls from my hand when the car stops and two gunshots go off around me. Daniel shoots the man beside him who's too slow at reaching for his weapon and Daniel's gun goes off a few more times. He faces me with his weapon still in his hand. When I look at the guards, all three have blood pouring from their heads. "Why?"

Daniel sighs, frowning. "They said they would kill my family if I didn"t. I"m sorry, I hope one day you can forgive me."

"Forgive you for what?"

"For what happens next."

The door opens and the dead guard is dragged out of the car by a man with a hood over his face. Before I can say anything, he tazes my side, slipping a hood over my head, dragging me out of the car kicking and screaming. I"m shoved into what feels like the back seat of another vehicle. I shuffle around to try and feel for the doors.

"It"s time to go to sleep now, boy." The voice is deep with a strong accent, and it drowns out the sounds of honking and fast moving cars around us. Soon, every sound and thought starts to fade away and Isaiah"s recent words to me are the last thing I think of as I struggle to keep my eyes open. "I"ll see you when I see you."