by Ruby Wolff
“How about getting some sleep? You can’t think straight when your mind isn’t right.”
“I’ll get some sleep when I kill Harvey. Until then…” I stop as Dad joins us, looking worried.
“Frank said to call him when we need him again, and he’d like to talk to you about some guns.” Dad hands me my phone.
“Pike will call—”
“No. They want to talk to you,” my dad interrupts. I turn to face him as he just stares at me.
“I’ll call them later,” I say.
The Carter family must’ve found something out. That’s the only time they ever want to talk to me. Dad is their usual contact.
“Ronnie asked to come over, but I’ve told him not just yet. I'll call him when he can.”
I give Dad a nod. I know he hates that he has to keep things from Ronnie, like Ben being here, but it’s best that only we know what’s happening right now.
Rubbing my forehead, I take in a deep breath and think about how to play my evening. Ben’s here, but Ellie and Gwen want to come to see Alice. How do I explain that they can’t come over? “I’m going to let you have some time with Alice because, once you go down to the basement, you can’t come back up here. My sister and sister-in-law will be here,” I say before walking away from him. I need a moment to myself.
There’s so much going on in my head that I can’t think straight. Maybe Ben is right. A man can’t make decisions when he needs to sleep. Maybe having Alice lying next to me will help me sleep.
Leaning on the kitchen counter, I watch Alice, Drew, Vinny, and Ben in the other room. I watch how Alice is with Ben. Her head rests on his shoulder as they lean back on the sofa.
Whatever bond those two have, it’s a strong one. That man, for eight years, has lived away from Alice to protect her. That bond is un-fucking-breakable.
I take a cigarette from Pike.
“Natasha's dropping Carrie off, then she's going to check into the hotel. What do you want to do next?” Pike asks as he fills up glasses of whiskey for everyone.
I tap the side of my glass as I think about Pike’s question. What do I want to do next? “Finish this.” That is all I want to do. I want to go back to our business where no family ever dared cross us. I want to put the fear back into the families in England, America, and Ireland. Don’t mess with Angel Frost and his family.
***
Walking into the basement, I watch John walking back and forth. He stops the moment he looks over at me.
“So, John, you want to go home?” I ask as I stand with my hands in my pockets.
“We both know that’s not going to happen.” He sounds confident. If only he had that same confidence in his eyes.
“Well, you can. All you have to do is tell me where Harvey is. It’s him I want,” I tell him.
He looks behind me at Pike and Warren. “Even if I tell you, I’m dead either way. How about you just do it? I’m-I’m not scared of what you’re going to do to me.” His eyes lock with mine for a split second. “Angel, everyone has heard the stories about you. They’re the kind of stories people tell kids to scare them. What do you think you can do to me that I haven’t already heard in the stories?” John takes a small step back from me, and I watch him for a moment.
I’d love to do a few things to him, just for looking at Alice, but I said Ben can have fun with him.
I turn off the cameras to the room. The recordings I already have will now be burned. I don’t want them to fall into the wrong hands. “As much as I’d like to show you that the stories are true, I’m afraid someone else wants to kill you for me.” John gives me a questionable look. “Would you like to meet him?”
John looks behind me, then back at me. I nod, letting Pike know to open the door. I watch John as Ben walks in.
He starts to take a step forward, but I take one closer to him, and he stops. “You fucking arsehole. When they find out about you, you’re dead. So fucking dead,” John shouts.
“At least I’ll be happy knowing I killed you first,” Ben says.
“You think you can—”
“John, you’re a fucking pussy who needs your daddy’s permission to fucking breathe,” Ben interrupts.
I take a step back and lean on the wall next to Warren and Pike as I watch Ben and John.
John walks closer to Ben. “That’s called respect, something you need to fucking learn.”
If this were me, I would’ve just put a bullet in him for talking to me like that. Ben has had to suffer with them for eight years. That’s a lot of angry to let loose.
Ben lands the first punch, and it pushes John back a little, but he turns to Ben with a smile and wipes the blood from his lip.
“Is this really how you want it to—”
“Fuck you,” Ben yells as he quickly moves closer to punch him again. Drawing his arm back, his fist lands on John’s nose, making him stumble back. John throws a punch, but Ben dodges, and John falls to the floor. In no time, Ben’s on top of him.
He punches John’s face over and over, yelling at him for all the fucked up things he’s had to listen to from them. Ben’s hand moves to his back and pulls his gun free. He places it against John’s head.
My gaze locks on Ben. I can see the rage, hurt, and as sick as it is, the joy in what he’s about to do.
He’s deep into the criminal world. It’s not going to be easy for him to walk away from it.
“I want you to look at me,” Ben yells at John. Grabbing his face, he turns John to face him. “You’re nothing but a piece of shit.” The bullet blasts through John’s head. Ben stands up and shoots another into his chest, and then just looks at him.
***
I walk with Ben towards the tunnel. Vinny went back up to tell Alice he was just leaving for a moment.
“You know she only wants you to be safe,” I tell Ben. I think Alice is right. There’s no need for him to be there anymore; he has the Frost family to help them now.
“And she knows I only want her to be safe.” Ben stops and turns to face me. “I love Alice more than you will ever love her. I need to make sure she’s safe, and until I find your mole, I’m not going anywhere.” He continues to walk down the tunnel as I watch him.
Maybe Ben’s right. Perhaps he does love Alice more than I ever could because I already know she deserves more than me. Because of me, she’s had to go through the pain that was meant for me.
As we reach the end of the tunnel, I look behind us when I hear Vinny walking closer. I turn to face Ben. “Watch your back.”
“Watch yours,” Ben replies, and I glance over at Vinny.
Not saying a word to either one of them, I give a slight nod and leave them to it. Vinny and Ben have put their whole life on hold to make sure Alice is kept safe. They have a bond as close as any family.
Protect those you love.
As I get back to the house, I look over at everyone in the sitting room, then up at the stairs to my bedroom. Doc came over to see Alice while I was with Ben in the basement. I hope that everything came back clear. Giving her that peace of mind is the first thing I need to do.
Walking over to the family, I look over at my dad and see Uncle Ronnie has joined us. Taking a lit cigarette from Warren, I wait for Uncle Ronnie to tell me something.
“I’ve been talking to a few people. There's word going around that Harvey’s planning to go underground,” he says. I shake my head. The fucking coward is going to hide. “If he goes under, you know what that means.”
Once you go underground, it means you want out of the life. Once you go out in the open, no one can touch you. It’s a rule. If you go down and break the rule, it’s not good. I don’t know what happens. No one has ever broken the rule. I don’t know if it’s because of fear of what will happen to them, or because no one has wanted to be the first to break it. No one has dared to even try.
“We better find him before he goes under, then,” I say. As I leave the room, as I see Doc walking down the stairs. “Talk to me, Doc.”
“Like I said, she’s a fighter. Keep changing the bandages.” He looks up the stairs before he continues. “I think she needs to sleep—she clearly needs the rest.”
I look at Doc for a moment, wondering if there’s something he’s not telling me. There seems to be something off about him.
“Doc?” I question.
“I think the family needs something good to happen to them. Elijah, Alice, we need things to calm down. Finish this, Angel.” Doc tells me and leaves the house.
Doc’s getting old. First, it was Grandad, but more inevitably follow. I keep telling him he can walk away when he’s ready, but he says he'll die with this family. I don’t argue with him about it.
I make my way up to my bedroom, and am surprised to see so many people in it.
“Gwen, how are we feeling?” I lean down and give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Alice’s in the bathroom. She needs to eat. And, I’m feeling fine, thank you. I’d ask you how you’re feeling, but I already know the answer to that question.” Gwen gives me a smile, and I glance at Ellie when she laughs at me. “Maybe you both need to sleep. You look like shit.”
I start to reply, but my phone rings Without looking at the name, I answer. “Yes.”
“Craig called. There's trouble at the bar. Families know what we have planned for them. They're coming for you first,” Pike says.
I look over at the bathroom door as Alice walks over. “What did they do?” I ask, then give Alice a kiss.
“They hurt one… They hurt…”
“Spit it out, Pike.” I already know where he’s going with this, and he knows I’m about to go into a rage and kill more people.
“They hurt one of the staff members,” he replies. “She’s in hospital. Craig said he was fighting. He was outnumbered… He couldn’t stop it. They killed two of our men.”
“Who?”
“You stay—”
“I asked who?” I say a little louder, making all the girls look at me.
“The Midlands.” Pike goes quiet for a moment. “They know you’re here. The bar is an open target for them.”
I take in a deep breath and think about what I should be doing. “Send John back to them. Start working on the fucking list. I’ll be down in five to go to the hospital.” I end the call before Pike can respond. That's all I fucking need, the Midlands going after my bar. As I put my phone away, I turn to Alice. “Dinner? What would you like?”
“I’m not that hungry.”
“You have to eat so—”
“You have to eat, too,” Alice interrupts.
My sister lets out a small giggle behind me.
“I will. Don’t worry about me, I’ll order some food. I have to go out. Vinny and Warren are here, but if you need me, just call.” I lean in and kiss her. “I love you.”
I hate that I can’t even spend a day with Alice. Everything seems to be going up in smoke at the moment. If it can just settle for a few days, give me a day with Alice and a day just to think, it’d help me.
“I love you too. Are you going to be late?”
“Not if I can help it. I’m sorry…”
“Don’t, Angel. I know you’re going to finish this. I know you’re going to make them all hurt. When this is over, we can put it behind us and see what the future holds.” Alice looks over my shoulder, and her eyes change, but when her gaze moves back to me, something changes again.
Do I push her for answers? It’s too soon.
I turn to my sister and Gwen. “Are you two staying?”
“No, we’ll leave before the devil joins us. Our guards are downstairs talking to Dad.” Ellie sticks her tongue out at me.
I choose not to say anything. Instead, I turn and give Alice one more kiss, then make my way downstairs to talk to Craig and figure this shit out.
I need to go visit the families of the two men who died and then make sure my staff member is okay.
Then I need to work on a fucking plan.
Chapter 15
Angel
One week later.
“You think after bidding on my girl, I was going to let you fucking walk free?” I shout at Ted. Another name crossed off the list.
I continue to punch him in the face. I can feel the blood on my hands, but I don’t care at the moment. I have a lot of blood on my hands now. This week, I’ve been doing nothing but working down the list.
I’ve not left the house at all. If I’m not in the basement, I’m with Alice. I’ve barely slept this week. My mind won’t shut off long enough for me to truly sleep, but my body is tired. If I want to finish working down the list, I need to sleep.
I sent Pike to get the families up north for me, and he’s taken Natasha with him. I want Warren and Vinny here, and my rule is, two men go everywhere together. He should be coming back tonight, now that they're all crossed off.
I glance at Ted on the floor and watch him fighting to breathe. I’m impressed. He’s been in here two days, and had beatings for most of that time. I take my gun out from behind my back and shoot him in the head. I watch him drop on the ground.
I stand there for a moment, staring at yet another life taken by my hand. Right now, I don’t care how many people I have to kill. They all crossed the line with me. Most of these families I’ve never even touched, our business never crossed paths, but yet they want to help Harvey take me down. That was a mistake on their part.
I look behind me at Warren. “Get the cleaner,” I order as I pass him my gun.
He’s not left my side since all this started. He's trying hard to be Elijah, and once my head has cleared and all this is behind me, I'll sit him down and tell him that he doesn’t need to be the new Elijah; he needs to be himself and keep doing what he does, but with more responsibilities.
“He’s already here. I called him an hour ago.” Warren follows me out of the room. “Angel, you need to sleep.”
That advice got old a while ago. I barely slept before all this, but now it's not the nightmare that keeps me awake like before. It’s knowing Harvey is walking. The thought won’t let me rest. How can I sleep knowing he's alive?
“Any news?” I ask him. He's been in charge of finding anything he can about the Midlands. Any little thing might help me.
Ben’s been in touch with Vinny, telling as much as he can. He told us something’s happening and the only people who know are Mitch, Bruce, and Harvey.
They've been trying to attack us since I sent John’s body back to them, but they haven’t gotten close. Now they’ve gone quiet, which is only making me worry more. They have a plan, or they're working on something. If they don’t tell Ben, we have no idea what's happening.
Ben told us that the trafficking started back up, and I wanted to get the truck, but my dad said we really need to think about where and when we want to fight. I sent a Midlands boy back in a bag. That was a declaration of war that might not end up well for us.
Let them work on the trafficking for now. Once all this is over, we’ll walk in and stop it. I told my dad then that the Midlands will be a story for the past. No one will ever know who they were once I finish with them.
“Nothing yet. I’ve got men sitting at the pub, so once they walk in, I'll know. I’ve been talking to Dad, and we both think you need to take a night off and spend it will Alice.” Warren stops talking when I halt abruptly. “We both think…You’ve not spent any time with her and… Nothing.” He walks out of the basement and into the kitchen where my family are standing.
I get out my phone and hit call on Pike’s name, and listen.
“We'll be home in twenty minutes. We got all three families there,” Pike says, answering my unasked question.
Without saying a word, I hang up and look over at my dad. He’s watching me again, but my attention goes to Uncle Ronnie. “Has he gone under?”
I need to make sure I get to Harvey before he goes underground. I told my dad that if he does go, I don’t care what the rules are. I'll go down there and rip hi
s fucking head off if I have to. That conversation didn’t go over too well.
“Not yet. I have someone who’ll call me if they see any of the Midlands down there,” he says. Uncle Ronnie looks at me. For a moment, I see a softness in his eyes. “Angel, get cleaned up and spend time with your woman.”
“How many are left on the list?” I look over at Warren, but he looks over my shoulder. I already know it’s Vinny; his footsteps give him away. He walks very heavy lately. He never used to, but the last few weeks, that man has changed.
“Not many are left. The Carters have ticked them all over there.” Warren hands me the list, and I turn to see what Vinny has to say.
“Docs gave Alice the all clear, but she still isn’t sleeping,” he says as he grabs a bottle of water from the fridge. I watch Warren walking away, and then I get a glimpse of Drew and Alice strolling down the stairs. “Angel, she needs to eat, too.” He moves to stand next to me again.
As Alice walks reaches me, I lean down to give her a kiss. Her gaze moves over my hands, but she says nothing. I look over my shoulder as Drew and Warren argue over something.
“Tell your brother he's a fucking arsehole. He needs to make up his fucking mind. Either he wants Drew, or he doesn’t, and should let her have a life,” she says as she leans in closer to me
My body relaxes at her touch. “I'll talk to him,” I promise. I look over at Uncle Ronnie and see him smiling at me. “I’m going to have a shower. You going to be okay down here?”
She's been a lot better with Dad now, but Uncle Ronnie isn’t around much, so I’m not sure how she's with him yet. Her gaze moves to Vinny, and he gives her a nod.
“Yeah,” she says, and I love it when she looks up at me.
“I thought that tonight, everyone can come over and have dinner or takeaway,” I say. Maybe if we're all here, she might eat something. To be honest, I’ve not really eaten a lot this week either. “Pike and Natasha will be here, too, and I'll call Gwen to tell her to come over as well.” I look over at my dad so he knows to make sure the guards are watching their backs.
