CHAPTER SEVEN
Graham
Weeks have passed since Evelyn and I officially started dating, and it has been going great. Pretty much every night, I have her beneath me in either the bedroom, the kitchen, or even in the bathroom. It seems like I can’t get enough of her, wanting more than what she could give me. It was like I was becoming addicted… but I didn’t necessarily mind.
My feelings for her were running deeply, much more than I had ever expected before. I knew she was someone who I was never going to get out of my head, but to fall for her so fast, it made me wonder if there was something wrong with me.
I knew that wasn’t the case, but it made me wonder at times.
I’ve not brought her around my work though, wanting to keep her away from it as much as possible. I wasn’t ashamed of what I do, and she knows that sometimes I don’t have a choice but to deal with some of these bastards who couldn’t step back and let me be happy. I’ll shoot them in their brain, show them just exactly who they're messing with, but I need to be cautious as well. I didn’t want to get caught by the police, because it would end up causing her issues.
As I was alone in my thoughts, I was slightly startled when my office door slammed open, Brigham rushing in with a wild look on his face. Normally when I would be pissed that he ran in here without knocking, but I knew instantly that something was wrong.
“Brigham, what is it?” I demanded, feeling the blood draining from my face.
Brigham tossed a bundle of papers down on my desk, “I’m so sorry, Graham. I never thought that this would happen, but it seems as if our enemy has learned your weakness.”
My blood boiled as I gazed down at the photos on my desk of Evelyn. She looked okay for the most part, but she was tied up and gagged. I grabbed the photos, ripping them into tiny little pieces as my head snapped up, glaring coldly at Brigham who was supposed to be making sure she was safe.
“Where is she?” I snarled, chucking the wooden lamp at the wall, hearing it break into multiple pieces, “who has her?”
Brigham’s lips pursed, looking quite conflicted, “it’s that gang who tried to kill you, Graham. It seems that they were pissed that you had ignored their invitation to sit down and have a peace treaty made. I think that they are going to try and force your hand on what’s going to happen next.”
I bristled, really wanting to kill something… or someone, “fine! Tell them to bring her here now, and I might just let them live for being pathetic ass men.”
Brigham whipped out his phone, no doubt already have found out all the information I needed beforehand. My blood was boiling, my arms crossed over my chest as I debated whether it was time to start a war.
I swear to god, if there’s so much as a scratch on her, there’s going to be world war three…
I’ll kill them all.
***
“Graham!” I heard Evelyn’s cry of desperation.
My head snapped up, and I felt a cold, icy feeling come over me like those men I let walk away last time came into my office, dragging Evelyn in front of them like she was some kind of shield. I raked my eyes over her, making sure that she was okay in case I needed to rip their heads off.
Besides looking a little shaken up, she looked okay.
“Hand her over!” I snapped, holding my hand out to Evelyn, “you’re lucky I don’t shoot you bastards from where you stand.”
“And how do we know that you won’t just do it after getting a hold of her?” The leader demanded, trying to act tough, “until we have a signed contract, I’m afraid the lady is going to stay by us.”
I was going to kill them, I really was, but Evelyn gave me a look, telling me to step down. My jaw clenched in frustration, not wanting to just give in that easily. Sitting down on my chair, I tried to keep myself relaxed, feeling as if I could explode at any moment.
“So, what kind of treaty do you want that you’d go to such lengths as to threaten me with my woman?” I said coldly, piercing them with my gaze, “I let you get away with shooting me, but when it comes to her, I won’t be so nice. You’re asking for a war!”
“We’re not!” The leader protested, having Evelyn sit down on a chair, “we’re just tired of fighting with you, sir! We want to disband our gang and join yours. You can have all the territory, and all of the men we have gathered.”
This wasn’t what I had been expecting, but I wasn’t swayed, “and why would I want people such as yourself in my group? It’s obvious, that you can’t take care of yourselves.”
“We need guidance!” Another one piped in, looking nervous, “we never wanted to get on your bad side, but you wouldn’t let us have an audience with you. This was the case of a desperate measure.”
Looking into their eyes, I knew that they were telling me the truth, but I wasn’t sure what to say. There were so many wrongs that they have done against me that it would be crazy for me to even consider letting them into the group.
“Brigham, what do you suggest?” I asked him, really wanting his honest opinion.
Brigham was silent for a long moment.
“I think after everything they have done, they should be put through a test before deciding anything.” Brigham explained, crossing his arms over his chest, “all they have proved is that they know how to piss you off. What they need to prove is that they know how to take orders, to carry out missions, and do what needs to be done in the long run.”
“We can do that!” The leader agreed, desperation clearly on his face, “we can prove ourselves worthy of working for you, sir, all you have to do is tell us what needs to be done!”
I stroked my chin, eyeing them carefully. I was still conflicted, pursing my lips as I wondered if it would even be a good idea. But seeing how Evelyn was watching me, her eyes begging me to grab her, I decided what the hell.
“Fine.” I muttered, feeling a little agitated that I couldn’t kill them, “Brigham will be taking care of you then, and if he deems you worthy, then I’ll talk to you again. Now, release her.
The moment that Evelyn was released, she rushed across the room, jumping into my arms. They should be thankful my hands were full because I was quite tempted to kill each and every one of them, but they fled out of the room before I could even attempt to do it. Brigham raised his hand, winking slightly at me before he headed out the door, closing it behind him.
Evelyn was slightly shaking as she clutched onto my shirt, burying her face into my chest. I never really thought about how this would truly affect her since it was a daily occurrence for me to have my life threatened, and all I could do was wrap my arms around her, holding her close to me as I tried to soothe her.
“It’s okay, little one,” I whispered softly, pressing a soft kiss to her head, “daddy’s here. I am so sorry you had to go through that. If you want them dead, just say the word and I’ll make it happen.”
She fiercely shook her head, wordlessly clinging onto me as if her life depended on it. I guess it really did, but I didn’t want her to be afraid. I’ll make it so that she never has to worry about something like this ever again…