Noelle loved him. She was pregnant with his child.
Evil knew what he had to do. With the threat still hanging over Noelle’s head, he had to make sure he took care of it.
The next day, while Noelle was sleeping, he left her to her peaceful dreams while he went and dealt with the Franco Mafia.
It was simple. He drove right into their territory where the capo lived, killed him and several of his soldiers, and then proceeded to call the boss of the Franco Mafia. This ended up in a growling match, which settled in an agreed-upon meeting.
Evil wasn’t a particularly liked person byanyone. Not by the mafia, not by anyone, mainly because he didn’t follow their codes. By killing one of their capos, in a move considered unprovoked, he’d instilled fear.
He was more than fine with that. This was how he’d taken over his city.
The FrancoMafia were unprepared and believed no one was even capable of taking them out. He’d done this years ago, and if needed, he would do it again and control this city as much as his own.
They had taken for granted what they had. Evil never did. He came from nothing. He was nothing. All his life, that was what he’d been told. Even his name, they had attempted to change it so many times, but according to the documents, he’d been with a parent long enough to name him.
Evilnever should have been on his birth certificate, but it had gotten through and approved, and he had lived up to every single nuance of his name.
“Sir, what is the game plan here?” Arnold asked.
“Simple, they agree to leave me, my wife, and my family alone, and we’ll get along peacefully. If they don’t, then I will make sure they live in constant fear as I pick them off one by one, killing every single person who gets in my way.”
Arnold nodded. “Good plan.”
He’d been on the streets, just like him. Arnold hadn’t been able to read or write.All he had were his fists, and even then, some of the fighters had tried to manipulate him. Evil had been at one of the fights where the main guy running the show had been trying to use math to take a large portion of Arnold’s profit.
Evil had stepped in.The guy ended up dead, and Arnold and he had become friends.
No one took the piss out of Arnold, and when he’d gotten enough funds and power together, he’d made sure to get Arnold a tutor. Funnily enough, that tutor had become his wife, and they now hadthree kids together.
“What’s it like being a dad?”he asked.
Arnold turned toward him with a frown. “A dad?”
“Yeah, you havethree kids. A wife.”
His friend chuckled. “It’s the most—it’s amazing. Don’t get me wrong, there are times it’s a pain in the ass, and I have some ungrateful brats, and they make me so frustrated, but it is all good. They don’t know what it’s like to be me, to be us. It’s not a life I ever want for them. Not a life I would wish on any young child.”
Evil put his hand on hisfriend’s shoulder. “We did it, my friend.”
“Yeah, and if it hadn’t been for you, I’d still be back, fighting for every single scrap.”
He’d learned that even though Arnold had been fighting for a long time, he’d also struggled to earn a decent income. Mostof the fight organizers had known Arnold couldn’t read or write, let alone understand math, and they’d taken advantage. They hadn’t any longer. Evil took care of it.
“Noelle’s pregnant.”
“Congratulations, man.” Arnold pulled him in for a hug. “You must befucking thrilled.”
“Yeah, I am.” He couldn’t help but smile.“And I want her to marry me. She told me that she loved me.”
Arnold paused and looked at him. “Well.”
“You know I love her.”
“I know that and all the guys know how you feel, but does Noelle?”
Heshook his head.
“Then you’ve got to tell her how you feel.Don’t leave a girl hanging too long. Before you know it, you become the enemy, and trust me, there’s nothing worse in the world than having the woman you love not want to speak to you because of a big misunderstanding.”