*Leo”
“You realize that you are actually brooding like a stubborn teenager, right?”
I shifted my slitted gaze to Bianca but my expression softened imdiately when she returned my stare evenly.
I averted my eyes and lowered myself onto the edge of the bed so that I could put on my shoes. I was even aware that my movents were jerky and annoyed. Perhaps I was acting like an adolescent but I didn’t really care at the mont.
I had a terrible ti sleeping the night before and I couldn’t help but bla Darion. I was still plagued by nightmares of what would have happened if Bianca hadn’t gotten out of that situation the other day unscathed.
It had been my sole goal for months now to keep Bianca safe and away from the Angels and that had all gone out the window because of Darion’s reckless, idiotic stunt.
Very real fear gripped my chest when I thought about how close I had been to losing her. I couldn’t believe that punk was still in our house. I should have kicked him out but Bianca insisted that he should be allowed to stay since he had nowhere else to go.
I tensed when sothing touched my shoulders. I was only able to relax slightly when I realized that it was Bianca. She slid her slim hands over my upper arms and then to my tight shoulder blades, trying to rub out the stiffness.
“That was really kind of you to let Darion stay with us,” she said in her soft, velvety voice. “I know how hard that decision was for you but I really do believe you made the right one.”
I smirked, despite the fact that I was still simring. “If it had been entirely up to , the little bastard would be out of here.”
Bianca frowned. “It was up to you,” she said, still running her hands up and down my back. It wasn’t doing too much in the way of calming though.
I chuckled without humor. “I wouldn’t say that,” I said. I shook my head. “The only reason Darion is still here is because you wanted him to stay. I did it for you.”
Bianca huffed and removed her hands from so she could cross her arms over her chest. “Just because you did it for doesn’t an it wasn’t your decision,” she pointed out curtly.
I couldn’t argue with that logic even though I badly wanted to. I blinked up at her in amazent. “I just can’t believe you actually forgave the asshole,” I said, thinking aloud. “It feels like just yesterday when you were insisting that I get rid of him after what he did to Amara.”
Bianca paused and looked away, as if she had just considered that for the first ti as well. “Yeah,” she said slowly. “I was really angry at him for a long ti. But you should have seen the way he helped , Leo. There is good in him. I know that now.”
The corner of my mouth quirked in amusent, still unable to believe that I was hearing my future wife actually defend the little punk. I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her bare shoulder. “Darion is very fortunate that you have a kinder heart than I do.”
She tilted her head with amusent, her lips tilting up in a smirk. I wondered idly if she got the look from hanging out with too much. “I wouldn’t say that,” she said but her cheekbones colored at my words. “You’re just as kind if not kinder.”
I shook my head at her, my mood falling when I thought about just how not kind I was about to be.
I kissed my future wife on the forehead and ordered her to sleep a little longer before I grabbed my stuff and headed down the stairs.
I told Darion he better be ready to leave before I got down the stairs and still was a bit surprised when I found him standing by the front door ready to go. He glanced up at briefly when he heard the sound of my boots on the stairs but then quickly averted his eyes.
Good. He better not try to cross after what he did.
I felt my eyes narrow as I approached him. He didn’t move, even when I was standing directly in front of him but I did notice the way he tightened his hand on his bag strap nervously.
I saw red again when I rembered the real fear I felt when I learned Bianca had been at that race. “I hope you are aware that there’s a ti limit for you to get your shit together,” I waited for him to reluctantly et my gaze before continuing. “The only reason you’re still here is because Bianca has found it in her heart to forgive you for all of your bullshit.”
A tick ford in Darion’s jaw. “I understand-” he started but I cut him off.
“I’m not finished,” I snapped sharply, making Darion actually flinch. I lowered my voice to a nacing one. “And you’d better believe that if you fuck up again, your ass will be out on the streets.”
Darion clenched his fists at his sides but he nodded. “I understand that I fucked up,” he said and there was a touch of remorse in his tone. He took a long breath. “I apologize. It won’t happen again.”
I stared at him, searching his face. His expression was genuine but if he thought I was going to go easy on him just because he apologized, he had another thing coming.
“I hope so for your sake,” I said, reaching past him to open the front door. “Let’s go. I hope you’re ready to experience your first day of hell.”
Darion straightened, seeming resigned to his fate and went through the open door I indicated.
“Again,” I demanded through my teeth.
Darion was soaked in sweat and panting hard but he obeyed, striking the man-shaped punching bag again with his fists. I watched with satisfaction as he gasped from all the exertion. I was forcing him to run these drills for the past couple of hours.
It had been a shockingly slow day at the warehouse. I forced him to go through every eting with and take annoyingly detailed notes. I gave him ten minutes to eat lunch and then we were out all afternoon, overseeing so different territories. I sent him to climb on top of one of the roofs to do so security checks.
The roof was difficult to get to and I forced him to climb up the side with so climbing equipnt. I could tell that he was already exhausted after that assignnt. That was when I decided it was ti to head back to the warehouse and run so drills.
“Alright, you’re dismissed,” I said gruffly when it looked like he was close to passing out. “Your final assignnt for the day is to go with a couple of our guys to oversee so construction going on at one of our sites. You leave in five minutes. That should be more than enough ti for you to eat before you go.”
Darion looked ready to argue but knew if he did, he wouldn’t have ti to eat anything so he turned and stalked off without another word.
I watched him go for a second before turning to head into my office. Since I was taking ti out of my day to ntor Darion, I didn’t have ti to do any of my paperwork during the day. It was going to be another late night for but that was fine. I had to remind myself that this wasn’t forever. I would have plenty of nights with Bianca in the future.
I was a couple of hours into working through the tedious paperwork when my phone blared angrily. I picked it up, my temper flaring at being interrupted.
I listened to one of our guys talk for a couple of seconds before standing abruptly, nearly knocking my desk over in my haste. “I’m on my way,” I said tightly.
About an hour later, I was shoving Darion through the front door of the compound. He and a few of our other guys got intercepted on their way back to the warehouse and were jumped by Angel mbers. Thankfully, none of them had major injuries but they had needed patching up.
Darion glowered at . “Don’t act like it was my choice to get attacked,” he couldn’t help but snap.
I glared right back, knowing that he was right. This wasn’t his doing but it was because of him that the Angels were pissed off. They were demanding that Darion be handed over to repay his debts.
“What else did they say,” I demanded through my teeth, in no mood to show him any sympathy despite the fact that he was covered in cuts and bruises.
Darion was more than a little angry. He was practically shaking with rage as he recounted the attack. “They’re blaming for the crash,” he spat. “Despite the fact that they were just sloppy drivers.”
I rolled my eyes, despite the seriousness of this whole situation. It was all starting to make sense. Darion got too big of a head because he learned how to race at a young age. So of my early research on the kid revealed his parents put him in lessons when he was twelve and he spent years learning the ropes.
It was no wonder he wanted to show off that night.
And now, we were going to have to pay the price for it.
“So what happened that night then?” I asked tersely, finally feeling so tension leave my body. “If you didn’t cause the crash, how did it happen?”
“Those bastards tried to run off the road,” Darion answered. He scoffed and shook his head. “Serves him right. He ended up losing control himself for his trouble.”
I ignored his self-righteous attitude, suddenly tempted to puml him into the floor for it since it’s what caused this whole ss. I forced myself to take a long breath, reminding myself that he was already paying heavily for his mistakes. Punishing him further wasn’t going to make this issue go away unfortunately.
Although, I wouldn’t be devastated to test that theory a little.
Plus, I believed what he said. It was exactly what Bianca recounted as well so I knew he was telling the truth.
“Just lay low until we get this figured out,” I told him curtly, waving him off in clear dismissal. “We can’t afford to bring more attention to ourselves at the mont.”
Darion looked like he wanted to say sothing else but wisely thought better of it and nodded before heading up the stairs to his room.
I cursed and turned to the kitchen, desperately needing a drink. Even if Darion was telling the truth, that didn’t an that the Angels were going to let this go.
And that ant that there would undoubtedly be hell to pay.
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