Page 50

I keep pacing my front room. Jayme is helping me figure out what I will say to Cassie. I need to figure it out fast because I need to tell her today. I don’t want her going back with that piece of shit, Theo. I could tell he had hurt her more since the parking lot; more marks were visible this morning when her makeup smeared.

“Just invite her to dinner, man. She won’t suspect a thing. I’ll get a hotel for the night, so you have privacy. That way, you can tell her everything.”

"That's a great plan. Ok, I will text her and see where she’s at."

Lucian- * hey! How did your night go? What are you up to tonight?*

"Ok, what should I make for dinner?" I ask Jayme.

"Tacos and margaritas?" Jayme laughs.

"No, but I still need to grab some things. Wanna join me?”

"Sure. Beats sitting round twiddling my thumbs."

I glance at my phone to see if she has texted back.

* unread *

Hmm. That's not like her. She always has her phone on her.

"I’m going to call her real quick."

*Ring*

Straight to voicemail.

*This is Cassie. You know what to do.*

"Hey Cass, it’s Lucian. Get ahold of me when you get this. I need to talk to you."

Ok Lucian, don’t panic. She’s fine. Her phone is just probably dead cause she didn’t turn it off before putting it in the locker at Vixens. And she still hasn’t charged it at... 4 pm. Fuck something is wrong.

"Okay, are we going?" Jayme looks at me suspiciously. "She’s going to be okay, Lucian. She probably doesn't have her phone."

"You're right. Of course. Ok. Let’s go!" In the back of my mind, though, I feel like something is wrong.

We get back home about two hours later. Cassie still hasn’t read my text. I’ve called her phone seven times and left three voicemails, but nothing. Her phone is also still off. This isn’t like her, and I’m starting to worry.

“OK, just wait a bit before you jump to conclusions, Lucian. I can see you panicking.”

“It’s just not like her.”

“You guys fought; maybe she is still pissy about that. Just give her till tomorrow morning.”

“Fine.” I keep my phone next to me all night, ringer full blast, waiting for her to respond.

I must have fallen asleep around 1 am. When I wake up at 7, the messages are all still unread. Her phone is still going to voicemail. And now I am about to call the police and file a missing person’s report.

"Hey. I’m going to run over to her apartment really quick and see if she is there." I shout as I pass Jayme’s door, expecting him to still be in bed. But when I get to the front room, he is already dressed and sitting on the couch.

"Oh, and you aren’t thinking of storming over to Blackmore’s manor, demanding to know where she is?" He accuses. Shit.

"I know he has something to do with this. He hurt her more than once; what’s to say he won't do it again? Especially after the auction."

"Why would he put her in the auction if he is so possessive of her? It makes no sense." I have an idea, though.

"He kept saying he was going to punish her for cheating on him when he assumed she was with me. I think he put her in the auction to scare her, but it backfired. I think he was always planning on bidding on her from the start, but he didn’t know we would be there, too."

"Wait, how do you know he was going to punish her?"

Oops.

"Um, well, I've been keeping tabs on her phone. Any time she walks away from it, I check to see what he texted her."

"SO YOU KNEW SHE WAS INTO THIS LIFESTYLE!!?!?" He shouts.

"I mean sort of." I then continue to tell him about the bar, her getting wasted, taking care of her, snooping through the phone, blocking Alec, the KNKI app, and finding out about her Dom.

"Dude, such an invasion of privacy." He chuckles. "How did it take you till last night to realize you were in love with her?"

"I... I don’t know, man. I just thought I was being like a protective older brother or something. But these last few days have changed everything. Especially that night. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have doors to bust open." I wink.

"Oh no, not without me fucker. If you are going there, you need backup. He most likely has armed guards." Jayme says. Throwing his coat over his shoulder.

"What the hell are we going to do up against armed guards," I ask.

"Not we, me. I was going to wait till we were back in California, and I knew you were all in before letting you in on this, but now I guess it’s on a need-to-know basis, and you need to know. So, West Enterprise is a front for the real business that my family conducts."

I scoff

"What, are you guys into some shady shit? Dealing with the Cartel or something?"

"Pshh, No. My father helps run one of the largest Italian American mafia families in California, the Morelli’s are our cousins. They run L.A. We run Santa Monica. My father used my mother’s maiden name to start the business. No one would want a security company ran by the Morellis. So we became the West's. It's such a boring name. Any who, I’m next in line after my cousin Charlie to run L.A., but I am taking over Santa Monica when Pops retires."

I’m shocked. It makes sense now, tho, his knowledge of guns, his fighting reflexes, the money, and his connections to everything.

"Oh, and one part of my family owns FoxDen, and another runs Vixens. Mr. Snider is married to Lilly Morelli, my 2nd cousin. See, that’s why we can get in with the friends and family discount."

I’m pretty sure I’ve just been sitting here with my mouth open because my throat is insanely dry. I still can’t believe this.

"Oh also, Blackmore. Also mobster. And he is of the worst kind because he is so cocky he flaunts his name. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize it."

"Sorry, I don’t subscribe to mobster monthly." I roll my eyes. "So let me get this straight. You are part of the Italian mafia, your dad helps run it, you are 2nd in line to take over, the company is a front company, and you were going to wait till I was fully your number 2 to fucking tell me? What if I got shot at before then?"

Jayme is literally hunched over laughing now.

"Lucian, I expected a man like you, from New York of all places, would be able to handle a little violence. Not once have I ever put your life in danger, if that’s what you are wondering. Again, I’m not like Blackmore. I don’t flaunt my name. I prefer to stay under the radar. And yes, I wanted to know you were 100% in it for the company and not for money or status like the rest of the fuckers. I needed someone who had my back like a brother." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But you gotta understand, I had to also be sure you didn’t have ties back home to any rivals."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense. Ughhh, ok fine. You still aren’t off the hook. I want to know more about all of it. Especially if I’m going to be your right-hand man, I need to train and learn how to shoot?"

"No time like the present." He tosses me over a gun. The most interaction I have had with a gun is in video games, fake cosplay ones, and one horrible hunting trip my uncle took me on when I was 12. Well, here goes nothing.