GRAY.

The weather is way too sunny today. 

I hate it. It makes the world feel too bright when all I feel is dull on the inside. I love a good cloudy, sunless, and gloomy day. If it was up to me, every day would be like that. Why can’t it be? It’s kind of annoying if you ask me. I get into the back seat of my car and nod at my driver in acknowledgement. He does the same. I’m meeting my team for the preparations of how our operation will go in the Bahamas. My men are just as trained and skilful as I am. I won’t have anyone weak in my presence. 

My phone rings, and I look at the screen. It is my brother, Liam. I pick it up immediately because if something has happened, I need to know about it. He knows that he can trust me and that I will always be there for him. We might not be blood, but he is everything to me.

“Mom wants you home.” He says without a hello or unnecessary greetings.

He knows that my time is precious. Sometimes he’s like this and other times… Well, he is like any other teenager. He makes my lips twitch, fighting back a smile.

“Got it.” I murmur, knowing that this is all that I need to say.

I want to ask him about school when he hangs up. We will just have to talk when I go home. I should probably do that more often. Mom would love it. It’s just kind of hard with everything that has happened so far. I run my fingers through my hair as I feel myself getting closer to remembering the things I have locked out for a while. My phone suddenly beeps, indicating that I have a message. Very few people have my personal cell number so I’m curious to see who has the balls to message me like this. It is a video message from an unknown number. It just makes me frown instead, because that’s even more strange.

I press play.

It’s the video footage of me pointing a gun at Lennox but in the video, I can’t make out his face, but mine is clear as day. What the hell is this? My gun fires in the video, killing Lennox. That didn’t happen. I didn’t kill Lennox. I played the video again. Son of a bitch.

It looks as real as any footage from a surveillance camera. Someone’s playing a sick game on me, and I hate it. Is this enough to get me in jail? I mean the video is obviously fake, but how can I possibly prove that it is fake? I did go into Lennox’s home, and I did point a gun at him. I just didn’t pull the damn trigger. Now, no cop is going to believe that and even if they do, they will take their time to prove it. During that time, my ass will probably be sitting away rotting in prison.

I can’t go to prison. I must be around to protect my family. 

It is the only thing that father had asked of me when he was dying. I must at least be able to do that for him. I must. I send Holly the video, and I text her to find signs of manipulation. It has obviously been edited, even if it looks super real. I just know it’s not. Whoever did this know what he was doing but he must have a death wish. I’m not going to let him get away with this.

I just must prove it. 

My phone rings again, making me want to throw it at the wall when I see who it is from. It is from the same number that had sent the video. Good, let’s see what this person is up to. For their sake, I hope that they know what they are doing. They just messed with the wrong man. I know that the best thing that I’m going to do is slaughter him in the process. It’s as simple as that since he decided to die.

“Gray.” I murmur from my end after picking up.

“Hi, it’s Lennox.” Motherfucker, I can’t help but think after hearing his cheerful tone, “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I hope you don’t mind me calling.”

He’s been thinking about me… For a man who is about to be killed, he sure seems to have a lot of time on his hands. He even had enough time to tamper with the video footage. I should have just killed him last night and been done with it.

“What do you want?” I growl, fighting the urge to throw it out the window.

I hear Lennox pause on the other end. 

“You can’t find any fault in the video.” He tells me in that calm, collected voice that grinds my nerves, “the meta data are consistent, and the editing can’t be detected. The only people who know the video is fake are just you and me.”

He’s probably right.

I don’t think Holly will find anything that proves the video is fake. I rarely have regrets but right now, I regret not killing him when I had the chance. He’s going to be very lucky if I just shoot him instead of strangling him the way that I long to. What does he want from me is the bigger question.

“What do you want?” I ask him, knowing it must be something, “don’t beat around the bush, Lennox, I’m not in the mood.”

He’s obviously risking his life for something here because he knows it is not smart to mess with me, but he did it anyway. I hope whatever reason he has is worth it. I’m thinking of every way to kill him right now without any mercy. He will be lucky if he gets away with this unscathed because I want to murder him.

“I’ll send you the address. Let’s talk.” He murmurs before hanging up, not giving me a chance to protest.

The address comes to my phone not even a few seconds later and I just stare at it. I can’t go to prison. I can’t put my family at risk. I’m fucking mad but I pride myself in being very logical. I’ll go hear him out. Whatever Lennox wants, I’ll give it to him while I work on ways to prove the authenticity of the video footage. Then, I will kill him.

“Change of plans.” I tell my driver, telling him the address, “I need to go here instead.”

The twerp is lucky he’s cute.

Walking into the restaurant, I just hate it. It’s buzzing in here because it is lunch time. I think Lennox picked this place intentionally because he had to make sure that I didn’t kill him because there were too many people around. I must admit he is damn smart for a nearly dead man. I look around for him, trying to see those brown eyes again. Just where is he?

“Mr. Gray.” I hear a woman murmur, making me stiffen almost immediately, “it is nice to meet you.”

Turning around, I see a lady in uniform. Her name tag says ‘Maggie’. I wonder what she wants from me. She is probably the one assigned to fetch me for Lennox. I guess he doesn’t have the balls to face me yet but he’s probably smart for that. I’m tempted to kill him the minute that I see him.

“Yes.” Is all I say to her.

She gives me a big smile, “follow me please. Mr. Cambridge is expecting you.”

I nod, knowing that I don’t need to say anything else. She starts to walk ahead of me, and I must slow down my strides to match hers. Quite annoying. She leads me to the balcony which is a secluded area from the main dining area. I see Lennox leaning against the railings, his back facing me. His brown hair is moving in the direction of the breeze, giving him this soft, innocent look. It is nice up here. He is beautiful.

“I have Mr. Gray here, Mr. Cambridge.” Maggie murmurs, motioning me to go inside. “Go on then, sir.”

Lennox turns around, giving us his bright smile that unsettles me. I don’t understand why he’s so happy. He looks at me for a moment before turning his attention back to Maggie. It made me feel even more weird, as if he was devouring me with his gaze. It was kind of unnerving, unsure of what to do next.

“Thanks, Maggie.” He tells her, still smiling, “I appreciate it.”

Maggie nods before taking her leave. I don’t know why I feel odd at the fact that he is smiling at someone who isn’t me. 

“Sit.” He gestures to the two chairs beside him, “or stand, whatever you want.”

Shit, don’t have to tell me twice. I unbutton my suit before taking my seat. I look at the hot coffee in front of me with disdain. Lennox is quick to sit, too. I don’t know if I can honestly trust him not to poison me. He might know I want to kill him. I mean, I’m sure it is on my face right now.

“Oh, I ordered you coffee. Black.” He explains, looking a little more nervous than he was going to let on, “I hope you like it. I kind of just guessed your tastes.”

“I can see that.” I grumble, trying to not wrinkle my nose with disgust.

I don’t like my coffee black. It is awful. I understand why people would assume that is my preference though. As black as my soul is what they would end up telling me.

“I could get you a new one if you don’t want that.” He offers, trying to make the peace, “I was kind of guessing on what I thought you would like. I couldn’t be sure what would come from it if I did the wrong thing.”

I shake my head as I look up from the coffee and stare at him. His eyes are a beautiful brown. I didn’t notice that last night. I don’t know why he is able to make me feel so weird, but I don’t like it. I don’t want to admit that he is beautiful. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I know he would be pleased if he knew.

“Let’s get to the point.” I tell him, folding my arms across my chest, my gun neatly tucked away, “what the hell do you want with me, and do you have a death wish?”

I can use it if need be.

I want to hear what he wants, not drink coffee with him like we are old buddies. I don’t know why he thinks that he can act cute because I don’t like it one bit and it makes me hate him at this point. I don’t like playing the games, it just pisses me off more than I already am. He just nods, probably realising that he is treading on thin ice.

“Straight to business, I see.” He murmurs, but I say nothing, “I want you to protect me.”

If I could laugh, I would.

If only he knew the number of ways that I have tried to kill him in my mind today. Let’s not mention that I literally pointed a gun at him yesterday. What is he thinking? Does he honestly think it is going to work like that because I can assure him right here and now that it won’t happen. I’m not the kind of person who will just let this slide. I don’t protect people; did he forget this? He is really testing my patience now.

“I don’t protect people.” I remind him, wondering if he hit himself on the head between last night and now, “I kill them.”

“I know that.” He whispers, fiddling with his fingers, “it’s just…”

“Do you?” I ask him, a little fed up with his ignorance, “I don’t think that you do. I’m not a bodyguard, and if someone tries to kill you right now, I’ll gladly watch them do it.”

Lennox takes in my words for a few moments as he should. There is no way on Earth that I’ll be his bodyguard. I have shit to do. I can’t watch him twenty-four seven. I’ll kill him myself an hour into it. I don’t know why he thinks that I owe him anything. If there weren’t so many people, I would have shot him where he stood. He’s too cute to be bloody though.

“You’re going to have a hard time proving that the video is fake, Silas.” He tells me, folding his arms across his chest, “so you might as well work with me.”

“It’s Gray.” I growled at him, irritated, “and I would watch what you say.”

Only a few people can call me Silas and he isn’t one of them. He sips his coffee, not seeming to care. I don’t do anything with mine. I’m not getting that bitter taste in my mouth. I’m mad about a lot already for today, I don’t need something else bringing me down. This man is pissing me the hell off.

“If anything happens to me, the cops will get the video.” He continues, making me realise precisely what he was going to use that video for, “you don’t want to go to prison for murder, and I don’t want to die. So, I need you to protect me.”

“I’ll get a good lawyer.” Is all that I can tell him.

“The cops are interested in you. The only reason that you’re a free man is because they don’t have evidence.” He plainly states, knowing he is right and there is nothing that I can say about it, “I bet they are going to dig up all the old cases. Even if you do find someone to prove the video’s authenticity, you’ll still go to prison for several other charges because you and I both know that the only thing fake about the video is the gunshot.”

I continue to stare at him blankly, willing my face to show no emotion. I can’t afford to serve any time in prison. As much as I hate to admit it, Lennox is right. I am being backed into a corner, and I despise it. It is imperative that the video does not fall into the hands of the police. The little bastard is smart.

“You’re one of the best at what you do. Everyone in the mafia world knows that.” Lennox adds simply, shrugging his shoulders as he lounges back, making sure that I’m not going to be able to fight back against him, “you said that whoever is after me will send more people. If anyone can fight them off, it is you.”

Lennox is desperate. 

I see that now. Like everyone else, he doesn’t want to die. From what Holly has told me, he is one of the good guys. It is rare to see one of those around here. When he took over as the Boss of the Black Vipers, he totally reinvented it. They are not involved in selling drugs or trafficking anymore. If this was just anyone, he would have been killed, but Lennox brought something different into the mafia world.

Security. Something that people desperately do need.

Every dirty secret, every offshore account, every amount of money the gangs make is controlled by him. They trust in him to secure their everything, and he does. In turn, he gets security for him and his family. Like I have said before, no one dares to kill him. He is too useful to them alive. No one dares to cross him either. He holds all the cards, and now, he has the perfect way to hold onto me and use me in any way that he sees fit.

I hate it.