15
Grace
Ray drops me off at school after I finish disposing of Callum's body. I'm just in time to meet Kennedy at my locker. This has been a fucking day! Hell, the last week has been just ridiculous.
I must admit, that dark, twisted part of me was flattered that Christian would protect me like that. I know it's wrong on a basic normal human level but...I'm not exactly normal. I am dark and twisted as well as a little too comfortable with violence and gore. I'm all kinds of fucked up.
Kennedy is waiting for me with a big grin. What now?
"What did you do?" I ask.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Bullshit. I narrow my eyes in suspicion and she breaks. If only all my interrogations were this easy. "So, I hear we're going to a pub gig with Keir and Alek." She grins.
"Yep. I didn't get a chance to ask if you wanted to come." I grimace.
"I don't know why you want me to go at all. Go with him. Have fun." She urges.
"It's not like that." I try but she blows a raspberry at me.
"That's bullshit and you know it." She argues. I can't fucking do this!
"Do you want to come or not?" I ask losing a bit of my cool. How is it that I can get shot at, stabbed, and kill people and not break a sweat but any mention of these guys and I'm a mess of nerves and hormones? "Sorry, I just... I can't, okay? Please, leave it."
She huffs but doesn't push it anymore.
"Fine, I'll come with you."
"Thank you." I smile. "Wanna get ready at my place? Keir is picking us up at seven."
"I need to have dinner with the parents tonight. I'll be over at your place just before then, though." She smiles as we head to my bike.
I see a Bugatti parked in the driveway as I pull in after dropping off Kennedy. I make my way inside and stop in my tracks at the sight of Jai in the waiting room.
"Grace?" He says, looking shocked. Well, that answers that question. Not here for me.
"Jai. Hi." I say, letting my confusion show.
"What are you doing here?" He asks. He changed his hair.
Long soft black hair shaved into a fade on the sides I just want to run my hands through it again.
His brows are pulled down making him look hard but I know how his face looks when he's laughing and when he's cumming.
Oh, I need to leave. Like twenty minutes ago.
"Uh...."
"Oh, I see you've met my niece, Mr. Tanaka. Grace, how was your day?" Andras walks in with his no-nonsense business tone.
"It was okay." I shrug. "I'll leave you guys to your business." I smile and turn to leave.
"Grace?" Andras says. Don't make me stay, don't make me stay. I turn to look at Andras. "What's on your forehead?" He asks. I reach up to touch it and feel the tender bruise.
"Oh! Some jackass didn't hear me when I said no. I took care of it." I shrug with a smile. He snorts.
"You okay?" He asks and I nod. "Alright, see you at dinner."
"See you then. Bye, Jai." I turn and hurry to my room. I change into leggings and a loose blue tank top over a sports bra. I need to get some more of this energy out before I snap.
I say hi to Ruby and Richard and make my way to the gym. I blast AC/DC and start hitting the punching bag. I’m only there for a few minutes when I see Richard at the door in a black tracksuit.
"May I join you?" He asks.
"Of course. How's it going, Richard?"
"Very well. Andras is worried about you. I heard you were in a fight today?" He mentions dropping down into effortless push-ups. I knew there was more to him than just a butler.
"Yeah... this guy, Callum, pinned me to the lockers and implied that he would enjoy me putting up a fight against him.
" I shudder at the thought. I can't think too much on it or I'll fall into my memories and I've worked hard to squash those fuckers down.
"He didn't," I state with a vicious grin. Richard nods.
"Is he still alive?" He asks making me smile. I see the violence in his eyes. He's like me, a little dark and twisted.
"I left him bleeding on the floor," I admit.
"Do you need some help with the issue?" He presses.
"No. It seems he wasn't in class for the rest of the day." I shrug with a tiny smile. Richard smirks and nods his understanding.
"You know, you have everyone fooled thinking you're thislittle girl scared of her own shadow.
" He muses. "When I led you to the parlour that first day you didn't look scared at all.
You were looking at exits and cameras and your surroundings.
You are a smart girl. Use the innocent mask when you can.
I know you saw through my mask that first day too.
" He smiles getting up and raising himself into pull-ups. I fucking knew it!
"Thank you. I could use a friend who understands all this." I hope he takes the olive branch and doesn't rat me out.
"You have more than you know." He smiles.
"Any chance you're going to tell me who?" I ask.
"Let's just say, if there was ever a place for... someone of your talents, it's here." He evades. "You have some aggression you need to get out. Would you like to spar?" He asks.
"I have a fight tomorrow. Don't injure me too badly." I smile. I'm serious though. He has a foot on me and at least a hundred pounds of muscle if he can just throw himself into twenty pull-ups without even breathing heavily.
"I would never dream of hurting you, Grace. You make too many people happy, myself included." He grins. I try to ignore that comment mainly because I don't know what to do with it.
"Alright, let's go," I say walking over to the mats and fighting off the feels. We bump knuckles and start circling.
He comes at me quickly and tries to put me in a choke-hold but I tuck my chin and drop as I reach for his head throwing him to the mats.
"Excellent." He beams and gestures for me to attack.
I see he's feigning a weak left knee. He didn't have a bad knee before.
So I look him over and don't see another weakness.
He is a wall. Okay, he's taller and heavier than me but he's not big.
So he'll have some flexibility but probably not as much as me.
I am younger and female which puts me at an advantage for flexibility.
I charge forward and slide through his legs and land hits with my middle and index knuckles to the backs of his knees. He drops to them and laughs turning to grab me. I grab his wrist and pull it back and send him forward into the mats forcing him to tap out.
"You are really good." Richard crows.
"I told you," Andras says from the doorway. Jesus, I didn't even see him. "I'm glad you guys are getting along but Ruby says dinner is ready."
We make our way to the table. Ruby made chicken pot pies. Jai must have left while we were in the gym.
"So, how do you know Mr. Tanaka?" Andras asks.
"We met at one of my fights." That's enough, right?
"He asked me for my blessing to ask you out." He smirks. Jesus!! Why!?
"Great..." I mutter stabbing at my dinner.
"I've had a lot of those this week." He mentions casually.
"I heard," I mutter.
"And?" Ruby asks excitedly.
"I... I'm not interested." In dying.
"No one?" Richard asks with a raised eyebrow. Gossips! The lot of them! "Remember what I said. You have more friends that understand than you think." He smiles gently. Fine! Here it goes.
"Okay, so here's the thing. The guys I'm interested in and that I know are interested in me are all from mob families." There! I said it! Happy?
" All of them? " Ruby asks.
"Yes. I've been saying no all week." I explain.
"Shit," Andras mutters.
"Yeah!" I nod.
"I knew about Christian and McConnell," Andras says.
"Yeah, add in Jai from the Yakuza, and Keir from the Bratva," I explain. "I managed to talk down Keir to just being friends, but... I don't know what else to do." I confess.
"Hmmm... let me think on that," Richard says with a nod.
"I'm rooting for Christian. He's always so sweet." Ruby smiles dreamily. I just shake my head. Gossips, all of them!
"Oh, Kennedy and I are going out with Keir and his friend to see a band tonight. Pick up is at seven." I let them know.
"What band?" Andras asks.
"I have no idea," I admit. "Some friends of Keir's."
"May I suggest finding a date that isn't one of these boys?" Richard asks .
"More boys? No, I'm good." I chuckle. He laughs too.
"That is a fair point. Never mind that then." He chuckles.
"It's almost six-thirty. You better get dressed." Ruby says.
"Thank you, guys." I smile before racing off to my room.
Jai
This is where Grace lives now? Rudy said she had moved, but I didn't expect her to be a Van Doren.
Mr. Van Doren is frigging scary. I understand why no one else wanted to talk to him. I'm glad I volunteered, though. I found Grace.
She barely gave me the time of day, which kind of hurt, but I'm on business anyway. I don't want her involved if I can help it. She's too sweet for this kind of thing.
I did, however, get the balls to ask Mr. Van Doren for his blessing to ask her out. I figured she might like the whole gentleman approach after the last time we were together.
Last time, I was not such a gentleman. She didn't seem to mind, but she deserves to have all the stops pulled out for her. She is something special, and I intend to treat her as such.
I pull into the parking lot and head into the pub where I'm meeting Tai. I find him at the bar already drunk and chatting up a pink-haired girl who looks like she would love to be anywhere else.
"Leave the poor girl alone, Tai." I chuckle slinging an arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, man!" He grins. "You made it!" How is he drunk already? It's not even nine.
"Yeah, sorry I'm late. Had to report back." I shrug .
"All good, my man! I was just talking to this lovely lady. She said she's not interested, but I bet her a hundred bucks I could change her mind." He boasts. Oh god.
"No, I said I was gay." She corrects with a raised eyebrow. Oh god! That's even worse.
"Tai, that's not how that works. Pay the lady her winnings, and let's get you out of here before you hurt yourself...or someone hurts you." I suggest.
"Yeah, you're probably right." He sighs giving the girl two hundred. She goes to argue, but I shake my head.
"Keep it. Trust me." I assure her. He's probably been harassing her for a while. She earned it by not decking him.
"Is this guy still bugging you, Ken?" A hard female voice calls.
"No, I'm good. He's leaving with a friend." Ken calls back before turning to me. "Thanks, man." I nod and start herding Tai out of the pub.
Well, that was a fun night out.