Chase had known that this meeting could possibly get out of hand, which is why he picked the usual place that knew what the men were capable of doing in times of anger. The waiters knew to keep their mouths shut and only bring them water. Then they were meant to stay out of the way.
The Marcel men, and also a few of the close guards, sat around the huge dented table. There were a few bullet holes, expressing just how these types of meetings often went in a place like this.
The place was dark, half cleaned, and in the part of town that wasn’t known for a lot of public activity.
Chase really didn’t want to have this meeting so late, but his wife was at home, fast asleep. They had gotten back from their brief honeymoon trip, and issues popped up left and right ever since he walked in his door.
He wanted to stay and take care of Summer, knowing she was tired after their rough sex up against the shower wall this morning, and the lack of sleep the night before. Heck, he was tired himself.
With a heavy heart, he had shut himself in his office and knew he needed to talk to his brothers, and the Don, before going forward. He made calls to meet late at night when eyes were less likely to be on them.
It was past midnight, but Chase couldn’t put off the meeting any longer than he already had. Things needed to be taken care of.
“Saul Rodrigo, Valerie’s father, is threatening to take action if I do not give up her whereabouts,” Chase said hotly. His elbows were on the tabletop, his body leaning forward. He held his own glass of water between his two hands. He looked over each of his men who sat in different positions. Some were leaned back against the back of their chairs, while a few were nervous and twitchy.
The last time they had a sit down like this, Ivan had pulled out his Glock, shooting one of his own guards because of his lack of attention, no matter the time that the meeting had been called.
“That’s too bad,” Ivan stated, giving Chase a look that said there wasn’t anything to be done right at that moment. “He knows as well as you of the consequences that will happen if he follows through.”
“That’s why I called this meeting,” Chase stated, his green eyes darkening. “He has made threats against all of us.”
“When?” Trent hissed, not knowing that little detail.
“Shortly after we got back,” Chase said in a deadly calm voice. “I had been ignoring his calls until that time.”
“What was the threat?” Peter asked out as he leaned back in the chair with a tired sigh.
“He’ll take my wife if Trent doesn’t tell Saul where his daughter is,” Chase said darkly, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the chair. “Even hinted about taking out some of the other guys who aren’t as strong. I know for a fact that he wouldn’t stop there if he so needed to.”
“I’m done with all of ‘em,” Trent huffed, slamming his hand on the table top and causing one of the waiters nearby to jump. “He’s not getting anything else from me, let alone his daughter’s whereabouts.”
Chase agreed with the bigger man; he never took threats lightly. They still needed Valerie, alive preferably. She’d most likely cave to do what Chase would need her to do. She’d be the person they would use against John Meads when the time came. She’d be the eyes and ears since Chase knew no one would be able to get close enough.
“What brought this on in the first place?” Ivan asked, his eyes looking over everyone in only a way he could. His face was stern as he thought about what could possibly happen.
“Saul is mad that I divorced Val, and now he can’t find her since she has no way to call anyone,” Trent said as he calmed slightly, but his voice still shook with hatred. “He seems to think I should have given her more of a chance over everything that has happened. Not to mention the fact she betrayed the family. That is one thing you don’t walk away from. She’s lucky to still be alive right now.”
“She knew the risks, and so does he,” Ryder stated in a lazy drawl, acting as though he was bored with it all. Ryder Gavin kept a close eye on everyone in the room, knowing that something could happen with a few of the other men that sat on the other side of the room.
“Be as is it may,” Ivan said, working his words slowly. One elbow now rested on the table, the other in his lap. “Rodrigo knows better than to make any sort of threats against us. I’ll call him and get this settled in a . . . . let’s say. . . . Polite manner.”
“Sounds good to me,” Trent said, feeling like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Ivan was able to talk just about anyone down from raised threats. “I will not take Valerie back as a wife. Ever.”
“I wouldn’t allow you to,” Chase replied before taking a sip of his water. “She is not allowed in our family in any sort of way again. Not after the way she acted.”
“Agreed,” Ivan stated with a nod of his head. “Was that all?”
“No,” Chase said. He was happy that it didn’t take as long to deal with the issue as he expected. “We need to decide on how we will still keep money coming in. Most of the illegal aspects have been cleared out. No more drugs nor prostitutes. All merchandise has been taken care of. I want to know what your thoughts are on this.”
Chase knew that money needed to be still flowing in somehow, though Marcel Industries would do more than taking care of him and his parents, he wanted to be able to sustain the rest of the ones who relied on him and been faithful to his family. He had a few ideas, of course, but as a family, he wanted everyone’s ideas on the subject. They already had some legal businesses but they needed more. One being Marcel Industries, while a great investment was still new at the moment and wouldn’t be enough in the long run with growing families for a while.
“We have a few bars we oversee, what about opening some more upscale clubs?" Trent mused, sitting back in his chair, his clear glass of water in his right hand. “But we do need more than that.”
"That’s an interesting thought, why don't you start checking into it Trent, maybe work with Asher on it?" Chase stated, leaning back in his chair.
“What about the under the counter loans we do? Is that not enough?” Ryder asked out, his eyes glancing around the room once more.
“Yes, but since that’s all under the table, I don’t feel that should be our only main source of income, not to mention sometimes we have to take drastic measures to get those loans back,” Chase deadpanned with a shrug of his shoulder. “I want us to do everything possible to not bring more eyes upon us. I don’t want to take such measures every time with even more questionable customers.”
“What if we do some sort of rental homes or even an apartment complex? There is all that land we have undeveloped. Then we’ll have to hire more crew, though,” Carter said off offhandedly.
“That would work,” Chase stated, leaning forward again. “I had thought of that but wasn’t sure if everyone would be on board. It could take a little more time to build all new buildings.”
“As long as we get some sort of income in, it’ll all workout,” Ivan stated, setting his glass back on the table, but leaving his hand wrapped around it. “Hire more help though Marcel Industries to tie them all together.”
“We need to go,” Ryder said, eyeing the group of men that were farther towards the back. “They are acting like they are waiting for something, and I personally do not want to be caught in the middle. Last time a fucker shot me, it took me weeks to be back at work.”
Chase gave a simple nod in agreement. Ryder was good at reading other people, which is why he was not only an FBI agent but also the youngest there.
One by one, the men stood from the table and made their way out of the low-income bar/ restaurant. Chase was first, along with his two bodyguards, Jackson and Carter. Next, Ivan and Ryder. Then Trent and a few other men.
They then each made their way to their cars, and right as they went to open the car doors, gunshots could be heard along with high pitched screams of terror from inside.
With it being in a part of town that gunf
ire was a normal thing, Chase simply gave a nod towards his car before getting in and starting the engine. Everyone followed the Prince’s lead and left the front door of the building was roughly opened and someone attempted to shoot at them.
Chase didn’t want to be in the middle of a gunfight any more than his men. Normally, when he wouldn’t have had a wife at home in his warm bed, he would gladly stay and fight, show everyone who really ran this town.
A few stray bullets bounced off the car's’ bumpers, but no one was hurt as they each sped off, going in different directions. Chase called back up and told them to hit the restaurant and see what they could find out about what had just happened.
It wasn’t the first time that shots were fired at them and it surely wouldn’t be the last either. Chase was sure they were not the main target this time around, but that wouldn’t stop him from looking into it more closely.
He kept glancing behind him as he drove the long way back home, just to make sure no one would try to follow him. He didn’t want to bring trouble to his own doorstep, not with his wife there.
Chase knew that his father would be able to handle Saul for the time being, so that was a weight lifted off his shoulders. Rodrigo would show back up in a few months, wanting something more from the Marcel family soon enough. That was just who that awful man was.
Chase did fear of what that could be, and if they weren’t trying to clean up he would just off the man. He’d make sure his guards knew about the possibilities of what was to come to make sure his wife was protected no matter what.
After driving for an extra fifteen minutes, Chase finally made it back home, still in one piece. The house was dark, just like he expected. It was almost three in the morning, and Summer was sure to still be asleep.
After pulling into the huge garage, seeing Asher’s car parked in there, Chase shut the door before disabling the alarm as soon as he entered through the door to not wake anyone up. After resetting the alarm, he quietly took his shoes off before walking into the dark kitchen, where he had left the stove light on to see his way through the house a little better.
He had left Asher there while he was at the meeting, knowing he’d be more than capable of keeping both girls safe if something were to happen.
Walking on socked feet, Chase began to unbutton his shirt as he walked through the dining room and to the stairs, yawning. A slight movement on the stairs startled him but before he could think to draw his gun from his back, Summer turned on a light. He was left speechless.
She stood about six stairs up, wearing a green silk robe that Chase had bought her just a couple weeks before. Her hair was pulled over one shoulder as she stood, braced against the railing looking sexy.
“I thought you’d be asleep,” Chase said once he could think straight again. He slowly took the stairs one at a time.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she stated, looking down at him with a smirk. “I missed you.”
“I see,” Chase said, reaching her and pulling her into him, where she instantly reached up and wound her arms around his neck.
Chase could feel her pebbled nipples against his chest as she had nothing on underneath the thin robe.
“Were you planning to stay up until I got home?” he whispered, his mouth at her ear as his hands ran up and down her back.
“I woke up and you were gone,” Summer spoke, her voice soft, but filled with worry. She knew he was leaving, as he had said he had something to take care of, but she had still been worried about her husband. How could she not, when there was still so many threats against both of them?
“I told you I’d be back,” Chase spoke just as quietly, tugging Summer closer to his chest if it was possible. He loved the feel of her against him, clothed or naked, he didn’t care. All he cared about was that she was his. And his alone.
“I know,” she said before lifting her face to meet his, seeking his lips out.
He leaned down, brushing his lips against hers urgently. He wasn’t sure what Summer’s fear was, but he’d do anything to make it a lesson. Her body was warm against his as he explored her mouth, after asking for entrance. They needed each other like they needed air.
“Let’s go back to bed,” Chase said, pulling away. Her blue eyes were heated as she gazed up at her husband.
She simply nodded, allowing him to grab her hand and lead her back to bed. She didn’t say anything, fearing if she did, she’d burst into tears. Summer had known that Chase would be safe, but she still worried. She worried something would happen to him while she wasn’t with him.
Even though it had been a couple of weeks since Jason’s death, Summer worried about her husband. She’d talk to Zinna, or maybe Kayla, some time later that week and see if it was normal.
“Stop thinking, baby,” Chase said, brushing her cheekbones with his thumbs as he cradled her face in his hands. She didn’t remember the walk from the stairs to their bedroom and blamed it on her thoughts.
Instead of answering, Summer gave him a shy smile. She wondered if she would ever be able to shut the over thinking off. She couldn’t stop thinking about how much she loved him. She couldn’t.
She then stood on her tiptoes, no longer able to wait for his lips against hers once more. She loved the feel of him. He was surprised by her actions but followed her lead as she demanded to be kissed.
And kiss he did. Somehow, he pushed her against the wall they were closest to, capturing her wet, warm mouth.
As her back was pushed up against the wall, she could feel Chase completely against her front, and let out a moan as he trailed kisses down to her neck. He couldn’t help himself, letting his hands sneak into the robe, finding her naked as the day she was born.
“Naughty Summer,” Chase stated, trailing his hands upwards and cupping her breasts. She arched into him, although she had a shy, thrilled looked on her face. “What shall I do to you, kitten.”
Summer whimpered as Chase pinched her nipples, a little harder than he had done before, just to see what her reaction would be. She didn’t disappoint. She moaned louder, shamelessly undoing his pants and pushing them down past his hips.
His cock was hard, and ready, for her. Only for her.
He knew he wasn’t going to last long, as she had her soft warm hand wrapped around his cock, he bucked against her, seeking more friction as he pinched her breast once more.
“Are you wet, my naughty girl?” Chase asked, his voice filled with lust.
“Yes,” Summer was able to whimper out in need. She wasn’t sure why, but she was dripping wet from just such little foreplay. He always knew how to work her.
“Wrap your legs around me,” Chase said.
Summer complied, putting his hands under her ass, supporting her. She had her legs tightly around his waist, feeling his hard length.
Before Chase could react, Summer lined his cock up with her entrance, and pushed down on him, making him hiss out loud.
“Oh, God,” Chase moaned, feeling her warmth surround him. “This will be fast.”
“Perfect,” Summer mumbled, moving her hands to his hair, pulling slightly against his longer strands.
Chase was surprised by how willing she was each time. And how she began to take control when she wanted something.
“I love you,” Chase said, thrusting into her, hitting her g-spot on each pass as her back banged into the wall behind her.
Summer let her head fall back, pushing her breasts out towards him. Chase was saddened her breasts weren't receiving the attention he thought they deserved, as he pounded into her since he helped to hold her up. Instead, he squeezed her ass, massaging almost to the point of pain.
Summer could feel her walls clenching around his cock as she came undone and he continued his assault on her pussy.
“Touch yourself,” he panted, feeling his balls tightening.
She did just that. She moved one hand down to her clit, putting just the right amount of pressure against it. Her pussy pulsed harder around him, causing his thrusts to
become erotic.
Two. Three. More thrusts, and as Summer’s pussy walls clamped down, Chase came with a growl. He emptied everything into her as his body stiffened and his forehead against her own.
Panting, Chase let his bright green eyes seek out her blue ones. Summer’s eyes were closed in bliss as her chest heaved with needed breaths. That had been one of the best orgasms they had both had so far, and Summer never wanted the bliss to end.
“That was . . . . wow,” Summer panted with a pleased smile on her face, as she let her legs drop around from his waist. His soft cock fell out of her, and she wanted him to stay in there for as long as possible.
Becoming His Princess (The Dark Prince #2) Page 14