Art of War

by Monique Orgeron

  Zander

  I’m so proud of Red as I watch her on the podium, she comes alive with everyone watching her. Then she wiggles her ass for them, and I can’t help smiling from ear to ear. She sure knows how to make a crowd rowdy. As she makes her way to us, I watch every step she makes. Damn, if that woman doesn’t know how to walk! I’m even enjoying the eyes she’s getting from the other men. I’m not one for jealousy, I’m secure enough to know that she won’t go home with any of them. So, let them enjoy the view because it belongs to me.

  Liam and I explain to her that Gabriel is in the game, and when Liam tells her why, I see the rage in her wanting to explode. Thank God Fallon and Avery walk up right before Red can explode. When Fallon leans on me, I wrap my arm around her, like always. Then that’s when I see it. Red’s eyes go straight to Fallon, and it looks like she’s ready for a catfight. Interesting! So, I check my theory and give Fallon’s head a kiss, and damn, the look on Murphy’s face is priceless.

  I can’t help laughing out loud and tell her, “I would like to introduce Liam’s wife, Avery Stern. I call her Kid.” Avery pushes my side and says, “Only you, Zander!” Murphy shakes Avery’s hand and then stares at Fallon. I wait about a minute, letting her wonder, so I can enjoy myself for just a little while longer before I put her mind at ease.

  “I would also like to introduce my other sister-in-law, Fallon Stern, she’s married to my brother Gabriel.”

  Fallon and Murphy shake hands and start up a conversation. I then feel Cherry rub my arm. I look down at her, and she’s smiling. “You saw that, too, didn’t you?” I nod my head. “You’re doing great, Zander.”

  Am I? I look at the girls as they’re in deep conversation, and it makes me hope I’m doing it right. I see everything I want in Murphy. And the girls and my brothers seem to have really taken to her. Theo even likes her. I wish none of this business with the casino was in our way.

  Someone comes to asks Murphy something. She then asks us to excuse her and walks away. The hustle and bustle of a casino never ends. While Murphys gone we continue talking with Cherry and watch the poker tournament.

  I’m enjoying myself but Murphy’s been gone a while. I start getting nervous so I look around the casino for her and I see her walking towards us. I’m once again entranced by her as she gets closer but then suddenly she grabs the wall. Without saying a word, I run to her.

  When I get to her I reach out and hold her straight up, noticing how pale she looks. “Red, what’s wrong?”

  After a minute, she tells me, “I’m fine.”

  “The hell you are, I saw you. You were about to pass out.”

  “Zander, I’m fine, really. I have just been stressed, and I think I caught a bug.”

  I stare at her with my brows pinched.

  “I’m fine, Zander, please, it’s okay. I think I might just go lay down in my office for a little while.”

  I release my hold and start to follow her. She walks back to everyone and apologizes for not feeling well. She asks her mother to stay and watch over the tournament, and then she starts walking away and I begin following, again.

  Murphy stops abruptly. “What are you doing?”

  “Well, if you didn’t notice, I sent my men away for the night. So, I’m going to watch over you until they resume.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  I look at the floor, deciding if I should tell her the truth or not. I look back at her and say, “I thought I would be your protector tonight. I was hoping since I was going to be here that maybe we would enjoy the night together. You know, watching the poker game.”

  “I appreciate you sending my babysitters home, but Zander, I still feel the same way. I need you to leave me alone.”

  In a firm voice, I tell her, “You have no choice, Red. I am going to watch over you.”

  “I always have a choice. Don’t you get that? It’s my choice to have you in my life or not. And I chose not. As far as watching me, Craig is right there, I will have him escort me to my office, where alone, I will lay down. You can stay here or go wherever the hell you want, but it won’t be with me!”

  She waves to Craig, and he starts to follow as she walks away. I’m left standing here looking like a dumbass. I walk back over to everyone, as they’re all watching the games. Liam looks at me, seeing I’m upset.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “No!”

  “Okay, calm down, brother. Just give her some space.”

  I don’t answer him. I just watch the games for a couple of minutes until I can’t take it anymore. I’m tired of this shit.

  “Fuck space!”

  I turn and storm in the direction of Murphy’s office. She’s going to hear me out whether she likes it or not. A man can only be pushed so far.

  When I make it to the hall, I start running. I see Craig on the floor, he’s been stabbed straight through the heart. I leave him there and run towards Murphy’s office with my gun held high. I make it to the door when I see a man holding Murphy by the throat. I can’t risk shooting, she’s in the way of a clean shot. So, I lower my weapon and try to talk him down.

  “Let her go, man, and I’ll let you out of here alive!”

  I don’t recognize him. I’ve never seen this guy before, so what the hell is he doing in my city? I know all the players here, even the small-time ones.

  “You’re Zander Stern?”

  “I see you’ve heard of me. At least tell me your name so we can be on an even playing ground.”

  “My boss told me to tell you, ‘Fuck you, he’s coming for you.’ But I say fuck you, too. You might be big, but you don’t look too bad.”

  “You know my name, but you obviously haven’t heard about me, if you think that.”

  Murphy struggles in his arms and kicks his foot with her high heel. He flinches back, and that’s when I take my chance. I run and grab him around his waist, knocking him down to the floor. I start beating the fuck out of him, pounding him until he is no longer recognizable. Until he is no longer breathing. I hear Murphy yelling at me, but I can’t stop. This motherfucker wanted to take her away from me. There is no one who will harm a hair on her head, not while I’m still alive.

  Suddenly, I feel arms grabbing me from behind. Exhausted from hitting this son-of-a-bitch over and over, I get knocked over, then Liam is in front of me, yelling at me to stop. Shit! Then I look over his shoulder and see all of them, Fallon, Avery, Murphy and her mother. Fallon takes a few steps toward me, but I hear Liam shout at her to back away, but she doesn’t, she now stands close in front of me, looking directly in my eyes and says, “It’s done, she’s safe now. You can stop.”

  I look at Murphy and see Fallon’s right, she’s safe, and it immediately calms me. Then I hear Liam whisper in my ear, “You’re scaring her, brother.”

  My eyes flash back to the man I just beat to death in front of her. He’s full of blood. I hate that she had to see me like that. I tap his shoulder to let me up. I stand, and Liam remains in front of me. He knows sometimes it takes a while for me to come down. Then Fallon raises my hand, full of blood, and whispers, “I’m proud of you, Zander, you did what you had to do to protect her.”

  Cherry comes over to me and pushes me to a chair. “Sit, boy.” So, I sit. Murphy’s still staring at me, then she runs to the bathroom. I hear her vomiting.

  My phone beeps, and I ignore it, but then it happens again. Liam reaches for it. Reading it, he says, “You need to look at this.”

  I grab the phone and read the text.

  UNKNOWN NUMBER: Hello Zander, I’ve been watching. I just wanted to see how close you were. I heard through the grapevine that you had a thing for the redhead, I guess it’s true.

  UNKNOWN NUMBER: That will make this so much more fun! I will be seeing you soon!

  I jump out the chair and look at Liam and say, “How?” We both start looking around while all the women are asking what’s going on.

  “Zander!” Liam points, there’s a camera sitting right o
n a shelf. It’s small; that’s why it was never seen. I rip it off the shelf and crush it with my foot.

  “Liam, call Bobby. Tell him I need a cleanup.” I start barking orders. “Avery, close the door. Cherry, call the floor manager and tell him that you and Murphy won’t be back on the floor tonight. Then tell him to get a message to my brother ASAP that I am escorting his wife home. He will come looking for me. I promise.”

  I look at Fallon and wink. Gabriel is still jealous.

  Everyone gets to work. Murphy comes out of the bathroom and asks, “What are you all doing?”

  “We are going to wait here until my cleaning crew comes, and then we’re all leaving here together. No one is going unprotected tonight.”

  “I’m not going with you, Zander. But shouldn’t we call the police?”

  I look at her. “I thought you were used to dealing with my kind. Isn’t that what you said?”

  “Yeah, but Zander, it was self-defense, and we have a body now, they may be able to find out who he is or who he works for.”

  Before I can say anything, Cherry speaks up. “Murphy! Shut up and sit down. Let Zander and his brothers handle this.”

  Murphy immediately sits and does as she’s told. Wow, I think I might love Cherry. I’m going to have to ask her to teach me that trick.

  About half an hour goes by when there’s a knock on the door. I open it; it’s Theo and Gabriel. They look at the mess in the room, and then Gabriel goes to Fallon, hugging her tight.

  “Theo, why are you here?”

  “You don’t think your mother and I have eyes on all of you at all times? We heard the cleaning crew was coming over here, and I was close by. I came to see what happened. Looks like you had one hell of a party. Who is he?”

  Everyone looks back at me, and I say, “I don’t know, I never gave him a chance to tell me anything. Although he did say his boss was coming. Then I got a message on my phone.”

  I hand him my phone. He reads it, eyes me, then hands it off to Gabriel.

  Gabriel says, “This sounds like an attack on the family.”

  “I know, I can’t leave them with my men anymore, it’s not safe.”

  Gabriel, Theo and Liam nod. Then Murphy says, “We’ll be fine. We’ll get another hotel room in another name, and I’ll pay the manager not to say anything.”

  Theo laughs. “No, sweetheart, that’s not how it works.”

  Then he notices Cherry, and damn if his eyes don’t light up. “Cherry, oh my God, woman, look at you. You haven’t changed.”

  “Hello, Theo, you’re still as handsome as ever. The grey hair suits you.”

  Theo runs his fingers through his hair. “Yes, well, they do say women like men with some age on them. Like a fine wine.”

  Cherry giggles, she actually giggles.

  “Your son, Theo, has all your charm. I liked him immediately.”

  Theo kisses her cheek.

  It’s time to break this up. “Okay, okay. This is how it’s going to work. I’m going to go with Murphy and her mother back to the hotel to get their things, and then I’m going to one of our safehouses.”

  Murphy shouts out, “Oh no! I’m not going anywhere with you. Call your men back, but not you, I will go with anyone else!”

  Cherry says, “Sorry, Theo, she must get it from her father. Chéri, we are going with Zander, and that’s it.”

  Theo jumps in and says, “Nonsense. You’ll both come home with the rest of us. We’ll have your things packed for the night.”

  Gabriel nods in agreement. “I think that’s the wisest move. None of us are safe now. We all need to be in the same place.”

  Cherry asks, “Where is this place you all are referring to?”

  “My mother’s house, our home.”

  Cherry shakes her head. “Oh, no. I don’t think Catherine would like that very much. I have to agree with Murphy on this one. We will be fine. Zander, can you please just call your men back and go be with your family? They need you right now until this is all figured out.”

  Theo grasps Cherry’s arm. “Cherry, listen, Catherine would want Zander home. She will welcome the both of you.”

  “I don’t know about that, Theo.”

  “You have my word, Mother will not say anything,” Gabriel tells her.

  Cherry looks at Murphy. Murphy is shaking her head, and then Cherry says, “I’m sorry, we are going to have to decline. Zander, I would appreciate if you can send some men over to watch us. I will pay them myself.”

  I go to object, but Theo raises his hand to stop me. He tells her that I would be happy to. The hell I will.

  Murphy

  What the hell?! I cannot believe Zander wanted to bring us to his mother’s. Thank God Mom didn’t agree.

  I especially don’t want to be around him now that I saw him beat that man to death. He was so brutal, it was like he was another person. I yelled as loud as I could to make him stop, but nothing worked. When his brother jumped on him, he still didn’t stop. He was like a beast, he wasn’t hearing us, it’s like he was in a trance of pure fury. I can’t be with a man like that. I knew what he did for a living, but seeing it is something totally different.

  Zander reaches out to touch me, and I instantly back away. I feel like I’m going to be sick again. What has me even more baffled is his sisters-in-law. They are so calm, like they have seen this kind of violence before. I will never be okay with this. This put the final nail in the coffin for me and Zander.

  Theo tells us he has his men coming tonight so Zander and his crew can take care of the cleanup and then try to find who might have sent him.

  The cleaning crew eventually comes, then Theo’s men come to lead us away, but before we can leave, Zander pulls them aside. I can’t hear what he’s telling them, but the conversation looks serious. Zander is not happy.

  I ask, “What about Craig? He didn’t do anything wrong, what’s going to happen to him?”

  I knew he hadn’t survived. I saw what that man did to him. I didn’t need anyone to tell me he was dead.

  Zander says, “He will be taken care of.”

  “What about his family? We need to tell them and….”

  “He only had his mother, I will see to her personally and give her some peace. He died honorably, she’ll be proud of him.”

  “Proud?”

  “Yes, Murphy, he died trying to protect you. That’s why I will speak to her myself, I owe him that gratitude. She will understand that. Now, I want you to go with Theo’s men. Tomorrow, all this will be like it never happened.”

  Like it never happened, he says. I don’t know how he can say that, but I am too tired to ask or argue about it.

  We leave, and the drive is quiet as we return to our hotel room. The men insist on checking our room first. They not only check for someone who could be hiding, they also check out everything in the room. One of Theo’s men actually finds a camera in the living room. He immediately calls someone on the phone. I imagined it was Theo, but I’m wrong; when he hangs up, I hear him say the name Zander. I can’t fathom that someone has been watching me this closely, no telling what they saw. I’m so drained waiting for them to leave so I can be by myself and think.

  The men finally leave our room. Mom sits down, taking her shoes off. I try to relax, too, but that’s not going to happen.

  I grab my phone and start to dial. My mom jumps out of her chair and grabs the phone from me.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I was calling the police, Mom.”

  “Oh, no you’re not!”

  “Why? We have to call them and let them know what happened tonight.”

  Mom sits back down. “We are not calling anyone. You will forget this happened.”

  “What? How the hell do you expect us to forget this happened?”

  “I sheltered you too much. You want to be in the casino business, then girl, you better learn. You might have been raised around men like that, but you never saw the ugly side of them. This i
s it, Murphy. The bad and the ugly. Zander did nothing wrong tonight, he protected you.”

  “He beat that man to death.”

  “Yes, he did. And I for one am thankful he did. That man would have hurt or killed you if Zander didn’t stop him.”

  “He was like an animal. I never thought he could be like that.”

  “It scared you, didn’t it?”

  I nod my head.

  “A man like Zander has to be that way. He is in the position of power. To have that kind of power, you have to be feared. He is not that person all the time, only when needed, I’m sure. The man I met was kind and loving. But the Zander who handles his business is another beast.”

  “I could never be with a man like that.”

  “You would be lucky to be with a man like that.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Because a man like that will always protect what is his.”

  “Well, I am not his.”

  “You keep telling yourself that. But Zander already knows you’re his.”

  “Mother!”

  “How do you think I became your father’s? He never let another man touch me. I was his, and I loved every minute of it.” My face must show my reaction. She yells out, “Grow up, Murphy! What do you actually think your father was like? He was just like Zander and Theo. He was not innocent. He was violent like that at times, but never with me or you.”

  My father being like Zander or his father? Is that true? I never saw my father as a man who could do something like that. But of course, I never really knew him that well.

  “Get some sleep, Murphy, we have a busy day tomorrow. First, we’re going to a doctor, we’re getting you checked out.”

  “I don’t have a doctor down here, I wouldn’t even know who to call. Besides, I’ll be fine.”

  “I know a doctor who will see you tomorrow. Don’t worry about it. You will see him, end of discussion. Goodnight.”

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