by L. A. Casey
I frowned and quietly closed the door behind me so I didn't interrupt Alec.
He had his back to me and was on his phone talking to someone.
He had no idea I was in the room.
"I don't know bro, but I have to do this otherwise Brandy will have all our balls. Literally."
I stepped forward.
"You have to do what, Alec?"
"Keela!" Alec shouted and swung in my direction.
I dropped my heels to the floor and folded my arms over my chest.
"Answer me question. What do you have to do to keep your balls?"
Alec swallowed and looked anywhere but my eyes.
"Um... I have to treat you right otherwise your uncle will hurt me, he said so."
That was why he was going crazy?
"Alec, he was only jokin' with you. He is just puttin' fear into you to make sure you treat me right."
I laughed and Alec smiled, but it was so small I barely saw it.
"Who are you talkin' to?" I asked.
Alec licked his lips and said, "My brothers."
"All of them?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, Damien is on the call so I can hear and speak to him too."
I frowned. "Why are you ringin' them?"
Alec rolled his neck on his shoulders and grunted, "Shut the fuck up!"
I narrowed my eyes. "Excuse me?"
Alec waved his hand at me. "Not you baby, I'm talking to my brothers."
Oh.
"Why are you shoutin' at them?"
Alec sighed and glared at his phone. "Because they are being very fucking difficult and giving stupid advice."
I was lost.
"Advice? For what?"
Alec gazed at me for a long moment before he said, "Advice on what to do with this... new information."
New information?
"Do you always speak in riddles? I've no clue what you're on about. What new information?"
Alec pinched the bridge of his nose then looked at me and said, "You're Brandy's niece Keela. Your uncle is part of my old life and with Marco being here... It's just not good to mix a Slater in with Marco Miles... The results are never pleasing."
My head was starting to spin with confusion.
"What is your deal with Marco Miles? Can you just tell me because me head is really startin' to hurt tryin' to figure all this out."
After a moment of listening to his brothers Alec suddenly narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Fuck you Dominic! You told Bronagh, so why can't I tell Keela?"
I moved over to the bed and sat down when Alec began to pace up and down the room.
"Yeah, well you aren't here with him. I am. You weren't in a room with him staring at you. I was."
I raised my eyebrows when Alec's voiced cracked.
"Again bro, that is shitty advice."
"What advice are they givin' you?" I asked.
Alec turned to face me and said, "They want me to come home. Tonight."
I forced away the sudden wave of saddens that washed over me.
"Oh... well, you can if you want. You don't have to stay here... it's okay."
I looked down to my fingers and knotted the together.
I heard Alec sigh. "Kitten... look at me."
I couldn't.
I shook my head. "It's honestly okay. You don't have to stay here, don't feel like you have to... I... I release you from your favour... There... You can go back home."
Oh God, I was about to cry.
"I'm not going back home."
I looked up. "You're not?"
Alec smiled as he crawled onto the bed. "You think I would leave you? We have a deal, I said I would escort you to your cousin's wedding and I will... Plus I've a few challenges yet to be completed with you."
I laughed when he waggled his eyebrows.
"Cut the bullshit, Alec! It's too dangerous for you to stay there with Marco on the scene. Think with the head on your fucking shoulders for once."
Wow.
Dominic Slater was pissed, so pissed I could hear him clearly without putting the phone to my ear.
"That's why I'm staying bro, I'm not leaving her in a place where he is."
All of his brothers swore.
"He is not a threat to her. Her uncle is Brandy for fuck sakes. That prick is just as fucking dangerous as Marco!"
What?
"I don't know what has you all riled up, but do not insult me uncle again, do you hear me Nico? That is me blood you're talkin' about."
I heard a growl. "Your blood has never been kind to my blood so why should I be nice?"
A dark look fell over Alec's face. "Because she has no idea about Brandy or who he is. Don't speak another word, I mean it Dominic."
Silence.
"I... We just want you to be safe. It not like we can drive to where you are to back you up. You're in a whole other country Alec."
Alec sighed. "If it was Bronagh would you leave her?"
Nico replied less than a second later, "Not a chance."
Alec smiled. "Exactly. Keela is my Bronagh, bro... I'm staying."
There was a collective group of sighs.
"Stick to Keela, he won't go near her because of Brandy."
Alec smiled and looked to me. "I plan to stick her."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Ryder's voice muttered.
"Can you focus?" Damien's voice asked.
"Fuck that, get balls deep bro," Kane's voice rasped making the brothers mutter curse words.
It barely sounded like him, he must still be feeling sick.
"I'll call you all tomorrow. I've some explaining to do to Keela."
Oh thank God.
I don't think my head could handle being this confused for much longer.
"Call us when it's done."
When what's done?
"Okay," Alec said then hung up his phone.
I fell back and sighed.
"You're the most confusin' man I have ever met."
Alec crawled onto the bed next to me.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to confuse you."
I turned on my side to face him. "So get talkin'."
Alec turned on his side to face me. "I don't know where to start."
"How about at the beginnin'?" I suggested.
Alec nodded his head. "Okay, are you ready?"
I shrugged my shoulders and said, "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Remember when I told you my mother loved her materialistic things and my dad was only fond of us for our use in his business?" Alec asked me.
I nodded my head. "Yeah."
"Well, that business was a business my dad ran with Marco."
Whoa.
"Your da is like Marco?" I asked.
"Was," Alec murmured. "My mom and dad were exactly like Marco, but they got too greedy on a deal and tried to double cross Marco. He knew all about it and killed them both."
Holy Christ!
I covered my mouth with my hand. "I'm so sorry."
Alec shrugged. "It is what it is. I didn't exactly like them, but they were my parents... you know?"
"Of course, I'd question your mental state if you didn't feel something when they... when they died."
Alec swallowed. "I was a little sad about it, not to the point where I cried, but it still brought me down. Damien took it the worst. My little bro always thought our mom and dad would change their ways one day and love us like parents should... It took him a few years after their murders to realise they were the same people in death that they were in life... scum."
Fuck me.
"So what happened afterwards... with Marco?"
Alec licked his lips. "Well, we were a part of the business at that point. Me, Kane, and Ryder at least. Before everything went down we did petty things like small drug runs, weapon runs, and watch duty at the compound we lived in. We all hated it and only did it because we couldn't leave."
I frowned. "Why couldn't you leave? You were old enough to branch out on your own, right?"
&
nbsp; "Yes, we were. Me, Kane, and Ryder at least. I was twenty-two when my parents were killed, Kane was twenty, and Ryder was the eldest at twenty-five. "
"So you were old enough to leave... why stay?"
"Because the twins were fifteen at the time of my parents murders. They were even younger when we all started working with dad and Marco. The three of us could have easily left because we were adults, but we didn't because we wouldn't leave without the twins. It wasn't an option, it was never even brought up or thought of. We knew we just had to keep our heads down and work until the twins were older so we could take them and leave. We had a plan to move out of New York after the murders. We wanted out, but something happened with the twins that kept us in New York... kept us tied to Marco."
I had a feeling I wasn't going to like whatever the 'something' was.
"What was it? What happened with the twins?"
Alec sighed. "They got in an... altercation with Marco's nephew Trent over Damien's girlfriend Nala. Things were said, punches were thrown... it was typical kids fighting it out until... until a gun was brought into the mix."
I gasped. "Who had the gun?"
"Trent. According to Dominic, Trent was going to kill Damien and would have if Nala hadn't jumped on Trent and knock the gun out of his hand."
I shook my head in astonishment.
"You still with me over there?" Alec asked.
I nodded my head. "Yeah, I feel like I'm in some sort of crazy mobster film, but I'm with you. What happened to the gun after Nala knocked it away from Trent?"
Alec frowned. "It somehow ended up in Damien's hand. Understand that this was right after my parents were murdered, everything was very fresh and raw and Damien was a wreck. All it took for Damien to shoot Trent was one insult from him directed at my father."
I flung both of my hands over my mouth. "Omigod."
Alec nodded. "Yeah."
Damien shot somebody?
"Did Trent live?"
Alec's brow creased. "We thought he died, I mean, Marco... that bastard told us he died."
I was confused.
"Wait... so Trent didn't die, but you were told he died... why?"
Alec laughed. "That's the question of the hour."
I patiently waited for Alec to continue to speak.
"Marco helped my dad groom us for getting neck deep in the business one day. All our lives we were brought up around violence, sex, drugs, and numerous crimes. While kids our ages went to school and tried to talk to girls, we were homeschooled and fucking our tutors."
I widened my eyes.
"How old were you when..."
"When I lost my virginity?" Alec finished my unanswered question.
I nodded my head.
He scratched his chin and said. "I was the same age as Dominic and Damien I think, I was either thirteen or fourteen. I wasn't any good at it until I turned sixteen and actually had a decent sized cock. It was tricky, I had to learn how to hold back instead of ejaculating early when I got excited otherwise my partners would smack me. The women in the compound taught me and my brothers how to please women from an early age. Thanks to them, each of us strongly believe in a woman coming first, and last. I was apparently very good... and that opened me up to a whole new world with a lot of... variety."
I grimaced. "Ew."
Alec laughed. "I know... sorry."
I shivered. "You lost your virginity nearly a whole decade ahead of me. Wow."
Alec smiled and playfully clocked my chin. "My experience will only mean a better time for you."
My face flushed but I quickly refocused. "Okay, back to your story. Why were you told Trent died when he didn't?"
Alec lightly gnawed on the inside of his cheek. "We were told that to keep us in dark. If we knew Trent was alive, Marco wouldn't have had the hold he did over Damien's head. We could have left."
"Wait, wait, wait. Are you sayin' Marco pretended his nephew was murdered by Damien just so he could make you and your brothers do something for him?"
Alec looked down and nodded.
"That sick son of a bitch! What did he make you do?"
Alec kept his eyes downcast. "He made me an escort."
I widened my eyes in horror. "You were forced into that job?"
Alec looked up at me and shrugged. "Pretty much. Marco gave us jobs and told us once we do them and keep him happy he wouldn't avenge Trent's death by hurting Damien."
What a scumbag!
"You were an escort and I heard from Aideen that Dominic was a fighter... was that his job?"
Alec nodded. "Marco looked at the CCTV of what happened that night and once he saw Dominic defend Damien by beating the shit out of Trent he decided he wanted to try his hand in the underground fighting world, thus Dominic became the star fighter to represent him. He was the people's favourite at every spot he fought in because he was so young and tough. A lot of times I thought he would die because even though he won his fights, he would be so busted up afterwards that even breathing hurt him."
I swallowed down the bile that filled my mouth.
"That's disgustin'."
Alec nodded. "It is."
I was almost afraid to ask my next question, but I had to know.
"What jobs did your other brothers have?"
Alec scratched his chin and said, "Ryder ran weapons and drugs the odd time or two for Marco. Kane was what Marco called his bruiser. He did the dirty work on people who didn't pay their debts to Marco or people who simply pissed Marco off. Out of all the jobs his was the worst because Marco was pissed off at someone everywhere we fucking went, and Kane had to hurt these people who knew it was coming. They would defend themselves with weapons because they had nothing left to lose... it was a bloody job. Literally."
Holy Christ!
I gasped. "So that's why he is covered in scars?"
Alec nodded. "Yes, his body isn't a pretty sight but it's just looks, he is really a great guy. I don’t know half of the things he has seen or done, but he always manages to be happy."
I thought of Kane's scars and cringed.
"And Damien? What did he do?"
Alec smiled. "Luckily nothing. The deal we had with Marco was that we worked for him and Damien was to be left alone. Completely."
My heart melted.
"That is an amazin' thing you and your brothers did for Damien."
"He is our brother, we would do anything and everything to protect him."
I smiled. "I've never seen a bond like one you and your brothers have... it's beautiful."
Alec smiled so wide his dimples dented deep into his cheeks. "Yeah, we have a pretty solid bond. It's the best thing we have to show from our shitty childhood."
I can only imagine.
I chewed on my lower lip. "So you worked for Marco to keep Damien safe... When did you find out that Trent was alive and Marco lied?"
Alec clenched his hand into a fist and rubbed his knuckles. "Two and a half years ago, it'll be three in December."
I widened my eyes.
So recent.
"So you worked for him as an escort for-"
"Three years."
Wow.
"How did you find out about Trent and the lie?"
Alec snorted. "This is where the story gets even weirder."
I lightly smiled. "I doubt I will be surprised after everythin' you just told me."
Alec anxiously looked at me. "I wouldn't count on that."
Oh.
I swallowed.
"Two and a half years ago Dominic met Bronagh and decided he was done with Marco and done fighting for him. We wanted out too and agreed that we had more than paid our debt to Marco... Me and my brothers made him a lot of money, and money was all Marco cared about. With all of us in agreement we contacted Marco and told him we were done and any jobs left we had in Ireland would be the last."
Alec frowned. "He agreed that we worked our asses off for him - some more than others - and that he was happy to let us go free. We should
have known the bastard wouldn't leave us alone that easily. Marco is like a spoiled toddler in some ways, we were his prized toys and under no circumstances was he letting us go."
I tensed. "What did he do?"
Alec shrugged. "He flew to Ireland and with the help of Trent he kidnapped Bronagh, Alannah, and Damien in order to force us back into work."
Jesus Christ!
He said that so casually.
"No way," I whispered.
"Yes way. It was messed up... Anyway, long story short we went to where Marco had them, killed his guards then freed the girls and Damien. They were all beat pretty bad and both of the girls had concussions and ended up passing out. We used that to our advantage and got to work of disposing of Marco guards and Trent. Damien took care of him."
I widened my eyes. "So he really did end up killin' him?"
Alec looked to me and his gazed hardened. "Don't judge him Keela. Trent revealed some things that sent Damien - and us - into a fit of rage."
I raised me eyebrows. "Like what?"
Alec looked pained as he said, "We found out Nala was raped and murdered by Trent because she found out he was alive and not dead like we were told. Damien also revealed that she was pregnant with his kid at the time of her murder."
I gasped. "Omigod!"
Poor Nala!
"Yeah, later that night when we got home Damien explained that he and Nala were too afraid to tell anyone about the baby. They thought if they ignored it then it would go away. They were babies who were going to have a baby, you understand how scared they must have been?"
I have no doubt they were scared, I would have been terrified.
I nodded my head. "Of course."
"Anyway, it made sense why Damien was so torn up when we left New York. He asked about Nala of the time, but her family cleared out of the compound after Trent's supposed death. He had no way of contacting her and trust me, the kid tried everything."
Poor Damien.
Alec smiled then. "It seems stupid now, but at the time when got back to our house Ryder smacked Damien across the head and told him he knew better and he should have worn protection. I still think it's funny, his protective instinct came surfaced to lash out at Damien even though we had just killed a bunch of people."