Alec

by L. A. Casey

  Alec stared at me. "Are you okay?"

  I tried to be strong, but I broke down and shook my head.

  I felt dizzy and my face was so sore.

  Alec cut his eyes to Marco.

  "She is defenceless you asshole."

  Marco snorted. "She wasn't defenceless. Her mouth was her weapon, trust me."

  Alec stewed as he looked to me then back to Marco. I could sense he wanted to come to me, but he couldn't and he hated it.

  "Why are you doing this?"

  Marco growled, "Because you convinced Dante to leave and go start a new life. He was my top earner after you left. All of my businesses took profit loses when you and your fucking brothers jumped ship. I was steadily building everything back up and now Dante is gone. Where is he?"

  Alec look pessimistic and that worried me.

  "He asked me what my life was like since I left and I told him the truth, it was, and is, fucking great. I didn't convince him of anything. If he left, he did so on his own free will."

  Marco wasn't happy, he wasn't happy at all.

  "You don't have free will when you work for me," Marco growled.

  Alec kept eye contact with Marco. "Then where is Dante?"

  Marco snapped, "Tell me here is he! I'm not going to ask you again, boy!"

  My already pounding heart kicked into overdrive.

  "I'm telling you the truth, I don't know where he is."

  Marco lifted his gun and pointed it at Alec.

  "I don't have time for bullshit."

  "No, please, no!" I screamed.

  "Tell me where he is or I'm going to kill your boyfriend."

  Oh God!

  "Please," I screamed.

  "You bastard, don't bring her into this, she only met Dante once!"

  I watched in slow motion as Marco rolled his hand over the top of the slide of the gun and cocked it back.

  He was going to shoot Alec.

  "Plane lists!" I screamed.

  Marco paused what he was doing and looked at me.

  "What?"

  "You could check the outgoing flights from the Bahamas from two days ago. Dante would have to use his passport so his real name will be on a flight list."

  Marco looked at me for a moment then smiled.

  "Why didn't I think of that?"

  Because you're a fucking psychopath maybe?

  "Toby, run a search of all outgoing flights from the Bahamas from Thursday of last week."

  "On it, boss."

  I knew that voice.

  Toby was the man who struck me and pulled me by the hair.

  I stored that information and visibly relaxed when Marco lowered his gun, but my panic started all over again when Marco's focus switched to Bronagh. I noticed Bronagh had a dark red mark on her cheek, it looked very similar to mine.

  "Nice to see you again."

  "And you Marco, it's a pleasure as always."

  Marco chortled.

  I didn't know what their history was so I kept quiet. My head was hurting bad so I lowered it until it rested it on the table.

  "Keela?"

  I heard Alec’s voice, but it took a minute for me to lift my head and look at him.

  "Are you okay?" he asked.

  I lightly shook my head. "Me head hurts," I said as I pulled my hand away from my eyebrow then put it back, "and the bleedin' won't stop."

  Alec paled then looked at Marco.

  "Marco, let me see to her cut. She is bleeding."

  Marco looked down at me and waved Alec over as he turned back to Bronagh.

  "Still dating Nico?"

  Bronagh nodded. "Yep, we're still goin' strong."

  "I'm happy for you both."

  Bronagh snorted. "Yeah, I bet you are."

  "Is my boy still fighting?"

  "Yeah, but not for money, just for fun."

  I tried to focus on the conversation but my focus switched to Alec when he moved into the booth next to me and lifted me head up off the table.

  "Hi," Alec said, giving me a small smile.

  I think I smiled. "Hey."

  "Everything is going to be okay, I promise you."

  I nodded my head and leaned against him but he kept me sitting up straight. I lazily watched as he ripped a large piece of fabric off the end of his shirt, then he did the same thing to my dress.

  He folded up the fabric from his shirt then removed my hand from my head and pressed it against my eyebrow very hard.

  "Ow," I whimpered.

  "I'm sorry baby, the more pressure I apply the more it will help stop the bleeding."

  I nodded my head.

  "Hold this piece over your cut. I'm going to place this strip over that piece then tie it off behind your head, okay?"

  "Okay," I said.

  Alec did as he said, and it may have looked funny but it worked as a gauze and bandage under the circumstances. I leaned against Alec then jumped with fright when I heard a loud bang.

  "What was that?"

  "Toby, front door!" Marco bellowed.

  "Front door is covered, it not coming from the entrance."

  "Where the fuck is the exit?"

  He bought a building and didn't know where the exit was?

  "Eejit," I muttered.

  "It's behind you," Alec said, and from the sound of his voice, he was smiling.

  I opened my eyes and looked up at him, he was in fact smiling.

  "Why are you similin'?"

  "Because my brothers are here."

  They were?

  "Where?"

  "There."

  I looked down to Bronagh and followed her line of sight.

  Dominic Slater was the first brother I spotted followed by Ryder, and Kane.

  I lead my head back against the booth and relaxed.

  We were going to be okay.

  "Put your weapons down," Marco growled.

  "We don't have any," Kane replied

  Scratch what I said before we were going to die.

  "You don't have weapons? Are you fuckin' around?" Bronagh's voice snapped.

  "Sorry bee, I don't deal in that business anymore," Ryder said and for some reason I found it funny.

  "A butter knife would be somethin' lads, not nothin'!"

  I agreed with Bronagh, I was just too tired to voice it.

  "So you come here unarmed... why?" Marco asked.

  "Because your issue isn't with us, it's with him."

  Him?

  "Who is him?" Marco asked.

  "I'll give you two guesses, but you're only goin' to need one."

  Uncle Brandon!

  "Oh, fuck!" Toby said from somewhere behind me.

  Yeah, Toby knew what was up.

  "I've tried to think of a logical reason as to why you took my niece into a hostile situation, Marco, but I just can’t see past your stupid."

  I mentally snorted.

  "She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, it happens."

  "That doesn't apply to what is mine, and she is mine."

  Silence.

  "Take her then, take her and leave."

  I opened my eyes and could only see Marco's back with his arm raised.

  He was pointing a gun at someone.

  "It's too late for that."

  Marco shook his head. "It's not, she is still alive. See."

  Marco stepped to the left and gave my uncle a clear view of me.

  My vision was a little blurry but I could see how pissed my uncle was.

  He wasn't nice when he was pissed.

  "What. Did. You. Do. To. Her?" my uncle growled.

  "I didn't do anything, that was my men-"

  "What men? You mean the two pricks who high tailed it up the entrance stairway less than a minute ago?"

  Marco glanced around.

  "Toby? Thomas?"

  Toby and Thomas didn't reply to Marco's calls.

  Things were silent for a moment then a loud bang sounded.

  I jumped with fright.

  "Toby or Th
omas, one of them won't be answerin' to anyone," my Uncle Brandon said to Marco.

  Marco turned his attention and gun back to my uncle.

  "Take her and leave, my problem is with the brothers."

  "No, your problem is with me. You see, me niece's lad is one of those Slater brothers, and I'm not tellin' her she can't have him again. I got an ear full the first time so I'm savin' meself a headache and leavin' them be. He is her's and she is mine, and we already know nothin' happens to what is mine."

  I think that was my uncle's weird way of giving us his blessing.

  I smiled and so did Alec's brothers.

  "I don't think you understand the concept of having a gun pointed at your head, Brandon."

  "And I don't think you understand the concept of have ten pointed at yours, Marco."

  I heard multiple clicks then.

  I moved my head to see past my uncle and I caught sight of his men.

  I counted six, but my uncle said ten guns so I knew the other four were around the room somewhere.

  I tried to lean back against the booth, but I slumped forward. I would have hit the table except Alec grabbed my shoulder stopping it from happening.

  "Slater, is she okay?"

  "I think she has as concussion."

  "Keep her awake," my uncle ordered.

  I closed my eyes.

  "Hey, you heard your uncle, stay awake."

  I grumbled. "I'm tired... and me head hurts."

  "I know, but we will be going home soon and then you can sleep."

  Home.

  I whimpered. "Aideen... Storm."

  "They are okay. Aideen is awake and Storm is okay, it was a through and through flesh wound. Aideen and Branna are with him at the animal hospital now."

  I began crying as relief flooded my body.

  Aideen was okay and so was Storm. He was really going to be okay.

  Thank God!

  "You shot my niece's dog?"

  "You sick bastard," Bronagh suddenly said and it made my uncle laugh.

  "The girl said it."

  "I didn't shoot it, but it attacked my men," Marco said in a defensive tone.

  I growled, "He was protectin' me you sick twisted fuck."

  "I heard for the past year that you we goin’ insane. I wondered if it was the reason why you lost so many business partners and then I heard about your obsession with this family. I didn't fully believe it until now, I mean, shooting a dog? You really are fuckin' crazy."

  Marco laughed like a madman. "They ruined me, everything fell apart when they jumped out."

  "Your empire was never that strong to begin with if a group of brothers ran the show for you."

  "You don't know what you're talking about."

  My uncle laughed. "No, I actually do. You've lost everythin'. I did a background check on your finances and they are non-existent. You came to the Bahamas to sell this dump to me for fuck's sake, you even accepted half the price it's worth."

  My uncle owned Darkness now?

  "You thought Dante might earn you a quick buck too, where is he by the way?"

  Everything went quiet.

  Very quite.

  "You know where he is?"

  "I do, he came to me looking for an out so I gave him one."

  What did that mean?

  "I want him back."

  "I'm afraid that can't be arranged. I take employee confidentially very serious."

  Oh God.

  "You son of a bitch, you pinched him?"

  My uncle shrugged. "My niece's interest in Alec got me thinkin' on that branch of business. I thought I'd try my hand in it, hence Dante now being on me payroll"

  I gasped.

  "Uncle!"

  My uncle laughed at me and so did his men.

  "Sorry baby girl, it's only business."

  I mentally rolled my eyes.

  Gangsters.

  I heard commotion behind me then shouting, it got everyone's attention.

  "Get your fucking hands off me."

  The man's voice wasn't Toby's so I guessed him to be Marco's other thug.

  Thomas.

  I heard Bronagh laugh as she spoke to Thomas and said, "It's not nice bein' pushed around by someone bigger than you, is it?"

  Oh, he must have been the one to strike her.

  "Fuck you!" Thomas snarled at her then hollered in pain.

  I turned back to my uncle who stepped forward and snatched Marco's gun from his hand while he was distracted by Thomas. Marco didn't react though, he just sighed.

  "Go ahead, shoot me! I have nothing left."

  My uncle smiled.

  "That would be too clean, Marco. You kidnapped me niece, that won't go unpunished."

  Whoa, uncle Brandon looked feral.

  My uncle looked behind him. "Turn the lights on for the back of the club."

  I heard footsteps then after a moment the darkened area of the club lit up.

  "Lads, help Thomas here up onto the platform."

  Oh, Jesus Christ.

  "Slater family, the fine man headin' to the platform gave that beautiful darlin' on the floor that pretty nasty mark on her face. Who wants to tell him it's not nice to hit women?" my uncle asked, grinning.

  Nico Slater instantly walked forward, he paused by Bronagh and glanced down at her. She looked up at him, her hair fell out of her face showing just how swollen and red her cheek really was.

  Fuck, Thomas hit her hard.

  "I'll be back in two minutes, pretty girl," Nico said to Bronagh then looked towards the platform, set his jaw and walked forward.

  Bronagh groaned, "Here we go again."

  I watched as Nico reached his hands up to the platform and pulled his body up in one swift movement.

  I swallowed when Nico rid him of his shirt and kicked his runners off. He stood facing a mean looking Thomas in just a pair of dark blue jeans.

  Alec's little brother was fucking hot.

  "Damn," I muttered.

  "Are you kidding me?"

  I jumped and looked up at Alec.

  I smiled then winced. "Damn, me head hurts."

  Alec rolled his eyes at me and looked back to the platform. I was waiting for some sort of whistle to blow, but none of the lads were waiting for one to blow. Not Thomas anyway who shot forward and speared Nico to the ground.

  "Oh, fuck!" I shouted.

  His poor back!

  I think I felt Nico's pain because he didn't cry out, cringe or reach for his back at all, he simply wrapped his legs around Thomas's hips then used his power to roll Thomas under him.

  I gasped and flung my hand over my mouth as I watched Nico deliver punch after lightening fast punch to Thomas's unguarded head.

  "Cover your head!" I shouted.

  I felt everyone's eyes on me then.

  "Whose side are you on?" Bronagh asked me.

  I flushed. "Sorry, I was sort of caught up in the moment."

  My uncle laughed at me and shook his head. I looked back to the platform then and winced when Nico stood up and delivered a powerful kick to Thomas's stomach.

  Nico paced back and fourth in front of him like a lion stalking his prey and it gave me goose bumps, he was straight animalistic on that platform. I can tell exactly why he won so many fights. He was amazing.

  He didn't need to pace though because Thomas wasn't getting up; he was too busy writhing on the ground in pain.

  "Dominic!" Bronagh shouted.

  Nico looked to her and she said, "You won, babe."

  Nico looked down at Thomas and kicked him once more then he hopped down off the platform and jogged over to Bronagh. He stood her up off the ground and hugged her body to his.

  I smiled and leaned against Alec before I closed my eyes.

  "Keela!" I jumped.

  "What?"

  I looked at my uncle who shouted my name and glared, "Don't do that."

  I put my hand over my hammering heart and shook my head at my uncle.

  He nodded to Marco.

>   "I thought you would like you witness Marco's platform debut."

  What?

  "What?" all the brothers said in unison.

  Uncle Brandon nodded his head and suddenly two of his men grabbed Marco and forced him over to the platform. They got him up on it then kicked Thomas off it. He landed on the ground with a thud.

  He was moaning in pain and for a moment I felt sorry for him, but then I looked at Bronagh's face and that sympathy went away.

  "Who is fightin' Marco?" Bronagh asked.

  "Me," Nico growled.

  That seemed the logical choice since he was a fighter but when my uncle looked at Alec with raised eyebrows I broke out in a sweat.

  "No," I said.

  No way, he was not fighting Marco.

  Alec sighed from beside me. "Keela, I have so much hate for that man right now, he has destroyed me family for too long, he has disrupted the Murphy sisters' lives for too long, and he did that to your face. Don't you fucking dare say no to me teaching that prick a lesson.”

  Holy fucking God.

  "I don't want you to get hurt though," I whispered.

  "I’ll be fine."

  "But Nico is the fighter, not you."

  I started to cry.

  "Sit tight and watch, you will see what a man is capable of when he is pushed to the edge."

  Alec, please.

  Alec got up and walked towards the platform. I stumbled out of the booth after him but arms came around me and halted my movements.

  "Let him do this, red."

  Kane.

  I leaned my head back against Kane's chest because I felt so lightheaded I was afraid I would fall forward. I forced my eyes open just as Alec got up on the platform.

  "How long have you wanted to get me into a situation like this, boy?"

  Alec clenched his hands into fists. "For a long time."

  Marco smiled and cracked his neck then rolled his head on his shoulders.

  "Stay away from my ass, I don't swing that way."

  That prick!

  Alec laughed then pushed the sleeves of his t-shirt up to his elbows.

  "The only thing going up your ass old man is my foot."

  My uncle, his men and Alec's brothers either chuckled or flat out snickered.

  I grinned as well.

  Marco glared at Alec then out of nowhere rushed at him. I widened my eyes expecting to see Alec get speared to the ground like Nico did, but when Alec lifted his arms and swung at Marco the most disgusting thing happened.

  Alec's elbow smashed into Marco's face and I heard the crunching sound from across the room.

  "Oh my God!" I shouted.

  Marco fell to the ground and hollered in pain. Alec reached down and pulled him back to his knees before punching him in the face and sending him back to the ground.