"Dark is one word I would use, from the stories I've heard." Ben looks at me as I lift the cover off my food. Chicken pasta, something he knows I like. "Devil is another word."

  I look at him, biting my bottom lip. Ben is right. The devil is a word I would use for him, too.

  "If what Vinny is telling me is true, not to mention how he is with you, I don't think I need to worry about you so much." He presses his lips together, and I know he is hiding a smile. "Maybe Angel Frost isn't my number one choice for you, but like you said, it's not like he gave you much of a choice."

  I smile to myself, as the most important person in my life has said yes to Angel.

  “Given how you’re smiling right now, I take it you’re happy. I’m happy for you,” Ben says.

  Yes, I’m happy he likes Angel, as I do like Angel. I might not show it to him as much, but every time I think about him, I get excited. Every time he is in the same room as me, all I want to do is kiss him.

  “He knows what he wants, and doesn’t stop until he gets it,” I say before I start eating.

  Angel is a man who is brave enough to face the devil and say I’m taking over. He will get what he wants.

  “Anything else new with you?” Ben asks.

  "Nothing really. I started dating a London gangster. I think that is all the fun I can take, for now. Please tell me the Midlands are finally deciding to leave me alone," I plead.

  He only looks at me, telling me what I already know.

  “They killed two of Stuart’s men last night. They had them for four weeks, trying to find out where you are.”

  “What? I only spoke to Uncle Stuart a few days ago,” I blurt out, not letting Ben finish what he wanted to say.

  "Stuart and I spoke and thought it best not to tell you until we met up again. We thought we could find them, save them." Ben leans forward and takes my hand in his. "Alice, Harvey won't rest until he finds you."

  Harvey is the middle son of the family, and the one they said would get me. He is on a mission, even sixteen years later. They are all still on a mission to find me.

  “I won’t let them get to you. The moment I know something, I will call Vinny and we will get you out. We won’t let them get you.” Ben reassures me, and I know he means what he’s saying. All my family only have one focus, to protect me.

  "Everything in my life is the same, but how about you? How is that girl you were with?" I ask. I know he is not dating anyone seriously. He’s too scared of what will happen if he falls in love. We both are.

  “It ended. Some girls love the thought of being with a gangster, but when they’re around the world, it’s a different story.” Ben leans back in his chair and I watch him for a moment.

  He has a point. Can you really be with someone, knowing what they do every night? I don’t know what Angel does during the night, and a part of me doesn’t want to know, because I fear once I know, I won’t be able to look him in the eyes.

  “Then maybe it’s time…”

  "Don't start this again, Alice. I'm not leaving until you're safe."

  I bite my lip to stop myself from saying anything. This is usually a fight we have every time we meet, and it gets me nowhere. Maybe it's time I stop. What's the point in fighting a battle I'm only going to lose?

  “Fine. Are you thinking about going to America to see the family?” I ask.

  I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, but if I go there while the Midlands are still there, I will be putting myself in danger, and no one will agree to it.

  “I was,” Ben says. “The Midlands family wants to send some of us over to find you, but I told them we can’t all go, and maybe it’s time we look other places. Stuart and I are thinking of sending them to Canada. We have a plan to set up a trail over there for you.”

  “I trust what you all do. What time do you have to go?” I ask him. I have never fought them on the decisions they make for me, and I’m not going to start now.

  When I called him to agree on a time, we were going to have longer to talk, but then he said that he had to go to a Midlands meeting just outside London.

  “Soon. Got a drug pick up.” He looks at his watch. “You heading back tonight?”

  "Yeah, Ellie said they have a family dinner, and Angel has asked me to come." I lean forward. "His mother? She has not once spoken to me, and Angel is a little cold with her, too."

  Angel's mum has been a question mark to me for a while. She won't even smile at me, and I have no idea why. I haven’t done anything to her.

  "The Midlands haven't spoken about Frost business in a very long time now. All I know is that Angel was her pride and joy, favoured him over the others. She started sleeping around and Angel lost respect for her. That was years ago, but since the truce, they keep the business to themselves. The Midlands stay out of it, too," Ben tells me as he pushes himself away from the table.

  I follow his lead. I take in what Ben's just told me about Angel and his mother, but it really doesn't answer why she hates me. I suppose even if she did like me, Angel wouldn't want me getting closer to her anyway.

  “Two weeks, same place?” I ask Ben.

  “Yes. Be safe.” Ben wraps his arms around me.

  "You be safe, and always keep in touch with Vinny," I remind him. They talk once a day, on phones that can't be traced. They take it to the extreme, breaking the sim card soon as they hang up, and they only talk for a short time.

  "I'm leaving through the back door. Give me ten minutes." Putting his jacket on, he stands there just watching me. "I love you, and there is nothing I won't do to keep you safe."

  “I love you too,” I reply.

  I know Ben will do anything, but how far will this all go?

  I sit on the bed thinking about Angel. It's only been two days, and I have to say that I do miss him. I smile to myself just thinking of seeing him later.

  ***

  “I’ll meet you in there,” I look over at Ellie and Drew as they make their way into the house. I glance over at Drew as she gives me a small nod.

  I’ve been trying to get in touch with Vinny since this morning, and he’s not answering. I’m more than a little worried. He’s always answered my calls, no matter what. I hit call on Vinny's name again, and it goes to voicemail. "Vinny, I'm worried now. Please call me."

  I end the call and call the only other person who might be able to get me in touch with Vinny. Uncle Andy.

  “Alice, you okay?” Uncle Andy always asks that question first and always with a worried tone.

  “I’m fine. Have you spoke to Vinny? He’s not answering my calls,” I say. I know there are only two people, other than me, who Vinny would call,Ben and Uncle Andy.

  “No. I will give him a call then get back to you.”

  “Thank you.” I turn around and see Angel standing by the front door with his hands in his pockets. “I’m getting worried. I will call you a little later, but if you hear—”

  "Alice, I will call you the moment I find something." Uncle Andy ends the call.

  Before making my way over to Angel, who is still watching me like a hawk, I give him a smile. It’s so nice seeing his sexy face again, but I need to try Vinny one more time before giving up.

  I hit call on Vinny's name again. My eyes move with Angel as he slowly starts walking over to me. Angel really is one sexy man. God, just looking at him, heat builds inside me.

  Shaking my head as the call goes to voicemail again, I frown. "Vinny, seriously, I'm worried. Where are you? The second you get to your phone, call me," I say before ending the call.

  Angel closes the space between us. "Why is my woman standing out here looking worried?" Angel's finger caresses my cheek softly and my body breaks into goosebumps. "Everything okay? I don't like to see your beautiful face looking so worried."

  My eyes meet Angel’s, and his soft blue eyes are staring back at me. "Yeah. Vinny isn't answering my calls and I'm worried that's all."

  As I look into Angel's eyes, I see them twitch a little. Is he behind Vinny disappearing?

  "Angel, you don't trust Vinny, but I do. Him not calling…" I stop before I say too much, but I have a feeling he knows where Vinny is and decide to leave it alone. "How was your weekend?" I ask as I begin to walk to the house.

  Angel grabs my arm. "You forgot something?"

  He pulls me towards him, and I start laughing as his lips crash into mine. I thought he would have given me a nice gentle kiss after not seeing me for a few days, but no. I don’t think Angel does soft. Angel grabs the back of my neck as he pulls me closer. My hands press against his chest, and I can feel his heart beating as his tongue devours my mouth.

  As Angel pulls away from me, I moan a little. “Do we have to stay?” I ask, leaning in closer to him taking in his sexy scent. He smells amazing, and it’s intoxicating to me.

  “When Dad wants dinner, we come to dinner.” Angel grabs my waist and pulls me closer to him. I smile when I feel how hard he is for me.

  “Someone’s all ready to have some fun.” My hand moves to his cock and I rub slowly. I lick my bottom lip deliberately as I look into his eyes. “Do I get to taste you tonight?” I whisper against his lips.

  I really want him to come in my mouth, so I can taste him, taste the devil inside him.

  His lips curl up at my evil smile. “I plan on keeping you very busy tonight,” he says as he pulls out my phone from my back pocket. “Uncle Andy is calling.”

  “Thanks.” I take the phone from him. I know the day will come when Angel asks why I talk to Uncle Andy so much, but it doesn’t look like today is that day.

  "Hello, Alice."

  I start walking away from Angel. I get the feeling that he is a man who hears everything if he needs to.

  "He's not answering,” Uncle Andy says. ”Give him the night, and if he still doesn’t answer in the morning, I will give Ben a call and we will come up with something."

  I look over my shoulder to see how far Angel is from me. He's watching me as though he's trying to read my mind.

  “I’m getting worried, but I trust you and Ben. If you think waiting is best…”

  "Alice, don’t worry. Both Ben and I will find him. I will call the moment I find something." With that, Uncle Andy ends the call, knowing very well that I will be asking more questions.

  I know right now he needs to find Vinny and bite back everything else. I look over to where Angel was and realize he's gone. I look around to see where he has gone and spot him with Pike, talking about something.

  "Come on." Drew grabs my hand and pulls me to where Ellie and Gwen are. I say hello to Gwen, and I hear my name called behind me.

  “Alice.”

  I turn to face Robert and he leans in to give me a hug “I’m so happy you came for dinner. Did you all enjoy your weekend?”

  “We did. Thank you. Where else would I be tonight?” I start laughing. “I mean Angel would—”

  "He only wants to protect you," Robert says, knowing very well what I was going to say. "But I do like that he has to work a little harder with you. You keep him alive. I've seen a difference in my son with you."

  He looks to the side as Elijah and Warren walk over to us. "Let me tell you two things about Angel. One, he will always have family business on his mind, and, two, he will always protect what and who he loves." Robert takes a step closer to me and leans in so no one else can really hear what he has to say. "He will be a lot worse when it comes to protecting you. Try not to start hating him for it," he says.

  As he moves away, I look at him, and I believe he will always protect his family. Drew and Ben told me Angel took the blame for Elijah, and that was how he ended up in jail.

  “Robert, I really don’t think I need so much protection. He’s just over thinking this is all.”

  Robert starts laughing. "We will see," he says. He leaves me and walks over to Angel with Elijah and Warren.

  I turn back to the girls and try to rejoin the conversation. "Gwen, how have you been feeling?" I ask.

  "Morning sickness is not good, and my boobs hurt." She looks down at them. "I swear they've grown three sizes." She looks up at us, and I want to laugh, but she really doesn't look too happy about it.

  “That has definitely put me off having kids,” Ellie says, and Drew starts laughing.

  "You need to find someone who can be approved by the four brothers before you even think about having kids," Drew tells her.

  I look over at them all talking. I have to admit, I do feel bad for Ellie. I have Angel, who is crazy with every move I make, but Ellie has four of them.

  "I know. I'm going to die an old single woman," Ellie says as she looks over at her mum by the dining table.

  “Food is ready,” her mom calls out.

  I move over to the table and wait to see where Angel is sitting. I already know he will make me sit next to him, so I might as well wait for him.

  Angel pulls out the chair for me, his hand resting on my lower back. “I don’t think I told you how beautiful you look today.”

  "Have I ever told you how sexy you look?" I ask him as I sit down. Then I look over at Drew. "Where is the wine?" I ask.

  “It’s coming.” She points to the waiter.

  They have a waiter? I look over at Angel, who is watching me. He leans closer and gives me a kiss. I smile as he starts to lean back in his chair. My hand rests on his cheek to stop him from moving away from me.

  “Can I get one more? I missed your lips,” I whisper to him.

  Angel grabs the back of my neck and pushes a lot harder against my lips. As he pulls away, I take his bottom lip between my teeth.

  He takes his time ending the kiss, then looks at me meaningfully. “I spoke to Pike about security for you…”

  "First, I don't need it, and, second, I've told you, Vinny can watch over me." I can't be bothered with this conversation again, but I know it's a battle I can't win.

  "Gwen, how much security do you have?" I ask her, just to get a feel for how many people will be around me all the time.

  "At the house, there are about five men, two of which go everywhere with me, but Elijah saw Angel’s new security for his house and wants that for ours," she explains.

  I can't help but roll my eyes. Five is a bit much, if you ask me.

  “You can roll your eyes all you want. I changed your locks and got you the same as my place, so…”

  “You did what? How did you even...you know what? I don’t want to know. Where is the key to my new locks?” I demand. I can’t believe he just went to my apartment and changed all the locks. I know it’s pointless to fight him about it, but I want to make it clear that he crossed a line.

  "Alice, you should be lucky it's just the locks. He was about to empty your apartment and take all the stuff to his house," Warren says.

  I can't stop staring at Angel. "You are crazy," I say. I really have no words to say to him right now. It hasn’t even been a week and he is becoming over the top.

  “You don’t have a key. It’s a finger scan system. I will add your print tonight, as well as the head of your security,” Angel says.

  “Fine. I will be on board with this whole security thing, but there has to be some rules. One of them is no one inside my apartment—”

  “They will go in your apartment to check it before you enter. If it is clear, then they will be outside your building,” Angel argues.

  I look at him and consider what he said. “I’m okay with that, and Vinny—”

  “I will think about that. I haven’t gotten a full team together yet,” Angel interrupts again.

  It’s starting to get a little annoying that he keeps doing it.

  I wouldn’t fight him about his security measures, but I will fight him on letting me have Vinny. If it was anyone else, there would be no way I could meet up with Ben. I have to fight him on that point…in private. Vinny is the one who is by my side at all times.

  Not saying a word to him, I shake my head as my gaze meets Roberts. He was right, Angel is going to be a lot worse when it comes to me. As long as I can still meet Ben, it does make me feel safer. I bet anyone would have a hard time getting through Angel's men.

  Chapter 16

  Angel

  I look over at Alice talking to Drew and Ellie. I stand next to my dad and the guys, half-listening to the conversation about the O'Reilly group and how things are going. My main focus is on Alice. It's been on Alice the moment she got here. Why has she been speaking to her Uncle Andy so often throughout the night?

  Why is she so worried about Vinny?

  Does she think something's happened to him?

  "Nothing is going to happen to her while she is here," my dad says with a humorous tone. "You can take your eyes off her for a second, you know."

  Turning to face everyone, I ask. "What is happening?" I realize I haven’t heard a word of what they have been saying for the last few minutes.

  "We've found all the drug rings. Say the word, and all of them will be torched," Pike says.

  The plan was to torch every single one of them to the ground, so they can rebuild, and we can do it again.

  "Do we know who is supplying the drugs?" I look over at Alice as she starts laughing at something Ellie said.

  “Nothing yet,” Warren answers.

  I look between them all, considering what the best move is right now. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I try to focus on one thing at a time.

  “I want the suppliers, tell some of the pawns to see if they can get in deeper, find out where the drugs are coming from,” I order.

  “I thought we only wanted the guns?” Pike asks as he looks over at me.

  “It is, but you have to think, the guns, the drugs, they all link. Some family out there, or two families, are trying to fuck us over, and I want their fucking head,” I say.

  I have no idea what it is, but there seems to be something bigger happening. It feels like they want to destroy us, but who are they and why?

 

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