I look at Vinny and Andy. “We keep to the plan you’ve been working on, and we will do everything we can to keep her safe too, but I would like to meet Ben,” I say.

  “That’s good. He would like to meet you, too.”

  I turn to face Alice when she ends her call.

  “He’s still in London working on whatever business they do here. I’m meeting him at the same hotel at five,” she says.

  “Evening?” I question.

  “Morning.” She hands the phone back to Vinny, who takes the sim card out and breaks it. “I don’t want Ben…”

  "He won't be in any danger, I promise." I move closer to her and she leans into my embrace. "For the night, we will stay here. You and Drew get some sleep, and I will wake you when we need to leave. I have to talk to the family," I say. My hands slide down to her hips and I pull her closer to me and give her a kiss. "I promise I will protect you until my last breath."

  "I know," she whispers, resting her head on my chest.

  “Get some sleep,” I say before looking over at Drew. I nod, giving her permission to go meet Ellie. I know they won’t sleep, but they will try to make Alice smile, and that is enough for me.

  I release Alice reluctantly, hoping I’m making the right choice. I sit down, leaning my body back and staring at the ceiling of my dad's office.

  “Talk to us.” Elijah taps my leg.

  I close my eyes for a moment. “Now that we know the Young Family is behind the guards, I want William in the basement by the end of tomorrow night. The drugs go up in flames tomorrow as well,” I say, opening my eyes but still looking at the ceiling.

  “I wasn’t asking about business. I was asking about Alice,” Elijah says.

  I shake my head, sitting up and finding all eyes are on me.

  What do I feel about Alice's past? How can I make sure she is always protected? Can I protect her? That is the biggest question. I've never feared losing or dying, but the thought of not being able to protect Alice brings a fear to me I've never had before. For the first time in my life, I fear losing something.

  “Security. I have Vinny on her at all times, and I will get a few more on her as soon as possible. She only rides in our cars, and I’m going to move all of her stuff into my place,” I say.

  She doesn’t want them knowing she is with us, and we still don’t know the full story. All we know is what Alice has told us. Andy said that whatever her dad found, he didn’t tell anyone. All he said was they will kill anyone that knew about it. What he found died with her dad, and Alice said her dad never said anything more to her than what she’s already told everyone.

  That is the only thing that doesn’t make sense to me. Why look for a girl who knows nothing for over sixteen years? If she did know something, wouldn’t she have said something by now? These are some of the questions I will be asking Ben when we meet.

  ***

  We get out of the car, and Alice looks around. "Pike is here," I tell her.

  She has been nervous the whole time since we left the house. She gives me a small nod, then looks over her shoulder. I see this is something she does every time she comes to see Ben. We make our way to the hotel, give a fake name at the desk, and make our way up the stairs.

  “Alice…”

  “I know you’re with me, and I know Pike is outside, but I just need…”

  "I know. I'm following."

  We walk upstairs, ride down on the lift, then go down more stairs. Eventually, I understand why she is doing it. Andy told us that if anything happens to Ben, she won't forgive herself. She will always protect him as much as she can.

  Swiping the keycard, she takes a step in. When she sees him, she runs over to the guy who was in the pictures. I close the door behind us and watch them hug.

  “What happened?” Alice looks at his face.

  “Nothing. Just some business went a little wrong,” he says with a chuckle.

  “I’ll get some ice for that.” She kisses him on the cheek and hurries out the room.

  "She is normally worse than that,” Ben says. “It’s nice to meet you, Angel." He puts his hand out for me and I shake it. "She's nervous,” he says, “and I think having you here isn't helping."

  I laugh. “Yeah, the maze to get to the room was fun.”

  "Before she gets back, Angel, she tried to talk me into leaving the Midlands again, but we both know that there are only two ways out. Either I die trying to leave, or they find out who I really am and kill me. The only thing I ask is when that day comes, you protect her from them. If it means starting a war, you better start a war." Ben looks at the door, making sure Alice doesn't come back. His gesture tells me this conversation needs to happen quickly.

  “I promise. I won’t let anything happen to her,” I tell him.

  "I've heard a lot about you, Angel. I know you can be an evil man, and I know even Bruce is scared to cross you, but they want to find Alice, and they won't stop until they do," Ben says quickly.

  I go to say something, but he holds his hand up.

  "Alice doesn't know the whole story of how much they want her, and I want to keep it that way. As far as the Midlands are concerned, her dad told her something about their business, and they want to know what he said. That is everything I know so far. When I get information, I call Vinny and Uncle Stuart. Right now, the only thing I care about is making sure Alice is safe."

  "She will be safe. I have twenty-four-hour security around her, and she will be moving in with me." I stop talking when I hear the door open behind me.

  “Here,” Alice places the ice bag on his eye. “Now that Angel knows, you can…”

  “Alice, it’s not happening. The only thing I care about is if something happens to me. I trust Angel enough to protect you,” Ben says.

  “Nothing will happen to you. You promised me nothing will happen to you.” Alice’s voice breaks with each word.

  I look at Ben. He knows there is a time that he will die. Being in this type of life, we all know one day we will die.

  “Can I ask a question?” I look at Ben, then Alice.

  "Sure," Ben replies.

  “There is a picture of you with the Young family. What are the Midlands and Young family doing together?”

  “They are trying to rebuild the trafficking ring your granddad stopped, but they know the Frost family will stop it if you find out so they’re trying to do it underground so you won’t know about it.” Ben puts the ice pack on the table. “Vinny said something about guns. We don’t sell any guns here. At the meeting you had, they were telling the truth. We sell guns to the Irish only. What they do with them, we don’t know. The drugs are ours, but we sell through families to get them there.”

  If my family does anything to the Midlands after learning this, they will know they have a mole, and Alice will kill me.

  "We're burning the drugs tomorrow night," I say.

  “The Midlands won’t get involved. They don’t want you to know the drugs belong to them.”

  Shaking my head, I have no idea what is happening. I thought this might give me some more answers, but it hasn’t.

  “Are the Midlands behind the family who came after me in prison?” I ask.

  "We thought they were a family. I didn't think anyone was behind them. But I know Bruce and his dad have a lot of secret meetings without any of the other family members. What they are doing, I have no idea. Sorry, I can't help there,” Ben says. “Harvey is fighting with them. He hates not knowing, but Mitch has told him he has one job, to find Alice." Ben gives Alice's head a kiss. "We have everything set up for you to go to Canada. We have a girl that looks like you. She has your passport and will be travelling this weekend. I will call you soon as the Midlands think you are there."

  “Okay. Vinny said I can talk to Uncle Stuart tomorrow. He wants to Facetime and talk to Angel,” Alice says. “What time are you leaving?”

  "Well, you know what the boys think I do up here," he says with a smile.

  “I know.” She rolls her eyes at him.

  They must think he comes to this hotel for a fuck. He knows none of the guys will ever question why he is in the same hotel every time he comes here.

  "The girl’s in the other room. I pay her enough that I know she won't say anything," Ben says.

  “Is it a different girl every time?” I ask.

  "No. This one Vinny got me. She’s loyal to him, so I can trust her," Ben says.

  I look at Alice. “I’m going down to the car. If you’re not down in five minutes, Pike and I come back with guns,” I warn her. There is no way I’m taking any chances.

  “I will be down on time,” she promises.

  "Angel, look after her. She means the world to me." Ben shakes my hand again, and I give him a nod and leave the room to let them talk.

  Andy was right. Their relationship is strong. He is risking his life for Alice, and Alice will do anything to protect him. That now makes it my job to protect him, too.

  “Where’s Alice?” Pike gets out of the car.

  “Talking to Ben. The Midlands are behind O'Reilly.” I start telling him everything Ben told me, and try to work out what the big fucking picture is here.

  Dad won’t let them start up the trafficking again, but again we can’t stop it. Not yet anyway. The drugs are from the Midlands, and the only thing we can do is burn them until they fuck up and show their faces. Every bit of information Ben gives us going forward is knowledge we can’t use because we have to protect him.

  “Who’s behind them?” Pike asks.

  I turn to him and say, "I have no idea. By what Ben is saying, whoever’s behind it is keeping it tight to the chest." I look back to the hotel, and then my watch.

  “Hey,” Pike says, drawing my attention. “She will be safe, and you need to enjoy life with her. Stop worrying so much.” Pike starts laughing, knowing that isn’t going to happen.

  "If what grandad and dad tell me is true, with a women you worry over bigger things, remembering to put the toilet seat down and always agreeing with her. That was another tip they gave me," I say and start laughing. These are the things I never thought I would be doing, but I'm looking forward to how my life is about to change by having Alice as a part of it.

  Chapter 20

  Alice

  I wait for the door to close, making sure Angel has left the room. The last few hours have been a rollercoaster. At the moment, I still don’t know what is happening. A lot of information has changed, and now it’s only a matter of time before the Midlands find out.

  “I have to say, I don’t think Angel will let anything happen to you. He will make sure you are safe every second of the day,” Ben says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

  "True. If he doesn't have to leave my side, he won't," I tell Ben as I pull out a chair to sit down.

  Ben sits next to me, taking my hand in his. “What are you worried about?”

  I meet Ben's gaze. "There is a chance the Midlands will find out soon, and I'm just worried about what will happen to you." I lick my lips as they go dry. “This is getting closer to the end, Ben, and if they make me choose between them taking me and you…”

  "I know you would, but neither Angel nor I will let that happen." Ben moves closer to me, cupping my face and wiping the tears away from my cheeks. "Don't worry about me. I will be fine. The moment I think something is going wrong, I will be on the first plane to America," Ben says and leans in to kiss my forehead.

  "I know.” I say, but I’m not sure I believe it. “I best go before they both come in with guns waving." I stand up. "I love you."

  “I love you too. I will call Vinny if I hear anything new. I might have to miss our next meeting. I don’t want them to think I have something else happening up here. Next time, I’m going to tell them to send someone else when they need business taken care of in London, but I will call you.”

  I give him one last kiss and leave the hotel. As I stand out front, I look at Angel and Pike looking at me. I make my way over to them and look around, making sure there is no one else around.

  “Ready?” Angel opens the door for me. “Pike, my house,” Angel says as I get in.

  Angel gets in and I cuddle up next to him. His arm wraps around me. “Time to go home,” he whispers.

  I look up and stare into his blue eyes. "Ben said you're an ass," I tease.

  “If he thought I was nice, I would be more worried.” Angel kisses me.

  I start laughing. “Trust me, he doesn't think you’re nice. He said I need someone like you to protect me, and that is what he is.” Ben said that when I met with him to tell him about Angel. After meeting him face to face, I think Ben believes the stories he’s heard about Angel.

  Angel’s lips curl up a little, but he doesn’t say anything else about it. Angel takes out his phone and starts looking through his email. I close my eyes for the first time since all this started.

  When Ben calls me and tells me the Midlands have gone to Canada to find me, I will relax a little. I’ll never relax entirely, because I know I can get spotted by them any day, but I'm hoping the Midlands continue to stay out of Sinwick.

  “Pike, did you talk to Craig? Elijah said he would like to do it, but would like Craig to take some of it, too, to help him,” Angel asks.

  My attention is pulled away when my phone beeps.

  Vinny - You going back to your apartment?

  Alice - No, to Angel’s. Talk tomorrow.

  Vinny doesn't reply. Ben will call him later to let him know about meeting up with Angel. They both spoke politely with each other, and that is all I want.

  "Yeah, Craig said whatever the boss wants him to do, he'll do." Pike looks in his rearview mirror. "When you do want to start up again?" he asks.

  I have no idea what they are talking about, and can tell they don’t want me to know. They are only saying a few words to each other, so only they know what is happening.

  “As soon as they can,” Angel says. He starts tapping away on his phone, and I look out the window. “What do you have planned today?” he asks me.

  “I have lunch with Drew and Ellie, and I’m working at the bar tonight,” I tell him.

  The conversation with Uncle Stuart will be fun. He hasn’t really said anything to me about Angel, and I have no idea what he will say.

  “What will it take for me to say you’re not working anymore?” Angel asks.

  "Two things will make you lose that battle. One, I’ll get bored and will drive you and me crazy. Two, if you let me work and have some fun, I mean you have enough of your men following me, I’ll stay occupied and out of trouble. The bar is the only place that I can—"

  "I suppose I can keep an eye on you at the bar." Angel looks back down to his phone when it beeps.

  "Keep an eye on me?" I question him. "You would think I'm about to cheat on you or something." I say as a joke, but I don't laugh when Angel looks over at me and his eyes darken. "I was joking," I say.

  "Two things you should never joke about are your safety and cheating on me. I’ll kill anyone who touches you, slowly." Angel looks at his phone again.

  I want to say what he said was a joke, but it wasn't.

  "So who is my guard?" I ask. I'm not sure if he is keeping Vinny with me or not.

  “I don’t know yet.”

  The car stops and I look out at Angel’s house. It’s a nice house. You would think someone like him would have a gate around it, but no. Robert’s house has a fence the whole way around, and you need a pin to get through the gate. Angel's house is more open. People can easily get to it.

  "Don't worry, my house is very well protected,” he says after noticing my interest. “When you get behind closed doors, I will show you how."

  We get out of the car and Angel places his hand on the small of my back to lead me to the door.

  "Pike lives next door, and I'm buying the house next to that for Vinny, for extra protection," Angel explains. He places his finger on the scanner and Pike stands behind us.

  I’m not sure if he is coming in with us or waiting until the doors close and we are safe inside. “Who can open the door?” I ask Angel.

  "Me, Pike, and my dad. I will add yours to the system, too."

  Angel walks further into the house as I stand there looking at how amazing this place is. The hallway alone is huge. I walk around a little, and you can tell that he doesn't spend much time here. It looks more like a show house than a home.

  "When was the last time you were here?" I ask him as he continues to look at the security system.

  “I come here to sleep. That's about it.”

  I turn to face him with a skeptical expression. We both know he doesn’t sleep.

  “I come here for an hour or so, but now that you will be here, I have a reason to be here.” He walks towards me.

  "Oh, is that right? Can I—"

  “You can do whatever you want. Change whatever you want. One thing I should tell you, though, is that we will be having sex in every room of my house.” Angel pulls me closer to him, my body pressing against his. “And tonight, I think my bed will be a good place to start.” He continues forward, and I take a step back, letting him lead me to where he is taking me.

  “Step,” Angel says, not taking his eyes off me.

  I begin to walk up the stairs backwards.

  When we reach the top, Angel still has not once kissed me, not once taken his eyes off me. The only thing that he is doing is making me hotter and wetter. The door behind me opens, and the moment it closes behind me, Angel spins me around. My back hits the door and I look up at him.

  Angel looks down to me and licks his lips. His hand moves up my top, straight to my nipples, teasing them, pinching them. His other hand moves down my trousers, his knee pushing my legs apart. His finger flicks against my clit, and I moan softly.

  "So wet for me, Alice," he whispers. "And it's all mine. You’re mine," Angel says as he pushes a finger inside, making me moan again.

  I want him to kiss me, the hunger of his lips is what I need right now.

 

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