Matt’s POV

“But I like staying by your side, and with the mood Gates is in, I want to make sure he calmed down by now,” I said to Jo before I knocked on Gates’ door. I didn’t know what the hell his problem was tonight but I was about to find out. None of my men acted like that and I would be damned if he thought he was going to get away with.

“GATES!” We heard voices but the door was too heavy for us to hear what was really going on inside. Something about this whole situation wasn’t sitting well with me and I was going to find out what exactly was going on. “OPEN THE FUCK UP!”

“WHAT?!” Gates yelled back and it took everything in my power not barge through the door.

“OPEN UP!” I wasn’t going to say it again.

“FUCKING HELL!” Gates voice sounded before the door opened. He quickly pushed himself into the doorframe, blocking the little blonde from my view. What the hell had been going on in there?

“I want to talk to Em, in private,” Jo quickly explained and I couldn’t help but notice the way his jaw locked as he lifted an eyebrow at him.

“She can’t,” he said and I let out a warning growl. Oh, no we weren’t going to play this game. I was in charge, not him and if I said Jolie could see her sister, then she was going to fucking see her.

“Let her talk to her sister, Gates,” I growled only for him to turn and look at me with a challenging look. “What if she doesn’t want to talk to her” Gates shot back, standing up to his full height. I really hoped Gates realized he was playing with fire right now. If he wanted to get knocked on his ass in front of the girls, he should keep it.

Thankfully it didn’t come to that because in the next second the little blonde pushed passed Gates and Jolie’s hand. “I want to.”

“We weren’t done, Princess.” Gates took a step towards the girls but I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, pushing him into the room, but not before hearing Emery say, “yes we were.”

“What the fuck is your problem, Shads?” Gates snapped, shaking me off as the door shut behind us. He quickly ran his hands through his hair as he began to pace the room; looking the most frustrated I had ever seen him.

“I could ask you the same fucking question,” I replied, crossing my arms in front of my chest. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this all had something to do with Emery. Was he more deeply invested in her than he was willing to admit? I was starting to think so because I had never seen him react so violently—that was usual my MO. “What the hell happened back there?”

Gates groaned and ran his hands over his face, his pace increasing. “Nothing!” he spit. “I just lost my temper.” Well that was a fucking understatement. He blew a fucking gasket. But why?

“You just don’t up and lose you shit over nothing, Gates,” I counted, earning a dramatic eye roll. “What the hell is going on with you? You’ve been off your game for weeks now. Does it have to do with the Pagano girl because I could have someone else look after her if that’s the problem.”

Gates turned on me so fast that I had to fight the smirk from coming over my face. Did I just hit the nail on the head? “She has nothing to do with this,” he hissed, his finger pointing straight at my chest. “So leave her out of this. She’s been through enough already!” he warned with narrow eyes. “And if you knew what was good for her, you wouldn’t fucking send her away with some stranger.”

“Dan isn’t some stranger,” I replied with a raised brow.

“But he is to her! Don’t you fucking see? Sending here off with Body is just like her father selling her hand in marriage or us giving her back!” he snapped, throwing his hands up in the air with a loud groan. “If we make her go somewhere against her will, we aren’t any better than her fuckhead of a father!”

I had never seen Gates act like this before and I was intrigued. Of course he would never openly admit there was something going on so I would just have to watch him with the little blonde to see what was going on there.

I pursed my lips, considering his words. Maybe he had a point... but what if she met him first and they hit it off? It wouldn’t hurt to introduce Dan and Emery if it could lead to her happiness, right?

“Fine. We’ll bring Dan in to meet her,” I said. Was it just me or did Gates just look at me with a murderous look? Now this really was interesting, now wasn’t it? Well if he wanted the girl to stay he had better speak up.

“We’ll what?” he gapped, looking at me in disbelief.

“We’ll get Dan here tonight for dinner and introduce him to Emery. We can slowly integrate them together so when the time comes, she can go with him if she wishes,” I explained as Gates crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw locked.

“But only if she wants to go with him, right? I refuse to fucking force her into anything.” Gates looked at me straight in the eye, willing me to agree to his terms. There was something else hiding in his gaze but I couldn’t make it out.

I sighed and nodded my head. “Yes, only if she will go willingly. Jo would never forgive me if we sent her sister away unhappy. We will make sure Emery is well taken care of,” I said before turning towards the door. If I was going to set my plan in motion, I still had a lot of work to do. “Anything else?” I asked him, looking back over my shoulder.

Gates shook his head and let out an exasperated breath. “Good, and Gates, don’t forget to clean up your fucking mess. If that shit happens again, you won’t like the consequences,” I said before walking out of the room and pulling out my phone to call Dan ‘the Body’.

“Body,” he answered after the third ring.

“Hey man, it’s Shadows. I’m in need of your assistance in a very private and sensitive case,” I started right off the bat, knowing that we didn’t have a lot of time to pull this off. “Are you interested?”

Dan chuckled on the other end of the line and I could just picture the smirk on his face. “Depends. What are we talking here?”

“Well, long story sort, we have a very high profile client who is in need of some protection outside of the districts and Pagano territory,” I explained, not wanting to say too much over the phone. You never knew who could be listening in. “But the catch is that she needs to feel comfortable with whomever we send her with. She’s gone through some pretty fucked up shit and we want to make sure she is happy with her new arrangements,” I said, phrasing it very vaguely. “So are you interested?”

“So let me get this straight,” Dan chuckled. “You are basically asking me if I would take on a female roommate, but only if we hit it off? Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s basically the gist,” I replied, shaking my head. “So what do you say? Are you interested?”

“You had me at female roommate, man,” he laughed and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Dan was really a funny guy and I hoped for Emery’s sake that she found happiness with him. He was a great guy.

“You’re the best, Body,” I smiled into the phone as I sat down at my desk. “Can you get here for dinner tonight? I know its short notice but his is kind of a time sensitive case.”

“Sure thing. See you then.”

Two hours later everything was set up and ready to go. Dan ‘the Body’ would be arriving in the next few minutes to meet our little spitfire and join us for dinner. I just hoped the little blonde didn’t do anything stupid. She was unpredictable with a sharp tongue but I knew she was exactly Dan’s type. The only question was: would Emery like Dan? And let’s not forget about the Gates situation. I would watch him carefully and see what was going on with him.

“Shads,” Johnny said, knocking on the door and sticking his head in. “Body is here. Would you like me to bring him in?”

“Yeah, send him down,” I replied just as Jo walked past the door with her sister. “Jo? Come here for a minute, babe,” I called only to smile when her beautiful face came through the door. In my opinion she had spent way too much time with her sister away from me. “How is everything going?” I asked, pulling her into my arms.

“Good, Emery and I talked everything out,” she explained, nuzzling into the crook of my neck. I could feel her hot breath on my skin and I had to swallow to keep myself in check. “I think she’ll be okay.”

“That’s great news because I’ve got someone I’d like her to meet coming to dinner,” I said watching Jolie’s eyes grow wide. What? I thought she wanted her sister to find someone she could be happy with?

Jolie opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking at me in shock. “Tonight? That guy is coming tonight?” she asked, biting her lower lip. Well this wasn’t the kind of reaction I was hoping for. Shouldn’t she be happier that I was making her plan for her sister come to life? “Matt… I don’t know if that’s such a good idea right now…”

I sighed and ran my hands over my face before looking back into those stunning blue eyes. “Well it’s a little too late because he’s—”

“Hey Shads! Long time no see!” Speak of the devil. I quickly stood up, clapped his hand, and pulled him in for a bro-hug. “And who is this?” he asked, his eyes landing on Jolie who was standing behind me. He looked at her with a small smile on his face.

“Body why don’t you come in and shut the door so I can fill you in with the rest of the details,” I said and gestured to a seat. Well, here goes nothing.

Dan raised a brow but did as instructed, his eyes still lingering on Jo in a questioning manner. “So remember how I told you that we have high profile clients?” I asked, pulling Jo down on my lap. I always felt calmer when she was touching me. “Well, what I’m about to tell you can’t leave this compound. If it does, we will all be dead, do you hear me?” I warned and Dan gave me a curt nod.

“You have my word as a friend and ally to Avenged Sevenfold,” he vowed.

I took in a deep breath and looked at Jo before continuing. She put her hand on my, giving it an assuring squeeze. God, how did I get so lucky to get this girl? “Dan, I would like to introduce you to Jolie Pagano,” I said and Dan’s jaw dropped to the floor.

“You-you…” Dan stammered leaning forward with wide eyes as he whispered the rest of his question. “You have the Pagano girls?”

“Yes, and the girl I was talking to you on the phone about is Jolie’s sister Emery. These girls have been through a lot and we want to keep them safe,” I explained as Dan ran his hands over his face. “Are you still up for the job?”

Dan opened and closed his mouth a few times before shaking his head. “Yeah but fucking hell, man. This is a lot to take in.” Wasn’t that the truth? “So where is she?”

“She just went to help the Rev set the table for dinner,” Jolie said softly, watching Body carefully. She really had nothing to worry about, Dan was a great guy.

Emery’s POV

I couldn’t fucking believe this! How could Brian just sit there and let them talk about sending me away with some stranger? Wasn’t he going to say anything? I could feel the tears welling in my eyes as I looked at him, begging him to do something. He just looked away from me and toward his boss, making my heart crumble.

I got it now: I was still just a toy that could be easily replaced. How fucking stupid had I been to believe a word he said, yet a-fucking-gain? Did I really mean that little to him? I guess all that talk about finding a way for me to stay and be happy was just another line of bullshit. God, how could I fall for this asshole?

I couldn’t take it anymore! I had to get out of here because there was no way I was going to let anyone see my cry.

Without thinking twice, I stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me. My brain was set on one thing and one thing only: getting out of here as fast as humanly possible so these bastards didn’t see me cry. God I was so freaking mad, hurt, and betrayed that I couldn't even think straight. All I knew was that I couldn't stay with Brian any more, hell I couldn’t even look at him.

Everything that had happened over the past few weeks was just way too much for me to handle right now and I couldn't stand see Brian’s face, knowing that he had betrayed me and hurt me more than anyone had in my whole life. Why the hell did my feelings have to get involved?

My heart again squeezed painfully at the thought of being so disposable to him. And as much as I tried to tell myself I was overreacting and that he did care, the more I realized I was wrong. The proof was right here in front of me, well lack of proof I should said because he didn’t say a fucking word!

“Em! Em wait up!” Jimmy’s voice called behind me and I quickly increased my pace. I didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. I just wanted to be alone, though I had no idea where I was going to go since Brian rooms was undoubtedly locked. “Em please stop!”


Jimmy’s hand landed on my shoulder and turned me around to face him. “What happened, Em? Why did you leave?” he asked and I just shook my head, his blue eyes looking down at me with concern. All I could do was burry my head in his chest as the tears came harder.

Jimmy’s long arms encircling me in a protective hug and I knew he was confused and concerned, but I just couldn’t talk about this right now. I couldn’t form words to explain what I was feeling because it all felt like a nightmare gone wrong. Why did no one sick up for me? Not even my own sister? God, I was in this all alone… and the worst part was that I let myself get to this point. I let myself fall for a guy that would never love me…

“Talk to me, blondie,” Jimmy cooed in my ear hugging me close. “It’s okay, you can tell me. I’m sure I can help fix whatever it is bother you. Is it Gates?” He asked, running his hands through my hair as he tried to comfort me, but his words had already set me into a new panic.

“Em? Jimmy?” I heard Brian’s voice yell down the hallway and my heart started to race, feeling like I was going to be sick. No, he couldn’t be here right now! I didn’t want to see him, not now, not ever! “Get out of here, Rev. Em and I need to talk alone,” he said, his voice coming closer and closer.

“N-No please,” I sobbed. “I-I cant,” I quickly pulled away from Jimmy and dashed down the hall toward Brian’s room. I knew I couldn’t get away from him but maybe he would get the picture if I hid in the closet away from him.

“Em get back here! We need to talk!” Brian called, chasing after me.

“Leave me alone,” I cried, storming away from Brian to the back bedroom. I couldn't stop the tears from running down my face or the painful throbbing in my chest. He made himself pretty fucking clear back in the office. He didn’t want me so why was he chasing after me now? Oh, right it was his job! That thought was slowly tormenting me and breaking me piece by piece. God how could he fucking do this to me? After everything he told me before the meeting? How could I have so stupidly believed him?

“Will you just stop for one minute and fucking talk to me?” Brian grabbed me by the shoulder this time and spun me around. I couldn’t stop the angry sobs that were now raking my body. I was beyond hurt by his actions and felt more alone than ever before.

I glared at him through my tears, crossing my arms over my chest. So now he wanted to talk but he couldn’t have stuck up for me before? What the hell did he want from me? He couldn’t keep playing this ping-pong game with my emotions! I wasn’t some toy!

“Just leave me alone,” I growled, pulling away from him and averting my eyes away. I couldn’t trust myself to make eye contact because I didn’t want to forgive him.

“Look I’m sorry okay?” Brian said as he opened the door to his room. “I didn’t know they planned to send you away somewhere else. I promise you don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to, Em.”

“Yeah, right,” I scoffed, making my way over to the bed and putting my back to him, hoping he would get the hint that I didn’t want to talk to him. I didn’t care what he had to say because his actions spoke louder than his words. I knew that I wasn’t wanted, so I didn’t understand why he was putting on this whole charade.

“I’m serious, Em.” I felt his calloused fingers run over my shoulder and I swallowed thickly. “I meant what I said before. I want you to go someplace where you’ll be happy and safe. I wont make you go anywhere you don’t want to.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” I finally snapped, unable to listen to his lines anymore. “God I was such a fucking idiot for ever believing a word you said,” I said, trying to fight the tears that were threatening to fall again. “Sure send me off with some stranger just because I’m ‘safer’? Whatever makes it so you can sleep at night!”

Brian gapped at me and I could only scoff and throw my hands up in the air. “It’s not like that!” he sighed, as I hid my face against my knees that were pulled to my chest. “I’m not sending you anywhere you don’t want to go.”

“Do you think I really want to go live with someone else? Some strange man nonetheless?” I snapped, my voice breaking mid-sentence. I could feel the tears welling in my eyes again and I couldn’t stop the words that followed. “I want to stay here… where I feel safe with—”

“GATES!” Thank goodness a loud knock sounded on the door, preventing me from admitting my feelings. “OPEN THE FUCK UP!”

“WHAT?” he barked in return, looking me in the eye for the first time. His eyes were pleading me to continue but I wasn’t going to say it again. I had already said too much.

I quickly shook the thought away and blinked my blurred eyes, refocusing on the table full of people around me. Why did I keep thinking back to early today? Was I masochistic? I wasn’t sure but part of me was start to wonder if I had over reacted, especially after Jolie told me about Brian’s reaction. Did that mean he did care?

God, I was so fucking confused in all of this that it wasn’t even funny. And to make matters even worse, Shadows brought some guy for me to meet that they kept calling Body. I mean sure, the guy had a bangin’ hot body and delicious ink covered muscles but my attention kept getting drawn to the man sitting across from me at the table. Those breathtaking brown eyes had been staring me down all night but I refused to make eye contact. Was Jo right? Was there something he wasn’t telling me?

“How’s your dinner, Emery?” A deep voice said next to me, pulling me from my thoughts about Brian. I looked up to see Body or Dan looking at me with a smile on his face. Okay, so maybe he was just as handsome as the rest of them and extremely nice, but he really wasn’t my type. Though Brian didn’t know that…

A smile crept over my face as I formulated at plan. Maybe if I flirted with this guy a little bit I could get a rise out of Brian. If he really liked me like Jo had insinuated then he would react to some other guy showing me attention, but if he didn’t he wouldn’t do anything. I think it was about time to see what Mr. Gates really thought about me.

“Emery?”

I shook my head again and met Dan’s eyes as I whipped my face with my napkin. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” I asked, giving him a small smile.

Dan chuckled lightly and smiled down at me, “How’s your dinner?” he asked with a growing on his face. Okay, so maybe this guy had a gorgeous smile too but it was nothing compared to Brain’s.

“It’s pretty good,” I admitted, leaning a little closer to him as I watched Brian out of the corner of my eye. Unfortunately he didn’t seem to notice Dan and I talking because he was too busy laughing with Jimmy and Zack. Well fuck, I’d have to up my game to get his attention.

“Jimmy’s a great cook. How are the meatballs?” I asked, gently running my hand across his arm before motioning to his plate. Apparently it was Italian night here at the compound.

“Fucking delicious,” Dan said, cutting one with his fork. “Do you want a bite?”

“I’d love one,” I practically purred, scooting my chair over so that our thighs were touching. With one swift motion, Body brought his fork up to my mouth and I made sure he was watching before I took a very sensual bite. And Dan didn’t lie, these were the best meatballs I had ever had. “Mmm…” I let out light moan and closed my eyes as I chewed, closing my eyes. “So good…”

Across the table I heard the clatter of a fork falling on a plate and I opened my eyes to see Brain glaring in our direction. He caught that did he? I watched him for a minute as I took another bite of my dinner, but he stayed silent. Though I could feel his glare burning a hole in the side of my head when I turned back to Dan.

“So where are you from?” I asked, letting my fingers brush up and down his arm in a playful manner. Though when Dan opened his mouth to speak it wasn’t his voice that I heard.

“Dan is from Huntington Beach but moved out of the area a few years ago. He works for us,” Brian snapped, narrowing his eyes warningly at me. What? He had made himself clear didn’t he? I was supposed to go with Dan, right? Or at least that’s what I thought because he didn’t fucking say anything otherwise.

“Matt, could you help me take the dishes to the kitchen?” I heard my sister say but I was too busy forcing myself to look at Dan. I knew it would piss Brian off if I ignored him. “We can get that later babe,” Matt argued but my sister pulled him up from the table and kissed his lips, and he followed her lead. What the hell was she doing?

“Yeah, I do financial stuff outside of the area where no one else can find it,” Dan added. “You know, like secret funds in all that fun stuff.”

“So where is your place?” I asked, hearing a fist hit the table. “Is it on a beach?” I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder and resting my chin there. “I love the beach… hell I would live there if I was ever allowed out of the house,” I said, shooting Brian a pointed look. If he didn’t want me anymore, maybe Dan would take care of me even better than Brian did. Did I really want that? Of course not, I was just playing the game to see if Brain would do anything. I had to know if he cared.

Dan chuckled and put his arm around me. “Actually my place is on the beach,” he said. Was that a growl I just heard? I think I must really be hearing things. “I go for a run on the beach and surf every morning.”

“I’ve never been surfing,” I said, letting my hand move to the back of his neck, carefully twisting his hair. “Maybe you could show me sometime,” I breathed, inching closer and closer.

“Dan is a great surf instructor,” Zack added, only to let out a grunt. What the hell was that about? “What the fuck, Gates?”

“Sorry, I thought I saw a bug on your arm,” he said just as Shadows and Jo came back into the room.

“Is anyone up for desert?” Jo asked, with a smile. When her eyes landed on me she raised her brow at me, as if asking what I was doing. I shrugged and smiled, leaning back into Dan’s side.

“It’s all set up on the island with some drink,” Matt said, pulling my sister into his side. “Help yourself.”

“Hey Dan, could you help me with my desert?”

Notes

Sorry for the long delay lovely readers, I (Kwally2) have started back to teaching school and coaching and its kicking my ass. I am working on a new chapter as we speak for our stories so hopefully you will have some more updates! Please let us know what you think and thank you for sticking with us.