Confession of a King

“Be careful, it’s really hot,” Brian stated while handing me a Starbucks cup and taking a couple steps into my apartment, Vengeance following behind him.

“Thank you,” I mumbled and sipped on the coffee, letting the warm goodness flow down my esophagus and feeling the caffeine start to ignite in my veins. I motioned over to my kitchen table. Shadow was laying on top of it, “Shadow, down.”

Brian and Vengeance looked at each other and smirked at each other and turned and looked at me as I picked the kitten up and placed him on the floor. Shadow gave me a grouchy look as he moved his little kitten feet as quickly as possible to the couch and reclaiming a new spot as his own. It was about 6 PM and I just needed to get this over with.

“Boys, sit,” I sat and commanded them to do the same. They both nodded and listened, sitting across from me. “We need to have a discussion.”

Vengeance rolled his eyes, “Obviously Brian is Gates if that’s what you are going to discuss.”

“Obviously I already fucking knew that when I invited the two of you over here together,” I mocked him, causing Brian to snicker. “And you know, this would be so much easier if I could call you by your actual name.”

“You don’t need to know my name,” Vengeance spat, his green eyes piercing into me. “I don’t care how crazy Shadows is about you. You work for the police. I don’t trust you and I’m not going to trust you.”

Brian rolled his eyes, “It’s Zacky.”

I grinned as Vengeance, or Zacky, turned and looked at Brian like he was insane. “You’re out of your fucking mind. I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re not,” I grabbed his arm and gave him a death-defying look. He grumbled and snatched his arm out of my grip. “You’re not leaving until I’m done talking.”

“Does Shadows let you talk to him like this? Because I think you’re a rude little bitch,” Zacky scoffed and continued to pierce into me with those eyes.

“Enough,” Brian spoke again. “Shadows finds out you said something like that to her and you know he’ll kill you himself.”

“How’s he going to kill me when he’s still in jail?” Zacky raised a brow. “Are you going to do it for him as the second in command?”

“Thin ice, Vengeance. Remember your place,” Brian’s face stone cold.

“As fun as it is to watch you two bicker back and forth. I brought you here for a reason. And I’d appreciate if this doesn’t get back to Matt,” I looked at Zacky. “You want your alpha out, you better fucking listen to me.”

Zacky rolled his eyes, “Fine. What is it?”

I leaned back in my chair and sighed, “We have a new inmate. He’s in some rival gang of yours. Matt said he’s a low man on the totem poll, but won’t give me anymore details about him. He pulled a knife on Matt because they got into a fight. He’s got a pretty nasty wound on his forearm. He wouldn’t give me any details about this guy, other than that he was saying something about me to Matt… so obviously there is talk going on amongst your world.”

“What’s this guys name? What’s he look like?” Brian asked.

“Adam Ackers. Probably about 5’10”, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. Medusa piercing and a few tattoos scattered on his arms. It seemed like Matt knew who he was.”

“Ace,” Zacky sneered. “He works for Behemoth. The kid is pretty good in knife fights, but can’t shoot a gun for shit. What’s he in for?”

“Murder,” I replied.

“I call bullshit. It’s a set up. He was planted in there by Behemoth to get at Shadows. They’re going to work him from the inside out since he’s still locked up. This is why he has had me tailing you for a while now.” Zacky said, as if he was completely certain he knew what was going on. “Don’t let that kid get close to you, Ivy.”

“I’m not planning on it,” I sighed, realizing that I really was in this shit deep now. “How did word get out?”

Brian sighed and looked at me with sorrow, “You have tons of gang members in there, Ivy. All it takes is one visitation day, or someone who has access to the outside world, to say that you’re seeing Shadows, and they’re all on you like ticks.”

“I’m going to get Christ on Behemoth. Figure out if this really is a plant or if maybe the kid did finally catch a body,” Zacky said to Brian. “I’m surprised Shadows hasn’t approached me about this.”

“He doesn’t want you to take your focus off her,” Brian talked about me as if I wasn’t sitting right in front of him. “He’s not worried about his safety right now, V. He’s worried about hers. He wants you watching her and making sure that at the end of the day, she’s safe and sound. He can hold his own, and you know that. They can’t get to him in there. There’s too much security and he still holds power over the masses. Don’t lose the focus he gave you because if something happens to her you’re a dead man.”

My eyes widened at the last statement, “Excuse me? If something happens to me?”

“We won’t let anything happen to you, Ivy,” Brian reassured me. “Christ will focus on Behemoth. Zacky will continue to monitor you from a distance, and I will assist when necessary.” He turned and looked to Zacky, “If we have to pull Corey and them in this we can do that, too.”

“I’m not freaked out or anything,” I mumbled, mostly to myself.

The two of them continued on having their conversation about who was doing what and how they were going to get to this Behemoth person. I zoned out for a bit and tried to think about where my life was headed right now. I was in this. I bit off more than I could really chew. But now I couldn’t back out. Regardless if Matt was using me and playing mind games so that I would write him a clean slip of health to get him out on parole or not. If my life was in jeopardy, I was a slave to his so-called kingdom. I stared at the small cat sitting on my couch and sighed. How much easier it must be, just being a kitten. No worries other than if your owner was going to let you sleep on the bed or not, and even then, you still can do whatever you want because your a cat. I found my mind wandering back to the day I got Shadow, and laughed to myself thinking of Matt calling Shadow his son. I never did send him the picture he asked for… maybe I’d do that later. He’d probably call me. I wouldn’t mind hearing from him.

“What are you smiling about?” Brian eyed me.

I shook my head and snapped my thoughts back, “Nothing.” I felt my cheeks warm up a bit and took a deep breath before speaking, “The next thing I wanted to talk about is actually more for your information and not for my green eyed friend over here.” I pointed at Zacky who rolled his eyes.

“What’s going on?” Brian looked concerned.

“My boss is now requesting me to hand over all recordings of Matt and I from the week, and write up a detailed weekly report on Matt’s behavior. He honestly wanted Matt to be dismissed from me. I just need to make you aware that at any point in time, my boss could sign a dismissal form without my notice or approval,” I frowned.

Brian’s face mirrored my own, “You really think that he’s using you for a get out of jail free card, don’t you?”

“I…”

Brian shook his head and Zacky butt in, “Shadows isn’t one for mind games. Not to shit on his parade, but he isn’t exactly the smartest dude out there. He’s powerful and bold. He feeds off fear and is good at intimidating. He sucks at manipulating. That’s what I’m good at,” Zacky smirked.

“You’ve got him wrapped around your little fingers,” Brian laughed. “And V is right. Your man’s part of the gang isn’t the manipulator. We all play different roles.”

“Elaborate,” I folded my arms across my chest, honestly interested to hear what he had to say.

Zacky gave Brian a look, but Brian seemed to brush it off. “Shadows is our alpha. He’s been in this world for a little longer than the rest of us. He knows how to keep people in line, how to manage and run things. He’s good with getting us excited, and enticing other people. He’s good with his work. Whether it be with money, drugs or weapons and firearms. People are terrified of him. Then you have Vengeance. He’s kind of the brains behind everything. He’s good with the mind games. He can read people. He knows how to crack pretty much any code. Then there is Christ. He’s more-so the one that we use to play good cop, bad cop. He’s manipulative, but not nearly on the level as this one,” Brian pointed at Zacky. “Christ is good at maintaining a somewhat friendly relationship with those who are affiliated with rivals. He’s good at getting information that way. Doesn’t seem as threatening.”

“What about you?” I raised an eyebrow.

“I’m your worst nightmare,” Brian smirked. “I’m generally the hitman. It’s usually not Shadows, unless there’s is something so extreme that he has to step in, like the situation that landed him in jail. I’m the one that holds you hostage, tortures you, and then usually kills you. I don’t feel sympathy for most of them. But, I’m also pretty book smart. Hence why I’m able to be Shadows lawyer. I’m also easy on the eyes so it plays for my advantage.”

“You don’t repeat any of this,” Zacky chimed in, staring me down again. “Ivy, do you know how to shoot a gun?”

“Yes.”

“Here,” Zacky reached under the table and placed a handgun on top of the table. “Keep it in your bathroom. Toiletries drawer. It’s for us, but if you ever have to use it you can. It’s probably best if we all exchange numbers, too.”

I nodded and handed my phone over to him. Brian and I already had each other’s numbers. “None of this is repeated to Matt,” I stated, again, once Vengeance handed me back my phone.

“Not a word,” Brian responded and Zacky nodded in agreement. “Now, if you don’t mind… I have a friend of yours to fuck in a couple hours and would love a shower.”

“Go ahead,” I laughed. “Towels are in the closet across the hall.”

“Thank you,” Brian smiled and grabbed his bag, heading down the hallway.

I turned my attention to Zacky, “Why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t,” he responded, flatly.

“Then why do you act so cold toward me? I didn’t do anything to you. I didn’t ask for Matt to be this way…” I sighed.

Zacky looked at the table, diverted his eyes from mine, “We have a strict no-relationship policy while Shadows is in prison to keep us from any distractions while trying to stay on top in the gang world without him on the ground with us. Then you come along and he’s smitten.” Zacky’s eyes met mine again, “Now we’re distracted. It’s not easy with him in there. We make due, but Gates has been busy with law bullshit, and now I’m tailing you half the time. It leaves Christ to try to keep everything together, and Shadows can only do so much.”

“I’m sorry,” I frowned.

“We’re dealing. You break his heart, I’ll kill you myself,” Zacky’s voice was ice cold as his green eyes burned into me. I nodded and we sat in silence until Brian finished showering. Once he was done I made the three of us dinner, just something quick and easy. Of course, them both being guys in their mid-twenties that rarely have home cooked meals, they both… yes, even Zacky… were raving about how good it was. Then they tried to rope me into the idea of Sunday dinners, which I quickly shot down.

Finally it was close to ten… Brian left to go hang out with Chelsea, and Zacky went to do a few things with Christ and nap before coming back to be on lookout. I showered, did a face mask and made myself a bowl of ice cream before curling up on the couch under a fluffy blanket with Shadow. I turned on Iron Chef and fell asleep within minutes.

I woke in the middle of the night with a scream, sweat dripping down my body. I let out a few heavy, shaky breaths before reaching for the lamp on the end table. Once I turned the lights on, I looked around the room. The front door and sliding glass door were locked. The TV was still on. The bathroom light was still on. Shadow was laying on my feet looking at me like I had three heads. Everything was fine. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then grabbed my cat and phone, turned off the light and TV, and ran my little ass into my bedroom, locking the door behind me. I placed Shadow on the bed, took my sweatpants off, and crawled under my comforter. I didn’t even look at the time, I just pressed the call button and held the phone up to my ear.

The phone rang twice and then it was picked up. “Matt,” I breathed out.

“Is everything okay? It’s three in the morning,” he spoke quietly. His voice gruff… I must’ve woken him up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even look at the time. I just had a nightmare. It was nothing. Go back to sleep,” I sighed. I felt bad waking him.

“It’s okay. I wish I could be there with you,” his scratchy, low voice spoke. “Do you want me to stay on the phone until you fall asleep?” He asked me. I was shockedand smiled to myself. “Just put it on speaker next to your pillow.”

“I don’t want you to get caught. I’ll be okay,” I said. Mostly because I didn’t want him to get caught with a phone because then how would I be able to contact him if I needed to. “Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” He asked and I could hear him yawning.

“Yes. Goodnight, Matt.”

Notes