He was back at his office in the club, there was no resting for him, no weekend, but his mind kept swaying every now and then to one person, but now he was no longer fighting it, he was just letting it happen, basking in it, letting it runs through his whole body, accepting it for what it was.

He was thinking about going out with Nate, he already knew what he wanted to say to him, what he would talk about, but he knew that when he gets there, he'd lose his nerve. There was just something about Nate that made him always nervous, he wouldn't call it nervous but he was always at a lost for words when it involved Nate, and it started when he started getting attracted to him.

He sighed out and pulled a cigarette stick from the pack lying lazily on his table, he put it between his lips and lit it. Dragging the smoke in, this was a stress reliever for him, and it also made him think of Nate less Sometimes he felt like he was getting attached to him hard and very fast.

A few months ago he wasn't like this, he felt like it wasn't normal. How can someone he just met a while ago take up so much space in his mind like this, occupying his every thought, driving him crazy. Nate was like an addiction he was trying to stop but the more he tried, the stronger it got.

He'd never admitted to liking someone before, not once in his life. But without hesitation he admitted to liking Nate to Matteo. Truth be told, it scared him at how fast things were happening, giving him less time to process the whole thing.

He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, letting out a huge cloud of smoke from his mouth as he watched it disappear in thin air. There was nothing he could do now about this craziness, it was already too late for him. Gay or not, he knew he was attracted to Nate.

His office door pulled open and Matteo strode in. He stopped in front of his table "You good"? He asked and Spade just nodded, Even though he wasn't good. He was slowly losing his mind to Nate. "They're ready for you" he muttered and Spade just nodded before squashing the butt of the cigarette on the table, leaving a black circular mark there, he got up sharply, without his suit jacket, he started walking towards the door while Matteo followed behind him.

"Liam's underboss called" he muttered matching Spade's strides as he followed closely behind him. They both got out of the office and headed towards the huge hall at the far back of the club that he sometimes used for meetings, he had one in every building he owned, in case of emergency.

"When's the funeral"? Spade asked

"In a week's time" he muttered and Spade just clenched his jaw, remembering what happened the previous night "You're going right"? Matteo asked and Spade just clicked his teeth together before shaking his head

"I'm not going, you are" he muttered making Matteo to look at him "We don't know if I was one of the targets yesterday, with the whole drama going on with mystery man, I won't risk going to places like that, especially knowing a lot of people would be there, friends and associates of Liam, most of who are men in the underworld" he muttered "Until we know who set up the shooting and why, I don't think it's a good idea to be in public places like that" he explained and Matteo just nodded. He wanted to ask Spade about his conversation with Nate earlier today but they were already at the door of the meeting room, Spade pushed the door open and they both walked in.

Immedaitely Spade entered the room, every chatter died down as all eyes turned to him The chairs surrounding the long table were filled with his men, some from the initial he had in New York and a few new faces from Italy.

He walked with dominance and a powerful aura, his eyes sharp and his face stoic and bored, his eyes moved from each man as he scrutinized them with his gaze. His shoulders squared as he approached the head of of the table, standing in front of them all, they all bowed their heads down and he pulled out the chair, sitting on it, as usual Matteo sat on his right side, Bernie was on his left, if Dom hadn't betrayed him he would have been the one after Bernie.

The room was pin drop silent as each men looked at their Don, it had been a while he held a meeting like this, Matteo had been the one doing it on his behalf, but he still had the fear and attention of all the men sitting in front of him.

Straight to business, he didn't wanna waste any more time "As you all know, Liam Fritz is dead" his deep, hoarse and commanding voice resonated through the room, while everyone listened with rapt attention "most if not all of you heard what happened last night at his 12th anniversary party" he told them and some nodded while others just listened "No one has come out to claim responsibility for the shooting and his men have been unable to find out who the shooter was, Liam wasn't the only one shot, a few other people were targeted, I was there last night as we still don't know how many people they have on their Target list, or who they are" he finished, his eyes moving from man to man

Bernie was the first to speak up, stealing the attention in the room as they all turned to look at him.

"Boss, do you think this has something to do with the coming auction in Italy"? He asked before all eyes moved back to Spade

"No Bernie, i think this goes much more deeper than that, maybe even as deep as our mystery man that has been sabotaging most of our operations" he said as he could see the questioning look his men had on their faces "Most of the people that were targets last night, were all people I have an alliance with or I'm doing business with" he added quickly as the whole room erupted in small talks and whispers "We don't know for sure but for the meantime I'd advice you all to keep a low profile, lay low, if you hear or see anything report back to me or Matteo" he told them and they all nodded.

"What about the police problem boss"? One of the men on the right side asked making Spade to look at him, he remembers him, Vincenzo

"It's been taking care of" he muttered watching as the man nodded before he looked into the eyes of all of them again. "One more thing" his voice boomed off the walls as all of them had their eyes on him "You all know what happened to Dom, he betrayed me, and Lucas, I don't have to tell you not to betray me because if you do, you know what happens" he muttered as they all nodded, sharp gazes before he pushed his chair back and stood up dismissing the meeting.

Matteo followed as they both strode out of the conference room, he could hear their whispers and small talks.

Both of them walked out of the hall and headed towards Spade's office. He looked at his wristwatch and he had only been here for 3 hours but it felt like he'd been here for days, the day suddenly seemed longer for him, maybe because his mind kept going back to Nate and the outing they were supposed to go for.

They stopped in front of the black door and Spade stopped turning to face Matteo, at this time of the day the club was very much quieter and it was a plus for him because he could concentrate more "Were you able to get the cars from the center"? He asked and Matteo shook his head

Spade pushed open the door and they walked into the dimly lit office, with Matteo right behind Spade, he walked round his desk and pulled out the chair, sitting down on it, while Matteo sat on the black leather couch he always sat in whenever he was in Spade's office.

"I couldn't get the cars, I went there and they weren't there, at first I thought someone had stolen them, but then I saw one of Liam's men lingering around the building and he told me that all the cars left there last night by their owners had been towed away by the cops" he muttered "they heard about the shooting and they came this morning, hoping to find anything that would give them an insight on what happened there but found none, except for the cars, so they towed them in as evidence" he explained, Nate didn't react to it, he just stared at Matteo, biting his cheek.

He opened up his laptop, hoping to do some work on it while he sorted the car thing with Matteo "What's Carlos saying"? He asked his eyes trained on the screen of his laptop as he tapped away on the keyboard.

"I tried reaching out to him and he said it's out of his powers, that he can't do anything about it" Matteo muttered and Spade just pursed his lips in a thin line, slowly nodding his head at both what Matteo just said and what he was looking at on the screen of his laptop

"So that means both my car and Nate's car are in police custody" he muttered to no one in particular, this meant only one thing, he was once again on the police chief's radar. It wouldn't take longer before Garcia came knocking again "Leave the car, I'll handle it, for now I need you to do something for me" he muttered his eyes leaving the computer and facing Matteo "I want you to get me the list of guest names that went to Liam's party last night" he told him and Matteo just nodded, thinking of what Spade wanted the guest list for, last he checked the man was a Don and not a detective.

Spade could feel it in his bones that something was definitely amiss here, and something tells him that it's not just a coincidence that all those targeted were people close to him, and now the cops have his car in custody, everything was already forming a pattern and he could see from a mile away whose handwork this was

Matteo relaxed back on the couch, the leather making a loud noise. Spade looked back at the laptop screen, whoever this mystery man was, they didn't even know half of what they were messing with. If his own father couldn't contain him, just how the hell would someone who didn't know anything about him do that? If truly they were the ones behind the shooting, he was gonna make them pay, not just for messing with him but killing Liam, they weren't exactly best of friends before he died, but the man deserved that much, vengeance.

*****

Standing in front of his closet, he was really in a conflict with himself, he didn't know what to wear, he didn't even know where Spade would take him to, and he couldn't just call him up and ask him for dress code to whatever secret place he was taking him to.

He brushed his hands through his brown, tangled up locks, he got them from his mother, the only thing he inherited from her, everything else he got from his father, except for his eyes, he didn't really know where he got brown eyes from.

It always made him stand out from the rest of his family as a kid, while his sister looked like their mother in almost everything, he inherited nothing from either of his parents, well except for his hair, but that was nothing compared to looking like them, it was just hair, anybody could get the kind of his hair without genetics.

He shifted his attention back to the problem in front of him He couldn't put on a suit, this wasn't a business deal, and he didn't know if a jean and regular round neck was way too casual for wherever Spade was taking him. He should have just asked him earlier on, but being around Spade for that long, kind of made his brain a mess of nerves and anxiety.

He was scanning through the rows and rows of business suit, jean which he didn't really have much of, something dark deep inside caught his attention as he pushed his hand deep inside the closet pulling it out. It was a black slacks, something that could be worn anywhere and it would be okay and comfortable, it had been a while since he wore it, he barely even had time for fashion luxury. He spread it open and it still looked neatly pressed and fresh, now what to pair it with.

He wanted to pick out a white t shirt but it would look too uniform, and somehow too formal, not that he thought the outing was casual but he didn't even know what to expect.

What if he dressed too formal and after getting to the place he'd feel out of place, or if he dressed too casual, that would even be worse. Imagine Spade taking them to one of those fancy places, where influential people frequent, too much casual would make him feel and look awkward.

He was actually very tired of standing there and racking his brains out thinking of what to wear, this was much harder than he thought. He placed his hands on his waist, shifting his weight from his left foot to the right, they were beginning to cramp up and it was straining on his thigh muscles.

He was raking his eyes through the many clothes he had hung up, but he realized he wouldn't find what he was looking for there, those were all work outfits

He moved his eyes down to the columns of neatly folded clothes and he started going through them one after the other, passing by each one and already feeling himself giving up, none was fitting enough or even remotely interesting for him, until he spotted one.

He stopped and examined it, pulling it out he unfolded it. White hoodie, not too thick but good enough to fit the black slacks

It was a gift, from his sister. Ever since she'd given it to him he'd only wore it once, and if he wore it today it would be the second time.

Holding both clothing items up, he placed them together and they fit, he let out a deep sigh of relief at his small victory of finding something he could wear

Finding shoes to pair it with wouldn't be a problem, he already knew just the right shoe.

I'm not really good with fashion guys 😁😁

And also, sorry if the slow burn is getting to slow.

I didn't intend for it to even be a slow burn when I started,but I wanted to try something new.

Also I made it like this for my readers on good novel who pay to read 😁😁😜