11 - Baby

"I hunger for your sleek laugh and your hands the color of a furious harvest. I want to eat the sunbeams flaring in your beauty."

― Pablo Neruda

. . .

ASHTON CREED

"We heard of your problems," I said, sitting down on the chair. The hall was filled with our men. I knew they were nervous, you could feel the tension in the room, but they did not appear nervous. A Mafia life hardens your armor. I smiled.

"Those who have a problem can step forward," Xerxes said, sitting down on the chair between Zavier and I. "And you will be heard."

"Come on," Zavier urged when no one moved. Michael was watching everything quietly. "We heard people are having problems with us. We just want to talk." He smiled.

They just stood there, rigid. "Brown," Xerxes called out.

Michael stepped forward. "Who was it?" I asked.

Michael walked towards Killian Creed, our late uncle's son. He would have been the leader of the mafia if my brothers and I had died. He resented us. Michael grabbed Killian's collar and threw him at our feet.

"This is the first one," Michael said, smirking. I looked down at Killian.

"Stand up, cousin," Zavier ordered. I knew he was enjoying it. We tried to not kill people without reason. We could not ask for our men's respect if we were mindless killers. For a long time, we had wished for a reason we could kill Killian.

And now here he was, seething in front of us, his eyes which were similar to mine looking at us with disgust.

He turned around to face our men. "You are really going to follow them when they can not even keep our territory safe?"

Last shot in the dark. He knew he was a dead man.

I stood up and I felt him freeze when I put my hand on his shoulder.

"A knife?" I asked and I knew everyone heard me. Again, silence washed over the hall but this time it was filled with fear. If we could kill our cousin, would we ever have mercy for anyone of them?

The answer was simple - No.

"Obviously." Zavier stood up, the glint in his eyes identical to the glint of the sharp edge of his knife which danged in his tatted hands.

I pushed Killian on his knees before us, facing the men. His head was high. A true Creed never bows, my father's voice came in my head, his green eyes which flashed in my head and my body filled with rage.

I took my knife out.

Zavier and I plunged our shining knives into his neck and rotated them, his scream echoes in the hall

Everyone watched him bleed as he fell to the ground. We took out knives. I wiped my hands with a handkerchief.

"Whos next?"

OLIVIA WOODS

I loved kind strangers.

I loved them more than I loved my mother. Well, I loved everything more than my mother.

I packed up twenty cookies for the nice old lady across the counter. She smiled at me. I thanked her and waved at her as she walked out, her grandson following her with his eyes glued to his iPad.

I had to say, I kind of liked my job. Cassandra had started giving me evening shifts, which was really nice because I did not have to walk in the night anymore, something I was really uncomfortable with because of what happened.

I looked down at my phone. They had not contacted me for hours. It was Monday evening, the party Zavier had asked me to go to with him was tonight.

Earlier today, I had told Georgia about the Creeds. She had been...weird. She didn't say anything, she just nodded and said 'no shit' at the right times but she...she wasn't angry. This seemed weird to me because she always got fussy when I did something which could potentially hurt me. Creeds did not have good rumors surrounding them.

Georgia was working to be a journalist so maybe she knew things. I looked down at my phone again. Why had they not texted me?

They must be busy. A business doesn't run by itself! Yes, that must be it. If I was going I text them, what should I even text?

Hi Hello

How are you?

After what Ashton had done, I could not sleep. I always had him in my head but what messed me up more was that I had the other two in my head too! It didn't make sense. How could I be attracted to three men at the same time?

Was I losing it? Was I secretly on drugs?

I took a bite of my cupcake. I was sure I was making Cassandra want to stop giving employees a discount because of the number of cupcakes I ate every day. I knew I had gained a pound or two. I could not bring myself to care.

I picked my phone up. There was one thing I could text them without sounding awkward.

I texted Zavier before I could change my mind.

I want to come to the party...if you still want me to.

He did not text me back. I sighed.

"Don't sigh like that, you are scaring the customers away," Cassandra graciously informed me.

I huffed, looking around. "You know you love me, Cassandra." He patted my shoulder. "Keep dreaming."

I chuckled. She smiled, his wrinkles becoming prominent. "Go home and get something to eat."

I looked around. There were many people here. "Are you sure?" I asked. I was hungry as heck. "There are many people here."

She rolled her eyes. "I have handled more people, honey. Go eat something." She gently pushed me towards the door of the backroom. I thanked her, something she grimaced at and walked inside the backroom. I took off my apron, put my black jacket on, and grabbed my bag.

I got a burger from a nearby diner and ate it there alone, glaring at my phone. Maybe he didn't want me to go with them anymore and did not know how to tell me that without sounding rude so he was ignoring me. That was something I'd do.

But, he could tell me. I would not be mad. It wouldn't be the first time for something to hurt me a little.

My phone did not buzz all the way home. Maybe they got sick of me. They must now have a perfect beautiful college girl as a friend. Maybe one of them had her on his lap right now.

I frowned, unhappy at the thought and then unsettled because I was unhappy.

I was an idiot.

I stopped short when my eyes fell on the SUV marked across the street in front of my apartment building and the Creeds leaning against it, dressed in casual clothes.

Xerxes made a 'come here' motion with his fingers. Before I could stop myself, I crossed the street and was standing before them. Zavier in the middle and Xerxes and Ashton side of him.

I looked at Zavier, unsure why my heart was suddenly beating so fast. "I-I texted you."

He grimaced, taking my hand and pressing a kiss to my palm. "Sorry, baby. I have no idea where my phone is."

I blushed. "W-why did you call me that?" They were watching me with dark eyes.

"Baby?" Zavier asked, a smirk tilting up his lips.

"Friends don't call each other that," I mumbled, feeling myself blush more.

Ashton cupped the side of my face, stepping closer. "Friends don't blush this much for friends, do they?"

"I'm sure they don't," Xerxes muttered, stepping closer. "Why do you blush so much, little love?"

Zavier bent down to whisper in my ear. "Something on your mind, baby?"

"No!" I took a step back, knowing my blush was too prominent. They smirked, looking happy with themselves. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it.

"What did you text me?" Zavier asked after watching me squirm under their intense gaze for a few seconds.

I took my phone out of my jacket and showed them. Judging by the way I was feeling, I knew if I had opened my mouth I would have stuttered like an idiot.

They read the message.

"Well, then." Ashton smiled at me. He looked happy. They looked happy.

Were they happy because I said yes?

"We will pick you up in two hours," Xerxes said. Zavier winked at me. "See you later, baby."

I huffed in annoyance as my cheeks heat up once again. They chuckled.

. . .