“Good evening, Nicholas,” I turn to face Mr. Savage, Mr. Dennis Savage. I haven’t seen him in some time, but I will never forget him. He has aged only slightly and still a man who gets plenty of attention from the females in the room. Young or old, he attracts them easily. I assume his obvious wealth helps his prowess with the women some too. Although that cane, that ruby-eyed dragon he carries can make anyone feel uncomfortable, it certainly sends chills down my spine. “If I had known you were going to be here tonight, I would have offered one of my tables where the view is much better. Instead, all I could do is pay for your dinner,” he says, leaning on that damn dragon, like he is a weak old man.
“Why would you do that?” I ask.
“You’re a young man Nicholas. You should not be spending money on a restaurant like this. Let me take care of it for you, I am, after all, and old family friend.”
“From what I understand, my father doesn’t consider you a friend at all,” I say.
“Your father is temporarily angry with me, but there is no reason for you and me to quarrel. In fact, I would love to have you and your lovely girl over for dinner one night. Or even better, come to my party next week, I would love to introduce you to some of my associates.”
“Thank you, but I don’t think my boss would like me socializing with his competitor.”
With an amused cock of his head, “Rice is not my competitor. He barely qualifies as a man. The disgust is a nuisance at times, but he falls vastly short of competing with me. You would be better off working for me, I could teach you much more than he ever could. I can turn you into a real man,” he says looking me over as if I am a prized possession of his.
“Thank you, but I am good. I have plans of my own. I won’t be working for Harvey much longer anyway. I will have my own …”
“Oh really, that’s good to hear. I knew the first moment I saw you that you were going to be something special. Your father must be proud, and if not I certainly am for him.” Glancing over at Franky, he smiles, “Planning to get married? A family maybe? Children are a blessing.”
“No, no kids for me. A woman maybe but no kids ever. It isn’t in my blood to be a father.”
“Hmmm, too bad,” he sings in a rough tone that makes me uneasy. “You should stay, Nicholas, and enjoy your dinner, you have barely touched it. I need to go take care of some business, but I am sure we will see each other again soon.” The glimmer within his eyes, sparks something within me that I don’t understand.
Franky and I leave soon after Mr. Savage, I am curious to watch him leave to see where he goes and with whom. I am curious about him, like my brother is curious about me. I spot his car, but have no idea where he is. I try to drag Franky to a safer place, but Conner and his boys corner us and back us into an alleyway. “Stay behind me,” I say to her as she hugs me tightly from behind. I back up carefully searching for my best … her best escape. Connor knows he has me, his smile is haunting. Franky whimpers my name in my ear. I hold tight to her hand to comfort her as best I can, but Connor’s threats to my life scare her which angers me.
The first man comes flying at me with threats and fists that not only threaten me, but Franky too. Reaching out, I find myself easily pushing him into the brick wall away from us. The next slows his pace in shock, but with encouragement from my brother, he continues on, and again I am able to push him aside with little effort. Again and again they come, but each time, I eliminate them. Connor only becomes angrier, while I can do no more than back up and conceal Franky from him. Connor commands his men to shoot me instead, but before I can prepare, Savage returns. Connor’s men hold up on shooting me as they wonder about the strange old man walking into their fight.
He walks up causally with his ruby-eyed dragon. He looks vulnerable. I see no one else backing him, no hired guns, no bodyguards, no one at all. I begin to wonder how he expects to deal with Connor and his men, all on his own. However, I am hoping whatever he has planned, that it allows me to get Franky out of here safely. “Good evening, gentlemen.” Savage says in a low bellow. A lion, a king announcing his presence, and expecting everyone to bow without question. “I don’t think any of you belong here. This is my restaurant and therefore, my alleyway and I didn’t invite any of you here. Leave, now.” Savage orders calmly. Connor’s men straighten and one after the other, walks away.
Connor angrily yells at his men, but they continue to mindlessly walk away. His anger escalates and he rages at Savage, “Who are you?” Connor demands, in his Jayzon tone. Savage pauses his casual pace and stares at Connor for some time, in silence. I swear I see that dragon’s eyes glow for a second, just before Savage’s calm demeanor changes acutely. He faces Connor with squared shoulders and stares him down. It seems like a smile that crosses his face, but it isn’t. It is something potent, something sinister, and something that causes us all to take a step backwards. “I said …” Connor mumbles before clearing his tight throat. “Who are you?”
Savage snarls his detest for him. “I am … what you will never be.” I struggle to see the exchange more clearly through the darkness when suddenly Connor runs. He runs? An older man, and Connor runs rather than face off with him? I see no other guards, or guns following behind Savage, but still his presence forces Connor and all of his men to run away? Meeting Savage’s eyes, I exhale and match his nod of appreciation, “Have a good night, Nicholas.” He sings into the darkness.
“Nick.” Franky murmurs behind me.
“It’s okay. Let me take you home now.” She doesn’t let go of me and seems too scared to look away from the depths of my coat. “It’s okay, I won’t let anything happen to you,” I whisper and kiss her on the head.
Once we arrive at her house, she won’t leave my side. “Will you stay with me? I will worry about you otherwise,” she asks, increasing her grip on me.
“Oh, Kitten, there is no reason to worry about me, I’m immortal,” I say, laughing along with her, but still following her quietly into her house. Franky smiles innocently at me after I shut her bedroom door, and that’s all I need. Ripping my shirt off over my head, I look down at her, licking my lips, tempting her closer to my body. Feeling up her body while she kisses down my neck, I try to keep my moaning down, but it is difficult. Her father is surely going to wake up before we are done, but I am not stopping until I feel her come on me, and she feels me come inside of her.
We fall asleep, we forget, and he wakes up while we sleep. “Motherfucker!” He screams, waking us both. “Get the fuck away from my daughter!”
Franky holds tightly to me crying, “Daddy, please, I love him!”
“It’s okay, Franky.” I wrap my arms around her, angering her father even more.
“No! You get the fuck out of my house!” He screams, raging towards us both.
“You are upsetting her. Calm down and leave her room, and I will leave, but only if you promise not to hurt her,” I say, still holding her protectively.
“I would never hurt my daughter, you scum. Not like you.” He leans down with fisted hands. “What have you done to her?”
“I love her, and she loves me. Nothing more and nothing less.” He backs off in shock. Sinking his head into his hands, he walks out of the room, weeping his pain. Looking into Franky’s eyes, I get up and get dressed. “Come here, Franky.” I hold her tightly in my arms. “I will talk to you later okay?” I kiss her gently and caress her cheek before leaving her, and her devastated father.
“The devil has my daughter,” her father begins repeating in tears.
I can’t help but replay his cries in my own head as I leave for home.
~
Elijah meets me at his door with his still curious eyes. “You look better,” I say to him.
“Well, I’m still alive thanks to you,” he says, cocking his head in his usual smartass way.
“Don’t do that, Eli. Don’t look at me like I am some kind of …”
“Some kind of what? What exactly are you? Are you like Superman from an alien
planet or something?”
“No! I told you, I didn’t do anything. The guy obviously panicked that Harvey was going to find out and had a heart attack. It’s that simple,” I insist, tired of talking about this already.
“It’s that simple? Alright, so you are Harvey’s new whipping boy, huh?” He nods towards me.
“It’s temporary, I can’t stand him. Sick fuck. I know he is doing these disgusting things to push me.”
“Well he bumped me back down to his errand boy, I get to pick up his dry cleaning.” Elijah fists his hands and growls his anger. “I have to get away from him Nicky. We have to figure out something, so we make enough money to destroy that bastard.” Elijah sinks his head into his hands with a heavy sigh. “Anyway until then we are going to have to stick to the small extra jobs. Luke found out there is a huge party tonight at that fancy club, I think we can pick up some extra cash taking possession of a few cars for Ruge. If we are going to battle Harvey, we are going to need all the extra cash we can get.”
“Okay, I can meet you after Franky falls asleep, but I don’t want to leave her until then.”
“After she falls asleep? Oh come on, Nicky. We need you to get this done.”
“I will be there, don’t worry, but I need to see her tonight. Her dad found out about us and isn’t too happy about it to say the least.”
“Great. You know you really need to back off this girl, her father hates you. There is no way he is going to let you two be. I mean what do you think you are going to do, move in, with her and her father? Work for him at his store while she is away at college? If she is anything like her friend, she is just going to end up screwing some other guy while you’re gone.”
“Brandi cheated on you?”
“Wasn’t like we were serious, I really only liked her because my father liked her so much.” Elijah shrugs, but I know him. He would have never introduced her to his father if he didn’t like her. He wants to have the life his father wanted for him, before his father isn’t around to enjoy it. Brandi seemed to fit that, but apparently, Elijah only awoke an inner sex addict. “I am never introducing a girl to my father again,” he says slamming his fist into a wall. “And to think I thought because she was a virgin and me being her first, that just maybe she would be more interested in being with me forever. Only I am nothing, but a hood rat to her, and her new uptown boyfriend. We are just a joke to them, Nicky.”
“I’m sorry about Brandi, but Franky loves me. She said so, and I love her. It’s different with her.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure it is real different, especially when she goes off to that big college of hers. Everything is going to be real different.” Elijah sits sulking over his broken heart, and I have little to offer him, but my own happiness. “You know what Nicky, I hope things do workout for you, but just don’t forget that we had a deal to break away from Harvey and build our own. I am not going to be living for someone else much longer, with or without your help.”
Before I can respond to him, I get a call about Ryan. The dumbass got picked up trying to steal a car of his own. I leave Elijah with a promise, to meet him later and help us all get build our own dreams. I have no time to convince him, I have to leave to bail my baby brother out of jail.
~
Ryan looks defeated, and embarrassed to have to call me to come get him. “Thanks Nick, I tried to call Dad, but apparently I don’t exist to him.”
“He said that?” Ryan nods. “Why were you stealing a car anyway?” He doesn’t respond, seeming content to ignore me and continue steaming over our father’s indifference to him, which answers my question. Ryan will do anything to get our father’s attention, especially now that he is assured that he is losing his mother. I could give him hell for his stupidity, but I spare him that heartache for now. Instead, I drop him off to see to his mother while I go see to my father.
Chapter 19
~Nick~
This day has not gone well at all, and the last thing I want to do is face off with my father right now, but I have little choice if I want to keep my brother from falling into a bad life. The man needs to at least make an effort to be there for Ryan, and he needs to go see Rianne, before she dies. As soon as I arrive home, I see Franky racing out my front door crying. “Franky!” As soon as I catch up to her, she buries her head into my coat, to hide her tears. “What’s wrong? What happened?” She shakes her head, still sobbing uncontrollably. Looking back I see my father standing in the door. “Did my father say something to you?” She nods. My body tenses, and my anger towards my father only increases. “What did he say?” I ask through my teeth.
“He said I was wrong for you, and that I should leave and never come back.” My blood begins to boil even more than it already was. “I was only coming to invite you to dinner. My father said he is willing to give you a chance for me. But …”
Forcing her face up to me, I look into her eyes. “Listen to me. You are perfect for me, and I will be happy to have dinner with you and your father. Don’t listen to my father. He doesn’t know what love is, but I do, and I love you, Franky. No one is going to change my mind about that. Do you hear me? No one. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she says sweetly, allowing me to kiss her tears away.
I comfort Franky until she stops crying, and then I send her home with a promise to see her later. After she is gone, I turn towards my house to face off with my father. Stepping inside, I watch him scrambling around the house like a crazy person. “What is wrong with you? First you ignore your own son, and then you tell my girlfriend she isn’t good enough for me.”
“I didn’t say she wasn’t good enough, I said she isn’t the right one for you,” he says still gathering and making notes of some sort.
“And how do you know? You don’t even know her. You don’t even know me.” I yell at him, as he begins to pack a bag full of my clothes. I snatch it away from him, “What are you doing? Are you kicking me out now? I have been paying the rent and the bills to help Mom out, are you going to do that now?” He shakes his head with a groan.
“I know you, but you don’t know you.” My father approaches me and hands me the key he gave me once before, “You need to learn who you are, before it is too late. I am going to take you away, and hide you until you learn everything.”
Tossing the key aside, I step away from his grip and stare him down. “What are you talking about? I need you to understand that this is my life, I am in love with Franky, and you need to take a bigger interest in your other children.” He waves me off, gathering the key again from the floor. “Are you listening to me, I want you to apologize to my girlfriend, to your son and …”
“No, you’re not listening, Nicholas,” he says, shaking his finger in my face. “I need you to understand and stop blowing off your responsibilities. I need you to take this key and go to a place I have setup for you and me. You are not like everyone else, son. You need to understand the power you have, before it takes you over and turns you into someone you don’t want to be.” I sigh rolling my eyes away from him. My clear frustration with him only angers him. “Nicholas!” he snaps, getting my attention. “That girl is not truly in love with you. She only thinks she is. She is not strong enough to fight your power over her. You need to find someone who can fight that power, your Sophia.”
“Sophia? Who the fuck is Sophia?” I yell at him.
“Sophia was the one that helped me, and you need to find someone just like her. And when you do, you need to keep her away from that man or he will kill her, just like he did with my Sophia. Your Sophia, that is the person for you, if she exists. Franky is nothing more than another girl, you will forget about her eventually. There will always be another one like her coming along and another and …”
“Another? Shut Up! Franky is the right one! I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“I’m trying to tell you! If you would just listen to me for once, Nicholas. She does not love you, no one truly loves you! Most don’t have the a
bility to overcome you, to love you. Do you hear me? Only a select few are ever strong enough, and the chance of you ever meeting someone like that … well, it is not likely. It is likely son, that no woman will ever truly love you, so you need to learn to deal with your anger and the world around you another way.” All his words begin to swarm around me, like a dark storm. “Nicholas! Listen to me. She doesn’t love you! I don’t want her back in this house, I don’t want you seeing her anymore. You need to pack up the rest of your things and come with me. Do as I say. Nicholas, and stop fighting me on this.”
“No! I am sick of you, I am sick of this. I am leaving, but not with you, and I am not coming back. I am going to marry Franky, and I am going to leave this damn city, for good. I don’t want to know you or my horrible mother.”
“That woman loves you too much.”
“Since when? She ignores me every chance she gets, I am sure she would have preferred that I never existed. Hell, as long as she has you, she doesn’t need anyone else.”
“That is the disease. She has no idea how to express her emotions properly.”
“She expresses them just fine for you. She is nothing, but a bitch to me, and everyone else she comes in contact with, and you’re nothing, but a disappointment,” I say meeting him face to face.
My father rages at me with his eyes swirling, “Nicholas! You do not understand anything that you are talking about and that is why you need to listen to me now. You will do what I say, and you will come with me! It is for your own good. You have no choice in this, Nicholas. No choice!” He comes at me, gripping me and trying to control me. He sets me off to a place I haven’t been in a long time.