Indebted to the Mafia King

*Cal*

I consider going after Heidi. Following her upstairs, grabbing her by the arm, turning

her to me and crashing my lips into hers, hoping she can feel how much I love her and how much I'm willing to fight for us.

But that'd be a lie.

And also unfair to her.

Because if I truly was willing to do anything for her, I'd accept turning my back on the mafia and the Irish Kings without a question. I wouldn't hesitate. I wouldn't consider anything other than having her by my side.

But I can't.

I can't give her what she wants. I can't promise her something I'm not ready to do. Therefore, I'd rather she hates me now, while she still has any feelings for me, then watch her fall out of love with me while we are together. That'd hurt me more than anything.

Realization begins to sink in. We're truly over now. There's no turning back, no saving this relationship that's barely even started. I try to convince myself that this is for the best. Heidi will finally be safe away from me. She can return to her life. She will be happier that way.

But that doesn't seem to be enough to make me relax. If anything, it only makes me more anxious and frustrated. Being the boss of the Irish Kings was never an issue for me before, but now, it seems to be the only thing preventing me from being with the woman I love.

Why do I have to choose, though? Why can't I have both? Is that too greedy on my part?

Apparently it is.

I pour myself a glass of whiskey and walk toward my desk, flopping into the chair with a sigh.

This day is proving to be one of the worst of my life.

I sit frozen in my seat for sometime after Heidi leaves the office.. The only thing that pulls me back to reality is a knock on my door. I close my eyes, considering telling whoever is on the other side to just fuck off and leave me alone. But it could be something important, and I can't be neglecting my bar and my businesses anymore.

"Come in," I order grumply.

Sam's head pops through the door, and he eyes me with hesitation. "Hey, Boss. Is everything okay? I just saw, er, Miss Heidi storming out of the bar," he begins cautiously, coming inside and closing the door behind him.

I grunt, leaning back in my chair. "No, it's definitely not okay, but there's nothing I can do about it, so..."

"Do you need me to do anything?" he offers. I'm really grateful to have Sam with me during all this time. He's been so loyal and a great friend throughout the years. I wouldn't have come this far without him.

"Destroying the fucking cartel and finding out who is after us would be a great start," I reply with a sarcastic tone.

"You didn't have any success with the guy?" he asks, referring to the cartel member I have cuffed in my basement.

I had momentarily forgotten about him. Heidi clouded my brain when she came in, but now that I am thinking more clearly, I need to figure out what to do with him. My frustration is so out of control at the moment that I consider going there and releasing all of it on him. Again. But he's been beaten pretty badly already, and truth be told, I'm fucking exhausted for spending so much time with him already.

"He didn't say anything other than what you heard," I tell him. "I don't think he'll tell us anything else, no matter how much we torture him," I confess.

"It's fucking annoying that he won't give us a name-or anything." Sam grumbles, a frown forming on his lips. "We don't even know who's running the cartel now."

I grunt in response, my head pounding. "Do we have any news on the addresses he mentioned?"

Sam shakes his head. "Hunter went there with the guys, but it was empty. It seemed like they cleaned it in a hurry, but we didn't find anything useful that would lead us to their boss."

I sigh. "And no one came after that bastard?" I figured whoever is running the cartel would send someone after their guy when they realized he had been taken, but so far, there's been no movement on their end. And that fucking leaves me on edge.

"No. But you need to get a fucking rest. Otherwise, you won't be able to fight if anyone does show up to try to spring him," Sam advises me.

"I know. But how am I supposed to sleep? I'm fucking tense all the time. I need our men in strategic places so we're not caught off guard. We can't afford another surprise attack."

Sam nods sharply. "Consider it done. And about this bastard? What should I do with him?"

I close my eyes again, pondering what to do. Releasing him is not an option. Killing him won't be beneficial for me, but I can't keep him in my basement forever. I don't think he'll tell me anything else. Using him as a bargaining chip doesn't sound good to me either. I doubt whoever his boss might be now is worried about him or what he might tell us. If that was the case, they would be at my door already, bringing hell to us for taking someone important to them.

"Fuck," I hiss, running my hands down my face and through my hair with frustration. "I can't fucking think right now. Give me some time, and I'll figure out what to do with him."

"Gotcha," Sam agrees, turning to leave.

I remain in my chair, urging my brain to function properly. I can't afford the luxury of taking some time off. I need to fucking do something. Otherwise, I'll be dead soon. The De La Cruz cartel is not playing around, that much I know.

They also aren't aware that Heidi and I are no longer together. So they could still be on her tail.. I have some of my men guarding and watching over her, but that still doesn't keep me satisfied.

Frustration bursts inside me, and I get to my feet, striding toward the door. I need to vent my anger on something-or someone. Otherwise, I'll go insane inside this office. I'm already feeling suffocated within these walls.

But before I get to the door, I hear my phone buzzing on top of my desk. I consider ignoring it, letting it go to voicemail. Whoever it is can wait. However, a little voice inside my head tells me that it could be important. It could be Heidi, although I doubt she would call me for anything really.

But what if she's in danger? What if someone got a hold of her?

Because of that, I rush back to my desk and grab the phone, seeing Tony's name flash on the screen. I'm relieved to know it's not Heidi, but if he's calling me, it's probably something important too.

"Yeah?" I answer hastily.

"Guess what?" he asks, his voice sounding a bit too lively for my taste at the moment. "What is it, Tony?".noveldrama

"My guys had an altercation with the cartel when they got to that address in New Jersey," he informs me. "We captured a couple of them. They seem to be higher in the hierarchy than the guy in the basement. Wanna take them in for an interrogation?" Anticipation boils within me at the idea of getting closer to whoever is turning my life into a living hell. I can't wait for this all to be over. It's been dragging on for way too long already. "Where are they now?" I ask, sitting down in my chair.

"One is in my trunk. The other is with Armando," Tony replies. He sounds just as excited as I am to finally have somethin to go on.

"Great. Bring them over," I reply, hanging up and cracking my split knuckles in preparation for some action. Damn my exhaustion. I'll only be able to sleep when all of this is over. At last I'm seeing a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.