Aiden

The moment I got the call, Leah had been kidnapped, I dropped everything and drove like a madman in search of her.

I thought I would be too late. But seeing her alive and safe was the first real breath I had taken in hours.

I swore to myself then, I would never let her out of my sight again.

I let Dom's body drop after I put a bullet through his mouth. If you ask me, I'd been lenient, letting him off easy after he dared touch what was mine.

I turned to Leah. My gaze landed on the gun in her hands first before climbing to her eyes.

I took a step toward her.

"Stay right there, Aiden," she said, voice shaking as she gripped the gun tighter.

I stopped.

"Leah," I said softly.

"Did I ever tell you how much I hated you saying my name?" She bit her bottom lip.

"There are a few things you hate about me," I said, a small smile ghosting my lips, "but saying your name isn't one of them."

"Do you think I wouldn't shoot you? Is that why you kicked the gun toward me?"

"If you wanted to kill me, you would've used the knife you hid under your pillow."

I was aware, every time she watched me sleep with a knife in her hand, its tip trembling inches from my throat. Some nights, she'd wrap her fingers around my neck and cry. I never stopped her. A part of me wanted to see if she'd really do it. But my Leah couldn't bring herself to.

She laughed bitterly. Tears welled in her eyes, and it broke something in me, watching her in pain.

"I wanted to forgive you," she said, voice breaking. "God, I tried. But you just keep taking and taking."

"Let's talk about this when we get home."

"Home?" She chuckled. "Are you fucking with me right now? There is no 'home' between us. That place is a fucking prison!" She yelled.

I stepped closer.

"Stay where you are, Aiden! I swear I'll fucking shoot you!" She cried, tears trailing down her cheeks.

I didn't listen and took another step.

Bang!

************************* ************

Three months earlier...

Smoke curled from my lips as I sat in the back seat, watching two men stumble out of an abandoned building across the street, trading blows.

"What time is it?" I asked without taking my eyes off them.

"Half past four," the driver replied.

I exhaled and leaned back into the seat.

Goddammit.

If they keep this up, the police will come sniffing around again, and I'm sick of having to find something to keep them quiet every damn time.

The driver sensing my irritation offered, "Should I go check it out, boss?"

I drummed my fingers on the door. I didn't want to ruin my suit. I was supposed to meet someone at nine. If it had been any other day, I might have joined in.

I cussed under my breath, shoved the door open, and stepped out with my gun already in my hand.

I kicked the bastard off the man on the ground and put two rounds into him before he could react. He jerked twice, collapsed, and didn't move again.

I turned my attention to the other man.

"Boss, I am one of your boys!" He blurted, panic in his voice.

I narrowed my eyes, my gun still pointing at him. He struggled to sit up, lifting his shirt to reveal a tattoo, a skull impaled with a sword. The symbol of the Kingston family.

I eyed his stab wounds. "Do I need to keep you alive if you're going to bleed out?"

"This won't kill me, boss," he said with a weak smile.

Yeah, right.

I took a long drag from my cigar, then offered it to him. He looked confused but took it anyways.

The clang of metal on metal and grunts grew louder as I entered the building. Turning a corner, my eyes fell on a chaotic mess of men swinging steel pipes, wooden planks, and hammers with the intent to kill at each other.

"Fuck." I ran my fingers through my hair.

Two men had one of my boys pinned. I fired at them, the shot shattering the chaos. Everyone's attention turned towards me.

"Time to wrap this up. We've all burnt enough fat this morning."

"Shit. Isn't that Aiden Kingston?" Someone said.

Murmurs started spreading among the men from the rival family. They stepped back, eyes wide.

"Don't worry, as long as you all behave, you will die painlessly," I assured.

They all stayed quiet, stealing glances at each other. "Come on guys, the day will soon break. We don't have any fucking time to waste."

"Aiden Kingston!" I heard a man scream my name.

I turned to see a huge bald man with an eyepatch, his face twisted in anger.

"Remember me?" He gritted.

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't usually remember every insignificant person I've met."

He clenched his jaw and jabbed at his eyepatch. "You took my eye three years ago! How dare you forget me!" He yelled, marching towards me.

I chuckled. "You must have been lucky that day. I don't usually leave your type alive."

"I'll gouge your eyes out!" He spat.

I shot both his legs, and he crumpled to the ground, grunting. I stepped forward and pressed ressing the barrel to his forehead. He glared up at me. "You bastard," he croaked. "I won't beg."

"You don't need to."

"The Kingston family will fall soon, and you will be the first, Aiden Kingston. The other families..."

I pulled the trigger, ending his life and cutting off whatever garbage he was about to spew.

"Round 'em up, boys," I ordered.

The fighting continued with my boys gaining the upper hand now their leader was dead. It's amazing how quickly a gun made things easier

After we were done, I stepped out into the early morning air. The air was free from the tainted smell of gunpowder and blood.

I placed a cigar between my lips, my fingers searching my pocket for my lighter.

"Here." Storm handed me a lighter.

I looked at him and smiled. "Why do you carry a lighter if you don't smoke?"

"Beats me," he chuckled.

"You look like shit," I murmured, noticing the deep cut on his arm.

"I'll live. It's not my time to die yet," he answered.

I laughed, my eyes flickering to the lifeless body of the man who said the same thing earlier.

"It seems the other families are planning something big," Storm said.

I exhaled smoke and smirked. "Good. I am looking forward to it."

The city had been too quiet for a long time.

***********************************

I was flicking ash from my sleeve when she caught my attention. A blonde woman laughing into her phone, warm and carefree. It was a sound that didn't belong in my world. But it wasn't her laugh that brought the strange sensation I felt. It was her eyes. Those damn emerald green eyes that locked with mine briefly as she walked past, stealing the air from my lungs.

My heart skipped.

It fucking skipped.

I couldn't bring myself to look away. The curve of her smile, the sway of her hips, the length of her hair, everything about her pulled me in

For a moment, I forget the blood on my hands, the violence I had stepped away from hours ago. Curiosity took over reasoning, and I followed behind her.

She stumbled, a gasp escaping her lips when my arm caught her and pulled her against me.

And when she turned around, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger. I knew one thing with absolute certainty.

I wanted her. And it didn't matter how.