“Wait, has someone been following you?”
“Not so much following me as I’ve noticed a lot of eyes watch me wherever I go,” Vin admitted. “I assumed that they kept their distance because they could see my bodyguards following me, but if I don’t actually have followers, I have to wonder what’s keeping them from trying something.”
“Ha!” His dad laughed dryly. “You’re experiencing a luxury I had to fight tooth and nail for! Our organization is big enough now to be one of the major players in this state. If anyone from a lesser organization tried anything, they’d have to deal with the full force of our men retaliating.”
“So… you’re saying I don’t have to be quite as cautious as I have been?” Vin wondered hopefully.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” his dad prevaricated. “I think it’s more like so long as you stay cautious, you won’t have to worry about anything less than an official declaration of war.”
“Does that mean you’ve dismissed the bodyguards protecting your mistress?” Vin asked, trying to gauge the level of danger he should be prepared for.
“Not a chance! After your mother stopped making my other women disappear, I still had them kidnapped, used, or disappeared by other organizations that wanted to crush or threaten me. I don’t care if we’re almost untouchable at the moment, I’m not taking any chances! … Wait, are you wondering if you can dismiss the guards at your women’s house?”
“Nah, I still have the occasional nightmare from when I was taken, and I don’t want to risk that for my women or kids. I just… I have someone that I can’t make live with the rest of them. I’m trying to figure out how to balance safety with freedom,” Vin slightly explained.
“If you can’t make her live with your other women and you can’t assign men to guard her, then you have to make damn sure that you never go near her when you are being followed or have eyes on you. It’s not worth the risk,” his dad advised.
“I know,” Vin lamented with a heavy sigh.
His dad harrumphed a laugh. “You must like this one. It’s the first time you’ve ever moped around the house when not out making money. And come to think of it, you’ve been staying home more often than not lately. I understand not overseeing the porn production company, and collecting money from clubs and people who are behind on their loan payments can get so tedious that it’s really best left to the grunts, but you normally love the group scams where you sell nonexistent or worthless shit to groups of people who come listen to your presentations in hotel meeting rooms, and you haven’t been doing that lately.”
“Huh…” Vin uttered in surprise. “You’re… right… I DO love that, but I just haven’t been in the mood lately. It requires a silver tongue and a sharp wit, and I’m really not in the mood to talk at all lately.”
“Oh…” his dad droned in enlightenment. “I see. You had an argument with your new woman about bodyguards and protection and she refused. No wonder you’ve been moping! You can’t see her if she’s not safe!”
“Uh… something like that…” Vin murmured evasively. “Listen, I’m feeling a little better, so I’m going to let you go now.”
“Okay, glad you’re feeling better,” his dad informed him cheerfully. “I hope it works out for you.”
“Thanks dad,” Vin murmured, finding it almost hilarious that his father was a hardened criminal in every sense of the word but had such a big soft spot for his only son. Only child, actually, as he’d never really wanted kids, and so, had gotten snipped while Vin was still in the womb.
Growing up, Vin had been given everything he ever wanted. He’d quickly become an utterly spoiled brat; a little tyrant who thought the entire world revolved around him. Until the day he was kidnapped and tortured until his father managed to rescue him. It had taken months or maybe even years to recover, and when he finally did, he was a rather hard and determined person himself. Still in the beginning stages of puberty and already a little adult willing to learn everything there was to know about his ‘family business.’ As much as it grieved them to know the cause of it, his parents and grandparents were all so proud of him becoming a capable man before their very eyes.
Which naturally led to him getting even more than everything he could ever possibly want or need, but that no longer mattered to him. He had a job to do and he was going to do it to the best of his abilities. Plus, he was bound and determined to learn how to protect himself. When the day came for him to take over for his father, he wanted every man in their organization to know for a fact that he was a capable and reliable leader.
Which meant that he REALLY should do the smart thing and cut all ties with Caelen once and for all. Call him a gangster; call him a mobster; call him part of the mafia – the description didn’t really matter. He was definitely a criminal, and if the police ever caught him, he’d probably go to prison for the rest of his life. Thus, seeing a cop was seriously the worst idea in the entire history of bad ideas.
But…
He picked up the burner phone he used only for contacting Caelen. Those words burned across his eyes all over again. I miss you.
Groaning and tempted to order some of his lackeys to come and beat some sense into him, he tapped on the only icon – which was labeled Booty Call, just in case anyone found his burner phone and tried to use it against him. After a couple of heart pounding seconds, the call connected.
“I miss you too,” Vin admitted. “Do you work tonight?”
“No,” Caelen replied softly, his voice likely to crack if he used it at a normal volume.
“I’ll go to the usual hotel and rent a room. Once I get there, I’ll text you the room number, but I’ll still leave a key at the front desk for you. If I suspect anyone has followed me, I won’t text you. If YOU suspect anyone is watching you, wander up and down the halls and ride the elevator to all the floors until you are CERTAIN no one is watching you, and then come to the room. If you can’t agree to that, then don’t bother coming,” Vin ordered in no uncertain terms.
“Do we really have to be that careful?” Caelen asked in a shaky voice.
“Yes,” Vin confirmed in a steely tone.
“Alright,” Caelen softly agreed.
“Good,” Vin stated, feeling inexplicably nervous now. “See you soon.”
“See you…”
Hanging up, Vin forced himself not to rush. Now more than ever, he needed to be as vigilant as possible. If a rival wanted to find a weakness to use against him, this would definitely lead to Caelen being taken. Worse! If word got out that he was regularly meeting up with a cop, his OWN organization could turn on him!
“This is seriously the worst idea…” he muttered under his breath as he got into his car. Not his flashy Gemera, but his nondescript gray Chrysler Sebring. To add to it’s lack of appeal, it was probably at least a dozen years old and a little beaten up by this point. It really wasn’t the sort of car someone like him would drive if he had a choice, except that was exactly what he needed at the moment.
Taking it slow and going out of his way to make sure no one was following him, he eventually arrived at his destination. The same woman as always greeted him with a smile. Before he even asked, she slid a pair of key cards across the counter.