Dangerous Boy

Chapter Thirty-Five

"I don't like reporting to wimpy men who think they're tough because they know how to kill innocent people."

"What did you expect the boss of all the American gangs to be like Xavier? A little ray of sunshine? A rainbow on a perfectly blue sunny day?"

"Did you come here to help, or to piss me off?"

"Both probably" he leans forward now on his seat. "Does Grace know anything about this?"

"Of course not" I answer, I would never tell her anything, especially not about Victor.  "I don't know what to do anymore, he treats me like a child."

"You're 21 Xavier, that doesn't exactly scream maturity for a guy whose running his biggest gang in the state."

"I run it perfectly, he just doesn't like it because my men have morals and rules and his are at the same level as dogs."

Now Noah sighs, "and any particular reason why it had to be us? You can't honestly tell me he's made our lives a living hell because you're 21."

"I think it has something to do with this" I hand him the photo from my pocket, the photo that's been bugging me for weeks. "Who does that look like to you?"

"Victor" Noah squints at the photo for a long time, he looks up at me and then down again, only just covering the shock evident on his face. "And... Sam?"

I nod, the boy with the colourful tattoos along his arms and innocent baby face is easy to recognise.

"The most disturbing thing about this photo" My fists automatically ball together. "It was taken a month ago, at Victors 61st birthday. Three months after Sam was supposed to have died."

"Are you trying to tell me that harmless, pasty, fragile Sam, who by the, we buried in the ground is somehow alive? The boy who we had a funeral for? You do realise we're apart of a gang right? Not a twilight movie."

"I know it sounds insane" I hand him the next thing, the letter. "But you're going to want to read this."

He stares at the white folded paper I hand him. "I actually really get the feeling I don't want to read it."

"Let me rephrase then" I force the paper between his fingers. "Read the damn letter."

"Does the word please ever in your vocabulary?"

I glare at him as he rolls his eyes.

"Of course not" he mutters.

*

Graces' POV

"You can't see anything either can you?" Arnica watches me as I squint at the picture.

"I don't think the baby is going to look like either of you when it's 12 weeks old Arny" I can't help but smile as I look at the scan.

"No no, I'm fairly sure it has my nose, see." She points to a blurry mark.

"Do they even have a proper nose when they're 12 weeks old?"

"Fair point" she replies as I hand the photo back to her. "So" She leans back against the pillows. "How did my plan work out?" She wriggles her eyebrows as I groan and fall back. "Well, that's not the answer I was exactly hoping for."

"How am I supposed to do any sort of seducing when he's never home and then when he is he acts like a dick and we fight?" I glare into space. "Asshole."

"Wow" She says slowly. "I take it your still a virgin then?"

"I haven't even kissed him in a month" I glare harder at the random spot on the wall. "I don't want to kiss him either, he'll spread his assholeness onto me, because he's an asshole."

"Yeah, you mentioned that" She frowns.  "Noah's not been home much either, but still a lot more than Xavier has been."

"Do you know anything about what's going on?"

"I overheard Noah talking to Xavier on the phone a couple of nights ago about some guy called Victor, but he saw me eavesdropping and it did not end well."

She sighs and looks at me "maybe you should just focus on going to college? It does start in a few days."

"I will, I just wish I knew what was going on."

"Maybe we should leave that to the crazy gangster boyfriends downstairs?"

"Maybe." I nod, running my fingers along my phone. "Or maybe, if they won't tell us, we need to find out for ourselves."

"Oh no, I don't like that face. I know that face. That's the face you make when you get an idea and it's usually totally crazy and completely insane."

"Are you in?"

"Of course" She sends me a smirky smile. "I am your best friend after all."