Give and Take (poly) (bxb)

Eight

I snap my head at L then back at Romero, almost disconnecting it from the rest of my body in the process. Wide eyes and an agape mouth are followed by his panicked movements. He, along with the rest of the guys, stand up, and he urges me to do so as well, just as the door begins to open.

Is he really this scared about me meeting his side chick? He should be. Then again, what if I am the side chick?

When the woman- the homewrecker- finally emerges, she is leading a trail of three men. They appear to be her bodyguards. The woman herself is dressed in all-black attire. I can tell just by looking it's uncannily similar to the boys' auto shop uniform. She has to be at least in her forties that, along with her sharp cat-like manicure, indicate she definitely doesn't actually work there with them.

I watch as the gang seems to follow silent orders, lining up identically in front of her judging eyes. Her red lips purse, and wrinkles add to her pale face as she looks at me like I'm a problem child.

"If you see your entire gang doing something," Her voice is high-pitched yet strong. "get up, and do it too."

I squint at her for a second, trying to figure out two things: one, who she thinks she's talking to– two, how she manages to have so much control over the guys.

Whoever she is, she must not know how dysfunctional this gang is. They weren't with me when I was getting my ass beaten, so I won't partake in their belittlement by a cougar of all people.

"Get up, Mia-" Von is interjected physically. Diana slaps him, so hard it makes me flinch.

The other guys don't even react.

Who the hell is this woman?

I get up from the carpet and choose to stand furthest away from her and Von. The fact that he let her get away with assault shows her importance. The three men she brought with her don't even look like they could take all four of the guys at their weakest, they alone cannot be the reason everyone is so still right now.

"When did you decide to add her?" Diana demands from Von.

Even after being slapped, he still looks strong and intimidating. As if he did nothing but absorb the power of the hit.

"A month ago."

"Then you should have told me about it a month ago, not weeks later when the shop gets shot to shit."

"We already ran background checks on her and her family. She's safe. She just needs training."

This time she waits until the speaker is done talking before she slaps him. L was next to Von, and the sound of skin hitting skin resonates just as the sound of his glasses skidding across the floor does. I gasp out and almost reach towards him only to have Seven hold his arm out in front of me. His fists are clenched and his head is lowered.

"The fact that these background checks went through your system without going through mine is another problem all in itself. Hiding things from me is a fatal mistake that will not be tolerated again. Now," she strides over to me, and I know I was tough as nails earlier, but this time I can't help but flinch. She places a hand on my cheek and turns my face towards the boys. "This is unforgivable. Words can't even begin to describe how disappointed I am in all of you. You're too weak to protect an eighteen-year-old girl?! Why is she the one with scars here?" Diana takes a nail file that one of her three goons wordlessly hands her. She begins filing her nails, and it's then that I realize who she is. She's the boss.

Her nails fly across Seven's neck and jaw, and I don't know if it's the proximity or the sound Seven lets out, but I finally speak up.

"Stop!" I yell, moving in between Diana and Romero. "They get it. We get it. Please stop."