Easton |Complete|

[31] Everything

"You might want to sit down." I tell her as I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her to the lounge.

She sits down and looks around at everyone, then back at me. 

"Give us a moment?" I question my family who all stand up and leave the room.

"You're really starting to scare me," Aubrey says softly. "Whatever trouble you're in, it must be bad."

"It is." I take her hand in mine. "Please tell me you'll let me tell you everything start to finish?"

"Okay." She nods

"I've been lying to you, I know you know that I have a lot of money and that it comes from my two business, and that's true, but it's not the entire truth." I take a breath "I run the club as you know, all of that is above board, but the shipping company I run from the offices in the city, that's a different story. We ship things, but not the things I've lead you to believe." 

She stays quiet and keeps her eyes locked on me. "As of a few months ago, I took over one of the largest Mafia rings in the country. It was handed down to me from my dad, and before him, my grandad and we use the shipping company as a way to export drugs and weapons around the world." 

I pause for a moment, waiting for some kind of reaction, but I don't get one, she just stares at me. "The night at the club, when those men stormed the place, I did know them, they belong to the Russian Mafia and they were after me. They still after me and now you as well."

"Y-you're a criminal?" She blinks away her tears. "You ship and sell drugs, and you kill people for a living is that what you're telling?"

"Yes Sweetheart, that's what I'm telling you, and I should have never dragged you into his world but I-"

"No, you shouldn't have." She pulls her hand away. "You should have told me, you should have let me choose if I wanted to be part of this or not."

"Aubrey I wanted to tell you, but it's not something I can just come right out and tell people, please tell me you understand that?"

"I understand, I can't imagine it would be easy telling people you're a criminal." She fires back, tears streaming down her face. "Why? Why did you let me fall in love with you? I don't even know who you are."

"I'm still the same person, I care about you more than anything in this world."

"Just not enough to keep me out of danger?"

"I promise you're safe here, I am keeping you safe."

"I'd be safe if you never came near me in the first place Easton!" She shouts "why didn't you just stay away from me to begin with."

"I tired." I snap back "I tried to stay away from you, but I can't okay, I can't, I tried to push you away, I did everything I could, but I fucking love you, I just couldn't."

This fight is useless, us shouting at each other is a waste of time. The fact is, I've lost her and I already know it.

"Who else knows?" She questions 

"All my family work for me, that wasn't a lie. Amara, Nate, Leo, Evie, every single one of us is in the family business."

"Who else knows." She shouts at me once more

"Angie, Damon and Caleb," I admit, "My grandad told Angie the night she arrived"

"They all knew?" She asks tears streaming down her cheeks. "Every single person in my life knew the truth except for me."

"They were protecting you, the same way I was, it was better for you to not know."

She shakes her head and stands up, her voice now husky from all of her tears. "Every single person I trusted kept this from me." She wipes her tears "I have no one I can trust."