Worrying about anyone other than my brothers and sisters isn't something that I do. I don't sit and inquire if people got home from parties. It wasn't my job to worry about those other than my family. At least that's how it has always been. I wasn't the man with a heart of gold. The only people I considered myself to have a heart for are my siblings. The rest of the world got exactly what it gave me. There's nothing more I would give to others other than what's necessary.
Today that changed without me even realizing it. Lennpx is going to the bar alone. No friends weren't mentioned when I asked her about her plans. A beautiful girl all alone at a bar in the city. That's something that I obviously couldn't ignore. It's not your job to worry about her. She's an adult.
The more I chanted that to myself the less convinced I became. Which is why I'm calling her well past working hours. Once, twice, and a third time she didn't answer. Most likely she's at home, where you should be.
My phone rang with trepidation. For some reason it seemed to ring louder than it ever had. Maybe it was due to the fact that I was hoping for it to ring. Or maybe it was the fact that it's always on do not disturb.
"Genevieve, it's late, you should be asleep. Don't women need a full eight hours to stay young-I'm not being sexist YOU told me that!" Amara is starting to rub off on my sweet little sister. Almost every conversation these days she calls herself "checking" me on one thing or another. Nothing I say is right and it is better to keep my mouth completely shut. Dealing with Amara and all of her attitude is enough. Adding Genevieve to the mix gives me a migraine.
"I didn't call you to talk about skincare. Guess who's at the bar right now?" No way. What are the odds out of the thousands of bars they would end up at the same one.
I'm already grabbing my keys when I respond. "Let me take a wild guess."
"Your favorite human on earth, Lennox."
"Is she alright?" Why am I suddenly so concerned with a grown woman who can handle herself? Time and time again she has proven how well she can take care of herself. With reeling in Cameron Dane and holding her ground when it comes to me. Intimidating is only one of the many words that has been used to describe me. Without fail Lennox seems to brush it off instead focusing on her own goal. She reminded me of myself in that way. When it comes to business all bets are off and whatever I desired would be had.
"Perfect, dancing her life away." Who the hell was she dancing with? Being possessive never has been my thing but when it came to the image of her shaking her ripe ass at a bar for everyone to see had it coming off of me in waves.
"Where are you guys?" I jotted down the address quickly. Scared it might disappear if I hadn't. "I'll be there in a few moments, don't leave." All I needed is for Genevieve to go wandering around in the dead of night. If she hadn't used Lennox as a distraction I would be more annoyed at the fact that her and her sister are out getting inebriated. After everything we went through with Amara the possibility of another abduction has always been a festering fear in the back of my mind. Even after killing off all who had anything to do with it. Instinctually my hand clutches the phone tighter.
"Are you sure? We can walk, the apartment isn't that far." She must be drunk if she ever thought I would let any of them walk home at a time like this. Barely did they get to do that on a bright sunny day. I've taken more precautions than most had but I wouldn't apologize nor would I feel bad about it. All of it is necessary in keeping all of them safe.
"I'm coming to get you three, I refuse to let anything happen to my girls." A drunken giggle followed by a burp is my signal to hang up. Please let them be safe.
Karma must be in my favor tonight. I just knew I would have to take more unorthodox measures to find her. Pleasantly I did not have to. Vivvy and the universe did all the work for me. Drunken Rabbit, the bar in question, is completely seedy. There isn't much lighting, but there are many people. Way too many for my liking but I'll suck it up to find exactly who I look for.
On the dance floor, at the bar, or surrounding tables people filled the little place. Instead of finding the girls I find a man who watches the three of them. Fucking creep. His eyes specifically follow Amara and the drink in her hands.
He shakes himself off and begins to walk towards their seats at the bar. As he moves I begin to also. Before I can block, and threaten the predator Niklaus appears. No doubt dishing out threats while towering over the creep Whatever he says does the trick. Turning away from the scary Russian he runs out of the bar back to whatever hole he climbed out of. Good riddance. At the very least I knew Niklaus was watching the two, the twins would've never even let the girls go out. Watching them at a bar would have had Geno's head exploding like it did during high school.
I acknowledge Niklaus with a simple nod, in which he returns. Left corner of the bar is where he stands watching the girls from afar. Giving them space to have fun without limitations. He makes no moves to make himself known, at least not yet.
Unlike him I walk in stride over to the bar. I didn't come here with intentions to lurk in the corner and watch. No, I came here to make it clear that no one is to encroach on my Lennox.
On the left of her is an open seat. "May I?" She doesn't see me as her head is turned in the opposite direction.
"Of-" Turning her head her eyes discover me. Whatever she intended to say falls off her lips. Both her eyes and mouth pinch tightly into a triangle. "You can not sit here!" Using her hand she tries to cover the seat from me. Mine is much larger and easily pushes hers away with ease.
A fragrant look of utter disbelief covers her face adorably."No you may not sit here, not until you apologize to me." Pouty lips poke out at me.
As if I could take her seriously when she looks so ridiculously adorable. "And what am I apologizing for again Ms.Klein?" I call the bartender over, ordering myself a whiskey and the three stooges water in many shot glasses. Hopefully this way they won't protest it.
"For calling me what you called me earlier." Sliding the shot of water into her hands I pull my eyebrows together. Pretending to be confused about her statement. "You don't remember?"
"What was it-oh Little Lennox. Is that the one?" I feign innocence enjoying her unguarded demeanor.
Exasperatedly she nods her head. While she is otherwise distracted I manage to get another shot of water in her hands. Gulping it down quickly, another replacement finds her hand. Getting as much water in her system is my goal. If not she would be completely hungover. By the way she sways on her barstool I can tell she's had more than enough drinks for the night.
Who are you to decide what's enough for her? I ignore the thought not wanting to think of the implications of it all. What it means for someone like me to be so overtly concerned about her.
"These taste like crap," my Lennox is a bit of a party girl. Who would've thought, the stick she seemed to have so far up her ass has magically disappeared.
Niklaus has finally walked over to the bar. Now he stands between Amara and Genevieve. Naturally taking care of them, giving them water and chips. I can only imagine how many nights he has done this. As much as he tends to Amara like a good boyfriend he pays attention to Genevieve too. The three of them have a good system between themselves, it's the reason I don't march over there and force them to sober up. I'm a man of only so much patience, watching them refuse the shots of water makes my threshold lessen. Somehow Niklaus is able to convince them otherwise. It's no easy feat when Amara is as stubborn as Lennox.
Admittedly I give Amara way too much crap about her relationship with Niklaus. I have ever since I was informed of it. Announcing their relationship at their high school graduation made for some interesting pictures to look back on. As annoyed as I was thinking about being the one that had unintentionally pushed them together in the first place it was no comparison to the interrogation Geno put him through. Throughout it all he remained unfazed, level headed, and bored with Geno's threats.
She did good in choosing him to be her partner. He is the exact type of man our mother would approve of, her birth mother would too. I should go check on their gravesites.
"I'm sorry," her smile of victory is precious "that you don't like your nickname. There's not much I can do about it."
"Why must you be the worst?" She rolls her eyes but gives up the aforementioned nickname. "What are you even doing here?"
"I could ask you the same Lennox."
"Why would you like to know?"
"Because I find myself wanting to know everything about you." The alcohol was playing its part as she looked at me in my eyes. Any other day she would never dare to. More than likely she'd skip over the topic altogether.
"I'm here because, well, I really had a hard day. I don't know why I'm even telling you this." I know exactly why she's telling me. Because she's drunk and likes me more than she would care to admit. "You're not the hardest man to deal with, believe it or not." Her hand slides to the top of her head massaging it.
"Isn't that a win for me?" Laughter bubbles out of her. "Now tell me who is the man to have earned number one on your shit list?" I gently push her hand from the top of her head gently massaging it for her. Surprisingly she puts up no fight melting into me instead. The way the woman works I'm surprised she isn't doing this every time I see her.
"Jackson Dane. He's...a lot to deal with. I just don't understand how he expects me to just-ugh." Her head falls atop of the bar. "There's just too many secrets."
"I have all night to listen. And I'm very good at keeping them." Being good at keeping secrets is an understatement. I'm the gatekeeper of many secrets that would have her questioning my sanity.
Her head lifts from the bar. This time she turns her entire body towards me. "Fabian if you knew the secrets I held. You would run far and fast." Doubtful. Everything about her draws me closer to her. Surely whatever sins she's keeping locked in a dark corner of her mind would too.
I pull her stool closer to me. Two brown legs swing back and forth between my legs. My hand supports her lower back while the other hand tilts her chin up to look me in my eyes. So many emotions swirl in them. I want to wash them away any way that I can. I didn't lie when I said I wanted to know. I've found myself thinking of her so much. I want to understand her as a person. These secrets, well, they're nothing compared to the ones that I keep.
I lean down closer to Lennox. So close I can almost feel the skin of her lips. It didn't matter where we were. All that mattered is that she felt the same heat between us that I did.
"How can you be so sure that I don't have secrets of my own. Tell me that Little Lennox."
Someone coughing makes her jump away from me. I didn't care about anyone else in the bar right now. This person, whoever they may be, must have a death wish. They cough again, making me turn my head.
Standing in front of me is Rico. Now I know some bullshit is going to ruin my night.
"Rico, dovrei ucciderti per l'interruzione"
"Scuse" His head bowed slightly. Not too much to cause notice but enough for me to know. Slyly I gesture to keep it down since Lennox is around. Even inebriated she still is sharp in her wit.
"Avanti con esso"
"Fabian, who is this?" Lennox asks me sizing my man up and down. The guts on her, Rico is not the most discreet with his appearance. I'm sure she knows he's not one of the upstanding citizens of New York. With his height, bulging muscles, and tattooed face it's no question he doesn't run in our political circles.
"He's one of those little secrets we talked about."
I think she will end the conversation but all she does is grab my sleeve pulling me closer to her. "Do you owe him money? Please tell me no, I only have five-hundred in cash on me."
I laugh at her, I can't help it. Her attempt at bailing me out was cute. Not needed but cute. "Affrettarsi"
"Ci sono state più transazioni a-" I hold my hand up for him not to continue. I did not want Lennox to hear and pick up on the fact that I have dealings with the Golden Maison. It would complicate an already complicated situation. As of right now she's comfortable with me. I don't want anything piquing her curiosity and changing that.
Tentatively she sips on her drink doing her best to ignore Rico's and I interaction. "Questo non poteva essere discusso in seguito?"
"No perché Zaviano è stato fucilato. Adesso è con Zandrino." Don't react. This is not the time or the place. I just needed to know who in the hell was responsible. I could feel the pressure building as my fists are balled so tight. A vein was surely to pop any second.
Warm. Smooth skin. Lennox's small hand grabs mine squeezing it in solidarity. I know she has no earthly idea what either of us were saying but still she seemed to know exactly how to fix my erratic heart. At least for a moment.
"Let's get out of here. Your friend took the girls home when," She turns to Rico waiting for his name.
I nod my head for him to tell her. "Rico, ma'am" his gruff voice called out.
"He took them home when Rico showed up. Also I am way too young to be called ma'am. Call me Lennox, please." If he dared to, I would cut his tongue out of his mouth.
"Rico, I will be taking Ms.Klein home. I will meet you after." I emphasize her name, he will not be calling her anything other than that.
"I can get home just fine on my own. Mr.Bianchi" Her snarkiness was starting to resurface. It would be a lie if I didn't say how much I have missed her. Seeing her all sweet with her guard down, well that was just indescribable. But the snark of Lennox is something I look forward to most often.
"Lennox, let's go." I grab her hand pulling her from her seat. My arm wrapped around her is how we leave the bar.
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1.Rico, dovrei ucciderti per l'interruzione: Rico, I should kill you for the interruption.
2. Scuse: Apologies
3. Avanti con esso: Get on with it
4. Affrettarsi: Hurry up
5. Ci sono state più transazioni a-:There have been more transactions at-
6. Questo non poteva essere discusso in seguito:This couldn't be discussed later?
7. No perché Zaviano è stato fucilato. Adesso è con Zandrino: No because Zaviano has been shot. He's with Zandrino now.