Colby's POV
Nate, Jake, and I walked into the mansion, following the man who somehow knew my name.
I was starting to regret my decision about coming here but couldn't show it.
"We've been expecting you." The guy said as I nodded. "Who is we?" I asked blandly, trying to come off confident and sure of the situation surrounding me.
"Patience, Colby. We'll get to it." The guy said and led us towards a dining room.
"Well it took you long enough." A guy said with a grin as we walked into the room.
"Take a seat, boys." He said as I looked around. I was hoping that Sam would be here but it didn't seem like he was.
"Who are you?" I asked causing the guy to chuckle. "Someone's eager." He said as the bigger guy pulled out an empty chair.
"Take a seat." The guy at the table said as I walked over.
"I'm surprised you don't recognize me." He hummed, picking his nails. "Although our time together wasn't long." He said then leaned back.
"Can we get to the point?" I asked, which probably wasn't the best idea. I didn't have any idea who this guy was but I was trying to make myself seem bigger and better.
"Come on." He said and stood up. "I have something I want to show you.
"Just you." He said and looked at Jake and Nate. I wanted to argue but knew I could handle myself in this situation.
"I'll be back." I said to the guys then walked with the guy who was unfamiliar to me.
"You've been in the game for a long time. I was told you had a lot of potential....well back in your prime." He said as we walked down the hallway.
"You've been away from the crime world though. Somewhere in Texas, correct?" He asked as my blood ran cold.
"Don't look so scared. I won't touch her." He said as I clenched my jaw, looking up at him.
"What do you want from me?" I asked as the man sighed. "I need your help." He said then walked me into an office.
"Will you tell me who you are?" I asked as he chuckled. "Silly, Colby. I'd like to think you knew better than that. Although you always were a little messy." He hummed and sat behind a desk.
"So I'm in a bit of trouble. You know how it can be when you're in charge of a powerful gang." He explained nonchalantly.
"What kind of trouble?" I asked and leaned back. I hated that I was so intrigued about this.
I needed to find Sam and get back to Julia and the kids.
Surely one mission wouldn't cause too much harm.
"The gold gang has been in hiding for the past couple years, due to my time in prison. It put us in some hot water." He explained as I narrowed my eyes.
"If you're really a part of the gold gang, what are you doing here in LA?" I asked as he chuckled.
"Well I needed your friend Sam's help. He was a little reluctant but I got him on board. I knew if he 'went missing' you would come around too." He said and leaned back.
"Why do you need me? I'm not even a part of this anymore." I said as the older man raised his brows.
"Ah, Brock. You really don't understand your impact...or more so your girlfriend's impact." He said as my jaw clenched.
"Don't talk about her." I said lowly. "Relax, she's got her own reputation in the game. Killing her own father, and dozens of others. Juliana isn't so innocent." He hummed.
"I'm getting highly bored with this conversation though. The bottom line is I've got a couple people out to get me from my prison days. Are you willing to help?" He asked as I sighed.
"Bring me to Sam." I said as he shook his head. "No can do." He said as I stood up.
"Then I'm not helping you. I'll find him some other way." I said then turned to leave the room. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." The guy said as the sound of a gun's safety unclicking sounded.
Part of me was irritated I was in this situation because I didn't want to cause any trouble. The fact this guy knew where Julia was meant I had to be extra careful.
"I'll think about it." I said and turned to face him. "Well now you've pissed me off." The older man said with an annoyed glare.
"Show me where Sam is. Prove to me he's safe and I'll help you." I said as he shook his head.
"He's busy. You help me and I won't touch Juliana. How about that?" He asked as I clenched my jaw and pulled my gun out.
"Don't fucking touch her." I hissed, taking the safety off my own gun.
"Tsk tsk, Brock. I thought you were better than this." He said then shot me in the arm, causing me to drop my gun.
"Fine, jesus! I'll fucking help you." I groaned with annoyance.
I didn't really want to help this guy because he was unhinged but if I was going to protect Julia and the kids, I had to help him.
"You can leave now. I'll keep in touch." The guy said then kicked my gun towards me as he left the room.
I was beyond annoyed that I didn't even recognize who this guy was. He was hiding something but I didn't know what it was.
I couldn't understand why he wouldn't let me see Sam, but I had a feeling that I would find out soon enough.
"Fucking hell." I grunted as I looked at my bloody arm. It didn't really hurt all that much but it was annoying that it happened at all.
I picked the gun up then made my way out to the dining room where the others were.
"Let's go." I said with a sigh and started to go towards the front door. "What happened to your arm?" Jake asked as I shook my head.
"We're leaving." I said and grabbed my keys. I didn't feel like discussing things here and wanted to be secure at base before I tried to contact Julia.
Knowing these people knew where she was made me feel sick to my stomach. I had to play my cards right to ensure her safety.
I could be arguing with people who were mysterious and undetailed about their wants and needs.
When we got to base I went to the infirmary, Nate following me.
"What happened?" He asked, grabbing the first aid kit. "I'll tell you later." I said and pulled my phone out, seeing a voicemail from Julia.
I sighed and brought the phone to my ear, hearing Julia's frantic tone.
"Colby..I really need you to answer, I feel like someone is following me. I don't know what to do, I really need you."
I closed my eyes, feeling my heart ache for her.
It scared the shit out of me, knowing how scared she must have been.
I needed to know what happened.
When I called her, the phone rang only a couple times before she answered.
"Colby." She whimpered, causing my heart to ache. "Sweetheart, what's going on?" I asked as she started to cry.
"I'm going crazy." She cried out. "I just feel like someone is following me..a-and you weren't answering!" She said as I shook my head.
"Everything is okay, darling. Are you home?" I asked, trying to keep her as calm as possible.
"Yeah, I'm checking for intruders." Julia said with a sniffle. "I promise everything is going to be fine. I just need you to calm down. Can you do that for me?" I asked gently as Nate pulled the bullet out.
"When are you coming home?" Julia whispered, her tone less frantic. I didn't know how to answer this question, since I didn't know what I was getting into.
"I don't know." I said as Nate began stitching me up.
"Are you okay?" Julia asked as I grunted from the pain. "I'm fine." I answered, trying to keep her calm.
"I love you, sweetheart. I just need you to try and relax for me. I'm sorry I've been gone and I'll try to keep you updated." I said after a moment of silence.
I knew she was breaking more and more with each moment I was gone. It was hard to keep things together when your other half was MIA.
"I love you..." Julia said, her voice cracking. "Love you more." He said then hung up.
I didn't mean to cut her short, but getting stitches while trying to calm down someone who was afraid of me being in danger was hard.
I didn't want to lie to her and tell her everything was okay because it wasn't.
Sam was still missing and she was on the radar again.
As much as I wanted to admit I had the situation under control, I just didn't know if I did.
The only thing I could think of was doing anything I could to keep Julia and her siblings safe.