"Jex, I thought we were talking," Bella giggles, as I walk her backwards towards the bed.
"What, we can't talk in bed?" I smirk, as I gently push her down.
"You and I in bed never ends with talking and you know it," she grins up at me.
"Well I promise this time it will," I lay down next to her and let out a deep breath. "So we're going to do this once right? I'll tell you everything, you tell me everything, then we'll never talk about the Vipers and Cobras again?"
"After this, you're just Jex and I'm just Bella," she says, as she rolls onto her side looking down at me.
I roll over to my side and place my hand on her hip, looking down at her. "I take it I'm going first though right?"
"You know what? I'll go first, I think your story will be more interesting than mine," she takes a deep breath. "My name is Bella Ricci and my father is Andre Ricci, the leader of the Cobras. I was born into the crew, I didn't have to earn my place, nor can I lose it. I'm an heir to the throne, although I don't want it and thankfully it'll never be mine, as it'll go to my brother Abel," she begins, sitting up. I follow suit.
"I don't have a lot to do with the crew, in the way of working alongside them. I know how to fight, shoot, protect myself and if they really needed me to join them I could. I'm more in the background of everything, I just run the hotels and make deals on the sly every now and then," she shrugs with a soft smile.
"And aside for that, what's your family like?" I question.
"My Dad and brother are extremely over-protective, but I'll never question how much they love me," she gives me another smile, a real one this time. "They can be a little over the top sometimes and they both have big heads. They tell everyone how good looking they are, but they're really nice and kind people under it all. My Mum is the best, she's not really part of the crew either, but she knows about everything that goes on. She gives really good advice, everyone turns to her when they have a problem. Now your turn."
"Well," I clear my throat. "My name is Jex Shelby and I'm the leader of the Vipers," I shake my head feeling silly. "Shelby is my legal last name, it's my mother's maiden name and she kept it when she married my father for her own protection. When I came along it only made sense to do the same for me. Whilst growing up I wasn't really a part of the crew, I spent most of my time at home with Mom when I wasn't at school. When I did hang out with Dad, it was the same as you, he taught me how to fight, shoot and protect myself, but that was as far as it went."
"When I got to my teenage years I started to have a little more to do with the crew, but only as far as knowing them all and being good mates with a few of the guys, I still wasn't an active member of the crew. Even as a teenager I spent most of my time with my Mum, I used to help her around the house with the cooking, all of that kind of thing," I think for a moment and rub the back of my neck. "Uh, other than that I used to work on my cars, which is why I'm still into fixing my own cars and bikes now I guess."
"I don't want to upset you but, w-what happened to your Mum?" Bella almost whispers.
"She uh, she passed away," I hang my head. "She had a weak heart from the moment she was born, and one night while she was sleeping it just stopped. There was no warning, she wasn't in any pain, it just stopped."
"Oh Jex," she wraps her arms around me and kisses the side of my head. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," I wrap my arms around her. "Don't feel bad, it's a normal question and something we've never spoken about before."
"We don't have to keep talking if it's becoming too much for you," she says softly and presses another kiss to my head.
"I want to," I assure her, as I loosen my grip and she moves back from the embrace. "After she passed away I decided I wanted to open my own bar. I wanted to do something with my time, have somewhere to go each day and so that's how V came about. I saved all of the money from my part-time jobs and with the share of everything that was hers (that my mother left to me in her will), I had enough to build the club from the ground up. I had something to be proud of, of course, that's all gone now."
"I'm so sorry," she whispers, hanging her head.
"Hey," I place my hand under her chin and lift it, forcing her to look up at me. "You didn't do it Bella."
"No, but my cousins did," she says softly, as a tear rolls down her cheek. "And because of that, I feel like I'm to blame."
"You're not, you had no idea what was going to happen and if you did, I'm sure you would have warned me."
"I would have," she nods, her eyes almost pleading for me to believe her.
"I believe you," I drop my hand from her head. "My father was killed two years ago by a rival gang and when they read his will he'd left the family business to me. It was stipulated that I was to become the boss, effective immediately. I had no idea it was coming, all I'd ever known was V and working at the bar. Suddenly I was thrown into the deep end and into a world, I'd always been protected from. For the first year I didn't take the job, I let the boys do it and just helped out. After a while I got to learn the ropes a little, and then once I thought I was ready I took over as the offical leader."
"And you want to be the boss?"
"At first I didn't want it, but now," I stop and think for a moment. "I do want it. I think deep down this was what I was always meant to be doing. Now that V is gone I don't really have anything else to do, for an income anyway, so the Vipers pretty much going to be my full-time job now. I guess I want to walk in my father's footsteps after all."
"And you don't know who killed your father?" She swallows hard.
"I don't, but I haven't really looked into it. A couple of months before his death he kind of went rogue. He was off doing his own thing all the time, causing trouble with other gangs, none of the boys really knew why."
"Jex, I ... I have to tell you something, whilst we're being honest," she says quickly.
"What is it?"
"I, it was ...well," she takes a deep breath. "I, I know who killed your father."
"Bella, please don't even say it," I shake my head.
"It was my ..."
"Bella please."
"Jex, it was my dad!" She says loudly and quickly, before beginning to sob.
"That's what I was afraid of," I breath out. "Do you know why?"
"Because your father tried to kill him, for reasons we still don't know. But when he made the kill he killed the wrong person. He ended up shooting my father's second in command and he killed him. My father was out for revenge," she sniffles. "Jex, a-are you going to go after my Dad?"
"No baby I'm not," I pull her into my arms. "I'm going to forget you told me any of that," I kiss the top of her head.
"So what? You're not going to start trouble with the Cobras?"
"They're the ones trying to cause trouble with me. I don't want any part in it," I shrug. "But if they do come after me again I will fight back Bella, like you said, after today you're just Bella and I'm just Jex, we don't talk about work matters. At home, with you, I'm just Jex, but at work, I'm still the boss and I'm a proud Viper, I will do what I have to do."
She lets out a soft sigh and nods her head.
"If you're having second thoughts about all of this it's okay," I assure her. "I know I said I didn't want the job in the beginning, but I do now, and no matter what I'm always going to be a Viper. I'm never going to give it up."
"Not even if it means us being together or not?"
"No Bella. If you're with me, you're with all of me. I'm not leaving the Vipers behind and I'm never going to become a Cobra, nor will I join forces with them."
"I understand, I guess I'm just scared."
"Why don't you take some time to think about things and decide what you want to do. I know it's not easy on you, it's as if you're stuck in the middle. But one day you might have to choose your side, baby girl."
"That what scares me the most," she snuggles into the pillow.
"No matter what you choose I love you," I say without thinking and press a kiss to the top of her head.
"Y-you do?" She stutters, looking up at me.
"I have for a while now," I nod.
"I, I don't know what to say," she says softly.
"You don't have to say it back, not if you don't mean it or feel it. But it's what I feel and I wanted you to know," I give her a soft smile, to which she replies by pressing a kiss to my lips.
This chapter has been edited and proof read by the amazing ElleRWrites