Page 11 of The Associate
Until now.
She flinches when Sal adjusts his position in the chair at his giant mahogany desk. I can tell she would rather be anywhere but here. Staring into those beautiful emerald eyes, the corner of my mouth turns up into a sly grin and I give her a little wink. I watch as her eyes dip down slightly, her cheeks flush, and I see that shy little girl that used to follow me everywhere I went.
“What do you say, Viper?” Startling at the sudden sound of my nickname coming from the boss, I blink at him.
“About what?” I ask. He clearly knows that my focus is elsewhere because he raises a brow at me and I can justfeelthe slap across the back of the head.
“My daughter Genevieve has had threats put out on her life. They know where she goes to study, where she works, and she needs to be protected. You are the only one I trust her life with.” He glares at the other guys in the room, who all look at the ground.
Her eyes watch her father and his movements. The slightest motion of his hand causes her to flinch. Like she knows that slap across the back of the head, too.
She glances up at me, her face pleading: she needs safety and it feels like she’s looking to me for that, just like her father is.
I take a sip of my whiskey and look at Sal. “You’re demoting me to babysitter, aren’t you?” What the fuck is happening? I hold my composure and look him dead in the eyes. The frustration seeps through my voice.
Sal rolls his eyes. I have never seen him roll his eyes before though, so I have hit a nerve. “Not her babysitter.” He raises his voice, causing everyone else in the room to jump at the sudden noise. “Her bodyguard. You are to have eyes on her at all times, never let her out of your sight.” The word bodyguard doesn’t fill me with confidence, it just proves that I have been demoted.
My fist balls in my lap. I want to hit something, but that will have to wait. I need to be out in the field, I need to feed the monster. Being a babysitter is not going to relieve the urge.
“But Father!”
“No Genevieve, no buts.” He slams his fist down on the desk, turning to glare at her over his shoulder, and she physically steps back.Sheisscared of him.
Sal looks back to me and waves his finger. “You will watch her all hours, you will not let her out of your sight, do you understand me, boy?”
He has this look in his eyes that says that this is all because of the ‘almost’ blackout I had last night. Is this his way of benching me or is it a way to keep me safe?
I nod. “Yes sir, understood.” My fists tighten and release as I do everything I can to hold back an outburst. If I say anything more, he will more than just demote my ass.
“Alright, if that is everything you all have for me, leave!” He looks at me as he takes Viv’s wrist in his hand. “Except you two. I need a moment with the both of you.”
I watch as everyone else walks out of the room. Cyber glances at me — I know he is worrying. The guys walk past me, tapping my shoulder lightly as worry crosses over their features. They knew that a meeting with Sal could go a few different ways. We all grew up together and, while I don’t see them all that often these days because Sal has me constantly on hits or surveillance, we are still close.
Cyber walks towards the door. He is my brother and the most concerned, whether we are blood-related or not. I just dip my head slightly to tell him I will be fine. He gives me a small nod before turning around and closing the door behind him with a heavy thud.
“Right, now that everyone is gone, Genevieve, please sit over there.” Sal points to the chair next to me.
“Yes, Father.” She bows slightly and quickly makes her way over to the chair next to me.
“Now, Mason, do you care to tell me why Lennox’s report said the first thing he found at the venue was you lying in the middle of the car park?” He raises an eyebrow at me again and slides the report across his desk.
Clean up report: finalised time of 11pm
Upon arriving at the cleanup site, called in by Mr. Mason ‘Viper’ Hawthorne, we arrived at an underground parking lot. Cars had windows blown out and blood spattered around in various places. Mr. Hawthorne was lying in the middle of the lot, blood stains on his shirt. He appeared disoriented so we administered smelling salts to bring him back to consciousness.
There is more to the report, but I don’t need to know the rest of the clean up details, considering I’d been there for it, but I read the part that Sal wants me to see. “How long?” he asks calmly.
I look down at the page again before placing it on the desk and sitting back in the chair. I shake my head, mostly because this information is for Sal’s and my ears only. Just because I am now the babysitter of his daughter and she has to be in here doesn’t mean I am giving away any of that information.
But, as I fold my arms and stare at Sal, he slams his fist on the table.
“How long!” he yells.
Out of the corner of my eye, Viv jumps slightly at the outburst and her hand reaches out towards me before freezing and pulling back. Does she still see me as her protector?
“Fine,” I sigh. “It’s been about six months.”
“Six months?” Shock crosses his face. “And why the fuck am I only finding out about this now?”
