My Protector | Meliodas

18. Fraudrin and Galand

That evening, Meliodas laid with me in my bed and rubbed my back until I fell asleep. When I woke up, the space behind me was empty, and the sadness that settled in my stomach was a reminder that we still had to keep this a secret. 

As much as I wanted us to be a normal couple, I wouldn't want him to lose his job here because of it. I would rather have to be a secret and see him daily, than not see him at all. I shoved the blanket off my body and laid there, staring at the ceiling. 

From the crack in the curtains, I could tell it was going to be a gloomy day. A result of the storm yesterday. 

I didn't mind though. I liked the rain. 

I smiled as I thought about riding in the rain yesterday. My smile slowly diminished as I remembered we would have to be extra cautious around my father and his employees if we wanted to keep this going. 

My phone dinged from beside the bed. 

I quickly typed Meliodas a message. 

I turned my phone off with a small smile and clambered out of bed to begin getting ready for the day. 

Meliodas's POV:

As soon as breakfast was finished, Bartra instructed that I followed him to his office for a discussion. With as much control as I could muster, I left the dining hall without as much as a glance at Y/N. It stung, but there were too many prying eyes, and I was entering the lion's den. 

Once we were inside, I took a seat adjacent to him and rested my arms on the chair with a curious gaze. He seemed tired this morning, which was confirmed when he slumped into his chair and ran a heavy hand down his face. 

"I have had to arrange a meeting with some, business associates, because of an event that occurred at the casino, I just wanted you here in case stuff went in a bad direction," his eyes were lazy as he poured himself a drink. 

It was 10 am. 

"Sure sir," I nodded. He let out a sigh in response and after he downed his glass. A knock came from the door. I didn't have to turn around and look to know that these, associates, had arrived. 

"Sir Liones, Fraudrand, and Galand are here, shall I let them in?" A butler asked from the door. Bartra gestured them in with his hand and thanked the employee. 

Two tall men walked into the office and I stood from my seat to stand by Bartra's side. He cast me a thankful glance and for a moment I was worried perhaps he had some bad business with these men and was intimidated. I didn't let the thought linger in my expression though, I kept my head high and gaze stern. 

"Bartra, it's good to see you," one of the men smirked as he leaned over the desk and jerked his hand out for a shake. Bartra hesitantly shook it as I glared at the man. 

"Fraudrin, good to see you, despite the circumstances," Bartra greeted with a grim smile. 

Fraudrin wore a black suit, which matched his dark eyes and excentuated his purple hair. His face was well-defined and dark. To anyone else, he would be seen as intimidating. 

But I've killed men scarier than this. 

The other man jutted his long jaw into the air in acknowledgment before he took a seat next to Fraudrin. His hair was dark red with streaks of silver, which fell into his black eyes. He wasn't as intimidating as Fraudrin as he was lanky, and had poor posture, but he was taller. 

Together, they probably had men like Bartra on their knees, willing to do whatever it was they wanted. And maybe, if I weren't here next to him, Bartra would be doing the same. 

I owed too much to Bartra to allow him to do that. 

"Galand," Bartra nodded before he continued, "so, as you know, there was a heist at the casino three nights ago, and I have my reasons to suspect it was the two of you that instigated it," Bartra spoke in a low tone with his eyes hardening. 

I had heard of this heist briefly, but for it to lead to Bartra accusing his allies, it had to be worse than I thought. 

"Well," Fraudrin laughed as he wrung his hands together, "why would you assume it was us?" He pointed a finger between himself and Galand, who scoffed with a smirk. 

"Because we have security footage of three of your men entering the premises a few hours before the robbery took place. They didn't use any of the machines, participate in the games, or even order drinks," Bartra countered before he reached into his drawer and pulled out a large envelope. He opened it and removed a few photos of three men entering the casino through the front entrance, each with duffel bags in hand. 

"Either they're stupid and thought they could get away with robbery without wearing masks or even hiding the bags, or you wanted me to know you both have some sort of problem with me," Bartra almost growled at them as he threw the photos on the table. 

Fraudrin's confident composure faltered very slightly, but he masked it. He leaned forward and looked at the photos. 

"These aren't my men anymore, I fired them a month ago," he said, and I wondered if it was a lie. My gaze turned to Galand, who took the photos from Fraudrin. 

"Yeah, they're not our men," he spoke smoothly and tossed the photos back onto the desk. Bartra was speechless, clearly, but I don't think he bought it. 

"Well, where are they now?" 

Fraudrin shrugged, a smile on his face. 

"How would we know, we let them go, they're not our responsibility now," he replied casually.

"Well, you'd better find them, because they stole thousands from a casino you are affiliated with. They are your responsibility, as coworkers of this casino, and you will be in charge of tracking them down and getting every dollar back," Bartra concluded as he sat back in his chair, a smug smile on his face. I found myself smirking too.

Fraudrin and Galand were glaring at Bartra, their anger obviously growing. I swiftly shrugged my jacket off and began doing up the buttons of my sleeves. Their gazes turned to me, which changed significantly. 

Fraudrin chuckled and sat back in his chair, raising a leg over his other one. I raised an eyebrow at him but moved to my other arm. He put his hands up in a surrendering manner. 

"Now, we are all friends here, no need to get violent," he said in a playful tone, which I didn't appreciate. I moved around to the front of the desk and leaned against it, less than a metre away from him. 

"Do as Bartra says, and there won't be a need to get violent," I said as I pulled my gun around from behind me and rested it on the desk. I felt Bartra's stare on the back of my head, but I refused to let him look vulnerable to these two men who were clearly lying about the heist. 

"Of course," Fraudrin said as he stood up, Galand mirroring his actions. They were both taller than me, but in less than two seconds, I could've had them both on the ground unconscious. I hoped, for their benefit, that they didn't underestimate me. 

I nodded as they shot Bartra one last look and left the room. Once they were gone, I heard Bartra chuckle from behind me.