Closer to the Whispers

Before it Blows

***I will be doing edits, let me know in the comments if you see anything that needs tweaking! As always please like and comment! ***

Leo's POV

I decided not to stay in the barracks for the night since I had so much work to do back at our estate.

My formula was being fast-tracked through the trials by the FDA to confirm safety even though I could prove scientifically that it was perfectly safe. The number of people using my formula on the street without side effects should have been testimony enough to my brilliance, yet they still required the formalities.

I went straight to my lab, started up the burner, and measured out the chemicals carefully with exact precision. The click of the glass stirrer in the glass flasks as I set everything up was comforting in its strange way, and the isolation of the lab was a welcome retreat after such a stressful day at work.

My paradise was interrupted by my brother coming in, slamming the door carelessly, almost making me have to remeasure my chloride.

"Hello, brother," I told him, only staying mad for a moment used to his antics. I was controlled, careful, and reserved. He, on the other hand, was impulsive and was the wild child in the family. I had to clean up his messes almost daily, but his loyalty were unmatched.

"Hey. Man, you have to get tired of all this shit, don't you? Go out and find a girl, for fucks sake." He said, shaking his head and pulling up a stool dangerously close to one of my beakers. I slowly moved it out of his way, adjusting my glasses so I could see him. He wore a white button-up shirt that showed off his insane number of pointless tattoos and dark jeans that hung off his thin frame. He had blood on his shirt and didn't seem to have noticed.

"If you ask my students, I get around more than I realize. I had a girl today try to tell me I knocked her up. The fuck is that?" I asked, still beyond pissed. The Grandes did NOT walk away from their blood, and her trying to tell me she carried my firstborn was just despicable.

"Aye, yo...if you need some action, I know a place down on Tenth Street. There's this woman there who does this thing with her tongue. Unbeatable." He said, proceeding to demonstrate the vulgar action.

"I can't believe you're my brother some days," I said tiredly. He stopped and just shrugged.

"Never mind, your loss."

"What are you doing here, Alfred?" I asked, knowing he had no interest in the delicate precision of chemistry.

"I have a guy downstairs. He owns me 50G's, and I already gave him one warning. It didn't seem to sink in, so I hoped the boss could chat with him quickly." He asked me, spinning in his chair a bit with his excitement to watch me torture the guy.

"Fuck. I..I can step away, but I only have a moment." I agreed very reluctantly.

"I'm sure your little chemistry experiment will be fine, brother!" He said with a chuckle.

"If I don't turn the heat off within twenty minutes, the building will explode, but yeah...okay," I told him with a smirk, loving how he paled.

His deadbeat customer was already quite bloody and being held up by two of our guards in our living room. Thankfully, the sealed marble floors wouldn't be stained.

"I'll get you're money, I swear!" The middle-aged man yelled, his fear causing him to shake seeing me. If you fucked up so badly I was called, you knew you were about to get hell.

"Oh? I bet you will. Do you know why? Last I checked, you like your eyeballs in your face, right?" I asked silkily, my voice soft, and yet his fear increased, and he struggled to breathe.

I walked over to him and, without a second thought, kicked his leg in from behind, the sickening crunch of his leg making my point clear. He screamed dramatically, and I walked around to his face.

"Next time, I won't be so merciful," I said carefully, his eyes widening, thinking what could be worse than the pain he was already in.

"I'll get it, I promise!" He cried desperately between crying out in pain. I gave a short nod to Alfred as I walked out, who had been on the counter of our living room bar enjoying the show.

I hated the violence that came with our business. I wanted nothing more than to get out, but time had yet to allow that. So I was stuck, knowing too much to be allowed to leave and yet hating my life while I stayed.

"Son!" My father called, hearing the commotion and coming out of his obnoxiously lavish bedroom. He was in his sixties and dying of stomach cancer, but I saw two women dressed in next to nothing peeking out around his red flashy robe.

"I handled it, Father," I said dismissively, trying to continue walking, but he cleared his throat, and I stopped, knowing he would chase me down if needed.

"What?" I asked, spinning around, my mood only further worsening seeing him.

"I heard you took your recipe to the Feds." He commented plainly, folding his arms and waiting for a reply. I had to speak carefully because while Alfred was reckless, he was insane.

"Yes," I said, clearing my throat tensely.

"I...times have changed; our business is under threat every day now by them constantly hounding us. Our profits will soar by making our product available for everyone. All the high people want without side effects. I'm working with Geralda at Palta Academy, whose sister is the director of the biological evaluation and research department with the FDA. She had a very high profile family whose daughter wanted to go to her academy before med school, but their current teacher was crap." I explained carefully, hoping it was being received positively.

He was silent and nodded for me to continue.

"In exchange for teaching at her school for a year, she's fast-tracking my trials and putting me in touch with the pharmacists who push recommendations to doctors. It's a win/ win scenario." I finished, not sure if I should back up or not. He was quiet and looked me over, assessing the risks for several minutes.

"If you fail, I don't care if you are my firstborn son. You are done." He said without emotion, turning and closing the massive wood door to resume his carnal activities.

I gasped, not realizing I had been holding my breath. He didn't outright kill me at least, that was good. I had expected him to beat me within an inch of my life, at the very least.

"Wow. I always thought I was the crazy son." Alfred said, catching up to me, having overheard everything.

"Well, it seems I'm slightly insane too," I said, heaving an enormous sigh of relief and stumbling towards my lab.

"You look like you could use a good fuck. You sure you don't want me to call up Star for you?" He offered to give me a comforting pat on the back. I ran my hand into my hair, smiling, and relieved at least one stress was handled for the day.

"Positive."