Princess

- Aesira -

After working for 5 hours or so my workload finally broke. I dialed Atlis wondering what he had been up to all day.

"Antonovo." His voice was cold and curt.

"Maybe read the caller ID and then you can decide how you'll answer your phone calls, yeah?" I chuckled as I heard him take a deep breath on the other side of the line.

"Hey Aes, I'm sorry I've been nothing short of up to my head in bullshit."

"I don't doubt that. Are you almost done for the night though?" I asked as I saw an email with a very concerning heading come through. 'I'M SORRY!' Just as my brain had processed the words my office door burst open and a very angry Kalen came in furry-a-blazen. "Roger, roger," I whispered as I set my phone down and simultaneously hit the speaker button.

Atlis and I had a code word for knowing when we were putting ourselves on speaker and we needed the other to mute themselves for them to unknowingly be on the phone and listen to whatever was going on.

"Well you have some fucking nerve don't you." Kalen spat out the words as his nose twitched and his jaw clenched.

"Welcome, please come in, Kalen." My tone was even without a hint of sarcasm.

"Don't you 'welcome' me. You are a fucking bastard!" I shook my head.

"Bitch. I'd be the daughter of a bitch. I'm a woman, remember." I held my tongue even though all I wanted to do was laugh and I could feel Atlis laughing at the comment on the other end of the muted line.

"Don't you play dumb. What the fuck do you think you're doing? You are holding a bunch of fucking men hostage that can end this whole mess. What the fuck?" He was standing on the opposite side of the desk and he looked down at me in my sitting position.

"Sit down Kalen."

"I will not sit the fuck down."

"Kalen sit down."

"Fuck you! I want an answer!" His face was redder than a tomato and he was spouting off worse than a whale.

I slowly rose, I was still looking up at him but that stare Father had, I had mastered and it didn't matter how short I was, I was winning.

"Kalen, sit the fuck down." I spat out watching as his facade fell and the man in front of me sagged into the chair next to him like a kid who just got called to the principal's office. "Thank you." I took a seat meeting him at almost eye level.

That man is a fucking tall, hunk of muscle.

"Now, what is the issue? This isn't an American Mafia problem anymore. You are just here to make Mr. Lopez happy, are you not?" I don't understand his anger when all he has to do is stand there so his father feels he has some sort of power in this.

"Well, I mean yes," He started, "I am finding the issue to be that y'all are dragging this out. The longer this takes the longer I have to be here." I nodded once and continued to look at him, waiting. "I mean, I know that this is in your court and this is now bleeding into your territory but this is an in-house issue." He paused for a moment and I continued to stare at him silently. "Look, I need a chance to fix this issue, my father is mad enough as is and the longer it goes on the worse it is."

Bingo.

"Kalen, we are waiting, the longer they stir the more they are willing to tell us because they don't know what will save their skin. They think others have talked so much they need to add all the little details, which to them are seemingly unimportant, and that's where we learn most by doing little. It's not to screw you over Kalen. Not to screw you or the American Mafia over. We are just handling it like Russians, brute force with patience and cold vodka." I smirked at the last part and I watched as Kalen cracked a small smile.

"You know you aren't as bad as they made you out to be." I cocked an eyebrow at Kalen's comment and waited. "I mean I know you have a reputation but this is so not in line with it." I rolled my eyes at his comment.

"Have a good night Kalen. This is not the part of town you should be seen in." I turned back to my computer to get more work done.

"Ah, no you don't." He rose from his chair reaching across the desk and lowered my laptop screen down, closing it. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I seethed through my clenched teeth.

"You're done for the night. Come on, let's go." Who the fuck does this man think he is?

"Man, you really don't know how to take a no. Do I need to show you again what happens when you don't respect a no?" I watched him throw his head back as he audibly laughed as if I didn't scare him.

Why aren't you acting like everyone else? What the fuck?

"Look Aesira, you and I both know the last time you slept was in that office and who knows how long it was before that." I glared at him. "Look, I don't know you very well but I know that," he motioned his hand at me, "well enough to know you don't sleep. So whether or not you nap I am not leaving until I know you will be doing something other than working at all hours." I stared blankly at him as for one I felt like I had been seen by someone other than the one I might have very well shared a brain with.

"O-okay, I'll leave." I watched as his face morphed into something of satisfaction.

I watched him turn for the door.

"Great, let's go, I'm starving so maybe food first, yeah?"

The fucking audacity.

"Well, are you coming?"

"Fuck no. I just said I was going to leave, I never said when." I watched him shake his head.

"Come on, stop being a princess. Don't make me drag you out of here."

Do it.

I rose from my chair. I grabbed my laptop and pushed it into my bag rounding the side of my desk and grabbing my helmet off the edge.

"Nope. Leave it." I shook my head.

"Fuck no, I never agreed to that." I saw his jaw tick as the words left my mouth. "What, are you afraid I'm gonna lose you again?" I felt the corner of my lip tug up.

"I'm way too attached for you to lose me. Never again." I cocked my eyebrow.

"Never?" He seemed to be sure of himself, especially in our line of work, but for some reason when the next three words fell from his soft smile I had no doubt he meant every letter of them.

"Never Princess. Never."