Against Everything Else

21. Promise

Avery's POV

I fidgeted with the hair tie that was sitting around my wrist as we walked through the large white double doors of the meeting room.

There had to be at least over a hundred men that were seated around a long oval table that stretched across the room. Around fifty more men were standing along side the walls, a few of them seemed to be blending into the shadows as if they wanted to remain invisible.

At the head of the table, Vince sat domineeringly. As always he was dressed in all black, the watch I had gifted him sitting proudly against his ink covered skin. At the sight of me, he offered a small smile, and that was all that I needed to understand that he was inviting me over to where he was.

My cheeks turned red as I scurried past the crowd of men to finally reach Vince at the other end of the room. On either side of him, sat Antonio who had his eyes closed, Dante who sighed tiredly and, scar face, whose name I still don't even know.

"Hi baby," When I got within arms reach, Vince grabbed onto my hand and gently pulled me towards him. I blushed at the endearing nickname, as I felt all eyes remain on me and my hand in his.

Vince stood up and turned around to face the men, his face switching back immediately, to his usual stone cold and emotionless exterior.

"I want you to take a look at her." He pulled me tightly to his side, "From now on, your priority is to protect her. I don't care if the mansion burns down, I don't care if we are being shot at, I don't care if I'm being harmed, your priority is her safety at all cost."

A few of the men exchanged looks with each other as if they were confused by the order. I too looked at Vince, and then at Luca and Antonio in the same confused manner, but they just shook their heads, offering me a smile that didn't seem to reach their eyes.

"Am I clear?!" Vince's voice boomed, making almost everyone in the room cower away slightly from the almost murderous tone in his voice.

"Yes Sir!" They all yelled back simultaneously, making me shiver at the army like response. Their faces no longer had emotion and they too looked stone cold and serious.

"From tomorrow, training will be doubled." I saw a few younger looking men, around their early twenties groan, but everyone else in the room remained un phased. "You're dismissed."

With that, chatter began again as they exited the room. A few looked back over at me curiously but no one uttered a word to me. I let out a sigh of relief immediately when emotions were detected on their facial features again, and the air in the room began to feel less tense and serious.

"Butterfly," I turned to look at Vince as Luca and the others also began to leave the room. He sat back down on his chair and pulled me onto his lap, "Did you sleep okay?"

"I feel a lot more rested now." I smiled at him. He smiled back and gave me a gentle kiss on the back of my head.

"That's good." He leaned back against the chair and sighed, but didn't say anything else.

"Luca said you wanted to see me?" I turned around to face him, my hand instinctively going to his cheek, my thumb tracing the small, grown hairs that were beginning to show.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a bit as he thought before sitting back up, his arms holding me carefully, as if I was going to run away.