Gangster In Love

Chapter 5

Melissa POV

"Yes"

"No" Paul and Leslie speak at the same time.

They regard each other...and Leslie relents.

"That's probably more fair. If I don't pick, none of you can accuse me of trying to punish you " Leslie said while turning away to face the other direction, rather than look at me.

Aurora laughs, it sounds rich and dark. "Or of favouritism."

"Hmph." Kevin looks at her with an amused face.

From the bar, Max mumbles over the rim of his bourbon glass. "...Choose" he said to me.

Gosh who do I pick to be my babysitter, do I choose Max, who is awfully quiet but yet he is dangerous or Paul, who is very witty and funny in very serious matters that involves my parents? Do I choose Leslie, who doesn't talk much, just freaks me out with his cold yet sexy voice whenever he gives out orders or Aurora, who seems nice but vicious when she wants to be? Oh goodness I don't know who to pick. I can't pick Kevin; he made his point that he has an actual job to consider. But who could I possibly choose? I'm stuck in a den of Devils, and no matter which one watches over me, I'm trapped here until they decide to let me go! Maybe, if I play along, I'll be able to escape... Fooling one person is easier than running from a whole pack of dangerous, armed mobsters. And maybe I can find out what's really going on with my parents. Taking a deep breath, I decide.

"If it's alright...I'd like to stay with...Max" I answered.

He seems calmer than the rest of the group...and Seymour likes him too! Dogs are usually pretty good judges of character.

"Suit yourself." Leslie said.

Max doesn't even look up from his glass. I wait for a long moment for him to say something—or even change his expression—but he remains silent and stoic.

Did he hear me? I hesitate briefly and clear me throat.

"Max?" I called out to him.

He looks up; then, idly swirling his glass, and raises a single brow. He still doesn't say anything. I guess that's as good a response as I'm likely to get... I work up the nerve to meet his gaze with a stare of my own, meeting his brilliant green eyes directly. If he's impressed by my gall, it doesn't show on his face. He does have nice eyes...But he's so quiet... I don't know anything about him. Can I trust him to protect me? Seymour gathers my attention, then, wandering away from Max's side to stand by the door. He whines, pawing gently at the door, and looks at me expectantly. Guess he needs to go out.

"We should take Seymour for a walk." Max says.

The suddenness of his comment is enough to make me jump.

"Oh... Yeah, okay. Come on, Seymour!" I called out to Seymour.

It was nice of Max to rig a leash for the enthusiastic Seymour with some spare rope, and the beach behind the gang's mansion is nothing short of breathtaking under the moonlight but... I can't enjoy it right now given the situation. What do these guys want with me? Can they even be trusted? And what's the deal with my parents, anyway? What could they have possibly done? I spare a sideways glance at Max. He's focused on Seymour, who's too busy sniffing at seashells, and barking at the waves to have a care in the world. If Max is meant to be keeping an eye on me, he's not doing a very good job at it. Max... He's so quiet I'd mistake him for a normal guy on the streets. How did he even get involved with a gang? Could he stop me if I made a run for it? I move to cross my arms against the nip of the ocean air, and my hand happens to brush against my dress pocket. What the shit!!! I still have my phone! I look up at Max, trying not to let my realization show on my face. He's still not looking at me. Maybe... Seymour, as if on cue, suddenly bolts forward, pulling on the leash. Max moves ahead of me to let the leash go slack. Now's my chance! I pull out my phone with my eyes still trained, and then look down to unlock it—BANG! The phone explodes out of my hand, shattering into chunks of glass and bits of metal.

"Gah!" I screamed.

My hand stings from the shock. I look up with wide eyes to see Max with a large pistol in hand, a thin tendril of smoke vanishing from the muzzle.

He stares at me not saying anything. Max's finger is resting on the trigger guard now, but there's no mistaking what just happened. When I'm finally able to speak, my voice is an octave higher.

"Did... did you just shoot...?"

"...Don't try to escape." He said to me.

My shoulders slump. Max holsters his gun again and turns back to keep an eye on Seymour. He wasn't even looking at me! I guess I see how he's in a gang now... I trudge silently after him, shaking out my sore hand as I glare at the back of his head. He's pretty skinny looking at first glance, but the more I look at him, the more I notice the wiry muscle that makes up his frame. If he were a little less muscular... and had he not just shot my phone out of my hand... I'd probably make a break for it. After that little display, though, I'm not taking my chances. I can't help but sigh. I guess I really am stuck with him. Maybe he can at least tell me a little more about what's going on. I clear my throat, looking pointedly at his back. If he feels my stare, he doesn't let it show. He doesn't even turn around. I'm starting to detect a trend here.

"So...Max." I pause for a beat, just to see if he'll acknowledge me at all.

He keeps silent.

"Can you tell me anything about what's going on with my parents? Why was that gang after them? What's--"

He stops so suddenly that Seymour stumbles back on his lead—I myself nearly run into him.

"Woah--!"

He turns around and regards me with an unreadable expression. I feel an uncertain sort of anxiety prickling at the back of my neck, and lower my eyes just enough to see the gun holstered at his hip. Right next to his hand. Why isn't he saying anything...? Is he going to kill me for asking too many questions? The ocean's right there, he'd have a quick place to dump the body... Oh no.

He decides to speak, "They have information we need."

The reply is so short, I almost expect him to elaborate. But, of course, he doesn't say anything else. Despite my nerves, I'm starting to get fed up with his mysterious-guy act.

"What kind of information? For what? They were just normal people they weren't involved in all this—this—they didn't have anything to do with gangs, or--"

"No. They were undercover feds." He says.

"What!?" I said with a shocked look on my face. That's even less believable than them being gangsters!

"There's no way that's poss—"I yelp in surprise when his arms hook around my shoulders suddenly, pulling me flush against him. Is he trying to hug me? No, this is too tight for a real hug... and his eyes tell me he's not trying to be nice. I squirm in his surprisingly powerful hold.

"Let me go, let me go--!"

His gun is in his hand, then, scant inches from my face, and I go still.

"Quiet. We're being watched. About 50 meters behind... They have a weapon." He said while looking ahead.

I can't help but balk at that. How can he tell? I stay slack in his grip for a moment longer, and he releases me just enough to grab my hand and tug me back towards the mansion. Not that the mansion feels any safer than the beach right now... When we've put some distance behind us, I glance back over my shoulder and feel a chill run down my back. There's a shadow of a man far off in the distance, watching, unmoving. If I squint I can see a faint glint in the moonlight. A weapon...? Who was that? Are they after me too? My throat starts to constrict. I think I'm in deeper trouble than I realized...

Well this is the end of the book; hope you guys enjoyed the drama that was going down in this book. It was just a short story that I wanted to write about and I really did enjoy writing it. I'm sorry that it was short; I know ya'll wanna kill me for ending it like that... but I just wanted to leave it there. LOVE YA'LL. I will be writing a new story called College love.

-CJWilliams1chronics