His Indulgence || Book Two

American

No, you're not dreaming— Yes, I've finally updated after 5 months :'). Enjoy my lovelies!! <3 I'll be back at it for more
— xox steph

Eric's POV:

I had been too intoxicated to see clearly my surroundings. The loud music reverberated through my body as I danced carelessly among beautiful women, which laced their warm hands across my unbuttoned shirt.

I didn't have a care for anything, nor did I want to. Nothing in my life mattered more than the bottle in my hand, and of course, my business.

Each time I'd care for anything, it'd always end up being temporary. I had never allowed anyone to get close to me, so why'd I let her?

Her betrayal was the worst thing I've lived through. Conveniently enough, the bartender knew exactly how many drinks I'd need to forget about her for the night.

So I came to the conclusion that if I let myself care, all I'd feel is pain.

I didn't want to know about her life because remembering her crinkles my soul and happiness. Gazing through the glass bottle, I continue to see her face because like a crazy man I am, I think I'll always love her.

However, I knew from the moment I involved myself in the mafia that I didn't deserve to be loved. I was meant to be miserable and alone because that's exactly what makes a strong leader. This pain served as an everlasting reminder of that.

Repeatedly, life had always seemed to make me remember that caring simply makes you weak— and that I refused to be.

"Eric!" I heard a familiarly agitating voice call out from afar. Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention to the pesky woman.

"I thought we came to an agreement for tomorrow—" I groaned at Ales, shouting over the loud music until she cut me off.

"We've got another problem," I noticed a brief hesitation in what she was about to say, "My sidekick kind of got lost."

I felt one side of my lips twitch slightly, "That's not my problem, maybe you should've kept a leash on them." I slipped out another cigarette and sparked the tip.

"Eric," Her voice was sharp and rough, completely worried. Looking into her driven eyes, I could see the plead and helplessness radiate onto me. She really cared about this person, and that was fairly uncommon for Ales.

"Alright," I exhaled a deep breath of the smoke and pulled Ales with me as I led her back into my VIP area. "I need a name."

Ales folded her arms, "What's your plan?"

As I took in another puff of smoke, I slipped out my phone and dialed my technician. By the third ring, he had already answered.

"Hey, I need you to help me locate. . ." I shot Ales a look as I waited for her to spit out the name, but instead, she just continued to stare blankly at me. "Ales, I need a name now." I hissed over the phone.

Ales swallowed hard, "Tell him it was the girl who walked in with me today." She stiffed out a breath, "She was last with me at the bar until we split."

I repeated the oddly vague description to my geek and he began to get to work as I waited on this side of the line, continuing to enjoy my cigarette.

Minutes ticked by, and I soon found myself lighting another.

"You need to stay away from those, Eric." Ales scorned.

"And you need to stay out of my business." I snapped back. Just before she could retort, we both heard my technician finally respond with answers.