Dancing with a stranger

Chapter |3✨

James Garcia was notorious. Notorious for being the ruthless chief of the Phantom Gang, a rival to my dad's organization, the Black Knights. Their alliance once ran deep, back when my dad and Garcia were partners in crime, before everything started to crumble. But as with everything in this world, loyalty didn't last forever. My dad made a choice—he stepped away from the chaos, married my mother, and had children. He wanted a life outside the darkness. But Garcia didn't take kindly to that.

When my dad walked away, the deal ended. Garcia didn't just lose a business partner; he lost an ally—someone who had helped him rise to power in the first place. And my dad had also accrued debt in the process, a debt that wasn't easily forgotten.

Now, with Garcia out for revenge, the stakes were higher than ever. The Phantom Gang had been making their moves, and every time I turned around, I felt the shadow of their presence looming over my family. My dad's name had a target painted on it, and every step he took to avoid the world he once thrived in only seemed to push the threat closer to us.

But it wasn't just the money. No, this was personal. Garcia didn't forget betrayal, and he wanted to make my dad pay. That's why I was here tonight, why I had that strange feeling when I danced, why I was being watched by one of his men. It all connected back to my father's past—the mistakes, the broken alliances, and the debt that was yet to be settled.

I'd known that one day this would happen. That one day, I would have to confront the fallout from my father's decisions. The violence, the secrets—it would always find its way to me, no matter how much I tried to escape it. And now, with Garcia sending his people after me, I could no longer hide behind the illusion of normalcy.

The man I took down outside the club? He wasn't just some random thug. He was one of Garcia's men, sent to intimidate me, to remind me that the Phantom Gang was still very much a threat to everything my family had built. I didn't know if this was just the beginning or if Garcia was preparing to launch a full assault. But one thing was clear—if I wanted to protect myself, my family, and anyone I cared about, I needed to be ready for what was coming next.

As I drove home, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, my thoughts raced. The pounding in my chest wasn't just from the adrenaline anymore—it was from the weight of the situation, the realization that this was no longer a shadow I could outrun. Garcia was coming for us, and he was going to make sure my dad paid for walking away from everything that had once tied them together.

I parked the car in the driveway, my hands still shaking from the adrenaline of the night. I didn't want to linger outside, didn't want to think about the guy I took down or the feeling of being hunted. I just wanted to get inside, get answers, and figure out what the hell was going on.

I walked straight to my dad's study, the familiar path to the room always feeling like a weight on my shoulders. It was the place where my father made his decisions, where everything that shaped our family's future was discussed. I knocked once on the threshold, my heart beating faster with each passing second.

"Come in, sweetie," my dad's voice called from within, calm, but there was always a weight behind it when he said that.

I pushed the door open and walked in, my gaze immediately falling on him. He was sitting behind his desk, a stack of papers in front of him, his brow furrowed in concentration. He didn't look up when I entered, but I could tell by the stillness in the air that he knew something was off.

I walked over to the chair across from him and sat down, crossing my legs. My eyes stayed on him, waiting for him to acknowledge me, but he didn't—at least not right away.

Finally, he looked up, his expression softening, but there was an edge in his eyes, a silent question I could feel hanging between us.

"How was your night?" he asked casually, as though he hadn't sensed the tension in me.