Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
“Then be honest with him. Give him the space he needs, but not too much. Don’t allow him to be alone for too long. Try and make him smile.”
“He smiles?” she asked.
The Boss nodded. “When he feels comfortable. Above all else, treat him like the king he is.”
Maria frowned. She had no idea what he meant. Draven would always be the king in his home. People feared him.
“Don’t fear him,” The Boss said. “Talk to him. Treat him like the man who is your husband.”
Maria didn’t know how she was going to do that, but it was a start. She had to treat Draven with respect, loyalty, and possibly, if he would accept it, with love.
She didn’t know if he was capable of love, but she was going to try.
****
It was a fucking soldier. An arrogant, piece of shit soldier, who’d escaped the first attack twenty years ago. He’d disappeared into the streets. He had a drug problem, and once he heard the rumors about the new boss and the family, he’d done some digging.
Draven had asked if he’d spoken to anyone else, and the man had said no. He was about to shoot up, so Draven took care of that. The guy’s overdose was quick. He stared into the man’s eyes as he injected the drug into his vein, and he saw the moment the old soldier recognized him. He tried to fight, but it was too late.
Cleaning up his mess, he made sure to discard the body and check the hotel where the man had been staying. The place was a mess. Draven did all the necessary cleanup work and once he was done, he climbed in his car and left.
Soldiers always appeared out of the woodwork. Draven had no doubt there were more men who’d run. It was their opportunity to escape. Those that stayed gone, who didn’t try to make waves, Draven let live. They were easy to control as most of them had a family. They wanted out of the life for a long time, and he granted them that. In giving them what they wanted, they were duty-bound to call him if they heard anything. His cell phone had stopped ringing this past year.
Draven made a note to check on the men he knew were still living and with families.
Pulling up on the sidewalk, he grabbed his cell phone and saw a text from Antwone, stating his woman was now back home.
“Fuck!”
He pressed the green button to call Antwone, who answered on the fifth ring. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Is that any way to respond?” Antwone asked.
“You were supposed to be with Maria, not leave her at my house.”
“First of all, I’ve only just dropped her off at home, and trust me, your staff have plenty to do with helping Maria take all of her new clothes up to her room.”
“Our room.” Draven slapped a hand against his forehead. This is why he tried not to call his brother.
“See, your marriage is working already. I reckon you’ll be a daddy in no time.”
“I’m not interested in fathering children.”
“We need to keep our bloodline alive, and seeing as I don’t have any prospective women, I’m going to leave that to you.”
“For fuck’s sake, Antwone, you’ve got to trust a woman someday.”
“This is coming from the man who’s spent most of his time with whores and only got married because the woman was going to die.”
“I’m married, though, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but only because I helped you with that decision.”
“Are we seriously arguing about this?” He wasn’t in the mood to argue.
“You’re not like him, you know.”
“I’m ending this call right now.” He didn’t give Antwone time to say another word. Hanging up his cell phone, he pressed his foot to the gas and headed home.
He had no interest in becoming a father. Antwone had talked about the future of the family. Draven intended to find someone suitable for his brother. Someone they could trust. From all counts, Maria seemed like the most suitable option, but she was now with him, and there was no way he was going to share, or give her up.
His brother had missed out on that one. Maria belonged to him. There had to be another woman out there for his brother. He was certain of it.
He arrived at his home in record time and made his way upstairs to find Calvin walking down.
“Good evening, sir. Mrs. Maria didn’t know if you would be home for dinner. Shall I get the chef to cook you your favorite?”
“Yes. Where is my wife?”
“In your bedroom.”
Draven nodded and waited for Calvin to leave before he made his way to the bedroom. He stepped inside and found multiple designer boxes stacked up. Maria came out of the closet, pushing some of her blonde hair off her face.