"Do you need one?"
Hector held out a gun to Jas as he was getting ready.
"Yeah, but let's hope there's not going to be a shootout." He grabbed it from him and tucked it into his belt.
"If he brings a whole squad with him, we dip as fast as we arrived." Hector smirked, opening the door for Jas.
Jas adjusted his black suit, then stepped out of the room.
As he walked down the staircase toward the door, his mother was there, watching him with worry in her eyes.
"Do you really need to go?" She gently touched his face.
"It's just a eting, Mom. Nothing more." He hugged her before stepping away, but before he could leave, Charlotte ca running, grabbing his suit and pulling on it.
Jas turned back and saw tears in her eyes.
"Charlotte?"
"Co back!" She hugged him tightly.
Jas stayed still for a mont, reflecting on how his life had changed in an instant, more brutal, more bloodied…but more importantly, he now had one more reason to live.
This cute child saw him as everything.
"I'm coming back, don't worry—"
Charlotte's stomach suddenly bubbled.
Jas laughed. "You need to eat real food, not just cookies..." He patted her head, and she smiled.
"Be careful, Jas." His mother said, giving him one last hug.
He finally stepped outside, where a row of cars waited for him.
Like before, the limousine was in the middle, surrounded by SUVs. But this ti, there were more than ever before, and the guards were fully equipped, not for an escort, but for war.
As Jas made his way to the limousine, Bella and Ferucci approached him from the side.
"You look fine, Jas." Ferucci said, eyeing him up and down. "Looks like you're heading to a date, not a eting." He grinned, but Bella wasn't happy about it.
"Shut up." She hit him.
"Don't hurt , I'm just telling the truth." He said with a smirk. "But anyway, can I kill him if he does sothing dumb? I sharpened my knife to make cleaner cuts." He flashed the blade at them with a grin.
"He's not going to do anything dumb." Hector said, stepping forward. "The eting is in a warehouse, and we've secured the entire periter. If he tries anything, he's dead in a second."
With that, Hector pulled the car door open, waiting for Jas to step inside.
"Let's go guys." Jas said as he sat in the car, though he was nervous as hell.
His thoughts drifted to his mother and Charlotte.
If this whole thing was a setup to lure him away from the house, then the guards left behind would only be able to hold out for so long…maybe an hour if a fight broke out.
His second thought was about whether this was just a setup for him personally. Even though the letter Benjamin sent him was about how he admires him, the possibility of a trap was still there.
Maybe ordering a hit on Carter was too much... he's still a fucking Vice President, after all.
"Are you good, Jas?" Hector asked, noticing he was deep in thought.
"Yeah… just a lot has happened. I feel overwheld."
"You don't need to be." Hector said with a small smile. "We're here for you. And if anything happens, we die for you. But you already know that."
Jas looked at him. And to be honest, he could feel it…this wasn't just loyalty. They would sacrifice their lives for him. It was more than respect.
It was family.
He didn't answer, and they sat in silence for a while, until Jas rembered sothing.
"One ti, I went to talk to Rafael, and he was writing sothing, a book or a diary." He said, turning to Hector. "The guys who moved our stuff… they didn't find it? Because it wasn't in the boxes."
"Book?" Hector asked, but he was already panicking. His left hand started to twitch, so he quickly shoved it into his pocket.
"Yeah…" Jas said, turning to look out the window. "He was writing so kind of book. I wanted to read it… even if he didn't finish it."
"Didn't know he was writing sothing." Hector said while forced himself to keep it casual. Keep it under control.
"I an, we packed up everything we could find." He added, shifting slightly in his seat. "Maybe it's mixed in sowhere. You sure he didn't keep it in so weird spot?"
Jas still didn't look at him. "No. It was on his desk."
Hector felt his fingers twitch again. He clenched them into a fist inside his pocket.
"I never thought he would write sothing."
"I was really surprised by it." He smiled as he finally looked at Hector but it fainted as he rembered a detail of it. "I asked him what it is about, like the story you know."
"Yeah?" Hector's hand started shaking even more.
"And he said it about a man who doesn't realize how much he's lost."
"That's… deep. Sounds like Rafael was trying to be all philosophical."
"Yeah. He wasn't really the type, was he?"
"I an, maybe it was just so dramatic thing he was working on. You know how people write random thoughts down…could've been nothing. Unless you think he was talking about soone specific?"
Jas tilted his head slightly, still watching him. "Maybe…about ."
"Co on, Rafael wouldn't write sothing like that about you. He looked up to you."
Jas didn't react right away. His gaze stayed locked onto Hector. "Did he?"
Hector's mind scrambled for a way out of this.
"Of course he did. I an, yeah, you guys had your differences, but he was your brother, Jas. He wouldn't…" Hector trailed off, realizing he was talking too much.
Jas humd, tapping his fingers on his knee. "Still…I wonder what he could wrote."
"Well, like I said, we packed everything." Hector continued quickly. "Maybe it got mixed up in the move. I can have the guys check again if you want."
Jas looked at him for a mont longer, then turned his gaze to the window. "Forget it."
"O-Okay."
You're so bad at lying, Hector. Your hand's twitching and you hesitated multiple tis.
What was in the book that made you lie straight to my face?
If it was just Rafael's so kind of fantasy book, Hector wouldn't care.
But he didn't.
Instead, he panicked.
Whatever was in that book was sothing he didn't want to see.
Jas didn't need to push further. Not yet. Hector had already told him everything, he chose to lie, which was enough to let Jas know sothing was in that book that needed to hide from him.
After a long drive in silence, they finally arrived at the warehouse, which, like the others, was a run down one.
As Jas stepped out of the car, the chilly night air pulled him from his thoughts.
But as he looked around, the nervousness crept back in. The guards were already in position, ready for anything that could happen.
"Sir." One of the guards approached from the warehouse. "He's already here."
Hector looked surprised. "He's here?"
"Yeah." The man nodded. "He said he didn't want to be late, so he ca 30 minutes early."
Jas and Hector looked at each other.
"The eting is at 8, and now it's 7:30, which ans he's been sitting here since 7…" Jas said.
"He really didn't want to be late…" Hector laughed as he closed the car door behind Jas.
"At least we can finish early… Let's go."
Ferucci and Bella went ahead of Jas with the guards.
Inside, Benjamin was already standing, waiting for Jas.
As soon as he saw him walk in, his face practically lit up. He couldn't help himself, his smile stretched wide as Jas made his way toward him.
"Nice to et you." Benjamin extended his hand, smiling straight at Jas. "I'm Benjamin Hayes."
"Nice to et you, Benjamin." Jas shook his hand and imdiately noticed how sweaty Benjamin's hand was.
More importantly, Benjamin still hadn't let go.
Jas looked up again, and Benjamin's eyes were gleaming.
What the fuck… don't tell he's into …
"Should we sit down?"
"Oh yes, please, after you." Benjamin gestured toward the table, which was set up like in a restaurant.
As they sat down, Hector and the others stood in the back, watching Benjamin every move.
But he did nothing, just sat there in silence.
"I read the letters you sent, and I found them… interesting. But more than that, I was confused. I never thought an NSBI director would use such kind words when talking about ."
"I'm not like the others. I know my place and how to act."
"Well then, can I ask why this eting was necessary?"
Benjamin straightened himself and reached into his pocket, which wasn't the best idea.
Hector imdiately drew his gun, along with the others, but they lowered them just as quickly when they saw a ring in Benjamin's hand.
"I would like to offer you this ring as a sign of my loyalty to the Bellini family."
--------------------------------
Please read the author's note.
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