Gage's POV: "They've got him Gage, he's locked in the basement," Alex tells me. "About fucking time," I growl and stand up from my bed. We do business with the Tokyo Mafia, and they've graciously let us stay in their guest house while we are here. Hayato, the Tokyo Mafia leader, has allowed me to borrow some of his men to bring in Amida. Amida is a cartel man who is helping Iris. And lucky for us, we've found him. "Iris was no where in the building that Amida was found in," Alex tells me as we walk downstairs. "Hayato's men have raided the place, just drugs and weapons." "I don't understand where the hell this woman disappears to," I growl and we arrive downstairs. I go into the room that Amida is in and smirk when I see him tied up in a chair. He looks defeated. Good. "Amida, we could've done such great business together. Too bad your ego is too fucking huge." "You stupid man," Amida spits out at me with a smirk. "I'd be careful with that mouth of yours. I'm the one
Ashlynn's POV: "I'm shocked on how quickly you figured out the house," Tori says as we enter the kitchen. "It's a maze here." "I'm pretty good at memorizing things," I shrug. "Plus, it's not awfully hard to remember." "You've only been working for five days," Tori says. "I remember when I first started working here. It took me a month at least." "If you don't mind me asking," I say, grabbing myself an apple off the counter, "how'd you start working here." "I was at a homeless shelter a few years back. Mr. Cutler goes through homeless shelters a few times a year and offers people jobs," she tells me. "I was extremely malnourished at the time. I remember feeling how my bones would feel as though they were breaking through the skin. Anyway, Mr. Cutler found me sitting on the steps of the shelter and had me taken to the closest hospital. He then offered me a job as a maid here. Now I'm here four years later, extremely grateful." "I would've never guessed that," I say, hon
"Thanks again for helping me last night," Kylie says as we set the food on the table. Dinner is nearing and we're told Mr. Cutler will be joiing us. He's already on his way back from his trip, so the house has been hectic. Everyone is preparing for his arrival; you'd think a prince would be coming. The house has been cleaned so you can see your reflection on any surface, and it looks like a feast is laid out on the table. I've never seen this much food in my life. "It was no problem," I tell her with a smile. "I'm happy to help." "Sorry if this is overstepping boundaries, but do you only work as a maid?" She asks nervously. "Cause I remember seeing you last week but not over the weekend. It's just, we usually don't have weekends off unless it's vacation time or what not." "Oh! I'm a dancer at the club or whatever Mr. Cutler has," I tell her. "It's quite fun to work there." "I'd never be able to. Getting up on stage in minimal clothing? That's terrifying," she says and her
I'm happy it's morning. It's Friday which means I only have a half day at the house so I can rest before going to the club tonight. Dinner last night was very quiet. The men didn't speak unless they were asked a question, and the only ones speaking were Mr. Cutler and his family. I loved being awkward last night because I couldn't stop looking over at Mr. Cutler. He didn't shave his beard, which is now longer than the stubble it was before. I would also look over at Kylie who was grinning to herself. I've seen quite a few of the men look over at her, but I don't know if she noticed. Kylie would look at me and mouth thank you a few times, and I couldn't help but smile. Jill would whisper to me and tell me that Marshall is being stupid. He was usually making faces and mouthing different things to us. He is a child at heart I think. Mr. Cutler did look at me a few times. He probably felt me staring. It's not like staring is a discreet thing. Whenever we would make eye contact he'd e
Gages's POV: Coffee? I literally just put a mug on my desk, why'd I ask her to get me coffee? I groan and turn around, heading back to my office. Guess I'm not going to take a quick nap now. I'm also jet lagged as hell right now, so let's hope I don't pass out while walking back to my office. I sit at my desk and lean my head back, closing my eyes to rest for a bit. I really need to sleep more, but I just can't. There's too much shit to do. I also need to convince mom to let Vince help out a little. He's great at catching small little clues and shit, and that skill would be extremely useful right now. He's getting better, and he wants to work. Mom is just stubborn and won't let him. A soft knock sounds on the door and I know it's Ashlynn, well at least a girl. When any of my men knock on the door it's so damn hard. "Come in," I say and the door slowly creeps open. Ashlynn walks over to my desk and sets the black mug on my desk. "I can always bring up more milk and sugar if
I actually survived breakfast. The occasional glances at Ashlynn happened, which I tried not to do. But in the end I lost the internal battle of not being weird and would look at her. She and Jill are close, and they kept laughing today. My mom was complaining about the doctor we have for Vince, apparently the doctor isn't qualified. Mom also believes she's a doctor, so there's that. Alex and dad kept teasing me the whole breakfast, and I've officially reached the peak of me being annoyed. Alex and dad are going to sit at the opposite end of the table in the meeting room. The meeting is about to start and my men are finally settling down. A few of the tech guys are still messing around on their laptops, but everyone else appears to be ready. After a few moments I clear my throat to get everyone's attention. The room goes quiet and everyone looks at me, well my dad is on his phone. What an ass. "Our next step in finding Iris is checking the first location that is a clue. Seoul," I
Ashlynn's POV: When I got to the club tonight I was led back to the dressing room by one of the guards. He didn't speak at all, not even a hello. I've come to accept the guards not speaking, even a simple hello, but it just makes the walk awkward. He does open the door of the dressing room for me, and closes it behind me. "Hey Ashlynn," Felicity greets me. She's looking through her clothes to figure out to wear. "Do you think I should wear the aqua one or the baby pink one?" "Baby pink," I tell her. "It would go really well with your skin tone." "Thanks," she smiles and picks it up. "Oh, the guard who brought you here will also be the one with you when you go to the stage. His name is Daniel." "Thanks for telling me," I say and head over to my little station. I still only have the outfits that they picked out for me, and I really want to choose my own. I'll have to ask if I can go shopping or something like that. I find a cute white one that is made of mostly lace, so
I strut on the stage, doing a few dance moves along the way to catch the men's attention. The men are all yelling and cheering that the first dance session of the night is beginning. You'd think they were at a Beyoncé concert with their cheers. Most of the men are already throwing cash on the stage, so I have to be careful as I walk. That's a downside of tips, it's hard to dance and walk when there are just bills laying on the floor. Believe me when I say I've fallen because of money on the stage. I've also been nailed in the head with a quarter, so that sums up my career. When I reach the front of the stage I glance over to the middle to see Mr. Cutler leaning back in his seating looking at me. His arm is outstretched, and his finger is on the top of a thin straw that's in his glass. He's absentmindedly twirling the straw as he watches me. I ignore the nervousness and embarrassment that's ready to show on my cheeks, and instead, I send him a wink with a large smile. He smirks, wink
"Morning angel." Gage mutters against my cheek before he placed a soft kiss against it. "Morning." I reply with a smile. "It's your turn to give Addie a bath." "I think it's your turn." Gage replies as he buries his face into his pillow. "Gage, get your ass out of bed. We have places to be." I say and push the blankets off of me. Lily's dance competition is today, and since it's Sunday it's starting at ten. We have to be there earlier to make sure Lily is ready for when she needs to go on stage. "I'll be getting Lily and Roland ready." I tell him. "If you're not out of bed by the time I'm done showering, I'm literally going to kick your ass." "Yeah, yeah." he mumbles and I just roll my eyes before I go to the bathroom. I set the water to the temperature I want it to be at before I get in. I turn my back towards the shower head and close my eyes as the water hits my body. After a moment I open my eyes
Ashlynn's POV: "I'm nervous," I admit as Alex and I are behind the large doors. "Believe me when I say Gage is too," Alex responds. "He's been paranoid for the past week." "I'd never leave him, he shouldn't be worried," I respond. "And he'd never leave you, so you shouldn't be worried," Alex replies. "It is normal to be nervous on your wedding day, hell I was shaking." "Is it scary to be in front of everyone?" I ask. "When you see Gage it'll seem like it's just the two of you in the room," Alex tells me. "This day is going to go just as you want it to.""I'm sweating," I admit. "The music needs to start." "Patience is a virtue," Alex teases and I can't help but smile. "Shut up," I mumble and Alex just chuckles. "Thank you for doing this. Ya know, walking me down the aisle." "I'm honored you asked me to. You're like my little sister Ash
"Dad, hurry up! She'll be awake soon!" Lily rushes me as I stack the pancakes on the plate. "I'm going," I chuckle at her impatience. It's been almost two years since I've adopted Lily. Today is currently Ashlynn's birthday and she's turning twenty-six. We've been dating for two years, but I've really wanted to propose to her for a while. Lily decided to concoct a plan because Lily has a gift for Ashlynn too. "Finally, lets go," Lily says as she holds the papers in her hands tightly. I grab the breakfast and we head up to my room. Ashlynn is curled up on the bed with Loki and Thunder. Thunder is another dog, Lily somehow convinced me that Loki needed a friend right before her first Christmas here. But now the damn dogs love to sleep in my room."Loki, Thunder," I whisper and the two dogs look over at me. I pat my leg and they both jump off the bed. Good, I didn't want them begging Ashlynn for her food. "Thank god she's s
"Gage, where's Ashlynn?" Lily asks as I drive towards the hospital. Today is the day that I get to take Lily home. We just left the orphanage, all her belongings are in the trunk and she's strapped in to her booster seat. "She has to do some work, but we'll see her later," I tell Lily. "Where are we going?" Lily asks. "We're going to see my grandma, your great grandma," I tell her. "She's sick so she has to stay with the doctors to get better." "That's sad," Lily says and her bottom lip pouts slightly. "Can we get her a present? Presents always make me feel better." "You can pick out anything you'd like," I say, turning right. "Gage," she says and I glance in the rear view mirror to see her looking at her lap. "Are you okay Lily?" I ask and she nods her head slowly."Since you adopted me you said I was a part of your family," Lily says quietly. "You are Lily," I tel
Gage's POV: "Are you sure this is what you want to get Lily? I mean I'm sure she'd appreciate a dinosaur puzzle or something," I say as Ashlynn walks down the pathway of kennels. The dogs are all coming to the fence and sticking their noses through the little holes. "Oh I definitely want to get her a dog," she responds. "The only question is which one?" I groan as she goes up to a fence full of little puppies. I'd rather have a dog than a puppy. She grins as she squats down, putting her hand against the fence so they can all smell it. After she plays with them for a few minutes she continues walking but she abruptly stops. A large dog is sitting in the corner of his kennel, his head is downcast. "Oh goodness he's adorable," Ashlynn sighs as she goes to the fence. She makes some noises with her tongue, which gets the dogs attention. "Hi buddy, come here." The dog hesitated before it came to the fence and quickly
"Gage you took soooo long!" Lily exclaims, dragging out the "o" in so as Gage walks in with Reagan and Charolette. "I drew something for you. Look!" "Thank you Lily," Gage says as he takes the drawing of the dog Lily made. "Can I talk to you for a second?" "Uh oh am I in trouble? Are you not gonna come back? I promise to be good." Lily says and you can see the worry in her eyes. Her bottom lip starts to quiver as she holds back tears. "Come here," Gage says and squats down so he's closer to Lily's level. Lily jumps off her chair and runs into Gage's arms. She wraps her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Gage holds her tightly and closes his eyes. "You've done nothing wrong Lily." "Are you gonna leave me?" Lily whispers and Gage pulls apart from the hug and grabs her small hands."I'm not going to leave you Lily," Gage says. "I've been talking with Miss Reagan and Miss Charolette a lot about you
Ashlynn's POV: I'm scared. I never really communicated with Lily, but with what Gage asked me today, I need to get to know her better. Today has just been a day full of shocks. He loves me. Gage loves me. I was not ready for him to say that. I'm not mad, but boy was it surprising. I can feel my cheeks heating up just thinking about it. Goodness! Maybe the shower is too hot actually. I've been standing under the burning water for more than a few minutes by now. I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my body and my hair. I go to my room and look through my clothes to figure out what to wear. If I'm meeting Lily I don't want to be wearing a dress, what if she wants to play? I need to find a nice pair of pants. I know Gage is going to dress down, so I will a little, but not a lot.I finally pick out a pair of black jeans and I find a cute white top, and I pair it wit
It's nearing the middle October and I've never had such a calm period with my business. I have a feeling that it won't last like this for long, but I'm taking it while I can. Everything in regards with Lily's adoption has been going smoothly. I'm going to announce it to my siblings tonight, seeing as I kept pushing it off. "Why are we all in your office?" Vince asks as he lays on the couch. I can see dad roll his eyes but not say anything. Jenna takes a seat in the chairs and her hand instinctively goes to her stomach. She's a few months pregnant now and she has a small baby bump. "Oh sorry I'm late!" Ashlynn runs into my office, almost tripping over her own feet. "I got caught up with some cleaning." "It's fine," I tell her as she walks over to me. I lean down and kiss her cheek as she grins up at me. "Hello? You gonna answer my question, or are we just going to sit here?" Vince speaks up."You're an annoying prick, you
"Are you sure I shouldn't wear a suit? I feel like I should wear one," I say to Ashlynn as she rolls the sleeves of the black long sleeve shirt she picked out for me. "You are meeting a little girl, not a business partner," she smiles and her hands cup my cheeks. "You need to look like a dad, not a lawyer." "I've never felt more terrified in my life," I admit and lean down to rest my forehead against hers. "It's okay to be scared. I'll be right by your side," she comforts me. "Besides, you get to meet a beautiful little girl today that you want to have as you daughter. It's okay to be scared about becoming a parent." "Do you think I'm ready for it? You know, parenthood?" I ask and she lightly presses her lips to mine for a few moments."I think you are completely ready, you just need to trust yourself," she states. "There's still time before everything finalized as well. Right now you are just meeting her."