Ben woke up alone in the large bed. He tried to sit up but his body felt limp and sore. Memories of the previous night flashed through his mind, and a deep blush spread across his face.
He heard footsteps approaching. Quickly, he fell back onto the pillows and pretended to be asleep. Arthur walked in carrying a tray, smiling sheepishly. On it were coffee, scrambled eggs, and sausages. He set the tray on the bedside table and sat down, gazing at Ben. He reached out and gently touched his face, nearly gasping at the electric rush that shot through his body.
"Ben… Ben, Ben, Ben…"
Ben stirred, opening his eyes just a little, careful not to meet Arthur's intense gaze directly.
"Good morning…" Arthur leaned down and pecked his forehead.
"Morning, sweetie."
Arthur helped him sit up and placed the tray carefully on his lap.
"You didn't eat last night, so I made you an early breakfast."
"Oh, you didn't have to, Mr.—"
"No, no. I won't have that. Don't 'Mr.' me."
Acting shy now, Ben murmured, "Arthur…"
"Yes, love?"
"Now here, let me feed you."
Arthur tried to bring a forkful to his mouth, but Ben quickly got up and rushed to the bathroom to wash his face and rinse his mouth.
"What are you doing?" Arthur called after him, amused.
"Nothing!!!!!"
Arthur laughed softly and waited patiently for him to return so they could have breakfast together. As he waited, he thought about how to make this man his forever. A mature man like him couldn't just date—he had to marry him before someone else snatched him away.
Arthur, Arthur, Arthur… He smiled to himself. Who would believe that a fierce mafia boss like him had fallen so deeply in love with his own son's personal assistant?
It had been a week since the mission. Liam had been staying with Jeff the entire time. His father came to check on him after hearing what happened. Arthur was furious, even though Liam refused to reveal that Elder Mark's offspring was responsible. Ben, sensing something was off, had tracked Jeff to his location.
With a gun pressed to Jeff's head, Ben demanded, "What happened?"
"Wait… Ben? What is going on?"
"Shut the fuck up and answer me. What happened to my boss? Are you going to make me repeat myself?"
"Okay… please put the gun away for our safety…"
"Oh, he thinks I'm kidding. You think I'm joking, man?"
"Ben?!!!!!"
It was Liam. He limped into view, standing there and looking at Ben in awe.
"Ben, he saved my life. I could have been dead."
"What?"
"Yes, he did, you crazed PA… And where were you when it happened? Where have you been, Ben?"
Ben immediately knelt to beg for forgiveness, but Arthur stepped out just then.
"No, Liam. No, he will not."
"Dad?"
"I forgot to tell you that… hmmm—"
Ben rushed forward and covered Arthur's mouth before he could say more.
"Ben is now working for me. He insisted on still working for you and I allowed it, but I own his full time now."
"What!?"
"Yes, son. I think he suits me better."
"And since when did you two get so close?"
Liam was shocked. He kept firing questions as they all moved to the sitting room. Jeff adjusted his collar, smiling sheepishly as he noticed the charged looks passing between Ben and Mr. Arthur.
A call came in. Jeff excused himself and stepped outside to answer.
"Sir, we got him."
"Good. Tie him up and wait until I get there."
"Yes, sir."
It was one of his men. Jeff had ordered them to capture Ned at all costs. He knew Tasha was the mastermind, but he wanted to deal with her differently—more personally.
"You're back," Arthur said as Jeff returned.
"Yes, sir."
Liam didn't look pleased at all. Ben looked scared, while Arthur seemed a bit brighter. After some time, Arthur dragged Ben away with him, and they left.
Jeff immediately moved closer to Liam, smiling.
"Hey, Liam."
"Don't start."
"What's wrong? Why is your face like that?"
"What way? And stop getting closer."
"Aww, I'm sorry."
"Why would my dad take my only trusted personal assistant? I don't get it. He was supposed to punish Ben. Why is he taking him in?"
"Oh, that."
"What? You aren't bothered?"
"Just let them be. I'm here for you now… Don't be bothered."
I'm also not happy because my men still haven't found Ned. He's nowhere to be seen.
"Don't worry. We'll get him."
Jeff held him tightly, pecking his head and whispering sweet things. (Jeff's siblings were in their own apartment—he had bought them a separate house so they wouldn't be disturbed by his loud lifestyle.)
He picked Liam up carefully and carried him to the bedroom, laying him down gently. "I have to head out and handle something. Someone will come take care of you while I'm gone."
Liam was clearly displeased—he would miss Jeff—but he refused to show it, acting like he didn't care.
Daniel and Colin were now the only young members left in the core group. Their full team meetings weren't supposed to happen until everyone was present, but Daniel had seized the opportunity to be alone with his crush.
It wasn't Liam. It was Colin.
Daniel had only wanted to get close to Liam because of Jeff, but Colin respected Liam deeply. Daniel loved the quiet, psychopathic Colin. How someone so young, nerdy-looking, and small had become such a fierce and deadly mafia member surprised everyone—he was the smartest in the group too.
"Hello, Colin."
They had barely spoken before. Colin rarely bothered with anyone, but he had definitely noticed Daniel.
"Yeah, what's the meeting about?" Colin asked, backing away slightly as Daniel moved closer.
"What… what are you doing now… Daniel!!!"
Daniel stopped in his tracks. His name sounded different coming from Colin's mouth.
He looked at him, then sat down facing him.
"How have you been? I mean, with everything going on, I was worried it would affect you."
"What? Hello? Why are you worried? I'm fine. That's the smallest issue in a mafia world."
"I just wanted to check… because why not? I don't want anything to happen to you."
Colin raised an eyebrow, but Daniel continued.
"Now that was both funny and hurtful," Daniel said with a laugh when Colin questioned his sincerity.
"Yes. Someone with a heart wouldn't kill their father just because he was religious and didn't want his kids going wayward."
"Yeah, the story you heard… hahahahaha… wrong."
"One of these days I'll tell you the full story."
"Anyway, I'm gonna call Liam now so we can begin, pretty boy."
"Whatever."
Liam picked up instantly.
"Hey."
"Hey, Liam."
"Hello, Liam."
"So… before we proceed, has anyone heard from or seen Ned?"
"Nah, his dad was at the last meeting but we didn't see him."
"He wouldn't dare show up."
They proceeded with the meeting, discussing what to do with Mr. Joe and how to put the drug house on the market. They wouldn't let the elders handle it this time. After some time, the call ended.
Jeff was driving a truck through a remote area toward a hidden warehouse. He got out and entered.
Ned was tied to a chair, still looking relatively fresh—Jeff had warned his men not to touch him. Ned was cursing and slamming his feet against the floor.
"Oh, you're the boss??"
"Now you need to save your breath for what's coming, my boy."
Ned spat in Jeff's face.
"Fuck you."
Jeff wiped it off calmly and smiled.
"Tools!"
The guards handed him a bag. He opened it, looked at Ned, and smiled in a way that terrified him.
The air in the room turned ice cold.
Jeff set up a tripod and fixed his phone, then put on a mask and voice changer. He assembled a foldable table and poured out the contents of the bag.
"Jesus Christ!!!" Ned exclaimed.
"Nah bro, He ain't here. Jesus Christ left you a long time ago. The devil is here now… with his special angel of torture."
He laid out the torture tools one by one for Ned to see.
Ned started shivering, cold and sweaty at the same time.
(Liam might seem crazy and psychopathic, but the colorful, charming Jeff was the deadliest when it came to protecting his siblings and the one he loved. Right now, he was in full psychopathic mode.)
"Ned… oh Ned, you're in for a big treat. I'm going to make you feel the pain Liam felt—times a thousand—mentally, physically, and internally."
"Sir… sir please… it wasn't me. I'm sorry. Please, can't you—"
"Now tell me, which do you prefer?"
"Huh?"
"Your pinky finger or your pinky toe, my dear?"
"What???"
"Which would you like to lose!!"
He hesitated. Jeff leaned closer.
"Maybe I should go for the eyes."
"No no no no! Please! My pinky toes! Please!"
Jeff smiled behind the mask and brought out the cutter. He bent down, removed the socks, but then started laughing.
"Hahahahahahahaha! I lied! I lied, Ned! I lied!"
He brought out long nails instead. He ordered a guard to hold down Ned's pinky finger. Once secured, Jeff positioned the nail and hammered it in with one swift strike.
"Ahhhaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Shhhh now, boy. Shhhh."
He then brought out a nail remover and began pulling it out slowly.
"No no nooooooooooooo! Hell no! Please! Ahhhhhaaa!"
Ned screamed as the nail was extracted. Jeff immediately hammered in another. And another. He repeated the process until the finger was completely mangled, then severed it cleanly and tossed it aside. He asked for a bowl to wash his hands.
He paused the recording.
"Make sure you feed him properly. I'll be back tomorrow to see him."