CHAPTER TEN

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-•NATHAN•-

At the meeting I was in this morning, my dad told me that there was business to take care of at the Tyrant's facility. He instructed me not to go too late in the evening to avoid catching nightfall. At night, I would be more vulnerable.

He told me that I should go alone because if Kyle or Red accompanied me, then it would look too threatening. I didn't really need them for this anyway, it was just a simple exchange of files. Besides, if things got bad, I had a very loaded revolver tucked safely in my belt. I never left the facility without it.

The only problem was that I had Presley in the car and I had no time to stop at the facility to drop him off. I had underestimated the time it took to get to and from his school. If I went back to drop him off now, there was a chance that I would catch nightfall, and that would go against my father's orders.

And it would go against my safety.

Like every other gang facility, the Tyrant's facility was very heavily gated. When I pulled up to the gate, it took a toll on my patience while I was waiting for it to open. The Tyrant's guards were no doubt reviewing my identity and ensuring that I wasn't an unwanted intruder. Once they finally decided that I was on the visitors list, the gate opened.

I pulled into the Tyrant's territory slowly. Next to me, Presley was looking out the window at the bricked building before us.

"Nathan," he began worriedly. "Where are we?"

I cut the engine and did a quick check of our surroundings. Once I was satisfied with the idea of no threats approaching, I reached over Presley to retrieve the files from the glove compartment that were to be exchanged.

"We're at the Tyrant's facility," I said.

He looked at me with alarm in his big hazel eyes. "Is that another gang?"

He was just realizing this now?

"Yes, Presley, it is," I said, letting out a breath.

"Oh," he muttered softly, biting his bottom lip.

"Listen to me," I said sternly. Presley looked at me with undivided attention. "You do not get out of this car at any point, do you understand me? There's still a cash prize for whoever turns you in to the K Blades," I warned.

Presley bit deeper into the pink flesh of his bottom lip and nodded, which I hoped was an indication that he understood. I didn't have time to dwell on it, daylight wouldn't be at my advantage forever.

I nodded once and took the keys out of the engine. "I won't be long," I said before I shut the door and made my way into the building.

The Tyrant's building was run down on the interior just like it was on the exterior and smelled like the inside of a garbage can. I kicked aside a cockroach with disdain and headed up the stairs to the main office.

I knocked sharply on the old, wooded office door and waited to be invited in. The door swung open a short second later to reveal Greg, the leader of the Tyrant's who was at the mere age of nineteen, like me. Unlike me, Greg wasn't taken seriously by his own gang. I didn't even think he took himself seriously.

Greg held a beer bottle in his hand. "Hey, Nate!," he exclaimed drunkenly. "Come in, man. Have a beer with us."

Greg led me into his office where it was a mess of beer and food haphazardly thrown everywhere. I had to resist the urge to cover my nose. It didn't look much like an office with two guys sprawled drunkenly over two chairs, laughing at absolutely nothing. When they saw me, they seemed to straighten themselves. They stopped laughing.

Greg sat in the chair at his desk and reached into the mini fridge nearby. "Okay, so do you want Modelo or Corona?," he slurred, clumsily holding up two beer bottles.

"No, I think I'm good, Greg. I can't stay long," I said, checking my watch. The truth was, if I drank with them, my mind would be altered into a drunken slump that would keep my senses from working properly. I didn't even drink back at my own facility, there was no way I would drink here, with the world's biggest idiots.

"Aw, come on man!," Greg wailed. "You look like you need it, if you ask me," he said, snickering.

One. Two. There. Four. Five.

I inhaled a breath and blew it out through my nose. I signaled to the beer in his left hand and he eagerly handed it to me.

Maybe if I just take the drink, he would cooperate and we could finally get down to business.

I eyed a plant near the desk that I planned to discreetly dump the alcohol into. I grabbed the bottle opener on Greg's desk and opened the bottle. Greg's face split into a grin.

I lifted the bottle to my lips and pretended to take a sip. I placed the bottle near my feet and spilled a little into the plant, completely out of their eye sight. It was easier knowing that they were too wasted to notice.

"All right, Greg," I said, putting the file on the desk. "This is all the information I gathered on the secret transactions happening with the K Blades and the Watts. It should just be about some under the radar drugs but I brought it in case you wanted to send some spies to look into it."

Greg took the file and opened it briefly, then closed it and gave it to one of his guys to hold onto. "Cool," he said, taking a swig of his beer. He reached into one of his drawers and drew out a file of his own. He handed it to me.

"What's this?," I asked, flipping open the file. It looked like a list of house addresses.

Greg shrugged and put his feet up on the table. "It's a list of kids' addresses who just magically disappeared from their homes a week ago. They all went missing in the same area, sounds a bit suspicious, thought you might want to check it out."

Weird. When I got back, I would definitely have to send Red and Lance to scope it out. It sounded like a stunt the K Blades would pull.

I picked up the beer again. "Nice," I said, putting the alcohol to my lips.

Greg waved me off with a grin. "Okay, okay. Enough of that. You heard about the party next week? The one the K Blades are throwing?," he said, eyes lit up in excitement.

I arched a brow. "Yeah, I heard yesterday. I'm not going," I said stubbornly. My dad wanted me to go and take a few extra Creeds to the party to at least make a presence, but I wasn't up for it. Dreadfully, I knew that my father would undoubtedly force me to go with zero regard to what I thought. Every gang in the area was supposed to be there and it would look like we were weak if we just opted out.

"Yes, you are!," he said, pointing a finger at me. "You have to go, your old man would have a fit if you don't go," he said chuckling.

I shook my head, faking a lighthearted scoff. "Yeah, yeah, you caught me. I'm going, that doesn't mean I want to go," I said, crossing my arms.

Greg took another sip of his beer. "You and the Blades need to bury the hatchet already, man. It's gone on for too long. We should just all get along!"

Easy for him to say, he didn't know what they did. He didn't know that it was too late for apologies.

"Look, Greg," I said, abruptly standing up. "I got to go, but I'll see you next week."

"No, don't go, we were just getting started!," Greg said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"You know how my dad gets, he's a cranky old man, doesn't like it when I'm late," I said, reaching for the door handle.

Greg laughed and slammed his hand down on his desk. "Ah, okay but you owe me a drink at the party."

"You got it," I said, mustering as much of a smile I could deliver to the biggest idiot I had ever seen.

When I exited the building, it was almost nightfall. I had made it on time. Yes. I located my black challenger and practically ran my way to it, wanting nothing more than to get out of this filthy dump.

When I entered the car, my heart seemed to drop somewhere below my ankles. Presley was gone.

Shit, shit, shit.

Dammit. I told that kid to stay in the car.

Focus, Nathan. I grabbed the pistol from where it was tucked beneath my shirt and exited my car.

I listened carefully for any signs of Presley but nothing was found. With cautious steps, I made my way towards a dirty looking alley. There, it smelled worse then inside, it was probably where the garbage was stored.

I heard a scuffle and a few muffled voices coming from deep within the alley. Instantly, I raced toward the sounds. When I finally reached the source, my blood temperature rose. I felt like I was burning.

Presley stood struggling with tears welled in his eyes as two men held him in place. He looked so small and defenseless against the two giants that were roughly handling him. I heard him whimper and shake his head frantically at them.

With light and steady feet, I paced my way to them and knocked my gun down hard against one of the the attacker's skull. He was unconscious immediately. The other one still hadn't let go of Presley when he looked up at me with surprise. The attacker didn't have a chance to speak before I punched him forcefully in the jaw and knocked my gun into his head to finish off.

I heaved out a tired breath and looked murderously at Presley. I tucked the gun back into the spot where I previously left it. I tried counting to calm myself, but this time nothing could stop me from completely exploding.

"I thought I fucking told you to stay in the car!," I shouted harshly at Presley. "What part of that don't you understand?"

Presley bit his lip in a lame attempt to stop the tears from falling down his rosy cheeks. When he looked around him at the bodies that were on the floor, he broke into a heartbreaking sob and ran into my arms.

He buried his head into my chest and cried uncontrollably as he wrapped his small hands around my shirt in fistfuls. I instantly regretted shouting at him and bringing him here to this awful place.

Presley clung onto me like his life depended on it, maybe in his mind, it did. I looked down at how he was quivering and how his caramel colored curls shook as he cried into my chest.

I clenched my fists then flexed them and patted his head softly. "Presley," I said lightly, trying to get him to stop his crying. He shook his head a sobbed more.

I sighed and tried to detach his small hands from my shirt. He didn't budge. "Presley, it's okay. I'm...I'm sorry I yelled at you, okay?"

Presley didn't let go. With everything in him, he held on to me. His small shoulders were shaking violently. He was scared out of his mind.

I ran a hand lightly through his hair and patted his back. "Everything's going to be okay," I said, surprising myself at how gentle my tone was. "Are you hurt?"

His crying seemed to be less frantic as I talked soothingly to him. His tiny shoulders ceased to shake uncontrollably. When he looked at me, his lower lip quivered and he sniffled. He detached one small hand from my chest and pointed to his wrist. It looked a nasty shade of purple.

"Does it hurt there?," I asked, inspecting his wrist gently.

He nodded and broke out into another sob. I looked around me and realized that it was nearly dark. It would be dangerous to stay here any longer. Presley returned to crying into my chest. I tried to not let it bother me as much as it did to see him cry.

"Presley," I began softly. "Kid, we got to get back to the gang, okay? Ally can bandage you up there."

He looked up at me with his wide hazel eyes that were filled with tears. "I-I...I'm so sorry, Nathan,"he sobbed.

I shook my head. "Come on, kid, it's okay. We need to get back to the car," I said, gently pulling his quivering form through the alley and back where my car was parked.

I opened the door for him and he slipped in, crying softly. I wanted to smash something, preferably those two idiots back at the alley, but I knew better. We needed to leave, now.

I got into the drivers seat and sped out of the Tyrant's territory at full speed.

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