Chapter Ten- Brandon

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The anticipation of my dinner date with Sadie had me feeling a way I hadn't felt in years. Not since I was a teenager, lovestruck and completely clueless, pulling out all the stops to impress her. Thankfully I was a little more composed this time around, but that didn't mean I could completely kick that giddy feeling inside of me. It was almost embarrassing. I was supposed to be a stone-cold mafia leader, capable of reigning in my emotions and always maintaining my poker face. With Sadie though, it was like every guard I prided myself on having dissolved into thin air. And the most unnerving part about all of this was that I didn't really care. I knew full well what she was doing and it still didn't matter to me. She was playing me, lying right to my face about why she was here, and yet all I cared about was having her in my arms, and hopefully my bed, again soon. I'd find out her motives eventually, but right now, I was going to enjoy myself.

I pulled my car into the parking lot in front of her apartment complex and shut it off. I frowned as I opened the door and got out, surveying the area. The apartment building itself was nice enough, but I hated the idea of her living here alone. There was no gate or doorman, so pretty much anyone could just wander inside. Crime was low in this neighborhood thanks to my men, but I still felt uneasy about it. Sadie had always been slightly naive and she had been away from the big city long enough to forget about the potential danger around every corner. I had a guy watching the building the last few days, and I knew she'd lose her mind if she ever found out, but I wasn't willing to take chances with her barely back in my life. She would just have to learn to accept it.

Jogging up the stairs, I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. It reminded me of how I used to feel around her back when we first started dating. When we were apart, all I did was fantasize about the next time I could see her, skipping class or workouts or sneaking out late at night doing whatever I could to be around her. And things certainly hadn't changed. Right now, I was blowing off the transport my dad had ordered this morning, letting Alex and a few of our men handle it. It was irresponsible of me, especially as the future Don, but like I said, Sadie had a unique way of rearranging all the pieces of my life.

When I got to her apartment, I noticed she had added a flowered wreath and doormat since I had been here last. That was typical of her, bringing light to everything around her. I knocked on it gently, calling her name. "It's open."

I rolled my eyes, turning the knob and heading inside. She was nowhere to be found at first, but I could hear music playing from deeper in the apartment. I looked around the room, noticing that she didn't have many personal belongings here, as if she hadn't planned to stay much time at all. There were a few pieces of art and canvases on the walls, but nothing personal. No photographs or portraits. No mail on the counter. The place hardly even looked lived in, which only made me wonder more what exactly she was up too.

"Sorry, I'm running a little late." I whirled around at the sound of her voice, meeting those gorgeous eyes. She flashed me a mischievous smile as she secured the back to her earring. One look at her and every ounce of composure I had disappeared. Fuck, did this woman have any idea what she did to me? She was an effortless beauty, dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top that cut dangerously low, a long silver necklace drawing attention straight to her breasts. Her dark hair hung in messy curls around her shoulders, just wild enough to resemble sex hair. How was I ever supposed to resist her?

I cleared my throat, trying not to show my hand too quickly. If I did, we may never make it out of the house tonight. "You know, you really should keep your door locked. You might be able to get away with keeping it open in Colorado, but you need to be more vigilant in New York."

Sadie smirked patronizingly and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad."

"You're lucky I'm not your dad." I chuckled, rubbing my chin. "No daughter of mine would ever be let out of the house looking as insatiable as you do, but as your dinner date..." I walked toward her slowly, putting my hands on either side of her and pinning her against the kitchen counter. I touched her neck gently, trailing my fingers along her soft skin, pausing just before I got too far. "I fully approve."

Her cheeks flushed as she darted her eyes away, her heart pounding so hard I could almost feel it. "I just need to grab my jacket and I'll be ready to go."

"Sounds good." I smirked, relishing in the fact that I could illicit this reaction from her so easily and backing away to give her some space.

Sadie disappeared down the hall and I was left to my own devices again. For the first time I noticed a bouquet of fresh flowers on the counter. I frowned, picking up the envelope left next to it. Who the fuck was sending her flowers?

Don't make me wait too long, Sadie. -H

I clenched the note in my hand, nearly shaking with rage. Who the hell was H and what exactly was she making him wait for? My mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario. Could this be the guy giving her a hard time? An old boyfriend from Colorado maybe? Whoever it was, the guy better keep his distance.

"All set?" She asked, appearing in the kitchen again.

"Who sent you flowers?" I narrowed my eyes at her, my mood souring.

She immediately tensed, but forced a reluctant smile. "Just a friend from back home. Come on, I'm starving." She brushed past me, not giving another thought to my question. Silently, I was banking all of this information for when I confronted her about it.

The ride to the restaurant was quick, and we made small talk along the way. Mostly about how she was enjoying working at the bar, and how she still didn't approve of my driving. She was the worst back seat driver I had ever met, but even as she was criticizing me, all I could do was watch those sweet lips of hers. When we pulled up to the restaurant, I dropped the keys of with the valet.

"Glad to see some things never change, you still drive like an absolute lunatic." Sadie smirked playfully as I helped her out of the car.

"And I'm glad to see you still haven't lost your sarcastic edge." She took my hand gently, the connection between us sending an electric shockwave through my body. This little touch wasn't nearly enough. I wanted to feel every inch of her again, run my hands all over her body, not leaving a single freckle or scar unscathed. Holding her hand in that moment only made me greedy--hungry for her.

"Who's being sarcastic?" She said. "I'm just happy to have made it here alive."

"All I'm saying is, if you think you can do a better job, be my guest." I offered.

"Oh, I'd be happy to. If you'd actually give up your keys, I'd give you the ride of your life."

"Is that a promise?" I arched my eyebrow at her suggestiveness, grazing her ass with my hand. She hadn't meant it in that way, but now that it was out there, I was going to run with it.

"Is your mind always in the gutter?" She rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance. She could pretend to be irritated all she wanted but I knew her well enough to know she was enjoying the banter.

"Only for you, princess." For her benefit, I played along with her joke, but truthfully, there was nothing more in the world I wanted than to take her up on that. If I didn't get myself under control, this dinner was going to be unbearable to get through.

The hostess showed us to a table towards the back of the restaurant on the deck. It was a beautiful night, the stars illuminated under the dark sky, and the air was uncharacteristically still. One most evenings, a soft sea breeze would be blowing this close to the shore but tonight it was perfect.

"We'll start with a bottle of the Masseto." I said, pulling the chair out for Sadie.

"Of course." The hostess nodded, handing us a few menus and then disappearing back into the restaurant. They were busy, but I had reserved the whole deck for us. Sadie used to love to sit by the water and gaze at the stars, we'd do it for hours when we were younger. My bedroom had the perfect window to climb out to the roof. She'd be so focused on them, but all I was focused on was the stars reflected in her eyes.

"So, what do you recommend here?" Sadie asked, glancing at the menu in front of her.

"Well, I brought you here to show you what real pizza is like, but I know how much you love mussels. They take them right from the shore, so fresh you can almost taste the sand." I winked at her, taking the pitcher of water and pouring some into both of our glasses.

Sadie smiled, folding her arms on the table. "You remember everything, don't you?"

"You'd be surprised how much I remember when it comes to you, Sadie. Every detail of our relationship is etched in my memory so deep that I don't think I could forget it if I tried." I returned her smile.

"Me too. I think about our time together a lot." Her words were a welcome surprise.

"Do you remember the time we took that family vacation out to Colorado to ski?" I sipped on the wine the waitress had set on the table.

She laughed softly. "How could I forget? I broke my leg on the first run of the trip."

"Still one of the sickest injuries I've ever seen though." I shook my head, replaying the incident in my mind. A 14-year-old Sadie had insisted on coming down a black slope with my dad and me, but she hit a patch of ice and fell so hard it still took my breath away.

"Yeah, because I continued to ski down the hill no matter how much pain I was in because I wanted to impress you." She rolled her eyes. "If I had just let your dad call the medic like he wanted, I probably wouldn't of even have had to have surgery."

"Well, it worked out for you, didn't it?" I grinned. "We spent the rest of the weekend cooped up in that lodge, just the two of us. Had our first kiss..."

Her smile widened. "And our second and third and one hundredth."

"I'd miss a million days of skiing if it meant I got to go back to that week and spend time with you." And immediately I was morphing into my smitten teenage self. I have been looking forward to that ski trip for months, but the second Sadie got hurt and I had the opportunity to be alone with her while everyone else was on the slopes, nothing else mattered. After that, there was no going back. I was all about Sadie.

She sighed softly. "I'll remember that the rest of my life. Isn't it funny how time can change memories though? It can make the bad ones seem less important and the good ones, all the more vivid."

I bit the inside of my cheek, letting the validity of her words sink in. I had to admit it stung, but it was the truth. "I guess you're right, but I can't seem to recall a single bad memory that involves you, except the day you walked out of my life."

"You know I had to go." Sadie pursed her lips, lowering her eyes sheepishly as if my words had been salt in a fresh wound

"I'll always respect your decision to leave, but that doesn't mean I understand it."

"To be honest, sometimes I regret leaving."

Her admission caught me completely off guard. Of course, it was music to my ears, but I hadn't been expecting it.

"I just mean that I didn't mean to hurt you the way I did. When I start thinking about how good we were together, I have to remind myself why I was so adamant about getting away from all of this." She said quickly.

"We were incredible together." I agreed. "But if I remember right, you said you couldn't stand to see the monster I would become."

Embarrassment flooded her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I was so angry when I left here, and I have been for the last several years, but that didn't give me any right to say what I did or treat you that way. I guess in the back of my mind I always thought you'd pick me. That you would follow me, and we could have a normal life."

"It's was never about picking sides, Sadie." I sighed exasperatedly. I was glad we were having this conversation, but I had envisioned this night going so differently. "Before that night, you and my family and this job were one in the same. This was normal life for us. Asking me to pick would be like asking me to choose between my right arm and my left. You of all people should understand that I couldn't just leave my family or my responsibilities here."

"But Eli or Alex could have easily stepped in as Don, it wasn't like..."

I let out a sharp laugh. "And you would be okay with Eli or Alex being in my position? I stayed for the same reason you left, Sadie. To protect my brothers as best I could."

"I know. You're right, it's unfair of me to feel like that." She wiped the loan glistening tear off of her cheek and our eyes connected. "It was so long ago, but sometimes I still feel like that scared eighteen-year-old girl whose entire world came crashing down in a matter of hours. I still feel like I did the right thing, but Adam hates me for it, and I always wonder what would have happened if I had stayed."

I reached across the table, putting my hand on top of hers. "Let me help you fix this then. Tell me what I can do."

"It's not that simple, Brandon." She shook her head, fighting back tears.

"Why? Because you're in some kind of trouble? I don't care about that. It can be that simple if you just tell me what's going on." I pleaded

The sound of my ringtone blasted through the quiet, interrupting the first real conversation I had had with Sadie since she'd been back. I ignored it the first time, but when it rang again right after, I knew something must be wrong.

"Hold that thought." I grimaced, answering my phone as she wiped at her tears and tried to compose herself.

"What?" I snarled at Alex on the other end, stepping away from the table.

"We have a problem. Cops showed up at Sampson Hill about an hour after we got it cleared out." He said curtly.

Fury rose from my chest. This had been completely tight lipped from the get go. That meant someone on the inside, someone we trusted, was leaking information. We had a rat. "After it was cleared?"

"Yeah, showed up right as I was leaving. Obviously, they didn't find anything, but I think we both know what this means."

I rubbed my forehead, trying to figure out what to do. I had Sadie about ready to spill her guts, but this needed my attention too. "Who do you think it is?"

"Maybe Dante?" Alex suggested. "He's been off lately, but I didn't think enough to tip off the cops. Look, I know you're with Sadie but..."

"We'll deal with this tomorrow." I clenched my jaw. Now I had a rat in my house and that needed to be dealt with swiftly.

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