☾ Miles ☾

The second Nic texted me and told me he got a lead on where Gorge is, I got the fuck out of bed and told Christian to get Alissa anything if she needed it. She coughed a little throughout the night, but every time I told her I was gonna drag her ass out of bed and take her to the doctors she pretended to be asleep. I've already rented out the place for her party tomorrow, and I want to make sure she has the best fucking day ever.

I parked in front of the address of where Nic told me he was, it being a slim black house with lots of windows. Except all of the blinds were closed.

The second I walked in, I heard screams coming from upstairs. Making my way upstairs, I saw a man I didn't recognize tied to a chair with rope, Nic dragging a knife along his skin. Blood poured down his chest as he gritted his teeth, making me cross my arms and raise my eyebrows.

"This is the lead?" I asked, causing Nic to stop what he was doing. 

He put the bloodied knife down, making his way over to me. He told me, "This is Gorge's brother. Say hello to Mario."

I stared at him, looking him up and down. I took slow strides over him, sweat coating his body and a vein popping out of his forehead. I bent down to be his height, "Hello Mario. Why don't you spare yourself the pain and just tell us where your brother is?"

He looked at me with hate in his eyes, breathing heavily while remaining silent. I nodded, picking the knife back up. While staring at the blade I told him, "I'm not very patient, Mario."

He still remained silent, so I walked around him. While standing behind him I grabbed a fistful of his hair, forcing his head up and pressing the blade to his neck. I whispered, "5 seconds."

"I don't know where the fuck he is!" He yelled, the blade pressing into his skin slightly and drawing a little bit of blood. It dripped down his neck, acting as a constant reminder that I could kill him in seconds. 

"Okay, I'm a reasonable man. Maybe you don't. But surely you know what the fuck his infatuation with Alissa Gomez is," I spoke, keeping the knife exactly where it was.

This time, he was silent.

"So you do know. You're gonna wanna tell me if you want to leave with your life," I spoke in a threatening tone.

The way his eyes went to the side and glanced at me told me that he knew I would kill him. And I absolutely would. He told me, "When he gets promised something, he wants to get it."

"Do I look like a fucking decoder to you, dumbass? Stop speaking in riddles and be direct."

I pressed the knife further into his neck, more blood flowing out. He let out groans of pain before yelling, "Okay! I'll tell you if you let me live."

"Sounds like a deal to me," I shrugged, removing the knife from his neck and walking around to be in front of him.

He looked between Nic and me angrily before finally speaking, "He was promised her hand in marriage."

My blood turned to fire and the world went red for a second. I had to stand still for a moment, thinking about if those words really came out of his mouth or if I dreamt them. I nearly ran over to him and got in his face once I processed them, "What the fuck do you mean by that? By who?"

"Lincoln. He asked Gorge for a favor and in return, he would get Alissa's hand in marriage. But before it was supposed to happen, he had to go to Portugal. So now the wedding is happening once he's back in America," He told me, making me stand back up to my full height and think for a second.

That's what he means by getting rid of her. He was going to give her away like an object, no care in the world for her life or wants or dreams. I should have fucking had him killed that day. Gorge will never get his hands on her, he'll have to go through me first. And I'm very protective of her, so it won't be an easy fight. 

"Thank you, Mario. This has been really helpful," I replied, walking around to the back of his chair and cutting the rope with the knife.

The ropes dropped to the ground, Mario instantly rubbing his wrists with rope burn on them. But as he stood up I tightened my grip on the knife, stabbing it through his back. He choked as blood ran into his mouth, him collapsing onto the ground once I removed it.

He stared up at me with hate, "You said you'd let me live."

"And I lied."

I let him choke on his own blood, stepping over his body. I walked over to Nic and he asked me, "What do we do now?"

"He needs to die. But we can't fucking find him," I thought out loud.

A look appeared on Nic's face like he just thought of an idea. He told me, "I have an idea, but you might not like it."

"Well, what the fuck is it?"

"We could use Alissa as bait. Have her wait somewhere for him, and once he shows up we kill him."

I shook my head, "Fuck no. Alissa is in enough danger right now already, I'm not going to add to that. We will find him on our own."

He put his hands up like he expected me to say that, "It was just an idea. But we'll try and find him ourselves then."

I needed to go and get some things up for her birthday tomorrow before going home. I told him, "After tomorrow I'll start looking for him again."

He nodded and I left, heading to go and get some things set up. 

I pulled up to the venue I rented, staring at it from the outside. It's a beautiful-looking building, but I'm just praying she likes it. I entered, seeing all of the workers setting things up. Balloons were being tied to things, tables were being set up, and alcohol was being delivered to the bar.

I walked over to one of the workers, asking a few questions to make sure everything was going to be perfect. Once I was satisfied I turned around, pausing seeing Marco standing there. I crossed my arms and asked him, "What are you doing here?"

"Charlotte told me you were throwing a party here so I came and was helping them set up with her, but she just left. You're really throwing a party for her?" He asked me with raised eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes, frustration pulsing through my veins. I told him, "No, I'd never throw Charolette a fucking party. This is for Alissa's birthday tomorrow, so you better make sure Charolette doesn't show up unless you want a knife through your other hand. How's she even know about this?"

"No idea," He shrugged, "She probably follows you around. She's obsessed with you."

I let out an annoyed sigh. I told him, "Just make sure she doesn't show up tomorrow."

He nodded his head and I walked past him, going to tell the security not to let Charolette in tomorrow.

----------

I finally finished and headed straight back to my house. As soon as I entered the front door I heard Alissa and Christian talking in the kitchen, and I rolled my eyes to myself. I told that fucker to not let her out of bed.

As I entered the kitchen she smiled at me, "Look what we made!"

On a tray, there were about 10 chocolate chip cookies. I crossed my arms and looked at Christian, "I told you she needed to rest. Why didn't you go to the store and buy her some?"

Alissa quickly stood up, walking over to me. She poked my chest while saying, "I wanted to make my own cookies. Plus, I feel better! Can't you tell by my voice?"

At this moment, she looked so happy. She doesn't deserve the piece of shit father that she has. But she's smiling, and it's her birthday tomorrow, I don't want to ruin that by telling her what her father is trying. So I'll keep it from her until after her birthday so that she has the best day possible.

I kissed her forehead and told her, "Come on, I'll carry them upstairs."

She turned around and said to Christian before exiting the kitchen, "Thank you for hanging out with me!"

I stood where I was, waiting until she was all the way upstairs to start talking. I walked over to Christian and whispered, "Alissa's father promised her hand to Gorge in marriage."

Christian's eyes widened, but then he quickly switched to being angry. He whispered back harshly, "So get somebody to go kill him!"

"Once Alissa knows, I'm sure she will be more understanding. But don't tell her until after her birthday, okay?"

He nodded, "Okay. What a fucking piece of shit."

Tell me about it. He better count his days, because they are definitely numbered.

I grabbed the cookies and put them onto a plate, heading back upstairs. Seeing her sitting in my bed, watching TV with a pillow in her lap made a wave of happiness come over me. I entered and shut the door, handing her the plate.

She took a bite of her first cookie and asked me, "Did you guys find him today?"

"No. But we're close," I replied, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

She nodded. I told her, "But I have your party tomorrow completely set up."

"I'm so excited! I called Sera today and invited her, and she was so happy. Every single year she would always want me to have one, but I had to make excuses every single year as to why I couldn't. Thank you so much, Miles."

I was making her happy. I told her, "Don't thank me. It's going to be at 8, but I have a few things to do before then."

"That's okay. Tomorrow I'm gonna go outside and invite Bellamy. Oh, do you think the gardener would want to come? I think he liked me. Maybe he didn't. But I liked him!" She spoke cheerfully, a smile forming on my face at her rambling.

I nodded, "I'll call him and invite him."

She clapped her hands together, continuing to eat the cookies.

As I stared at her, I thought to myself. Maybe I can become somebody she deserves. Maybe I can truly change. Maybe I can be good for her.

She turned to look at me, handing me a cookie. I took it, biting into it as she watched me the entire time. She asked me, "Is it good?"

I nodded and she smiled widely, putting the plate beside her once she was done. I asked her, "Is there anything specific you want for your birthday?"

She thought for a second. Once an idea came into her head, her face lit up, "Fireworks! I've never seen any in person before."

"Okay, I'll pick some up tomorrow," I told her.

She jumped on me, giving me a tight hug. She squeezed as she added, "And a chocolate cake?"

I held her close to me while smiling, resting my cheek on the top of her head.

While holding her tightly, I whispered, "Anything you want, I'll get you."