Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 1012 : An Ugly Name

*Leo*

I shook my head hard, trying to force myself to focus on the task at hand.

That was easier said than done, especially where my future wife was concerned.

Despite my best efforts to keep my mind on finding a new place for us to set up our new base, Bianca kept slipping back into my mind.

My chest twisted when I remembered how fragile she had been the night before. She was the strongest person I knew and it angered me when she was distraught. She might have been completely capable but I still wanted to take care of her.

She made me fiercely protective and not pummeling anyone who dared to even look at her has been a huge accomplishment of mine.

Right now, it was taking everything I had not to turn the car around and drive straight to the university so I could talk some sense into that professor who dared to give her a failing mark. There was no way it was deserved but I had no way of knowing that for certain. I hated to admit it or believe it but it was possible that Bianca made a mistake and that the grade was deserved.

“Where are we going to try first?” Darion asked as we drove.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. I had been so lost in my rage that I had forgotten he was in the car with me and that I was driving at all.

“We’re looking at a few options on the other side of town,” I answered curtly, hearing the disdain in my own voice.

Darion gave me a sidelong look, making it known that he too had picked up on my mood. I could feel his curiosity but he managed to keep himself from asking, probably fearing that I could lash out.

He was probably right.

With the compound now abandoned and about to be torn down, we needed a new place to settle. It was going to be a challenge to find one that was just as private and remote while still being within driving distance of the warehouse but that’s why I decided to go out and look myself.

Because I was now in the real estate business as well, I had a lot of resources to find properties that weren’t as accessible to the public. Darion and I would be visiting these exclusive sites today.

Hopefully we would be able to find one that was adequate.

We stopped at the first place and I looked down at the list. We had a handful to go through and if we wanted to make it back before our meeting, we were going to have to move quickly.

I wondered idly if I wasn’t pushing Darion hard enough as he almost bounced into step beside me as we approached the property. We stepped inside and looked around, both deciding almost simultaneously that it was much too small. It was also more rundown than the picture gave credit for, which sadly wasn’t unheard of when visiting properties in person.

“Well, I think we can cross that one off of the list,” Darion said as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car.

I was holding my pen and was just about to do just that but then froze and gave the punk a look. “And what makes you think that you’re the one who gets to decide that?” I asked dangerously, wondering if we should stop for a quick brawling session so I could send him on his sorry ass.

Darion just scoffed, obviously not intimidated by me in the slightest. “C’mon Leo,” he drawled, rolling his eyes like a disrespectful teenager. “You were going to cross it off anyway. Just admit that you value my input and that’s why you decided to drag me along with you.”

I scratched a bold line through the first address we had just visited before turning slowly to glare at the little punk fully. “You know full well that you are here because you are supposed to be shadowing me and learning the ropes. This just so happens to be an errand I have to complete so you are joining me to learn what to look for in a compound.”

Darion just shrugged but I could tell he was amused by my lecture. I reigned in my temper and stared straight ahead as I drove us to the next property.

I wondered briefly if I was losing my edge or something. I could have sworn that Darion had been starting to respect me ever since I started this new training regime with him. I finally felt like I was earning his respect but he seemed to be getting calloused toward my sternness.

“Your fiancee wasn’t lying by the way,” Darion said suddenly, breaking the long silence that had stretched between us.

I felt my eyes narrow dangerously at the mention of Bianca but curiosity pricked at me as well so I took the bait. “What was she not lying about?”

Darion gave me a look that clearly stated that I should know what he was referring to. When another silence between us settled, Darion eventually said, “I was able to pass that final on my own, even though I had only gone to a handful of classes.”

I resisted the strong urge to shake my head.

I must have failed because Darion glared at me. “Is that so hard for you to believe?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes and this time, didn’t bother trying to hide it. “I never said I didn’t believe it,” I told him, leaving out that I had a good idea about his parenting just from this conversation. “But that doesn’t mean that I am particularly impressed.”

I could feel his discomfort now. He didn’t want me to know he was seeking praise even though that was clearly what he was setting out to do.

I expected him to start shutting down or maybe even snap at me but I was surprised when I felt determination from his side of the car.

We toured a few more places, all of them lacking some important aspect like the square footage we were after or a more secure location. We returned to the car with me feeling a bit discouraged and not all that hopeful as I punched in the address for the final property we were looking at that day.

“I think the one on King Street is the most viable option,” Darion said, his tone uncharacteristically upbeat. He started ticking points on his fingers. “It was the largest one and it had that huge room that we could potentially use as a safe room.”

We were at a stoplight which was fortunate for me because it meant I could turn my head for a second so that Darion could fully appreciate my unamused look. “I’m gonna have you tested for drugs when we get back,” I announced.

Darion scoffed, illustrating that he knew I wasn’t serious. “Why is it that when I’m taking an interest in the job you’ve given me, I get accused of being on drugs?”

I didn’t miss a beat when I answered. “Because you showing any ounce of responsibility is uncharacteristic of you,” I said.

Darion shook his head in amazement but it seemed like nothing could sour his current mood.

I wasn’t going to admit it but I could see what Bianca meant by Darion maturing now. He truly was taking an interest in our work now.

I was still going to be watching him like a hawk. If he took a single step backward, I would make him regret it.

Darion had his seatbelt off as soon as I parked the car at the last place. He was far ahead of me by the time I climbed out and shut the door. I peered up at the large house. I blinked a couple of times, not remembering seeing pictures from this one.

“We might have to take this one off the list,” I said as we stepped up to the front door.

Darion gave me an odd look. “Why?” he asked. “It looks better than the last couple we looked at.”

I couldn’t explain it but I suddenly had a bad feeling. “Just don’t like it,” I said. “And besides, we’re a little too close to the Angels’ territory for my comfort.”

“That’s a good thing though right?” Darion pointed out as he shoved the door open. “We could keep an eye on them from here. Yeah, look at this place! Pretty sick!” He immediately threw open one of the back doors.

That was when everything went to shit. Deep agonized screams filled the space and men came barrelling, shrieking in pain like slain animals.

Darion stared in shock and I saw something out of the corner of my eye come at us but was too slow to grab Darion when an explosion erupted.

White smoke spread out and I jumped away from it, recognizing the white substance immediately.

A few of our men came running from the rooms, their movements disturbing. They were clawing at their own faces and screaming.

I acted fast, ordering a couple of the guys closest to me, “Detain them! They aren’t themselves!”

I looked at Darion, who was starting to seize as well. I grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down before he could hurt himself.

“Darion!” I yelled, pounding on his back. I gave him a firm shake. “Snap out of it! Now!”

Darion grunted with pain and squeezed his eyes shut, his whole body trembling but it was clear that he couldn’t really hear me and I doubted he would listen even if he could.

I looked around, relieved that a few of my men had their wits about them but several of our guys were still writhing on the floor completely out of their minds. I didn’t need to taste the white powder to know that it was the same one that had gotten stuck to my jacket the other day.

Darion yelled and lunged to get away from me, most likely to smash his face into a wall. I had his hands pushed into the small of his back but he had still managed to scratch up his face a bit.

“What the hell is going on?” One of the guys yelled to me.

I gritted my teeth. The simple question caused me to put the pieces together. I hadn’t recognized the location of this property because I hadn’t originally planned on going there. The bad feeling when entering was because we were being watched.

There was no question about it. This whole situation had one ugly name scratched all over it.

The Angels were undoubtedly behind this.