CHAPTER FOURTEEN

-•NATHAN•-

It was early in the morning and I was buried in paperwork. I felt like a middle aged man who was a slave at his job, who took orders from his portly boss and came home with no energy to give to his wife and kids. I didn't sleep the night before. My meeting with the Tyrants yesterday made me anxious.

Apparently, according to their spies, there's an unidentified gang roaming our area. They think that the K Blades are affiliated with this unidentifiable gang. I didn't doubt it.

I ran an exasperated hand through my hair as I looked through a couple of pictures of this mysterious gang. I didn't recognize any of them and it frustrated the hell out of me.

Who the fuck were these people?

A knock sounded at the door and my head shot up.

"Come in," I grunted.

The door swung open and Red waltzed in, sitting down in a chair.

"What the hell are you doing up this early?," I asked, setting down the file that was in my hand and leaning back in my chair tiredly.

He shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing."

I gave him a pointed look and he smirked.

"I may or may not have just come back from a certain...meeting," he said mischievously.

That was when I noticed the bite marks and hickeys that littered his neck.

I barked out a laugh. "How good was she?," I said, grinning.

He crossed his arms and looked out the window with longing. "So fucking tight, man," he said, almost like he was imaging the girl he was previously with.

I scrunched up my nose. "Didn't ask for that much detail, Red," I said, shaking my head.

He laughed and waved his hand dismissively at me. "I didn't come here to talk about her, I wanted to talk to you about something else."

I arched a brow. "Go on."

He suddenly looked troubled. "It's about Presley," he began. "Yesterday when I picked him up from school, he looked a little bit...off."

I leaned forward. "Was he hurt?," I asked instinctively, ready to bolt out the door to check up on the small boy.

"No, no. Not anything like that, I just feel like the kid needs a break, you know? All he does is school and work for the gang," he said, looking sympathetic. "He's just a kid, maybe he needs some fun."

"What are you suggesting? That I take him to the carnival and buy him candy?," I asked bitterly, tiredness getting the better of me.

"That's not a bad idea, Nate," he said truthfully. "I feel bad for the kid, maybe that's exactly what he needs."

I huffed out a breath, guilt eating at me. As I thought of Presley's big innocent eyes and ridiculously silky caramel locks, I felt my chest give a traitorous ache.

I'd been so focused on keeping him safe and away from everyone else but I never once considered how that might of left Presley feeling.

Maybe Red was right.

"Yeah, well what about the K Blades? It's not safe for him out there," I said stubbornly.

"Dude, what gang member do you know that goes to the carnival?," he scoffed. "No K Blades are going to be hunting him in a crowd full of whining kids and ferris wheel fun. And if they do, he's got you to protect him."

I looked down at my hands, debating whether this was a good idea or not.

Maybe we both needed this.

Maybe I needed a break just as much as Presley did.

I turned back to Red. "All right, fine, I guess I'm going to the carnival today."

Red grinned and got out of the chair. "My work here is done," he said, moving to the door. "Have fun babysitting."

I gave him a hardened expression and he cackled before he shut the door behind him. Once he left, I straightened the papers that were scattered around my desk and left my office.

I made my way to my bedroom where I freshened up and put on a new set of clothes. I settled on a black hoodie and dark jeans. Once I grabbed my keys and wallet, I fetched my pistol and tucked it securely beneath my hoodie.

As I bounded down the stairs to Presley's room, I checked my watch. It was half past seven in the morning. I hoped Presley was awake.

I knocked on his door loudly. Immediately the door swung open. Presley had a pencil in his hand as he looked up at me with tired eyes.

"Hi," he whispered.

"How would you like to ditch school today, kid?," I smirked down at him.

His soft expression turned from tired to sad. "More gang business I have to go to?," he asked quietly.

I felt that traitorous pang of guilt in my chest again.

Get it together, Nathan.

I swallowed my urge to break something. "No, kid, nothing like that today. Figured we could have some fun," I shrugged.

"Fun?," he asked, looking skeptical.

"Yes, little one, see its a thing you do where you enjoy yourself and have an awesome time," I said, leaning against his door frame.

He giggled as his cheeks flushed, then a solemn expression took over his soft features. "But...what about those K Blades people, you said that-," he began with a heartbreaking wobble of his voice.

I shook my head sternly. "Don't worry about that today, all right? We're just going out for one day, that's all."

He took a deep breath and nodded.

"All right, hurry up and get ready before I take someone else to go have fun with," I joked.

He looked up at me with those big innocent eyes again I felt like the biggest asshole in the world.

"I'm joking, kid," I scoffed. "But seriously, go get ready."

He smiled and shut the door, only taking ten minutes to reappear again with a pale blue sweater and black jeans.

As we made our way to the garage, he tugged on my arm. I looked down at him expectantly.

"Nathan, don't you have to call my school and tell them that I won't be coming today?," he asked, peering up at me shyly.

I laughed and continued walking towards the car. "No, kid, that would defeat the purpose of ditching school."

He sighed softly and got into the passengers seat while I hopped into the drivers side.

As we pulled out of the garage, I turned on the radio and left it at a soft volume. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Presley nod his head to the music and hum softly.

I felt my lips quirk up amusedly. I raised the volume. "You like this song?," I asked.

His cheeks flushed slightly as he nodded. "You don't?," he asked quietly.

I shook my head. "Too slow for me."

"You probably like songs with bad words," Presley said as he crossed his arms.

I sent a smirk his way. "You don't?"

He shoved my arm playfully and turned his face away from me.

The song on the radio continued to play as I drove my black challenger through the morning streets. The carnival was an hour away which meant that we would be on the road for quite a bit of time.

"Nathan," Presley said softly.

"Question?," I asked.

He nodded and opened his mouth to speak.

"No questions, kid," I said, making a right turn. "Just enjoy the ride."

He sighed softly. Presley laid his head on the window and closed his eyes sleepily. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself.

"Cold?," I asked.

With his eyes still shut, he nodded and curled into himself further to keep warm. I flicked on the heater and turned on his seat warmer.

He let out a little hum of delight as he felt the heat radiate off of his seat. He drifted off to sleep with a content look on his face.

I couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over me.