Not edited or proofread.
Griffin
After Max's nap and eating some reheated lunch, Max was in a better mood. He definitely wasn't one hundred percent yet, but he was much better than when I'd found him puking into the trashcan and sobbing. I hated seeing him so panicky. I knew he was terrified of his parents and what they might do to him, but over my dead body would they touch a hair on his head.
And once I had this meeting with Axel, I knew I'd have the backing of the family, too. Which meany extra protection for my boy.
Max pressed a kiss to my cheek, and I turned my head, looking at him. "I need to go finish sending these emails before we leave for the day," he told me quietly.
"Okay, baby." Reaching up, I gripped his chin and pulled his lips down to mine for a soft, sweet kiss that left him blushing and breathless. "I'm right here if you need me."
He nodded and left my office, heading across to his. I grabbed my phone and dialed Axel's number. He answered on the second ring. "What?" he muttered.
"We need a family meeting," I told him.
He was quiet for a moment, more than likely trying to figure out why I was calling for a meeting. When he obviously drew a blank, he said, "Why?"
"Don't want to discuss it now," I told him. "But it's about Max."
He hummed. "I figured. I'll have the cook make extra food. Come by the house this evening when you leave work. Bring your boy."
I scoffed. "As if I'd leave him by himself," I muttered. "See you this evening."
I ended the call and set my phone on my desk. Before Axel had brought Novella home and made her his woman, I'd lived there with Axel and Harlan. I'd always had the apartment in the city, and after having enough of hearing Axel fucking Novella in his office or hearing her scream the goddamn house down, I'd officially moved into the apartment. Axel hadn't been happy. He wanted family close, but I could not deal with that any longer.
I loved Novella like she was my own blood, but she was an obnoxious screamer. Axel's dick could not be that good.
I focused on getting my work done so I wouldn't have so much to catch up on the next day, and at five o'clock, I was knocking on Max's door. He looked up from his computer screen, staring at me for a moment before he flicked his eyes back to his computer. "Oh, crap, it's already five?" he asked, stretching.
"Yeah, baby. Come on. We're going to Axel's."
He frowned at me as he began saving his work and shutting his computer down. "What for?"
I held out my hand to him when he stood from his desk, grabbing his phoneâthe phone I'd already blocked his parents' numbers from. I'd also had IT downstairs block his parents from emailing him, and any calls from unknown numbers would never show up on his phone. I didn't want them trying to find workarounds to harass him.
He was mine. Mine to protect. And I would do anything to keep him safe.
Grabbing my hand, Max fell into step beside me. We were quiet as we rode the elevator down, and when we got to the front doors, my car was already waiting for us. I nodded once at the valet as I opened the passenger door for Max, waiting until he was settled and strapped in before I closed his door and rounded the hood, sliding into the driver's seat.
"Are you sure everything is okay?" Max asked me once we were on the highway and headed toward Axel's house.
I nodded and reached over, sliding my palm over his thigh. He relaxed at my touch, leaning his head back against his seat, his head rolling so he was watching me. I gently squeezed his thigh. "Everything is fine, baby boy," I assured him.
The rest of the ride was quiet, and Max dozed off for a bit, coming awake when I slid to a stop in front of Axel's house. He lifted his eyes, staring through sleepy, bleary eyes at Axel's home. It was huge, though not as big as some of the others in the area. It wasn't that he couldn't afford it; Axel was just very picky. It took him months to find this house. And the realtor had been so upset about him not choosing something bigger and more ostentatious.
"This place is..." Max frowned. "Why does he need such a big house?"
I snickered and pushed open my car door. "Because Axel likes to flaunt his wealth. You're lucky it's not bigger." Sliding out of the car, I shut my door, then rounded the hood to open Max's. He let me pull him up, and then, I tugged him against me, leaning down to slant my lips across his. He sighed and sank into me, all the muscles in his body seeming to loosen. I pecked a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Come on. I believe dinner should be ready. You can eat with Novella while I talk to Axel, Harlan, and Kyle."
Max grimaced. "Kyle gives me the creeps."
I barked out a laugh as I led him up the brick steps to the front door. Pushing it open, I led him inside and toward the dining room, where I could hear Novella talking. "He won't ever hurt you," I promised him. Kyle was a psychopath and cold as fuck, but I knew he'd never hurt Max. He had a soft spot for people being abused by their parents. I knew as soon as he heard Max's story, he'd be all in on keeping him safe.
Novella turned when she heard us enter, and she smiled widely at Max. "Hi!" she exclaimed, wrapping him in a hug. He hugged her back, smiling as well. "Are you hungry?" she asked, pulling back from him. "Daddy decided to order pizza because the cook is out sick."
Max's stomach rumbled, and he flushed. I dropped a kiss to the top of his head. "You going to be okay for a little while?" I asked him as Axel appeared, pulling Novella to him and saying something to her I couldn't hear.
Max nodded up at me. "Yes, Papa."
I cupped his cheek. "Okay, baby." Unable to help myself, I kissed him again, then left him with Novella, heading toward Axel's office. Harlan and Kyle were already there. Kyle was staring blankly at the wall across from him, and Harlan looked agitated. I arched a brow at him. "You good, brother?"
He scowled at Kyle, who just turned his head and met Harlan's gaze without a hint of emotion on his face. Harlan rolled his eyes. "Kyle's just being a dick, but nothing new there."
I snickered when Kyle curled his lip at Harlan in a look of annoyance and disgust. Dropping into the only other chair, I listened as Axel strode into the office, closing the door behind him. "Novella will keep Max distracted," he told me as he rounded his desk. He took a seat then leaned back, resting his elbows on the armrests of his chair. When he steepled his fingers over his stomach, he arched a brow at me. "Care to share with the class while we're here?"
I scowled at him. "Remember me telling you Max's family has been taking his money?" I asked him. His lips flattened into a thin line, and he nodded. "Just to be on the safe side, I opened Max a new bank account and had his most recent check deposited there instead. His parents texted him today about his money not being in his account. Max got so panicked, he was physically sick."
Harlan grabbed his tablet and immediately set to work. He was the head of security for a reason. He was so damn tech-savvy, the United States government would put him behind bars just to keep themselves safe if they ever found out, regardless of the number of crimes he'd already committed.
"What's Max told you?" Axel asked me as Harlan did his thing... whatever that was.
"Just that they owe people," I told him. "And they've been stealing his paychecks to pay them back."
"You'd think they'd be done paying by now," Kyle said, frowning. "How long have they been taking his money?"
I shrugged. "Judging by where he was living before I forced him to move in with me, I'd say at least since he's been working for Axel." Kyle scowled.
"Well, no wonder they're still paying," Harlan said, handing me his tablet. I scrolled through what he'd found. "They owe the fucking Italian mafiaâthe Chicago branch. Looks like they took a loan a few years ago. Probably didn't pay attention to the terms and conditions. The interest they accumulate each month is... a lot."
He wasn't wrong. They were past the million dollar mark now of debt. Look liked they'd borrowed five hundred thousand to start with. "Why did they take the loan?" I mused, scrolling more.
"To pay off another loan shark," Harlan said right as I got to that part. "Don't know why they kept taking loans. That's not stated. Think your boy might know?"
I shook my head. "Seems like Max was kept in the dark a lot."
"Not unusual. Abusive parents. Probably strung out on drugs and alcohol addicts, too," Kyle said, pulling his knife from his pocket. He flipped it open and began to clean under his nail beds. "Could've been behind on their mortgage. Could've wanted a new car."
I scowled. "A new fucking car?"
"People do dumb shit when they're drunk or high," Axel said, shrugging a shoulder. "You've seen it yourself, Griffin. How many people have you had to put down because they couldn't pay?"
I sighed. I knew he was right. But the fact that my boy was a victim of this shit made my blood boil. None of this life was supposed to touch him. And while I knew his parents were the ones who'd put him in the middle of all this shit, it still pissed me the fuck off.
"I want the family's protection on him," I told Axel. "With no more money coming in, the Italians are going to start seeking payment elsewhere. Nobody touches my boy."
Axel nodded once. "They won't, brother. For now, we sit still and wait, you got me? Continue our normal, daily lives. I'll put a security detail on Max. Just keep your head on a swivel. Got it? We don't want a war with the Italians."
"If they come after Max..."
"Then we'll show them who the fucking Legend family is," Axel said coolly.
I nodded once. That was all I needed to hear to know my boy would be safe.