"Let's make pancakes." I suggested while I brushed my teeth and Ryder lied on my bed since he had already brushed his. "Sure." I heard him reply. Did he just agree to making pancakes? We never really eat breakfast like this, only fruits or cereal cause neither of us feel hungry in the morning. "Are you hearing yourself?" I asked.

"Sure." he replied. So he's just giving me the same answer again and again?

"Are you on your period too?" I asked holding in a laugh.

"Sure." I looked out from my bathroom to see him just watching me. Creepy much?

"Why are you just staring at me?" I questioned.

"Sure." he replied. God damnit. I rinsed my mouth and went and stood in front of him, his eyes follwoing me and my every move. "What are you looking at?" I playfully slapped his face.

"You look hot. That's what I'm looking at." he shrugged and responded.

"I look hot when I've just woken up? I looked hot as I brushed my teeth? Is your eyesight ok?" I asked in confusion. "My eyesight is very much ok. Thanks for asking." he smiled at me.

"Do you really want to make pancakes?" I asked.

"If you want them then I can help make them but no promises about if I eat them. Who am I kidding? It's pancakes we're talking about. I probably will eat them." he laughed to himself, making me smile. We were sitting in silence for a minute before he broke it. "Mia?" he asked me. "Yes?" I asked back.

"I'm sorry. For bringing you into my fucked up world where I'm dealing drugs to pay off my dad's debt." he coldly chuckled.

"Well, I'm not sorry for being brought into it. Ryder, you'll get out of it. Very soon, I promise." I ran my fingers through his hair as I lied down beside him. "There's a problem." he said. I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to tell me. "We don't have pancake mix." he shook his head.

"Well then, will do me a favor and go and buy some from the store?" I laughed.

"Will do my lady." he kissed me before getting up and grabbing his wallet before heading out the door.

x-X-x (20 minutes later)

I was up in my room, on my phone when the doorbell rang. I threw my phone on the bed before getting up and went down the stairs to open the door to who I thought was Ryder. But then I was greeted by an unfamiliar face along with Shane. "Can I help you?" I asked confused as to what they were doing here and who the other guy was. "Are you Mia Stewart?" the other man asked. "Yes she is." Shane answered before I could say anything.

"Will you shut up? I asked the girl." the other man shut him up before he could say anything else. "Are you Mia Stewart?" he asked me again. I was very intimidated at this point. Let me just tell you what this guy looked like. He was tall, wearing all black while his neck tattoo was visible on the side of his neck, he seemed to be in his late 40's, almost 50 and he had a gun holster shoulder which was showing from under his jacket, that is basically a gun holder that goes around his shoulder. Why would he have that? "Depends on who's asking." I answered cautiously. "I'm here to speak to you about Ryder Parker. Can you please let me in?" he asked, standing still. "Can I get your name?" I asked as my heart began to race.

"I'm Charles Dominic." he replied calmly. Me on the other hand, I was now nowhere near calm. Instinctively, I swiftly tried to shut the door and lock it, but he held it open with his hand as well as his foot, placing it in the doorframe, forcing me to open it. "I'm not here to hurt you." he informed me. Ha, that's what they all say. "You have a gun." I pointed out, trying not to sound as scared as I really was. "I don't plan to use it. I'll leave it out in front of you. I'm here to talk to you about Ryder, if at any given point you ask me to leave, I will." he said and the weird part is, I believed him for some reason and before I could decide what to do, I opened the door and let him and Shane in. I walked in behind them and took a seat on the couch, while they took a seat on the couch opposite to me.

"From what Shane has told me, you called him to meet at the diner yesterday morning and told him that you would like to speak to me about how you want Ryder to leave the gang. Is that right?" he questioned me. That lying son of a bitch.

"No, that is not right. I did not call him, he called me. But yes, I do want Ryder out." I told him truthfully. "Why is that?" he asked me as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Um, I don't know, maybe because I don't want my boyfriend who I very much love, to be in danger every time he goes to 'work'." I snapped, putting air quotes around 'work'. "Or maybe it's because I don't like to see him come home beaten up with bruises everywhere that your own men give to him." I added. "Or maybe it's because I can't run to help him because there's men watching and targeting me. Maybe, it's just because I don't want to lose someone I love." I finished. "I'm sure you know that fear too well. Don't you get worried for your wife? Don't you try and protect her? Isn't that what Ryder tries to do too? Isn't it what I'm trying to do?" I questioned. I should really shut up and not give so much attitude to someone with a gun.

"What if I promise you that your life will not be at stake?" he asked me with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not worried about myself here. I'm worried about Ryder. Can you promise me that his life will not be at stake? That's right, you can't. Because you don't know what the people who he takes the money from can do to him and you don't know what kind of weapons they have and how many of them are there at a particular location." I breathed. "I want him out and he wants out. As for the debt, Ryder shouldn't even be the one paying it, the man right next to you should. Ryder has paid off most of it and it should all be given back to him and Shane should pay it." I stated. "And I did not ask to see you. I didn't even know who you were, Shane told me. He told me you were Ryder's boss, he told me about your wife, he told me I should talk to you, he's the one who told me about Theo." I informed him as I shifted my gaze from Shane to Charles.

Before Charles could say anything and before Shane could spit out another lie, the front door opened and revealed Ryder coming in with a tub of ice cream. I thought he went to get pancake mix? "Babe, I'm really sorry. I looked everywhere for pancake mix but they didn't have any so I-" he was saying but he stopped talking after placing the ice cream on the kitchen counter and turning to face me. "Did you call them?" he asked me as confusion spread across his face.

"No. They just showed up." I told him truthfully.

"Mia, come here." Ryder told me sternly. And just as I was about to get up and stand next to him, Charles spoke up. "Don't move." he said as he aimed the gun at me.

So much for not using it.

Told you that's what they all say.