"So, who was the cutie at the front desk?"

I knew Liam would bombard me with questions the minute we were out of the building. I pushed his face away from me when he started getting too close for my own comfort.

Erika didn't come in my room after our last encounter. In fact, it was her friend, Dr. Stella Caloi that came with the discharge papers I had to sign. Stella's façade was serious; she revealed no emotions while explaining one last time my physiotherapy routine for the next couple of weeks and how to change the dressing around my wounds.

I sighed, nodding in understanding since Erika had already done so very thoroughly. Seeing I was on board with my doctor's wishes, she nodded once. A soft, sad smile appeared on her face for only seconds before she returned to her serious self.

"There you go..." my friend said, after I got in his car. "So... Was the young doctor at the front desk single, or not?" A smirk appeared on his face as he decided to taunt me.

"Why? You need a reason to go back there? Because I can sure as hell arrange that for you."

Was I irritated after the morning call I had? Yes. Tired that I hadn't slept? Yes. In no mood for Liam's bullshit? Definitely.

"Calm your horses, King. I was just asking for a friend." He chuckled like the happy-go-lucky kind of guy that he was.

"Hey, who's taking my motorcycle? I left it at-" I was on high alert for a moment, before he interrupted my train of thought.

"Relax! We spotted the monster the minute we parked... Malcolm is driving it back to your house. We're going to pick him up from your place and then go to the office. There are many things we need to discuss, man."

I nodded in understanding. I had to let them know about the phone call with Inkles and everything that transpired these past few days, but I was in no mood for that conversation right now.

"I want both you and Malcolm to be present when we talk about it."

"Alright, that's fine with me..." he paused for a while, turning around to look at me before he concentrated on the road again. "Hey, what's up with you? You look... different."

"I was in the hospital, Liam, for the past three days. Of course I would be tired and shit."

"No no, this is not your 'tired-try-me-and-I'll-hurt-you' face. Trust me I would know." He looked at me again, chuckling. "Seriously, spit it out. You know I have my ways!"

I shook my head since I was in no mood to talk about this, before he abruptly stopped the car in the middle of the fucking road. It was a green light and the people behind us started honking their horns, annoying me beyond belief.

"You idiot, what the-? What are you doing?"

"Start talking, or else we're staying here." He sure knew how to get on my dark side and stump on my buttons.

I pulled my gun out of its holster and pressed it to his temple. I wasn't in a good mood.

"Wow, wow... Dude, relax! What's gotten into you? And since when do you carry that thing around?"

He continued driving immediately; chicken head.

"Since I've been ambushed twice in the span of a week."

"What do you mean twice?" He paused, facing my way momentarily. "Someone came to the hospital?!"

I hummed in response, irate about the situation I was in.

We passed a couple of streets without talking. Erika clouding my thoughts once more, making me wish she was by my side. She had a way, that woman, to ease my mind. Unable to control what I felt, I sighed in frustration and Liam's attention was back to me.

Fuck!

"Brandon, just tell me what's bothering you!"

Another sigh left my lips at the sudden realization. I missed her. Damn, was I already whipped? I trusted Liam and Malcolm with my life. But I knew that if I started talking about her it would make all this real, and I didn't know if I was ready to admit that I pushed her away, that I would never see her again.

Still, talking to him wouldn't benefit me in any way. Liam had a way with numbers, but situations like this were beyond his capabilities. Talk to him about numbers, computers, machines and he was your guy. Hell, the guy hacked government satellites at the age of fifteen simply because he was bored. But, emotions? No, shit like that seemed to go over his head.

Should I ask him to track her down? Find her phone number and address? What am I thinking... Get your head out of the gutter, Brandon.

He drove down the road stealing glances my way, waiting for an answer. I tried to concentrate on something else, but it was of no use. Somehow I wanted to get all the thoughts out of my system, so they could make sense to me.

"Fine... I met someone... Nothing happened, it's just... It's complicated, alright? Now focus on the road, before I punch you in the face!" He chuckled, turning his face back on the road. He knew very well that I wasn't joking around.

"Man, you must be whipped. Look at your face!" He chuckled once more, his teasing never ending. "Damn, she must be really something, cause you wouldn't waste time thinking about her..."

I frowned for a moment; his revelation shocked me because he was actually right. The fucking chicken head was actually right. He paused, scratching the stubble on his chin while the wheels in his head turned. Before I knew it, he punched my leg hard and then returned his hand on the wheel.

"What was that for?" He really caught me off guard this time.

"How come you met someone? You were in a hospital, on a fucking hospital bed, probably wearing an awful ass hospital gown, for God's..." His eyes momentarily glanced my way, before he continued. "No... No, no, no... Don't tell me... Was she your doctor?"

"She was my doctor, yes, but not the one you saw this morning. She didn't come to see me after the second attack." I mumbled the last part under my breath, but from the look on his face I knew he heard me.

"Fuck, dude! Was she there? Did she see anything?"

"The guy Inkles sent held a knife to her throat." The memory of her pained face stirred my insides making me want to hit someone.

"Fuck, man... this is so fucked up. Is she alright?"

"Yeah, I reached her on time. But fuck, it was so fucking frightening. I saw red." I rubbed my face with my right hand in frustration, while Liam hummed in response beside me. There was nothing else to be said. I pushed her away and that was the end of that; he knew that, I knew that.

"Damn you Casanova! It's those freaking eyes, isn't it? Fuck, you won the lottery and girls fall left and right for you, don't they?" He said distressed, before a grin concealed his previews grimace.

"Shut up... And don't you ever talk about her as if she's a slot of red or black on a fucking spinning wheel."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment. Liam had women on his back and call. If anyone should be called a Casanova, it was him. Women were attracted to his personality and his mysterious demeanor. He couldn't help it though; his emotional disconnection had them spellbound. Which was reason for my momentary confusion. Did something happen I didn't know?

Pushing the thoughts at the back of my mind, I turned to face him frustrated. I knew he was trying to change my mood, but I wasn't having any of this. Unfortunately he wouldn't stop there. He knew better than to piss me off even more, but still, my friend seemed to have a death wish today.

"Dude, I'm sorry, I didn't-" I punched him on the shoulder, so he wouldn't dare say anything to further irritate me. "Brandon Anthony King, don't you ever punch your best friend again. And, fine! I won't joke around with this girl again. I'm sorry... Can you please forgive me, baby?"

I raised my hand once more, but he stopped talking before it was too late.

"You do know that this is called physical abuse, right? I could sue you, King. This is your last chance, I'm telling you. You have the right to remain silent, sir- OUCH! Brandon, fuck! Fine!"

"Get your head out of the gutter, baby. Leave the 'lawyering' to me and keep to your accounting books, fucking chicken head!" I couldn't control the snicker escaping my lips, since I knew I struck a nerve with that last bit.

"For your information, King, I am not just an accountant. I have a masters degree in mathematics and actuarial sciences, with accounting and finance being my second degree. So, you better get your facts straight before teasing, baby." A smirk appeared on his lips as he proudly announced all that I already knew. He worked hard to get where he was, but making fun of the chicken head was something I couldn't pass.

Comforting silence settled between us, as I glanced out the window, admiring how green this city really was. The sky was a beautiful orange now and people started moving around making the city come to life. To others it was just another big northern city, but it was summer days like this one that made me love Chicago. It was my home; a place where I almost lost myself and then found myself again. It was also where I met the two people I came to call family. Liam and Malcolm were my juvie buddies and, with their help, I managed to built myself from the ashes.

There's nothing stronger that a man or woman with a true purpose.

"So, uh... Tell me about her." The silence was once again cut short, making me sigh. He sounded uneasy, since talking emotions was something we avoided. I was mostly the loner of the group, always preferring to stay away from such situations.

"Well... her name is Erika."

"Yeeees... At last! I'm sure there's more to the story?!" He said excited making me chuckle; damn you chicken head.

The smile plastered on my face was inevitable as I told him about my encounter with the amazing doctor, that her thought kept me awake all night. She was smart, a little genius, with a feisty mouth that gave me a run for my money. Beautiful, with a blush that stirred new feelings inside me.

"I don't know how you do this, man. You had a surgery, you were on a hospital bed all day. How could you mess this up? I mean, mathematically speaking, it's almost impossible."

It was all fun and games, but once the reality hit, we couldn't keep fouling ourselves. She had to stay away from me to protect her job and I had to stay away from her to protect her. Of course Liam understood that since he knew and understood me as a person.

Liam was facing me when he parked outside my house, waiting for Malcolm. I could see the wheels inside his chicken brain spinning as he tried finding a loophole for my case. He was always like that, trying to turn things our way when nothing was in our favour. That's the reason he was the best in his job.

The moment I turned around to face him I was startled by his harsh punch on my leg. Guess he was having trouble with my situation this time.

"Damn it, dude. What was that for?" It was my turn to wince in pain. He didn't lose time and punched me again. "Again?"

"Dude, you're an idiot." He turned around, just on time when Malcolm appeared. " Hey, Malcolm! Get in, my man."

"Welcome back, my brother. We have so much to talk about when we get back at the office." He said and squeezed my shoulder.

"Wait until Brandon tells you about his girl- OUCH! Brandon, honestly!"

Malcolm laughed at the back of the seat. "Are we keeping score?" He chuckled and turned towards me. "Brandon, honestly man, how do you do it? You were in a hospital, on a hospital bed, wearing nothing fancy, just one of those stupid hospital gowns... Wait, you two didn't-" I turned around to glare at my friend, the look on my face stopping him from finishing that sentence.

"Don't you dare irritate him anymore... I'm closer to him and I can already feel my arm bruising."

Turning around, I couldn't help but grin at the two idiots. Of course I would never admit it since I wouldn't hear the end of it, but I actually missed these two.

The fun came to an end when we arrived at the office a few minutes later. As the automatic doors opened and our polite secretary Gina greeted us, I couldn't help but remember that first day we entered the building of our firm. Liam was twenty two, Malcolm was twenty four and I was twenty three. We were clueless, afraid even, since we didn't know if our idea could work. But in these past three years we managed to make a great difference in this part of the city.

As we waited for coffee to come up to the main conference room, the boys informed me about all that had happened the last few days. As I filled them in about Inkles and our plans about my father's gym moving forward. I was met with Malcolm's questioning eyes and Liam's furious glare; they didn't trust the fucker and I couldn't blame them one bit. But looking as things were more serious, they agreed on help me uncover anything the Inkles family may have hid ten years ago.

All three of us had seen darker days and if anyone could understand me, it was them. That was also the main idea behind our firm as well. We were screw-ups. No one was going to give us a second chance but ourselves. After we managed to come across as winners, we wanted to give a voice, maybe a second chance to those that were like us; young screw-ups with no one to look our way. People with lack of experience looking for a job in the field, people that were convicted and unfairly judged. Everyone had to start from somewhere. Wasn't that what second chances were for? And damn it, if we needed a second chance.

"Hey man, I forgot to tell you..." It was Malcolm's voice that caught my attention. "Jax is back in town!"

Well fuck!

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