Kai

Just as I was finishing getting ready, there was a knock on my door. I walked over and pulled it open to see Caden standing on the other side making me raise a brow and he grinned, "um, hi?"

"Hey! How are you?" He asked and I blinked

"um, I'm good, and you?" I asked and he beamed

"I'm good. Sorry if I'm disturbing you" he said but I shook my head

"No worries. I was just about to head downstairs to have dinner with everyone," I replied and he hummed

"Awesome we can head down together" he smiled and I nodded with a small smile, "so how are you liking it here so far? I mean I know we've talked about that during our trip to the mall this morning but I just want to know how you're feeling,"

"It's different from what my life used to be," I replied as we made our way down the hall and downstairs towards the dining room, "I feel more relaxed in a way. Like I can breathe for the first time in years"

"That's great, I'm glad that you feel that way, and I'm sure Zeke does too. I know it must be a bit uncomfortable living in a house full of strangers but I can promise you that you're safe here" he said and I nodded, "As much as Zeke may look like he doesn't give two fucks about anyone, he cares a lot about you and he wo-" he cut off as the doors to the dining room opened and Zeke walked out with a raised brow.

"I was wondering where the two of you were," he stated and Caden grinned making the older male narrow his eyes at his brother, "what were you two gossiping about?"

"Nothing!" Caden replied as he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the dining room leaving an exasperated Zeke behind who shook his head before following behind. He walked in seconds after us and took the only empty seat which happened to be at the head of the table and across from me. It felt strange sitting on the opposite side of Zeke since he was the head of the mafia while I'm just his guest.

A cook soon arrived and dished out of dinner before scurrying away to grab our drinks conversation soon began and it all revolved around Rick and his whereabouts.

"I have CJ, Riley, Cody, and Ryan, waiting for your order, Don" Lorenzo said and Zeke nodded

"I have Jamerson, Carlos, Andre, and Adam as well," Tony added

"Where was his last known location?" Zeke questioned

"The last known location was south of a rundown restaurant. Mitch, Hunter, and Ruben are on his tail as of right now," John replied

"In total how many men does he have and how many locations does he have?"

"From what we know, Rick has in total of 5 locations which means he could be hiding in any of those. As John said, Mitch, Ruben, and Hunter are on his tail but that doesn't mean that he hasn't realized that we're following him and he'll try to get them off him as soon as he does," Caden said

"And the number of men he has is roughly 200" Lorenzo added

I looked at John who was already looking at me making me quickly divert my attention down at the table, "he might have 200 with him at his hideouts but that doesn't mean he doesn't have more undercover,"John said making them all look towards him, "as you know I was undercover in his gang for a few years when Zeke asked me to look into him"

"How many do you think are undercover?" Tony questioned

"Though his gang is not as feared as the Ravance or Lions, The Snakes are still feared in Seattle. He practically runs all of Washington and half of Michigan. He has expanded his gang to Michigan last year as you already know. So there could be well of 1000 members undercover and waiting for his order to strike," John answered making my blood run cold and heart to begin to race in my chest, "Rick won't stop until he has achieved his goals and that is to take Kai back and to destroy anyone and anything that stands in his way,"

"He can try all he wants but Kai won't be going anywhere. He is under my protection and until the day I die, he is my responsibility," Zeke said making me snap my head up to see him staring straight at me, "I made a promise to his father that I would protect him and I intend to do just that,"

"Well obviously," Caden scoffed at his brother's words, "but that still doesn't change the fact that he's in danger while he's in this house"

"We may have the upper hand right now but that doesn't mean that Rick isn't planning on a counter attack soon. We can keep as many eyes on Rick as we can but that won't change the fact that he can slip through and come here," John said and Zeke nodded

"I know," he replied as he turned to his Commander and my security guard, "which means that you will be at his side 24/7 until Rick is dead," I swallowed the lump in my throat at the cold tone of his voice. I wanted to object but I knew it was useless. Form the little time that I've known this man, I learned that Zeke was stubborn. When he gets something stuck in his head there is no way of getting it out. Dinner finished soon after and everyone stood up from their seats and left the dining room leaving only Zeke and me.

"You can't possibly have John on guard 24/7," I said wanting to at least try to get him to back down a bit, "I don't want him getting tired by standing outside my door all night,"

"He won't be the only one on guard. You'll have three more guards outside your window watching your room," He said as if that would make things better, "don't give me that look-I'm doing this for your own protection-and as I said, once Rick is no longer a threat, then you'll be free to do as you wish, but until then please just trust me," he cupped my cheeks making me look up at him and I could see that he was not going to back down no matter what I said, "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do, Zeke, "I whispered, and that was what scared me the most. I never thought that I could trust anyone after what had happened with Rick but here I was, putting all my trust in a man that I have only just met.

"Then trust that he won't hurt you," he replied and I nodded, "you're safe as long as you don't leave this house,"

"Are you going to lock me inside now?" I mumbled looking up at him and he shook his head with a smile

"You're free to go outside and roam the gardens but nothing outside our gates, for now," he replied releasing me and I nodded

"Well at least I got new clothes," I huffed making him chuckle

"I'm sorry that you feel trapped but this is for your safety," he stated

"I know, I know"

***********

The following days after dinner was hectic. It felt as if a tornado had passed through the house. There was not an inch of space anywhere. The living room seems to be the place where everyone gathered to discuss Rick's hideouts and who his undercover men could be.

"Wait, go back!" I yelled at Caden who was in charge of the projection screen and he jumped at my sudden burst, "Sorry, just go back" he looked at me confused but went back until I told him to stop, "I know him"

"What do you mean, Kai?" Zeke asked walking over to where Caden and I were standing and I looked over at him, "how do you know him? Who is he?"

"That's Blaze Richards, Rick's brother, and right hand," I replied turning to face the screen where it showed one of the men that made my life hell, "when Rick wasn't around, Blaze was always there keeping an eye on me. He'd go as far as to lie to him about me having escaped to meet with a lover when I never did any of that"

"Blaze is Rick's younger brother and he will go crazy if anything were to ever happen to him," I said making them look at me, "Rick loves Blaze to a point where it's borderline obsessive. I've seen how he looks and treats him. I'm even positive that Rick and Blaze have some type of incest type relationship"

"That's just wrong on so many levels," Caden commented and I couldn't agree more, "so what should we do then, Zeke?"

"Where was this image taken?" Zeke asked

"It was taken outside of Nordstrom Cherry Creek Shopping Center," Caden replied zooming in at the background of where the image of Blaze was captured, "at 3:45 pm just a little over two hours ago,"

"Is anyone following him?" Zeke asked

"Yes, Carlos and Santiago are trailing him and will call us if they reach the hiding place where Rick is currently residing" Lorenzo replied and just then his phone rang and he quickly answered putting the call on speaker, "Mason"

"We found it," a voice on the other end said making everyone in the room quiet down to listen to the conversation, "Carlos is currently watching the door to see if anyone comes out or goes in,"

"What's the location?" Lorenzo asked and the man gave him the address, "alright keep us updated in whatever happens. I'll send more guys your way"

"Alright" and then the line went dead

"Send Adam. CJ, Andre, and Mitch" Zeke said and Lorenzo nodded before he excused himself to do just that leaving the rest of us in the living room, "Tony, I want you to gather your team and follow Lorenzo and his guys to the warehouse as backup"

"On it," Tony replies before turning to Caden, "I'll see you a bit, love you" he then leaned down and gave Caden a quick kiss on the lips before leaving the room

"Now that we've found one of Rick's potential hideouts, I want you to keep hacking every security camera around to see if we can detect any more of Rick's guys that are undercover," Zeke said looking at Caden who nodded going back to his work at manipulating the security cameras all over Denver, "And Kai, I need to speak with you" I blinked but nodded so he led me out of the living room and towards the kitchen for privacy, "I managed to locate your dad"

"Really?" I asked with wide eyes as tears prickled my eyes and he nodded wiping the lone tear that had rolled down my cheek, "where is he?"

"He's still in Denver and undercover, but he said that he'll meet with you once this whole ordeal with Rick is solved as he doesn't want to potentially ruin our chances of getting rid of him" he replied and I swallowed the lump in my throat but nodded my head, "just know that your family is safe. I've sent my guys to keep watch over them while we deal with Rick and his people"

"Thank you, Zeke, I really appreciate everything you're doing for me and my family,"' I murmured and he smiled cupping my cheeks so we could lock eyes,

"Your safety and well being are what matters to me and your happiness. There is something about you that has given me a reason to live for once in my life," he whispered and I bit the inside of my cheek as his eyes filled with an emotion I've never seen before, not even on Rick's eyes, "somehow, someway, nothing matters to me more than you do"

"I-Z-" I stuttered but before I could get a word out, I felt his lips on mine making me freeze as my eyes widened in shock, a shock that soon washed away as I closed my eyes and held his wrists and kissed back. His lips were soft against mine making me whimper as he deepened the kiss. My heart began to race in my chest as he pulled me close against him. But I couldn't help but think back to the letter my father wrote where he said that he had married me off to the man that was currently kissing me and taking my breath away.

"I will do everything in my power to free you from him," he murmured against my lips once we pulled apart but his forehead remained against mine

"I trust you, Zeke Robertson"