When the two gangs crawled away to a safe place, an argument ensued between both leaders.
“This is all your fault!” Jo accused Ash, shooting him a furious glare.
“And how is that?” Ash replied coldly.
“If you and your men had kept away from the deal, there would have been zero glitches.” Jo said.
“I could say the same thing. If you and your greedy merry gang of men hadn't come to the building to steal the drugs and green for yourselves, we wouldn't be in this mess.” Ash accused.
One of Jo's men, a man whose biceps looked like tree trunks stepped in front of her and glowered down at Ash, “That's enough,” which brought Capo to Ash's side. Although the other man was huger than Capo, he wasn't intimidated.
Jo sighed and said to the man, “It's okay, Rex.”
Rex nodded and stepped to her side.
To Ash, she said, “It's very ridiculous of you to jump to such stu
e.”Ash wanted to laugh, “Of course I do. Is it just sinking in now?”Jo nodded, “So you left Gulden to become a gangster once again?”“No,” Ash shook his head, “About that. I was actually meaning to come over to your house with a proposal.”Jo got a confused look as she wrinkled her nose, “A marriage proposal?”Ash replied, “I would have gotten to that, but no. I meant like a business proposal.”Jo nodded, “Let's hear it.”Ash got into business mode and outlined his plan for them to set up a school and a charity organization that'd be run by both their gangs.Jo let him finish his pitch, and after that she walked up to him, “I'm sorry for doubting you, Ash.”“I'm sorry for running off on you too.” Ash said as he kissed her. This time, Jo didn't protest.He carried her over to the bed and laid her down
Ash was in his old apartment in Ganghaven, which he preferred to the plush company quarters in Gulden when there was a knock on his door.Thinking it was Capo or one of his other men, he took his time to open it.He was greeted by the glorious sight that was Jo, her mouth in a hard line. His heart beat faster as he considered the idea of having her in his apartment although from the look on her face, she wasn't there to accept his apology.Well, he would any win no matter how small, he assured himself.“My apartment isn't much but do you wanna come in?” He asked graciously.Jo scowled. Seeing him face to face had awakened a hunger which had been steadily growing. How could someone look this handsome, she thought.Jo knew if she entered his apartment she might lose sight of why she'd come here in the first place and jump him.“No.” Jo said stubbornly.“You want to create a scene for the punks who li
The next day, Ruth heard the doorbell ding and went to open it. She didn't see snyone, just a package left on the doorstep.It had a tag which said 'For Jo'.She brought it into the kitchen and called Jo who was still in her room.Jo hurried to the kitchen, “Mum, who delivered that package?”Ruth shrugged, “I don't know. It only says it's for you.”Jo assessed the package critically.“Should I open it?” Ruth asked as she moved to do so.“No! Mum!” Jo said hastily.Ruth gave her a curious look, “And why the hell not?”Jo thought to what Ash had said about his father trying to get her, “Just let me handle this.”She opened the package and sitting innocuosly in it was an apple pie with the words 'I love you' inscribed on it.“Ash,” She said under her breath. He was trying to use apple pie to win her back. Her heart beat furious
Ash and Pascal sat at their favorite table in Jacob's diner as they waited for their orders to arrive.It had been Pascal's idea to come to Jacob's because Ash had been melancholy ever since he returned to Ganghaven. In fact, Pascal didn't understand what was going on between Ash and Jo.Last he heard, Jo was so in love with Ash, she'd taken a bullet for him. Ash had also been head over heels in love with her. He was sure the lovebirds still loved each other, so why were they even apart.I may never get to understand love, he thought.He looked at Ash who was caught up in some memory of some thought.“Yo, what are you thinking of, man?” Pascal asked, trying to distract Ash from his bad mood.“You know, I first met Jo here.” Ash said with a sad smile, “She was sitting at our table with her friends.”Pascal groaned inwardly. While trying to get Ash to quit thinking of Jo, he'd only compounded the prob
Ash heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Capo.“It's good to see you, boss.” Capo said with a grin.“You too, my man.” Ash said bringing in Capo for a hug. He didn't think he could explain how much he'd missed his second-in-command. Capo was his loyal confidante and adviser, who had never let him down. He felt so free with him.Too bad he couldn't say the same for the vultures under him at Greenwood Holdings. They were sycophants who only wanted to be friends with him so he could give them something in return.“How's business?” Capo asked.Aah grimaced. Even with his degree, running a company the size of Greenwood Holdings was difficult, “It's coming along. Yours?”“We've shut down most of the business your old man was running, which leads me to ask; after we finish the task, what next? Do we disband and look for other things to do?” Capo asked.Ash shook his hea
Jo forced a smile on her face as she opened the door to usher Andrea and Sia in. She was still living like a hermit in her mother's house, and she didn't want to diagnose what that said about her. She was making progress, she told herself, she was going to make a conversation with her friends even if it killed her.Andrea and Sia noticed her staring into space.“Yo! Earth to Jo!” Andrea said, snapping her to the present.“You okay? We could come back later, if you wanted.” Sia said, leading Jo to the nearest chair.Jo allowed herself to be led and when she sat down, she said, “No. I invited you here. We're going to do this.”“Ok. But there's no pressure,” Andrea said, turning on the television. There was a boring news broadcast going on, so they paid the television no mind.“How's your injury?” Sia asked, switching to physician mode.Jo raised her blouse up and let Sia examin