Chapter 4

DANTE'S POV

       I pretended to be busy with my car when Orabella came to call me for breakfast. Knowing Aldo, he would still be sour from last night's altercation.

“Tell the boy to meet me here once he's had a bath,” I said to Orabella's retreating figure and she nodded.

After almost an hour, he was walking through the front door. His hair was wet and some of them clung to the side of his face and his forehead. He wore a t-shirt that clung to his frame and a pair of well tailored pants. I was leaning on my car like the devil offering a ride.

“Mother said…”

“Get in the car,” I tossed my keys up and caught them.

“Why?” He asked as he went around to the passenger seat.

“Come on,” I got in. “You are about to find out how to win.”

He slipped into the passenger’s seat and crossed his legs at his ankles. He smelled like fruits and oud with an undertone of vanilla. I wanted to lean in and take a deep breath. He didn't say a word about what happened earlier and I wasn't going to push it.

The first minutes of the ride was silent save the sound of the engine and the hum of the city.

“So studying law isn't about the money?” I finally spoke. I glanced at him briefly.

“No.” His response was clipped.

“Money rules the world,” I said and he looked out the window. He sat with his back too straight, his jaw tight and his eyes on the road. Did I scare him? I wanted to remind him of old times but instead I focused on the road. I kept on driving until we left the city behind us and what we could see now was graffiti, warehouses and the smell of rust and smoke. These were the kind of places Julian had probably only read about. I noticed how he moved uncomfortably on his seat.

I brought the car to a stop in front of a warehouse. Alejandro and Tico stood by the entrance. Julian stepped out of the car slowly and remained by it. I signalled at him to come. He looked around, as if searching for an escape plan. He pushed his hands into his pocket.

“Who’s this?” Alejandro asked as he looked Julian over.

“Julian. He's my nephew.”

They exchanged glances and Tico smirked. “What are you now? A baby sitter?”

I shot them a deadly glance and they swallowed their laughter real quick. Julian didn't say a word but his eyes thanked me.

We stepped inside the dimly lit warehouse. The smell of diesel and metal hit us.

“Did they deliver them yet?” I turned to Alejandro. He nodded. I walked to the far end of the warehouse. New crates were there. I opened them and the guns lay there. I smirked. I picked one up and checked it out. I turned around to look at Julian. He looked terrified but he didn't look away. Tico threw a bag to me and I caught it.

“The man in Texas sent his boys to give you this.”

I opened the bag slowly and a smile teased my lips. Money. I could feel Julian’s eyes on me. The law student watching the behind the scenes of a crime.

I turned to him. “Let’s go.”

He swallowed and walked out quickly grateful that he didn't have to be here anymore. I drove to the outskirts of the city until we were surrounded by hills and a creek. I brought the car to a halt and got out. He looked at me with his brows raised.

“Come out.”

“I’m not a demon you're casting out,” He said and rolled his eyes. I chuckled and he stepped down. He looked around. “At least there are no warehouses here.”

He looked around.

I went beside him and leaned on the car.

“What was that about?”

I lit a cigarette. “Cigarette?” I offered it to him and he scrunched his nose in disgust.

“No please.”

“You still hate the smell?”

“Sure do,” He pouted. We stood there watching the hills and how the clouds raced after each other on the sky.

“That was a lesson,” I said as I blew out smoke.

“A lesson about what?”

“The truth,” I shrugged and he scoffed. “You see, law is just paper and the biggest breakers of the law are the ones who make them. They do so because of money. Money breaks the law and men like me? We don't need laws. We bend the laws to fit us. With us, the law is fluid.”

He crossed his arms. “So are you trying to scare me or discourage me?”

My lips curled. “Did it work?”

“I’m still going to go home and spend hours studying briefs and essays,” He said flatly. His hands shook and he tore his eyes away from me.“And I'm not scared of you.”

I moved closer until our shoulders touched. His pulse jumped.

“Would you ever defend a man like me?”

He chewed on the inside of his mouth slowly. “Sometines the law is about interpretation and not who deserves defense.”

“Not the truth?”

“The truth is never black and white.”

A smile widened my lips. Maybe Aldo and Orabella were right in letting this boy become a lawyer. He was really smart.

“Do you want to grab something to eat?

“I just had breakfast.”

“Maybe grab a drink,” I said as I walked around to get into the car. I didn't want to admit it but I enjoyed his presence. I just wanted to remain where he was and listen to him speak and fiddle with his fingers.

He got into the car and exhaled.

“Put on your seatbelt,” I glanced at him.

“I am not eight anymore,” He snapped as he tried to pull the belt. For some reason, it was stuck. He struggled with it for a few seconds.

“Let me help you,” l leaned across the seats tried helping him pull the seat belt. I noticed how he froze beneath me. I looked down like he was a puzzle I was trying to solve. His chest rose and fell quickly and his lips parted slowly. I wanted to claim those lips in mine badly.

I tugged at the seat belt one more and it came free.

“Here,” I said, my voice thick with desire. I adjusted on my seat to hide the bulge in my pants. Without warning, he leaned in and grabbed my lips in his. My eyes widened and a sweet sensation traveled down my spine.

“Julian,” I whispered against his lips and his fingers teased my boner.