AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He was scared. And to be honest, I would have been, too, if I were on the other side of Griffin’s anger.
“You were being reckless!” Griffin yelled, slamming his hand on the desk so hard his computer mouse went flying to the floor. “You are not in charge of this city. I am. And you seem to have forgotten your place here.”
“I’ve forgotten nothing,” Eddie growled through his teeth. “But you, sir, have your head so far up your new fuck-toy’s ass, that you’re losing control.”
I desperately wanted to leave. This didn’t feel like a conversation I needed to be a part of. But as I took a step toward the door, Griffin shot me a death glare that left me rooted to the spot.
That was the Prince of Detroit. The boogeyman that instilled fear and discipline from thousands of cartel members.
This was the part that Griffin had played for nine years. And it wasn’t just an act anymore. Somewhere in there, this was a part of him now. And that part of him was the reason he might never leave.
I had a part to play, too. I didn’t want to do this anymore, but I wasn’t about to give up yet. So, I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall, doing my best to appear bored.
“Edward, you don’t know everything that goes on in this city,” Griffin continued, turning that anger back on the Duke. “You don’t run jobs without going through me. You don’t take out grunts. You don’t threaten. You don’t wipe your ass without running it past me. Do you fucking understand me?”
“No,” Eddie said, standing up and glaring right back at Griffin. “No, I don’t fucking get you at all, man. You fought and fought against me promoting this ass clown to my Knight. Then suddenly, he’s your new golden child?”
“What in the actual fuck are you talking about?” Griffin asked, his tone dropping from pissed to incredulous. “Golden child? I fuck him. That’s it. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“No.” Eddie shook his head. “No. You two have something going. I can feel it. It’s why you couldn’t wait to ship me off to Chicago. I fucking earned my spot, G.”
“Yeah, Eddie,” Griffin agreed. “You did. And I’m not the one pushing you to Chicago. You want to go…go. But that’s on you. I can’t have a Duke outside the city. So you can stay here and be my Duke. Or you can get busted back to Knight and be with your girl.”
Eddie started to speak but Griffin held up a hand to stop him.
“No. You listen to me. All of this is on you. You could have gotten my toy killed out there. I don’t like that.”
I kept my face schooled into the expressionless mask I’d perfected over the years, but inside I was seething.
Yeah, I knew that he was just saying what Eddie needed to hear. But he said it so damned casually.
How many other men had he treated this way? How many actual toys had Griffin burned through in the nine years he’d been with the GSD? Was I just one more disposable plaything he was using to bide his time?
“You’re not out there!” Eddie yelled, jumping to his feet. “The GSD used to mean something in this town. But now these little hustlers come in here and think they can take over my territory. And you’re doing nothing to stop it.”
“Those little hustlers work for me, too,” Griffin said coldly. “It is not up to you to question me and my business. Your numbers have been down for months. If you can’t handle bringing in new recruits, then it falls to me to fill the gaps however the fuck I see fit.”
“Oh, right.” Eddie snorted and rolled his eyes. “You’re just trying to cover your own ass.”
I straightened, my gaze locked on Griffin. I could practically see his demeanor change. He went from angry to way too calm in an instant. The look on his face was that of cold, calculated decision.
He was really fucking close to killing Eddie.
“Okay,” I said, pushing off the wall and taking a step toward them. “Let’s all just take a fucking breath.”
“I don’t take orders from you,” Eddie spat.
“Well right now you’re not taking them from your Prince, either,” I shot back. “And this is getting out of hand.”
“Matthew, shut your mouth,” Griffin said, his gaze still locked on Eddie.
“No.” I took another step, spreading my hands to remind them both that I wasn’t armed. “Look, Eddie made a mistake. But fortunately no one died today. Let’s keep it that way.”
The color drained from Eddie’s face as if he’d just realized where he was and what he was doing. I watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat as he swallowed thickly, and I prayed that meant he was going to shut his fucking mouth and let me try to fix what he’d done.
For all I knew, Griffin had carte blanch to kill anyone he needed to. But I wasn’t exactly up for witnessing it.
Yes, Eddie had set me up out there. I could have died, and he wouldn’t have lost a moment of sleep over it. But he and I were not the same. He might not be the friend I thought he was, but he was still someone that I’d spent a lot of time with over the last four years, and I didn’t want to see Griffin put a bullet in his head.
