I sip my beer and glance down at my watch, frowning to myself. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since I last saw Sadie, but I haven’t heard from her yet. I know she’s probably in deep shit with her family, but I’m actually starting to worry.

That’s a new feeling. I never really worried about a woman before, not this way at least. I have female friends and I’ve gotten close to lovers, but this is a different feeling entirely.

I’m almost protective of her. I want to make sure she’s being treated well and taken care of, even if maybe that’s not my role. Not yet, at least. I want to take that on for her though. I want to be the man who protects her, cares for her, takes care of her. And I have no clue how to feel about that.

“You’re quiet,” Chuck says to me. We’re sitting in a little shitty dive bar in the old neighborhood. There’s a basketball game on TV and most of the locals are either drunk or well on their way to being drunk.

The place is dingy and poorly lit, which is part of its charm. The bar is old and somewhat sticky from years and years of spilled drinks. All the tables are wood covered with shellac, basically big, plastic, and indestructible at this point. It’s pretty empty, which surprises me. Usually a working class haunt like this would be packed late at night, even on a work night, but maybe the economy is worse than I realized.

“Guess I don’t have a lot to say,” I respond.

“How’s the girl doing?” He grins at me a little.

I sigh. “I was wondering how long before you brought it up.”

“Hey, man, I gave you a beer. Now it’s time to talk.”

“Took her out last night.”

He whistles. “Damn, man.”

“It was good. Took her to that new club, Deep Spot or whatever it’s called.”

“Dark Spot,” he corrects.

“Whatever. We danced, drank, you know.”

“Fucked?” he asks.

I give him a look. “Don’t be an asshole.”

He laughs a little. “So you don’t kiss and tell now?”

“No,” I say pointedly. “And I never did before.” I’m not the type to brag about my conquests.

“Yeah, fine, fair enough.” Chuck sips his beer again. “Still, the Tillman daughter. It’s pretty ballsy.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure it’s going to happen again.”

“Why? She get to know you?” He grins at me.

I just ignore his lame joke. “Her butler, or maybe her driver, I’m not sure, but anyway, he came and found us.”

Chuck raises an eyebrow. “You for real?”

I nod. “He didn’t look happy.”

Chuck watches me for a second then bursts out laughing. I sigh, sipping my beer. “Holy fuck,” Chuck says between breaths. “You got fucking caught! With the Tillman daughter!” He cracks up, shaking his head.

“Glad you enjoy it,” I mutter.

Chuck laughs a little more and gets himself under control. I flip a peanut shell into the basket, not bothering to eat the peanut. I can only imagine how many hands have been in that peanut bowl before mine, but I’m just trying to distract myself and I know it.

“So what happened?” he asks me.

“Nothing,” I say. “She went home and I haven’t heard from her.”

“They probably shipped her off to a convent.”

“This isn’t the dark ages.”

He grins at me. “It basically is with a family like that.”

I sigh and look at the bar. “I’m afraid I fucked up.”

“How?” he asks softly.

I look up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Are you afraid you fucked up because you got her in trouble, or because you got yourself in trouble?”

I blink. “Because I got her in trouble,” I say. “Shit, it didn’t even occur to me that they might be unhappy with me.”

“Good,” he says, smiling a little.

“Why?”

“Means you actually like this girl.”

I nod slowly. “Guess I do.”

“Come on,” he says, “last drink is on me.”

I grin and we start talking about business, but I still have Sadie on my mind as we finish that last drink.

It’s around one in the morning when we finally leave. Chuck gets in his car and heads home, and I have my driver take me back to my apartment. I could just go into the office and sleep there, but I want to shower in the morning and we’re not far from my place.

The driver drops me off and I tip him before heading upstairs. My apartment is like my second home. I spend a lot of time in the office, mostly because I have everything there that I could need. But it’s still nice to have a home that isn’t in the middle of my job.

I take the elevator to the top and step off. I pause outside of my door, cocking my head.

It’s slightly ajar. I don’t remember leaving it open. I frown a little bit and push it open. Maybe one of the people that I hire stopped by, maybe the cook is here or one of the cleaning people. They know I keep weird hours and maybe they figured they’d get an early start or something.

But of course that’s a stupid thought, and it hits me as soon as I’m in my apartment. All of the lights are on, which I know I definitely didn’t do. Who the hell would go to their job at one in the morning, unless they were up to no good?

I pause in my hallway. “Hello?” I call out.

The answer comes back instantly. “In the living room.”

A chill runs down my spine. I don’t recognize that voice. I step toward the table in my entrance way and reach for the drawer. I keep a small gun in there, just a little .22 caliber thing, but it’ll be enough.

“Don’t bother with the gun,” the voice calls out. “I checked already. It’s empty.”

I reach into the drawer, heart hammering, and pick it up. I pull out the magazine and sure enough, it’s empty. Cursing under my breath, I put it back into the drawer and walk slowly toward my living room.

“Who are you?” I call out. “And what do you want?”

“No need to be nervous, Mr. Waller,” the man says. “I’m not here to rob you.”

I relax slightly at the way he speaks to me. I step into the living room and spot the man standing near the wall-sized windows, looking out over the city. He turns toward me, a smile on his face.

He’s in his late forties, maybe ten years older than me. He wears a dark suit, a dark tie, and a white shirt. His hair is thinning and balding in the back, but his eyes are sharp, and he looks like he’s in good shape. He has a square jaw and he clearly works out, though he’s a couple inches shorter than me. If I didn’t now any better, I’d think I could take him. But he doesn’t look like a normal person. I can see it in the way he looks at me.

Plus, normal people don’t break into apartments in the middle of the night just for a chat.

“Who are you?” I ask him again, standing in the entranceway.

He smiles at me and raises his hands, palms out. “My name is Silas,” he says. “I work for the Tillmans. I’m just here to talk.”

I frown at him, but relax slightly. If the Tillmans sent him, that means he’s probably not here to rob and kill me.

But he might be here for something much worse.

“Do you want something?” I ask him.

He smiles slightly. “Interesting. I break into your apartment and you ask if I want something.”

I shrug, playing it cool, and walk to the kitchen. “Might as well be polite. Whisky?”

He nods. “Okay then.”

I pour two glasses and hand him one. I sip mine and eye him. We stand on either side of the kitchen island.

“Well, you probably want to know why I’m here.”

I nod once. “I’d like that.”

“It’s late, so I’ll try and be brief. You seem reasonable, Mr. Waller.”

“Call me Gavin.”

“Okay, Gavin.” Silas puts his drink down on the counter and looks at me, a little smile on his face. “Truth is, Mr. Tillman is very angry about you seeing his daughter behind his back.”

I clench my jaw slightly. “Is she okay?”

Silas smiles a little wider. “She’s fine, as far as I know. Curious that you’d ask.”

“I know your employer can be… harsh.”

“Harsh. Good word.” Silas takes another sip of his whisky. “I’m here to give you a simple message, Gavin. It’s the kind of message that I’m often hired to give, and I really, really hate giving it more than once. Are you ready?”

“Get on with it,” I say, staring at him, anger rising in my throat like bile.

“Stay away from Sadie Tillman. It’s that simple. Stay away from her, and everything will be just fine.”

I stare at his smiling face and I can hear the threat there, implicit behind his words.

“And if I don’t, everything won’t,” I say.

Silas just shrugs and smiles, not responding.

“Do you always do Tillman’s dirty work?” I ask him.

“I’ve been in his employ for many years,” he admits. “Though I have other clients, of course.” He puts his drink down and steps away from the counter. “I’m going to leave now, Gavin.”

“Tell your boss that I’m not interested in his threats.”

Silas nods. “I suspected you’d say that. Guys like you aren’t easy to intimidate. You’re from the west side, right?”

I hesitate a second. “Right,” I say.

“I know lots of guys from there. I grew up there myself. I know you’re used to big thugs trying to push everyone around. But listen, Gavin, and listen closely. I don’t like giving this message more than once. This has been a pleasant interaction. Let’s not have an unpleasant one.” He smiles one last time before turning and walking out.

I watch him go and I don’t say a word. Adrenaline courses through my veins and anger clutches at my throat. I hear Silas disappear down the hallway, open my door, and shut it again. I clench my glass and end up tossing back the rest of the whisky in one smooth motion.

I’d be a liar if I tried to pretend like it doesn’t freak me the fuck out that Silas broke into my apartment so easily. He could have done anything to me. Fortunately, he just wanted to threaten me, but it could have been much worse. I wasn’t prepared for that, not at all.

But I’m going to be prepared. I believe him when he says that our next meeting will be much less pleasant, and I’m going to be ready for that.

Because I’m not backing off Sadie. Those Tillman fucks think they can control her and push me around, but I’m not the kind of man that can be fucked with. When I want something, I get it, and I want Sadie.

I want to be her Daddy. I want to dominate her, control her, make her feel things she’s never dreamed of.

Her family isn’t going to stand in my way.