Chapter 4 Say Hello

• One month later
• “Try not to break anyone’s limbs, or at least don’t get in an argument with the guys, all right?”
• Flynn was saying, his voice hushed as they were walking towards the heavy wooden door in the manor.
• “Yeah, I know the rules, Flynn. No talking, unless asked to.“
• “And no fighting. “
• “What was I supposed to do?” Michael protested, “The guy was just asking for it.”
• Flynn shook his head.
• “You were supposed to scare him off a bit, not send him to the doctor’s. “
• “He’ll be okay, I didn’t inflict any permanent damage.“
• Flynn clicked his tongue.
• “I have to say you’ve been adapting much faster here than I ever thought. Half of the guys here are already scared of you.“
• “Must be the size. “
• Flynn glanced back at him to see if Michael was following and said,
• “Yeah, it must be that. “
• Michael had arrived last April exactly as planned, and just as discussed Flynn had been the one to introduce him to the group. There was just one very serious detail, no one had mentioned to him.
• Flynn hadn’t been here for a year.
• It had been two and a half and he still had very little on them.
• And in that time Michael had spent here, he hadn’t seen Richard even once. It wasn’t that the leader of the group was constantly surrounded by bodyguards or anything. The guy was simply a ghost. Others rarely dared talk about him and Michael was beginning to think of the guy as more of an imaginary figure, rather than a real man. But it had been exactly as Flynn had said. Michael had adapted much faster than expected. He’d just been with other mafia members before- he knew what these men were looking for.
• To be more specific- they needed someone who wouldn’t hesitate to beat the shit out of anyone if that helped the business or got the job done.
• And if Michael was good for one thing- that would be beating guys senseless. His military training was always a plus. His wolf added up to that twice, even though no one knew what he was except for his superiors back in the US.
• “He said he wanted to meet you, that’s a one in a million- times chance, you know?”
• Flynn said quietly, but Michael noticed the man still glanced around to see if anyone had been too close to overhear. They were alone, but Michael couldn’t just tell him he could sense or hear if anyone approached, so he only said.
• “Yeah, I know,”
• “Okay. So whatever he asks, you do it, yeah?”
• “Noted.”
• Flynn paused before opening the door and straightened his shirt- Michael could swear the guy seemed nervous if he didn’t know better.
• “Right. Let’s do it. “
• Flynn pressed the handle and they got in. The first thing he noticed was that the bureau opposite the door was surprisingly empty. He scanned the room and saw three men standing up. There was also someone in the armchair, nearest to the door, but the men were blocking his view. The men seemed to be discussing something very eagerly, Michael had heard them even before entering, and they continued talking, not caring about the newcomers in the least.
• The men were wearing suits - the usual dark colors and even though they were criminals, everyone who was close to the higher-ups was always perfectly dressed. With the way, they looked no one would ever think they were involved in anything illegal. At all.
• Michael was an exception, naturally, but then again he wasn’t one of them. Besides, he was posing as the new efficient debt collector and muscle man, no one would look at him twice.
• At least not yet. Flynn closed the door behind them and one of the men turned to face them and took a step to the side.
• And that’s when Michael’s whole world tilted.
• * * *
• If the information about some of the men working for Richard had been very little, it was now proving to have been entirely and completely wrong. Or at least what he’d thought about them, or imagined they looked like was far from the reality.
• And far was an understatement. If Michael had expected to see gruff guys, murderers, or criminals, basically anything that a man from those circles could be, those men here were anything but that. Yes, this wasn't like any other criminal society.
• Yet… Yet, the man sitting in the armchair was the most beautiful person Michael had ever met.
• And that went without argument. He was suddenly reminded of his early teenage years when his peers would gather and look at porn magazines secretly and choose a favorite to worship her.
• Or when they'd tear the page of the model or actress they liked and keep it somewhere secret, or stalk her everywhere they could find her and see all the movies they could get their hands on.
• Michael had never done this for no other reason but the simple truth - he'd never really been that much attracted by anyone. But it was right then and there, miles away from the world he knew and the people he was used to, that he realized if he ever had to choose one person to look in secret, and who was the embodiment of all the things Michael wanted to touch and taste- this was the man sitting opposite him in the armchair.
• The man was almost his age, or perhaps a year or two older.
• His dark black hair was slightly longer, but neatly put back and his cold blue eyes made anyone whom they landed on shiver. He was slender, not bulky like Michael himself, but it was evident the man was in good shape. Most likely his choice of sports wasn't boxing, and it was something more elegant, but Michael found himself being oddly interested in finding out what it was and everything about it.
• His eyes met the cold examining look and Michael could swear he felt goosebumps rise on his skin. He quickly averted his eyes and that's when Flynn spoke.
• "This is the new guy I was telling you about."
• The younger man crossed his legs and leaned back on the armchair, looking at Michael with the same intensity as the one from the first few minutes Michael had set a foot in the room.
• "Are you a cop?"
• The older man, standing close next to him asked, the question directed at Michael. Flynn opened his mouth to reply, but Michael was faster.
• "I was."
• Flynn gave him a disbelieving look, partly because Michael had so readily offered the information he almost startled himself too. The other part of the confusion came because obviously, those people didn’t waste time in idle- chit chat. Everything was straight to business, which was something Michael usually liked. He’d usually prefer it now too if his mind wasn’t a mess, so Michael decided to focus on the other men and not the black-haired guy.
• Regardless of what Flynn and he had agreed to before coming today and the tale they'd decided to tell, one look at the older man was enough for Michael to assume the guy was someone who had either been on the force too or could very easily see through the lie Michael was just someone's bodyguard. To confirm his assumption, the man nodded at him.