Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 45

Can't believe we're almost to the end...

Stephen

I exited the truck when it came to a stop at my gates. My guards were a little confused as to why I was just getting dropped off.

"Is everything okay, Boss?" One asked me. I nodded at him and he opened the gates.

The one thing I learned from that conversation was not to fuck with Mr. Sung. I'm just glad I made it home. I needed to stay in his good graces if I ever wanted to make it out that car.

It was pitch black outside, despite some light coming from the house. I opened the front doors and shut them gently. I was trying to just go to bed. I passed the dining room to see the guys sitting at the table with their guns out.

"Stephen, what the fuck happened?" Damien asked as he stood up. He put his gun away waiting to hear my response.

"It was an interesting father to future son-in-law conversation. He made sure I knew my place and if I stepped out of it, there would be consequences." I shrugged, "I expected it sooner or later."

"Huh. He really had me scared for a minute. Did you see how his men killed ours? It was silent yet lethal." Vinny said. "Don't fuck with him."

"Noted." I replied. "I also made a deal with him." They looked up at me in curiosity.

"A deal? What kind of deal?" Giovanni asked.

"He's in some war with The Triads and they needed weapon supply. Surprisingly, he asked me for our resources and I offered them up to him. It was the right move to make."

"What makes you say that?" Giovanni asked again. He never liked allying with new people. Especially allowing them to have some of our resources. I could understand where he was coming from.

"Look, I don't know much about him, but I never will. We all know how secretive the Korean Mafia is." I looked at each of them, "All I know is, I needed to get out of that car. I did whatever I could to ensure I made it home to Jazmin. We also now have a Korean ally. I didn't have much time to make a decision, so I made one." I sighed.

"Hmm." Giovanni sat back, dissatisfied. "I hope he keeps his word."

"That's all we can do." Damien chimed in. He looked towards me. "I'm just glad you're here. We were about to call some men to try and find you."

"Glad you didn't. He wouldn't have taken lightly to that gesture." I told him. We were quiet for a few moments, trying to collect ourselves. "I'm going to head to bed. You all should too. I'm fine. Stop thinking about it." I got up and headed out.

"Goodnight." Vinny said.

I headed up the stairs and made a bee line for the bedroom. I started loosening my collar and taking off my jacket.

"Oof." I jumped at the sound of the noise behind Aria's door. I furrowed my eyebrows as I quickly went over to knock.

"Aria? You okay?" I said quietly. There was no response. I opened the door to see her in bed. What the hell was that noise? I decided to experiment. I walked back to the door and shut it to see if she thought I left.

"That was close."

"Not quite." She jumped at the sound of my voice. I crossed my arms and shook my head at her. She let out a huff and sat up in the bed.

"Fine, fine. You caught me."

"What are you doing up?" I asked.

"Well the guys weren't so quiet coming in. They sounded frantic so I thought something was wrong. I saw them sitting in the dining room with guns, so I wanted to be ready. I knew something was off when they came home without you." She motioned to me. "Speaking of that, why did they come home without you?"