HARRY POV
I was sat at my desk, zoning out at the spreadsheet on my computer screen until the numbers and columns all started to blur together in a mess of black and white. Business was doing better than ever in all regions of mine, but I couldn't tell you why.
The economy in the states wasn't in a great spot, so stress could be playing a massive part in that with all the CEOs in California, but even the gangs in the lesser parts of Los Angeles were asking for more product every day. I guess I shouldn't be questioning it, but questioning everything about everything was naturally a huge part of the job.
That's why I decided to give Louis a call and see how things were going back in London, always hoping for nothing but good news to put off my return. It was selfish, but...I was selfish. Everyone knew that.
"Hey, boss," he answered, and it sounded like he was outside somewhere.
"Hey. Where are you?"
"In Hackney."
"What are you doing there?"
"Uh," he sighed, "had a bit of trouble with one of our dealers here last night. The buyer only brought 20,000, we needed 32. He shot our guy, so we're looking for him now."
I turned in my chair to face the side of the yard as the sprinklers switched on to water the lawn. "Who was our guy?"
"Name was Jake. He went alone because it was supposed to be an easy exchange, but the buyer wasn't our usual guy. They sent someone else, but we got a good lead from a woman smoking in the back alley behind the club when it happened. She fessed up for just a pack of cigarettes."
Despite the fact that Louis obviously couldn't see me, I nodded my head as I ran my hand across my jaw. "I should be there."
"No, you shouldn't. I have things under control and you need to spend more time with Grace and Nora. I've been keeping a close eye on things and no one has mentioned anything about why you're not here."
"I mean, I need to come back eventually," I said. "They'll start to wonder."
"Eventually, sure. But you're making up for five years, mate. You're lucky she even let you stay in the house after only visiting once and never calling."
That was one thing, amongst others, that I could appreciate about Louis. It pissed me off at first, but he knew how to tell me how it was without sugarcoating it, and I knew he did it because he cared, not just to be a dick.
"She wants another baby," I chuckled weakly, rubbing my eyes. "Another fucking baby."
Louis laughed on his end. "Wait, I thought she was seeing someone else?"
"She is, so the fact that she was thinking about it, or even brought it up to me, just goes to show that she's not nearly as into this idiot as she thinks she is, or as she wants to be."
"Damn. So what'd you say?"
"I told her that hypothetically, I'd have to think about it. You know I was already losing sleep over knowing Nora existed every single day I was gone, though. It just takes one wrong person to find out about her, and I have a multi-billion dollar ransom on my hands, not to mention the whole business going up in flames."
