Here's part two of chapter 22, already up in the same week! I'm pretty proud of myself, all things considering. Glad to know I have some of my writing mojo back! Braxton Caine is in the media, played by Cody Saintgue from Teen Wolf, and the song - Thousand Eyes by Monsters and Men.

A week passes and I hear little to nothing from Dax. At first, I'm hopeful he's just gotten bored of me, though unlikely.

My tired body falls onto my bed, face first into my pillow. The whole day had consisted of me building my endurance and upper body strength, my muscles now completely drained. Hours on end of training with few breaks has really taken a toll on me, but when I started this morning, it was hard to stop. Every exercise lead to another one, my endurance off the charts, fueled by my anger.

Looking at everything going on, it's not been surprising that I haven't been able to workout lately. This week, without Dax and Sabrina, I've had plenty of time to focus on me and my fitness, something I've neglected quite a bit for a while now.

With weak arms, I grab my phone and the screen lights up. There are multiple texts from Rodney and the others asking to meet up somewhere, but I ignore them. Another is from Whittney, but I delete it before even taking a look at it.

I sigh when my phone vibrates. The name on the screen makes my fingers shake as I slide to answer.

    "I have a job for you," Dax cuts to the chase without formalities.

    Clearing my throat, I sit up immediately. "And what's that?"

    "Not over the phone." He ends the call there.

    I let out a deep breath before getting to my feet and head for the bathroom. Dax didn't specify a time, but  knowing he meant now, I take a quick shower. Afterwards, I throw some clothes on and head upstairs, grabbing my keys on the way out the door.

    The chill air shocks me when I leave the house, making me rub my hands together for a little warmth. A few inches of snow now cover the ground, more flakes joining in every second. It'll be hell driving into the city on a day like this, but it's not like I have much of a choice. If I don't show up to Dax's, I'd have bigger problems than a simple spin-out on the highway.

    My hands grip the steering wheel tightly the whole way there, even though they ached to turn up the heat in the car. Right now, being cold seemed like such a petty problem compared to the ones I face. In a way, the chill is calming. Plus, it keeps me on my toes.

    It's just after six, and all the lights on the city are already blazing. I've always been a city boy, having grown up most of my life in New York City; the nostalgia continuously bites away at the back of my mind. Now, all the lights signify is a lit path towards the dangers I face.

    Breathing deeply, the frigid air burns my throat as I use a free hand to run through my hair. The stress of what Dax wants me to do tonight finally gets to me. I'm so distracted by my thoughts, I forget to look at my rearview mirror before crossing to the other side of the street. A blaring car horn strikes my ears. I jump as the car passes, the passenger giving me the finger as they pass me.

    Rubbing my eyes, I force myself to focus. I don't want to add a trashed car to my list of complications.

    After parking my car in the parking garage, I take my time in heading to the loft. When I finally build the strength to get out of the car, ten minutes have passed. It's been almost an hour now since Dax made the call, so I'm sure he won't be thrilled by making him wait.

    The elevator ride up is less stressful each time I do it, and for some reason, that worries me. Getting used to hanging around with these lowlifes is not something I want to get used to. I know for sure that if I get in too deep, the chances of me getting out this time will cease to exist.

    I cross my arms when the elevator dings, signaling I've reached my destination. Knowing exactly what to expect, my arrogant grin of a facade tugs at my lips.

Eddie's barrel greets me right at the door, returning my look with a smugness of his own. When I don't move, he gestures with the gun in a way of saying 'get on with it'.

"Oh, come on, Eddie." I throw my head back in annoyance. "Dax let me keep my phone last time."

"That was at the Brawl, this is here." He raises a brow when I hesitate.

Sighing, I empty my pockets and place the items in his outstretched hand.

When he steps aside, I let out a deep breath before entering the main room. He follows directly behind me.

It has been a long time since I've been here, and in all honesty, it has changed significantly. This place is not as I remember it just over two years ago. Saying they've stepped it up a notch would be an understatement. The job was clearly paying a lot better than it used to.

New light fixtures replaced the recent ones that used to flicker. A leather wrap-around couch is accompanied by a few chairs and a coffee table, a flat screen TV - not much smaller than what I have - hangs on the wall, and a full on bar is in the corner of the room.

Dax leaves Iker's side when he spots me eyeballing all the changes with shock. With a vain grin accompanied by prideful eyes, he chuckles in amusement at my astonishment.

"You like what we did with the place?" Dax's ego is surely being blown out of proportion right about now. "I get now why you've always held your money so dear. As you may have noticed, things have been going very good with us. To be fair, we didn't even need your twenty grand, but when a debt needs to be paid..."

I smile curtly. "How about we skip the pleasantries and get to the part where you tell me what's going on?"

"He's right, brother." Braxton appears, his nose buried in his phone. "This chit chat is a waste of everyone's time, though I know how much you love pointless conversations."

That gets a low chuckle from Eddie, which he covers up by clearing his throat. Still, Dax sends a menacing glower his way.

"Since everyone's so keen on getting started, I'll get right to the point," Dax starts, his voice lowering a few octaves. "Austin. You, Eddie, and my brother are going to be delivering a white flag, so to speak."

"A white flag my ass!" Eddie's explosive interjection proves he's just hearing of this plan. "You want me to fucking show up uninvited in enemy territory accompanied only by these two clowns?"

Braxton raises his hand, a pretentious expression on his face. "Watch who you're calling clown, cabron. Your nose is farther up my brother's ass than the fucking tweakers we sell to."

Eddie's face contorts into a violent sneer. "The fuck-"

"Enough. Stop with the fucking bickering! I didn't ask you two here to express your undying indifference to each other," Dax spits, a venomous glare glowing in the darkness of his eyes.

"Ask?" Braxton laughs before looking back down at his phone. "I had a choice to show up? That's new."

Dax swipes the phone from his hand and chucks it against the wall. At first, his younger brother just looks at the cracked screen out of shock and clenches his jaw. He's smart enough not to lash out in return, but still doesn't lack in making a comeback.

Clicking his tongue, Braxton lets out a huff of vexation. "Now that was childish."

Ignoring his little brother's attempt to irk him further, Dax continues. "Okay, so we've been having territorial issues, and you three are going to settle them."

For the first time, I interject, "And how are we supposed to do that?" Crossing my arms over my chest, I squint my eyes in query.

In return, Dax lets out breathy laugh, as if to say the answer is obvious. "You lie."

When more confused faces greet him, he gestures towards his brother.

"My know-it-all brother came up with the plan," he says. "We don't need to back off their game completely, we just need them to think that we have."

A grin splits Eddie's lips, revealing his pearly whites. "A fake surrender."

"And how are we supposed to keep up the facade of submission if we're just going to keep pushing?" Iker speaks up finally, after being a quiet statue leaning against the wall for so long. "There's no way they won't catch on."

"That's because we're only buying time," Braxton explains. "Enough time to take down a King at the height of his rule."

***

Thank you for reading, once again! Thanks to everyone who has gotten this far, even through my lacking updates. Really means a lot! As always, leave comments if you have any, telling me what you think, or maybe even a vote, if the chapter's deserving.

With only a handful of chapters left, Austin's fate isn't far from being revealed. Do you think he made the right choice with leaving Sabrina and putting their relationship on hold, or do you think it won't make a difference? And how do you think this little 'plan' of Braxton is going to work? Will they get through to the most feared person in the city and fool him into a cease fire, or will it make things worse? Stay tuned!