#21

To say Adria was displeased would be an understatement.

A more accurate way to word it would be to say that she was positively enraged. Which, incidentally, was probably why she was sitting across from them, glaring at both Matthew and Eli as if they were the ones at fault. Honestly, Eli wouldn't be surprised if she started hissing at them.

It wasn't like his life was going to get any less strange by that point.

If it were, then he wouldn't be sitting in Adria's very nice warehouse—hands down, the best one Eli had been in, even if it was Adria's. She'd called them in way too early, considering the night they'd had, which was probably why Eli was having a hard time focusing. Still, whatever Adria had to say had to be important. And so, Matthew had shoved a PB&J sandwich at Eli and dragged him into the car sent to pick them up along with some men Eli recognized from his little escape the previous night. The jerks hadn't even given him time to get out of his pajamas. Which, he supposed, was to be expected when he'd tased them less than twelve hours prior.

And that was why Eli was sitting there, wrapped in a blanket and still eating his sandwich.

"We found our informant," she said in what was definitely too threatening a tone.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Eli asked. Maybe if he weren't sleep deprived he would have understood that no, that was most certainly not a good thing. Not with how pissed off Adria looked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what I meant to say is we found his body." Well, she really should have been more specific. Eli just took a bite of his sandwich. "Seems our mercenary friend was well aware there were some of my father's men keeping an eye on him."

One of her employees walked in with a cup of coffee and set it on Adria's desk. She raised the cup to her lips and took a drink, her expression smoothing out just the slightest bit. Eli was still amused at how much people depended on coffee.

"And he used it to his advantage," Matthew said with a frown. Adria nodded, now looking slightly less murderous.

"Yeah, looks like he had plans that night and wanted you out of the way. He made sure we got wind of his supposed deal at the docks and set things up to at least keep you occupied. Then he got rid of our informant to make sure we didn't get a warning until it was almost too late and went about his merry, murderous way."

"So the guy's an asshole," Eli said through a mouthful of sandwich.

"A smart one, unfortunately," Adria added, looking thoughtful. "And now that he's killed and taken over the territory of so many well established cartel leaders, well, let's just say it'll be even more of a pain to deal with him."

"Yay," Eli muttered and Adria just ignored. Like usual.

"We're still looking into him, trying to get a good idea of who he is, where he comes from. Maybe that will give us a clue about his next move. Unfortunately, it's been more of a challenge than I'd thought, considering the limited resources available."

"Didn't your father know that information?" Matthew asked.

"Dear old dad didn't bother. Probably thought it was of no use to him as long as the guy got the job done."

"Well, that came back to bite him in the ass." Eli finished off his sandwich and wished he had another.

He also did his best to ignore the look Matthew was shooting him, probably meant as a warning to not piss off Adria. But Eli figured it would take Adria a second to jump over the desk and strangle Eli, so it wasn't like Matthew wouldn't have a chance to do something to stop Eli from getting killed.

To their shock, Adria didn't so much as glare at Eli.

"Not surprisingly. A lot of my father's brightest ideas ended up screwing him over in the long run." Well then, there were clearly some unresolved issues there. Which Eli didn't really care about, to be honest. Still, interesting. "Either way, it'll probably take us some time now that he knows who to look out for. In the meantime, you should get some rest, heal up, and make sure a certain troll you live with stays put."

"Rude," Eli muttered, sulking in his seat.

"You say that like I don't want him to stay put," Matthew said, ignoring Eli's glare like the jerk he was.

"Which is why I decided to give you a little help." Adria smiled. Eli didn't like that smile.

Eli was very right to not like that smile.

The door opened and in walked a man that could be likened to a concrete wall. He was dark haired and had a face that looked like he was constantly smelling curdled milk. Honestly, Eli was kind of impressed Adria had managed to find someone who so fully embodied all the traits a proper goon needed. He stood ominously to the side, just staring with dark eyes.

"Idiots, this is Mikey. Mikey, Idiots," Adria said, gesturing from one to the other. Eli might have ruined the tense atmosphere by snorting, but then again, the guy's name was Mikey. With that face. He really couldn't be blamed.

Granted, when Mikey clenched his fists, Eli realized he maybe should have tried harder to contain his amusement. Still, he wasn't dead so he figured Mikey had been told not to murder him. After all, that would be counterproductive.

"I know Mikey, he's a little shit." Adria looked absolutely done with Eli. He still appreciated that she'd not simply said 'Kill' and let Mikey do his thing. "Still, for the purpose of this job, do your best to keep him alive." Mikey just nodded.

"Er, so what exactly will he be doing?" Matthew asked, eyeing the addition to their little meeting.

"For the most part, he'll be in charge of making sure that little shit next to you stays put. Wouldn't want him running off and almost getting killed. Again." She paused. "Well, I wouldn't mind, actually."

"You don't say?" Eli deadpanned.

Matthew just sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. Eli supposed it was too early for him to deal with so much. Especially without coffee.

"So, can we leave now?"

"Don't rob me of the joy of kicking you out." Adria was probably serious about that. "And here." She reached under her desk, which was a very nice desk—actually made Eli kind of want one, if only so he could feel all business like and important—and pulled out a briefcase. She slid it across the desk towards Matthew.

"A replacement?" Matthew asked, setting the case down next to his chair.

"A better quality one, hopefully." Adria sounded a bit too unconcerned about that for Eli's liking. Then again, the last one had kept Matthew bullet free, so there was that.

"We were going to get you a thank you card for the last one. You know, since Matthew's not dead." Eli said. Next to him, Matthew discreetly facepalmed.

"How considerate of you," Adria deadpanned. Eli just smiled. It wasn't his fault if it ended up looking smug. "Please get out now."

Eli was dragged out of the warehouse by Matthew.

Which wasn't surprising. He seemed to get dragged around an awful lot as of late. Especially when Adria was nearby. The only reason Eli wasn't particularly upset about it was because he knew it was probably best for his continued health if he was taken out of the room before Adria snapped.

"One of these days, we're really gonna have to talk about your habit of pissing people off," Matthew said with a sigh as they walked out.

"I only do it when I'm nervous! Or scared. Or bored," Eli muttered the last part. Matthew looked unimpressed. "Wow, you're cranky without your coffee."

"I am not," Matthew sounded downright insulted.

"No, you really are. We're getting you some coffee," Eli decided as Matthew opened the door of the car that'd be dropping them off.

"Will that be before or after you change out of your pajamas?" Matthew sounded downright amused as he said so, which just made Eli glare at him as he prepared to climb into the car while tugging his blanket closer around him in the most dignified way he could manage.

Somehow, Matthew was able to hold in his laughter. It was a close call. Eli still didn't appreciate the smug smirk on Matthew's face. But, he figured he could put up with it. After all, it was certainly better than Matthew looking all mopey and downright exhausted.

With that in mind, Eli climbed into the car followed by Matthew. The door shut behind him and they drove home, Eli taking the time to enjoy the momentary peace.

After all, they both knew it couldn't possibly last.

# # #

Hello everyone! Guess who managed to finish in time to post! So yeah, I surprised myself by actually getting this done in time, even though it's a short chapter. I haven't had to write chapters on a deadline in a while, lol. Also didn't help that it was a busy week, but yeah, I'm done and the story should be picking up again soon. Doesn't that sound fun? :D

Anywho, here's your regularly scheduled reminder that I am also on Tapas and I've added some scenes to the story there. Other than that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next one should be up on Friday, May 28th so keep an eye out for it!

As always, thank you all so much for your continued support, and please vote and/or comment if you can!

Take care everyone! (✿╹◡╹)ﾉ