Ugly Love (Raw #1)

Chapter #1

He had started the management for men who didn't have job ; just like him. Rob had worked his ass of to make it grow and indeed it did ; it had bore fruits for him. The one room company had stretched into a giant building. He watched over his boys with the eye of a tiger. Men of steel had become a prestigious organization that catered towards celebrities and underworld and politicians. The outcome had made Rob Manning perplexed and proud.

And now he was facing his biggest challenge ever.

"Are you sure?"

He repeated his unnecessary question for the third time over , his jaw was set , his face had a hard look because he knew the peril , he knew the risk. It will cost him his life.

A life he had no interest in keeping.

"I'm certain , Rob. Just get me inside." The handsome man in his late twenties oozed confidence and indifference , something Rob always admired him for.

And pitied him for.

Confidence and indifference were lethal combination for a man. It either let you live or .....

He should have been out there , taking part in the roaring life , live up to the fullest but here he was being a bodyguard under his management.

"What? Feeling bad for me? " The man challenged him by cocking his brow and Rob couldn't help but glance at the slash , the cut on his left eyebrow.

A prize he had gotten from his job.

Rob sighed , his moustache quivering. "I . .this isn't gonna be simple. This isn't gonna be fucking simple." He said in a hardcore voice , in his heart wanting the young man to back off and not to take the assignment but the Jonathan he knew , he wanted to be a part of danger. He wanted to be put in a position where he didn't know if he will live or. .

"Rob, this ain't some cheesey shit. I know what I want and I want this." Jonathan looked him straight in the eyes , his blue eyes firm and passive. . almost empty.

Rob pursed his lips.

"Why?" He asked him plain and simple and he knew the answer but he hoped someday it would change.

"Really? Are we doing this again?" The man named Jonathan asked sharply.

The only thing separating the boss and employee was the mahogany desk between them. The office or the nest as Rob liked to call it , resembled a one straight out of Art Digest. The furnished wood on the floor and the white pristine French windows that overlooked the city of New York held the power to awe people.

Rob spread his arms on the desk , leveling his gaze on the man seated on the chair , wearing the charcoal black uniform of his management that had Man of steel blazed on it.

"Lorenzo is out to get you. You didn't let him get to his target."

"Target? You mean that pop singer who tried to force me to have sex with her?" Jonathan mused darkly , quickly recalling the particular incident of the drunk blonde suddenly barging in his room and demanding for a dick.

Rob smiled but it held no humor.

"Exactly. The poop singer is in debt to Lorenzo. You know how his contracts work. Pay him or die. You came between Lorenzo and death. He wants retribution. He wants to set a moral example of what happens when you come between him and his business." Rob's voice dipped down but it had no affect on him.

And it was frustrating because he didn't understand the danger he was in. He didn't need to protect other clients , he needed protection himself.

Jonathan leaned forward , his hands interlocked on the table.

"Should I run for my life?" His tone was bland.

Rob stood up , accepting defeat again. There just wasn't any winning with this guy.

"I don't understand. Why—why are you chaining yourself to the past? Whatever happened is in the past . You can't keep looking back at it. That's fucking. . .fuck. The gang you were part of has dissipated! Not a single member of it is alive." Rob stressed in his no nonsense voice.

A flicker of darkness passed in his blue eyes but it was gone before Rob could make sense of it.

"I don't have the ability to separate myself from it and when the time comes , it will vanish by its own." His voice was steady , not a dip of emotion or vulnerability.

Rob scoffed , waving his hand in one would in whatever manner.

"Bullshit. " He muttered. " He has stationed people all over your area to catch you like a fucking rat."

"What if I caught him first?" Jonathan grinned and Rob almost grimaced because his grin was sinister and pure destructive.

Something Rob had to make himself used to.

"I'm asking Loreen to land you a good ass to grab at." Rob threatened. "You're going way out of the line. Get laid."

Jonathan shrugged his broad shoulders , the short sleeves letting his tats shine in full glory. His ink had ridden up to his neck , the only part saved from the dark ink was his face.

"Loreen has fucked me plenty of times. She's like a yes machine in bed."

Rob rolled his grey murky eyes as he plopped himself on the revolving chair. Fifty years of life and this man kept surprising him like Jack in the fucking box! He had handled some hard headed asses of his time and this man gave him a run for his money. He could still remember the day Jonathan walked in to this building and to Rob he resembled someone who had been over the edge , who knew what horrors lay on the other side of it. He asked for the job and Rob , then a selfish man, gave it to him because being a bodyguard meant giving up life and Rob needed men like him.

Five years down the drain and Jonathan had grown on to him . . .a family. Someone he cared for though Jonathan had never given up the details of his life but Rob had enough experience and background information to know how a man like him needed a savior ; be it in a form of a job.

"Protect your life first. Don't make a rash move. I know you have nothing to loose but . .sucks to admit I care." Rob said grudgingly.

Jonathan didn't react.

He never did.

"Don't." Was all he quipped.

Rob ran a hand across his greying hair as he made his mind.

"It's my chance at redemption." Jonathan mused as if he cracked the joke of this century.

"What would you know about redemption. . .," Rob said in a low voice ,"anyways , there's no way in hell I'm handing this client to you. Josh will handle him .I want you to go into hiding for few days. Don't want Lorenzo hounding your ass or worse. .mine."

"Alright." Jonathan nodded.

And Rob damn well knew there was nothing alright and there was no way in hell he was going to do as he asked but he tried right?

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