Children of Fire (Complete)

sixty

Gideon

All I wanted to do was sleep in late, with Emerson wrapped up in my sheets and tangled up in me, but the sound of my phone ringing rather loudly seemed to have other ideas. When I opened my eyes, I noticed Emerson was nowhere in sight, but the sound of pots and pans clanging together in the kitchen let me know that she wasn't very far. I rolled over and grabbed the phone, grumpily answering it.

"What?" I asked, sleep still evident in my voice.

"Gideon, I'm sorry I didn't call you as soon as I had originally planned. I had some... things to take care of. I presume this is an alright time to discuss business?" Callahan asked. I brought the phone away from my ear and looked at the time, 9:42 am. I guess I did manage to sleep in a bit later than normal, so I rolled my eyes and brought the phone back to my ear.

"I suppose. What did you find out?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my eyes vigorously. I opened them and saw bright white spots and had to shake my head to get rid of them.

"It appears as though you were right, Gideon. Pierce and Conor were involved with Eduardo's crew. They showed up yesterday after our phone call and I interrogated them... you see, that's what took me so long to get back in touch with you." He said, sighing deeply on the other end of the phone. "The interrogation wasn't easy, but with a little coercion, you can get any answer you need. If you catch my drift." Of course I did, torture was something that Callahan was well known for.

It still didn't make any sense, though. Why were his men working with another crew behind his back? If I recall, I'm almost positive they got their drugs from Callahan, so why were they doing anything behind his back when they knew the consequences if they were found out? None of it made any sense at all, but I would have to see what Callahan had to say about it.

"And?" I asked, crossing my arm over my chest and looking around our bedroom. It was simple, but everything here reminded me of Emerson. The bright gray walls that made the room seem larger than life, the dark curtains that were still pulled shut-- keeping sunlight out unless the inhabitant wanted it to be seen. There were pops of yellow here and there, but otherwise it was simple and decorated with lush green plants. I wanted to make sure that Emerson would be reminded of the better parts of her childhood, the things she enjoyed growing up. I had the photograph of her and her mother blown up a bit and had it hanging over her chest of drawers where her clothes resided. I allowed a small smile to stretch across my face.

"And I agree with your idea to go ahead and attack Eduardo's club. They're planning on attacking you as well, next week. For what? I wasn't sure, I didn't have the patience to get that out of them. When I found out they were conducting business behind my back... well, I got a little carried away." Callahan chuckled and I could see him leaning back in his plush leather chair with a glass of scotch and a cigar hanging out of one hand precariously.

"They didn't give you any reason as to why they wanted to attack us?" I asked, running a hand through my disheveled hair.

"No, the only extra information that I gathered was that they were confident they would be able to break you and your club. I advise you to keep a close eye on your woman, Gideon. You know that's the easiest way to break strong men like us, is by taking the one thing we care about." Callahan warned, and it was the first piece of advice I had ever taken of his. I would make sure Emerson was safe until the threat was completely eliminated.

"Thank you, Callahan. I appreciate that. What did you do with Pierce and Conor? Will they be a threat to me or my club?" I asked.

"Ah, as a gesture of good faith, so that you and I can continue our business endeavors without skipping a beat, I've left you a gift on the front porch of your new home. It is quite beautiful, Mr. Walker." He said with a small chuckle. I felt my blood boil within my veins at the thought of Callahan knowing where we lived. I didn't want anyone other than my club to know the whereabouts of our house, but I guess that was out of the question. If Callahan knew, that meant that we wouldn't be safe. I would have to up security while Emerson was here alone until we knew there was no longer a threat to our lives.