Ezra

I woke up at five in the morning to get dressed and get ready to drive back to my parent's house, my childhood home. "Ezra, why are you awake this early?" Samara yawned.

"Sorry, I have to go," I put on my shirt, socks, and shoes.

Samara grabbed my hand. "Come back to bed,"

"I have to go. I'm sorry," I said, pulling my hand away as I left Samara's dorm room. I entered my car and started to drive to my parent's house. Samara didn't look happy, but fuck her, she knew what she was getting into. I can't believe I'll be driving for the next five hours. Whatever my father is doing at this party better be worth it.

After five long hours, I finally parked on my father's driveway after the gate opened. "Home sweet home," I called out. I opened the door and entered. "Mom? Dad?" I called out.

I hear the sound of heels hitting the marble floor. "Ezra, you're home!" Mom smiled.

"Good to see you too Mom," I hugged her.

"I missed you too," Mom said.

"Are you hungry? I can have Cathrine make us some breakfast," Mom said.

I nodded, and Mom led me to the kitchen, where she asked Cathrine to make food for us. "Where's dad?" I asked.

"Your father is at the warehouse, some problem or something," Mom shrugged.

"What about Aerith?" I said.

"Your sister should be home soon; she stayed at a friend's house last night. Aerith will be so happy to see you again," Mom smiled.

"I will be happy to see Aerith too. Mom, what's this all about? Dad insisted I come home today," I said. "If you know anything, please tell me,"

"Your father said that you had to be here to day?" Mom cocked her head.

"More like he ordered me to be here after I said no," I explained.

"Sorry, Ezra. I don't know exactly what's going on; your father hasn't said much to me. After you are done eating, get some rest, you look tired," Mom suggested. "Your room is the same as you left it, although I have cleaned it up a bit,"

"After five hours of driving, I'd be worried if I wasn't tired," I joked. Thanks, Mom. See you later." I walked up the stairs and entered my old bedroom. My mom wasn't lying; she kept it the same. I didn't know I was this boring when I was younger. Black-and-white bedroom, how boring can I get?

I collapsed on the soft silk and drifted into slumber. Hours later, my phone rang and woke me from my peaceful rest. "Hello?" I yawned.

"Ezra, your mother called me and said that you are home. I want you to come down to the warehouse," my father said.

"For what Dad, I was sleeping?" I grunted.

"I need to talk to you about the party tonight without your mother around," he said.

"I'll get dressed and be there soon," I said, then I hung up before he could get another word in. I'm about to discover what's so important that Dad wanted me to be home for. I put on a suit to save myself from hearing a lecture. He will never shut up.

I left my old bedroom, and after I took a deep breath, I felt someone tapping my shoulder. "Hello, big bro!" Aerith said.

"Aerith! You're looking good," I smiled as I hugged her.

"It's so good to see you," Aerith said.

"You too kid," I chuckled.

Aerith took a step back and looked at what I was wearing. "Nice outfit, bro; you look like a true Black Dragon, black suit and tie and all. Do you want to go grab some lunch and catch up? I have so much to tell you,"

"I can't Aerith. I have been summoned by the boss," I crossed my arms.

"Dad? Can I come with you?" Aerith asked.

"Sorry, Aerith, you know Dad doesn't like you going to the warehouse," Aerith pouted as I told her this. "I promise we will catch up later,"

"Okay, you're forgiven," Aerith rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, sis, see you later," I kissed her cheek and walked away.

I got in my car and headed for the warehouse, not planning to stop. I'm just going to tell him straight. I'm not ready to take over as the leader of the Black Dragons, and I still have two years of college left.

I entered the old, decrepit building that housed the warehouse in the basement. Dad always kept the location the same, even after all these years. I entered through the entrance and saw that people were talking to each other and drinking. Some things never change. I saw Gregory sitting on the couch, drinking a beer. "Gregory, how are you?" I smiled at him.

"Pretty good, Ezra, welcome home," Greg smiled.

"The prodigal son returns, how have you been Ezra?" Parker said, approaching me.

"Parker, I'm doing good. I'm just here to see my father," I said.

"I will catch up with you tonight at the party," Parker smiled.

"Looking forward to it," I shook his hand.

"Well, well, looking like the boss, are we?" Tala said.

"Don't start Tala, I don't want to be the boss," I said.

"Hey sexy, how are you?" Sookie purred.

"Sookie, I'm pretty sure you change my diapers," I gave Sookie a creeped-out look.

"Relax, I'm just teasing you. But in all seriousness, it's good to have you home, boss," Sookie smiled.

"It's Good to be back," I smiled. I walked off toward my father, who was talking to Pheonix in his office. "Dad?" I said, letting him know I had arrived.

"Son, you made it," Dad said.

"Like you gave me much choice," I scoffed as I sat on a chair. "How have you been Pheonix?"

"Good, Ezra. Thanks," Pheonix smiled. I'll take my leave, boss. I'm sure you want to speak to Ezra privately,"

"Yes, thank you, Pheonix," Dad said as Pheonix closed the office door and left.

"Before you start speaking, I have something to say to you. I have no intention on taking over The Black Dragons right now," Or maybe ever. "Dad, you are 45 years old, you don't need to step down yet,"

"Are you finished?" Dad said deadpan while I glared at him. "First off, I have no intentions of stepping down just yet,"

"Then why am I here?" I asked.

"It's a long story," my father said.

"Well, I've driven five hours to hear it, so go ahead," I growled.

"Ezra, I need you to get married!" Dad bluntly said.

"WHAT?!" my voice echoed throughout the office. Did Dad say that he wants me to get married?! I laughed at my father. "This is a joke, right?" Father glared at me. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

"Look son-" But I interrupted him.

"DON'T you son me, have you gone entirely insane!?" I shouted.

"Lower you voice Ezra, and remember who you're talking too," Dad threatened.

"Don't you threaten me old man! Does Mom know about this? Jesus Christ, she doesn't!" I scoffed.

"Let me worry about your mother," Dad sighed.

"I fucking knew it, Mom doesn't know shit about this!" I yelled.

"You have to do this, Ezra; there is nobody else. If there was another way, I would do it," Dad shouted back.

"Dad, what's this all about?" I groaned.

"I need you to do this to get inside information on Eclipse," Dad explained.

"But why? Eclipse is not causing us any trouble, so why are you making trouble? Eclipse is small-time compared to The Black Dragons," I said.

"Eclipse is now the second biggest gang in America," My father crossed his arms.

"So fucking what, The Black Dragons are worldwide. They don't have shit on us!" I said proudly.

"Watch your mouth, Ezra. I never said they could touch us, but they have been double-crossing us. I want Eclipse under my thumb, so we kill thier leader and then the gang will bow down to us," My father smiled.

"And who is their leader?" I asked.

"Jona Santiago," Dad said.

"And how is me getting married going to get us closer to him?" I said.

"Because you are going to marry his daughter," my Dad smiled.

"So let me get this stright. You want me to get married so you can kill my wife's father? What happens after that? What will happen to her?" I yelled.

"That's up to you. Divorce the girl; don't get a divorce. I don't give a shit what you do after," Dad scoffed.

"No, Dad. I won't do it," I said vehemently, shaking my head.

"You don't have a choice, Ezra. I have already agreed to the marriage with Jona," Dad said.

"I don't give a rat's ass what you agreed on; there is no way I am getting married," I said.

"Look Ezra, it's not going to be for long. A year at most and Jona will be gone and you can divorce her," Dad said.

I giggled. "Mom is going to kill you when she hears about this,"

"I can handle your mother. You have to do this, son, and she already agreed to the marriage proposal," Dad explained.

Stupid bitch! "Whatever, I'm out of here," I slammed the door on my way out of the warehouse. I got in my car and drove back home. This woman already agreed to marry me? She must be a crazy ass fool. I will make her life a living hell that she will refuse to marry me. I chuckle to myself at this foolproof plan I made.

I entered the house, and when I got home, my mom greeted me in the living room. "Ezra, did you speak to your Dad?" Mom asked.

"Oh, I spoke to him, alright," I said sarcastically. "And before you ask, no, nothing is okay!"

"What did your father do now?" Mom said.

"I will let him explain everything to you, and you will LOVE what he has to say. I'll be getting some sleep before the party tonight, lord knows it's more then damn sleep I need," I scoffed.

I walked up the stairs and encountered Aerith and her friend. "Ezra, this is my best friend Gianna. Gianna, this is my brother Ezra," Aerith introduced us.

"Nice to meet you Gianna," I nodded.

"Nice to finally meet you Ezra," Gianna waved and smiled innocently.

"Dad said Gianna can come to the party tonight, so she is staying for a sleep over," Aerith smiled.

"That's nice. Anyway, I have things to do. I will see you at the party," I said, walking to my bedroom and closing the door. I called Zack to tell him what had happened so far.

"You can't be serious about this, marriage?!" Zack said.

"I'm telling you, Zack, the man has gone crazy," I said.

"You have a choice in this bro, just say no to the marriage," Zack said.

"DON'T YOU THINK I TRIED THAT!?" I roared. "Oh, Damian Halliwell, you greedy bastard! Scum-sucking piece of shit festering asshole!" I took a deep breath. "Bottom line, Zack, is that I don't have a choice, I know if I refuse, my father will step down as leader, and then I will have to take his place,"

"What did the bride-to-be say about this arrangement?" Zack said nervously.

"The bitch already agreed to the marriage, but don't worry my friend, I have a plan for her," I laughed. "I'll call you later, I have to take a shower and get some rest for tonight, wish me luck,"

"I'll pray for you, brother," Zack said, then hung up.

Damian

I returned home from the warehouse an hour after Ezra left. To say he took the news better than I thought would be the biggest understatement of the century. I entered my bedroom, where Evelyn was waiting for me, and she looked pissed, but what else is new?

"Evelyn, baby, is something wrong?" I asked.

"You know damn well what is wrong with me, Damian Halliwell!" Evelyn crossed her arms.

Oh great, I knew Ezra would tell her what happened. "What did Ezra tell you?"

"Ezra didn't tell me anything, just said that it would be better to hear it from you and you better start talking or so help me god Damian, you will be sleeping on the couch for a month!" Evelyn snarled.

"Calm down, and let me explain," I explained everything to Evelyn, from start to finish, and how I would use this marriage to kill the leader of Escilpse and take control of it. To say that Evelyn was shocked was another understatement. "So there you have it, Ezra needs to get married,"

"No son of mine is going to be forced into a marriage!" Evelyn said.

"What, like you were, you mean?" I said.

"What?" Evelyn gasped.

"You heard me. If you couldn't save yourself from an arranged marriage, what makes you think you can save Ezra from the same fate," I said. "I am the boss of The Black Dragons, and I am the one that gives the orders,"

Evelyn slapped me across the face. "How dare you! You don't give me orders. I am your WIFE, not one of your men!"

"Okay, I deserved that, and I was wrong to say what I said but hear me out," I said. "Ezra is the only person I trust to do this,"

"Why can't Pheonix or one of the men to do it?" Evelyn asked.

"They are too old, Evelyn; the girl is only 18. It has to be Ezra," I said.

"I can't believe I am even asking this, but why can't you just kill Santiago without anyone having to get married?" Evelyn asked.

"If it was that easy, I would have done it. Look, Evelyn, the less you know about everything, the better," I said.

"No, Damian, this is not happening!" Evelyn said. Ezra gets his stubbornness from Evelyn. "Ezra is not getting married.

"The deal is done, Evelyn. You need to accept that. You always knew the day would come when Ezra had to get involved," I said.

"But not like this Damian, it will ruin his life," Evelyn shook her head.

"Stop being such a drama queen. It's a year out of his life tops, and he gets to stay in college; one of the conditions in the agreement was that she would have to move in with him. So, his life is not going to change that much," I said.

"No, Damian," Evelyn sneered.

I closed the distance between us. "My love, if there was another way, I would take it," I cupped her face. "Do you want to return to living with bodyguards following you everywhere? This bastard is double-crossing us, and without this marriage, it's only a matter of time before they attack,"

"Why would they attack us?" Evelyn asked.

"Because Santiago wants the power I have, and if he attacked, you know he will go for the weakest link,"

"Aerith?" Tears flooded down her cheek. "Not our Aerith,"

"Exactly. Everything I do is only for the good of this family. Ezra is more then capable of handling this. Have faith in him, he can do this," I smiled.

"If you say so," Evelyn nodded.

"I do. You know what they say, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," I said.

"I trust you," Evelyn said before she kissed me.