Moth to Flame

CHAPTER 4

Wyatt

"Wyatt, I'll be fine with Frank. Since you're going to be on a private plane, I was able to pack you lots of food. Remember I love you, and I'll miss you." Mia said while handing me a large grocery bag.

Fuck. I can't believe Mr. Sodero wants me to go to Chicago right now. 

I’d just gotten the job on Monday. It was only Wednesday and already he had me on his puppet's string. To top it off, I had to leave so goddamn early in the morning that the streetlights were still on outside.

I really didn't want to leave Mia, because she'd been acting strange since that day at the interview. I wasn't stupid. I knew there was some kind of attraction between she and Ethan. I had practically felt it vibrating off the walls of the office. My baby sis had never spoken to me the way she had at that day.

Sure, Mia could be stubborn, but she had never gone against my wishes in something so important. The lust on Ethan Sodero's face had certainly been plain as day. Because Mia was so innocent and trusting, she hadn't known what that look meant. She wasn't ready for the kind of relationship; if that was what you wanted to call what a man like Mr. Sodero gave a woman. I would not let him f**k my sister and leave her with a used body and broken heart.

I bid Mia goodbye and made Frank promise to take care of her. Then, I boarded a private plane headed to Chi-town. I took out the pancakes and bacon in the breakfast container Mia made for me to eat on the plane. While eating, my mind wandered to the past.

Mia and Mitch had been the first really good people I had ever known. I was born in Houston, Texas twenty-eight-years ago. The police had found me in a dumpster in a park known to be frequented by prostitutes. They’d searched for my mother but never found anyone, not that she would have wanted me anyways. For Christ sake, she had left me in the garbage to die.

Like all abandoned and forgotten children, I had been put in the foster care system. Since I was premature and sick most of my early life, I had never been adopted. I remembered living in a host of different homes. Most of them had had too many kids, too many beatings, and not enough food.

When I was old enough, I’d started hanging with a gang. They had been like the family I'd never been given. Most of them had been older than me, but they liked me because I was so calm. I also stole s**t without getting caught. I’d felt glad to have a family, even if we were all f****d up and using each other.

After my foster father had beaten me so badly I could barely walk, I had decided to run away. There was an older girl in our group who had a car. She’d told me that if I could come up with some money, she would drive us both cross country. I’d stolen and hustled s**t on the street and managed to make enough for the trip.

I had remembered seeing some special about different cities on television. There had been one city, Seattle, which had caught my eye. It looked really green and lush, because it rained all the time. It was still a large city, though. Since I loved the rain, I decided Seattle would be my destination. Rain made me feel like there was some force which was cleansing the world for all its transgressions. When I was little I used to sit outside in the rain for hours, just feeling it calm my soul.

Leona, the girl who drove me, had been headed to Los Angeles. She hadn't wanted me to leave because she had grown attached to me, but I didn't want to move to California. She’d liked me because I was the only guy in the group who didn't call her a w***e. In my own way, I had loved her - not like a boyfriend but like a child. Even though she was only seventeen, she had kind of been my surrogate mother.

We had gotten to Washington state in record time because we never stopped to take a break. We’d been in some hick town when my life changed forever.

I'd gone inside a small grocery store to try to lift some groceries while Leona was at the gas station across the street. I had money with me, but I had been taught you shouldn't pay for something if you could take it. I had just been putting a round of expensive cheese in my backpack when I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. In front of me had been a tall man wearing a police uniform. He’d looked mad. 

"Son, please don't tell me you're shoplifting,” he’d said while snatching my backpack from me.

I had tried to run, but he wouldn't let me go. He’d unloaded my bag and glanced at the items I had taken. Then he'd done the last thing I expected of him, h grabbed a shopping basket and put the food in it. He’d asked me if there was anything else I wanted. I hadn't trusted people back then, and I definitely hadn't trusted the police. I had been wary of this guy buying me food. In my experience, no one did anything for you if they couldn't get something back.

I remembered the cashier kept shooting me suspicious glances while the policeman paid for everything. She had known him, though, because they spoke like old friends. He’d never told her what he'd caught me doing. I had started to believe I might get away with my attempted theft.

When we’d gotten outside, I saw Leona staring at me from across the street. I’d smiled at her and waved goodbye. She had started to come over, but I shook my head no and mouthed goodbye to her. She had had tears in her eyes, but I saw her leave a minute later. I never saw Leona again, but I really hoped she had gotten the life she'd always wanted.

The officer’s name turned out to be Mitch Watson. He hadn’t been just an officer but the Chief of Police. He had taken me to his house, a two-story, white clapboard structure surrounded by greenery. Once inside, he’d started asking me questions about where I was from and my identity. I’d told him the truth and he made some phone calls to confirm.

He had gotten in touch with my social worker in Houston. It seemed my foster father hadn't even called me in missing, but he had decided that he didn't want me anymore since I was trouble. 

Mitch had suggested that instead of sending me back to Texas, my file be transferred to Washington. He had made some phone calls and got permission to keep me with him until a suitable placement could be made.

Later, he’d told me he had a six-year-old daughter named Mia, but he called her Mimi sometimes. She was at school at, but he’d wanted me to be nice to her and make myself at home. 

I’d asked him why he brought me home and why he would trust me with his daughter. Mitch told me he was good at reading people. He could see I was just a scared kid, and I had a good heart.

No one had ever paid me a compliment before, so Mitch's words really struck a nerve. He’d cooked for me, or I should say he attempted. When he’d tried to put the can of tuna in the microwave, I interjected. Mitch had been nice, not overly talkative. He was a good listener.

I had been tired from the drive, so I took a nap. Mitch had a den downstairs he used as a guest room, so he’d put clean linen on the bed and let me rest. It had been the first time in two years I’d slept without being woken up violently. Most of my previous foster care homes had been abusive, if not from the parents then from the kids. I had never been sexually abused, but I had seen it done to some of the girls in the system. It had made me sick.

That day, I had been awakened by the feel of hair on my face and the smell of strawberry jam. I opened my eyes and saw the cutest little girl leaning in to my face studying me intently. She’d had big brown eyes and dark hair plaited on both sides. She had looked enough like Mitch for me to deduce she was his baby. Mia.

She'd confessed to me that she wasn't supposed to be in here. Since her dad was on the phone, she had decided to come in to meet me. She’d kept looking at my face. I’d realized she must have been looking at my scars. They are pretty much nonexistent now, but then they had been noticeable. 

She had sighed after a while and handed me something. When I’d looked down, there was a yellow blanket in my hands. She’d told me that the blanket was hers, but I looked like I needed it more. Then, she’d taken my hand and led me to the living room. We watched cartoons until Mitch got off the phone.

Mitch thought I was still asleep, so he had looked stunned to see that I was in the living room watching TV with Mia. She had been sitting in my lap and laughing loudly with her sticky fingers playing with my hand ever so often. Mia told me her dad couldn't cook. She had already learned to use the microwave, so she didn't have to rely on Mitch's stuff. For the first time in my life, I had felt like a part of a real family.

Mitch ended up legally adopting me. The fact that he had been a police chief and already had a child allowed him to bypass a lot of steps. Also, my social worker had been glad to get rid of one of her kids permanently. She’d gotten her supervisor to transfer my file to Washington. At the age of twelve, I had become a Watson.

Over the years I had grown to love Mitch and Mia more than I thought possible. They had been there for me when I was sick and down. Mitch had treated me just like his real son, and we spent lots of weekends fishing and talking about ‘manly things’.

When I was a Junior in college, Mitch’s health took a turn for the worse. His heart had been wearing down, and the doctors didn't hold out much hope for a recovery. He'd begged me to take care of his Mimi when he died, and I had promised him that I would.

Mia had been sixteen and already developed into a beauty. The summer I came home, I’d noticed men looked at her with lust in their eyes. She’d told me some guys at school asked her out. I had been furious and spent most of the summer keeping guys away from my baby sister. Not that it had been a problem, though, I could be scary when I needed to. Thankfully, Mia had never dressed provocatively. She’d basically kept to herself, reading or walking in the woods during her downtime.

Mitch died that year, right after I graduated from college. I’d returned to Sequim to take care of Mia and the rest was history. She is the most important thing in my life. I would die for her- which is why I didn't want her near club HADES. I know what kind of s**t went down there. I had done "errands" for Mr. Sodero's right hand man for years.

Mia thought her dad had a life insurance policy which paid for her education and the house bills, neither of these things were true. Mitch's medical bills had eaten through his savings, and he had put a second mortgage on the house to pay down some debt. 

I’d known I had to take care of Mia and keep everything as normal as possible for her, so I’d gotten in contact with some people I knew with connections to organized crime. My job in the warehouse hadn’t paid enough, but I made a couple of thousand dollars driving a car from one state to another. I knew there was illegal s**t inside.  I'd go to jail if caught, but that was a risk I had been willing to take for Mia.

By running "errands", I had been able to pay all the bills and save for Mia's education. I’d made sure she never had to work so she could concentrate on being a teenager and getting good grades. We had made it. Now she was a college graduate with a job of her own. I still didn't like the fact that she took the job against my will, but I would have to get over it.

I looked out my plane window to see we are near the runway. I'd never been to Chicago, but I knew it was f*****g cold at the moment, so I pulled out my wool overcoat before we landed. 

I was here to meet Lorenzo and Stefano, Ethan's godfathers and members of the Russo crime syndicate. The Russos were a Mafia Clan of which Ethan's father had been an Underboss. Other than that, I didn't know who they were or why they wanted to meet me. Mr. Sodero had said it was necessary because of the power I would have at the club.

After the plane landed, I grabbed my designer luggage and headed down the stairs. It was super cold and windy, so I was glad I had packed my warmest clothes. There was a Bentley on the curb and a driver waiting at the passenger door. I could get used to this life. The driver took my luggage and put it into the back.

We eventually stopped in front of a palatial mansion somewhere in the suburbs of Chicago. The mansion had a huge gate in front and the driver was let through after he identified himself. 

Damn. These people have some serious money, I thought while imagining Mia and me living in a place like this someday.

A man came outside to greet me, and I was led inside. Everywhere I looked there were expensive furnishings and paintings. The house spoke of old money and expensive taste. I didn't think Mia would feel comfortable in a home like this, but I loved it. It lacked the hominess of our house, but it was so grand.

Soon, I was taken to a parlor down the hallway. While I was looking around, a man entered. He was twirling a small, dark-haired girl around in a circle. She was tiny, but she moved gracefully and had a big smile on her face. She also had a tinkling laugh, almost like a wind chime. Her clothes were very colorful but fashionable. As if sensing my presence, she turned around. My lungs stopped working.

She was beautiful. Her big, blue eyes were full of wonder and she was scrunching up her nose a bit. "Who are you?" She asked, causing the man she was dancing with to look over and notice me for the first time.

"I'm Wyatt Watson. I'm here to meet with Mr. Russo. I'm Mr. Sodero's new club manager." I answered while never once taking my eyes off her.

The man that had been twirling her let go of her so he could shake my hand. "Hello, son. My name is Lorenzo Russo. My godson has told me great things about you. I'm pleased you'll be running the club. My brother Stefano is upstairs and should be down shortly."

I had not taken my eyes off of the girl and she was staring at me strangely, too. 

Lorenzo noticed, so he introduced us. "This lovely darling here is Abigail, Ethan's sister and my goddaughter." He beamed like a proud father.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Abigail." I said lifting her hand and kissing it. She giggled and replied that it was nice to meet me, too. Lorenzo dismissed Abigail by telling her he needed to discuss business but we all would be having dinner together. She left, and I watched her until she disappeared from view.

Damn. I've just gone and fallen in love. 

I'd never been in love, but I knew I loved Abigail. Even though we’d just met; I wanted to be with her, protect her, and take care of her. I had to get to know the twirling nymph who had stolen my heart.

I met Stefano, and the rest of the morning was spent talking business. I was briefed about the Clan and what went down at HADES. It was disturbing but nothing more than I expected. There was lots of money to be made. I knew I could do the job asked of me. 

After the meeting ended, I was led to an opulent guest room and allowed to take a nap before dinner. When I awoke, I showered and dressed for the evening. 

Dinner was lovely. Lorenzo regaled us with stories of the old days while Abigail and I drowned in each other’s eyes. She was wearing a dark green cocktail dress. She looked even more beautiful than before.

After dinner, Abigail asked me to take a walk with her and took me outside. We talked about our likes and dislikes and about our pasts. Abigail confided in me that she had developed an eating disorder two years prior and was in therapy with her stepbrother’s help. I told her about me being an orphan and getting adopted by Mitch.

We talked about me and about Mia and Ethan. She told me she loved her brother but he'd become so withdrawn lately. She was worried. I told her about Mia and the private secretary job. She seemed really excited with the mention of Mia and made me pro,mise to introduce her when we got back to Seattle.

Abigail was visiting her godfather’s home to get a break and spend some time shopping in Chicago. I told her she was beautiful, and I was probably in love with her. She didn't freak out like I thought she would. Instead, she told me about how she felt she had been waiting for something, and I was it. She said her soul had recognized me.

We walked around the gardens holding hands and kissing. Although we had just met, I felt it was my responsibility to look out for Abigail. I would make sure she never hurt herself again. 

I had come to Chicago thinking of my past, but now I was thinking of my future with Abigail and Mia. Abigail was right. I didn't know her, but my heart recognized her. We would be together forever.

Because I had to leave on Friday to start work with Mia, Abigail decided to cut her vacation short and head home with me. She slept on my shoulder as we flew to Seattle. I didn't know what the future would hold for me. I did know that I had two women, whom I loved, to look after forever.  I also knew I couldn't fail Abigail or Mia, because they were the most important people in my life. I would do anything to keep them safe and happy for as long as I lived.