♕Harley Anderson♕

I packed whatever I could really get my hands on and thought I'd need. That mainly consisted of clothing, medication, shoes and a few photos. Without knowledge of what is to come, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to bring with. But I know that we can always come back if I do need something back home... hopefully. Danté didn't pack much either besides for the necessities and some cash we kept on hand. There's also a black bag that I'm pretty sure is filled with guns.

The drive to Cali is quiet aside from the Latin music spilling from the speakers. The man sings about how he and a girl are about to go on a heist and I almost laugh at the absurdity of it.

I sleep most of the drive, although it's plagued with my fears of what to expect when we arrive there. Danté informed me of what Mason said about Concord and I haven't being able to shake the feeling of fear and unease ever since. And, judging by the way Danté grips the steering wheel and clenches he jaw every few seconds, I'm not the only one secretly freaking out.

We stop over at a hotel in Redding when the sky is beginning to darken, about halfway from where we need to be. Jack said that we needed to be there by tomorrow- Tuesday- so that we could begin doing what he had set out for us. He also informed us that accommodation was taken care of although I would have preferred to have done that ourselves. Not that I'm going to start arguing with a gang leader though.

The hotel is nothing like the motel we stayed in when Danté ended up getting shot and I stitched him up in some backward bathroom. No, this hotel is clean and airy and the lobby makes sure to emphasize that.

"Can I have a room please." Danté says at the counter towards the receptionist. She gives him an award winning smile.

"For one night or two?" She asks.

"One."

She types into her computer before asking us how many beds we wanted and if we had any other certain requests for the room. After receiving our key, we make our way up to the third floor. The room we're given is themed with the colour blue and white and I'm grateful for that since it provides a sense of calm. A king sized bed with white sheets and numerous big, blue pillows is placed in the middle of the room while a flat screen TV is up against the wall in front of it. A shelf with artificial blue flowers rest below it and a door is on either side. One leads to the bathroom which has a huge shower and bath with expensive hand soap while the other is a simple kitchen. The bedroom, however, has a balcony and after setting my things down, I slide the door open and take a breath on it.

It overlooks the swimming pool and tennis court of the hotel and then the rest of the city that is still bustling with life. In the far distance, I can see the ocean and I can almost smell it, too. The nearest beach to Concord is nearly two hours away which is kind of disappointing... if I have to move because of some gang shit, I think moving near a beach would have made it a lot more bearable. The last time I was in California was about seven months ago, a few days after everything went down. Danté and I had stayed in LA and I spent most of my time on the beach, in bed with Danté or sleeping to numb the pain.

I sigh, retreating back into the room to see Danté putting the bags away.

"I'm surprised they didn't search us." I confess and he looks up to me.

"I left the bag with the... stuff in the car." He says and I nod with a smile.

"Ever the genius."

He smirks at that and I pick my bag up, searching the contents to try and find something more comfortable besides the jeans and bodysuit shirt I have on. Fishing through everything is proven difficult so I begin pulling out various items before I hear a throaty laugh escape Danté and I look up to see him holding a lacy lingerie set in his hands. It was the first one I ever wore for him and I made sure to buy it  in blue- one of his favorite colours on me. Although that night he preferred it off of me.

His eyes meet mine and I see the naughty glint in them.

"Couldn't leave this behind, huh?"

I narrow my eyes. "Would you have preferred me to?"

He shakes his head, stepping closer to me.

"No. I'm pretty glad you brought it. But," Danté says, tossing it into my bag lazily, before sliding his hands around my waist. "I'm wondering what you have on now."

I smirk up at him, slinging my arms around his shoulders before I pretend to think for a moment. Then I lean closer to his ear and say: "I'll give you a clue... it's small and red."

His hands around me tighten and I pull back with a grin before he glares at me.

"You're lying."

I smirk, turning my back on him so that I slip out of his grasp and go back to my bag. "I guess you'll never know."

It's silent for a moment before I feel his chest pressed up against my back. I pause what I'm doing when he moves my hair away from my neck and begins pressing kisses to it. I melt into him.

"Always such a tease." He murmurs to me and I smirk as his hands trail up my hips. I turn around then, feverishly pressing my lips to his and making sure that he loses himself in me. It doesn't take long before I'm being backed into the bed and I fall down, Danté hovering over me. Our tongues dance together and my skin heats up with every passing second before he helps me pull my shirt off. He pauses from kissing me and glances down at the red bra I have on. His lustful gaze sends goosebumps up my arms and he chews on his lip.

"Is this," he asks, trailing a finger between the valley of my breasts and hooking it around the center of my bra, "a matching set?" Danté tugs on the item slightly and I want nothing more than for him to rip it off.

My lips curve up into a smile before I run my hands through his hair.

"I don't know. I guess you're going to have to find out."

The challenging look in his eyes lets me know he's going to do exactly that and when he connects his lips to mine again, I peel his own shirt off, running my hands up and down his back and admiring the way his skin feels underneath me.

Soon, he begins peppering kisses along my jaw and he heads to my collarbone, sucking there slightly before I arch my back and let out a moan. He always knows the right places. And then he's peeling my jeans off and tossing them to the side. Danté's eyes hungrily take me in and he looks back up to me with a boyish grin.

"So it is a matching pair." He mutters huskily and I let out a laugh.

"Lucky you, huh?"

He leans back down to my mouth, "Lucky me indeed." He murmurs. I'm unbuckling his pants and am halfway through getting them off when there's a knock on the door. I immediately sit up and Danté curses under his breath as he buckles his pants up again.

"Who is it?" I enquire with irritation and he sighs.

"Room service. I called for dinner when you were on the balcony."

After sliding on a shirt, Danté gets the door and let's the waiter know that he has it from here, pulling the cart with the food on it into the room.

"Hungry?"

"Starving." I reply as I take the chance to slip into some pajamas, knowing that there will be plenty of opportunities to finish what we started later.

Contently, I dig into the chicken lasagna Danté ordered, knowing that this might be the last time we'll ever have a normal dinner again.

****

With each mile that we get closer to Concord, the more I find my stomach twisting into knots. I already miss Oregon and my- somewhat- simple life there.

"What do you think is going to happen when we get there?" I ask Danté and he glances at me briefly before returning his attention to the road.

"I don't know." He says unsurely. "All I do know is that we're not safe."

I had stayed up late last night, searching anything I could find on Concord. The articles I stumbled upon were... gruesome to say the least. Stories of bodies found in ditches, mutilated and tortured came up a lot, as well as fires set to buildings, drug deals resulting in shootouts. There were even stories of students at schools stabbing each other because they came from opposing gangs. I mean, how sick is that? Images of the bodies still plague my mind and I have a hard time keeping my breakfast down. I also read something along the lines of how the city is split in two with the two rival gangs having distinct territory.

Before I can say anything more, I see the sign: WELCOME TO CONCORD, CALIFORNIA and I gulp as we enter. From afar, the town looks normal. Suburban homes with neat, green lawns and swings on their porches are standing strong. Children play in the streets with soccer balls and people have barbecues outside. But it's the further we drive in that I notice the change. The first change I notice is the style of houses and the people walking around. The houses seem to be painted darker colours- browns, greys and reds- a contrast to the white and blue houses you first see in the suburban area. And then the people who walk around. Each of them have a bandana- either red, black or gold- somewhere, whether that be on their heads, around their wrists or tucked around a belt loop. They walk confidently but they glance around a lot and they watch as Danté and I drive through. But even then, there's still kids playing on the streets and the area is still quite neat and clean... it's just... slightly less peaceful.

"What territory is this?" I ask out loud and Danté presses his lips into a thin line.

"Well given the fact that we're not stopping for a few miles still, I'd say it's The Kings's territory."

I gulp but don't say anything more.

We pass a tall building eventually- a dilapidated and seemingly empty one before we're suddenly thrust into a new area. We pass a park at first before reaching the houses and I find this side a lot sadder. Most of the houses seem to be run down with paint chipping on the walls, weeds growing in the pathways, trash lying on the street. Kids don't play outside and when we pass a house where a women is busy hanging a blanket on the porch, her eyes widen with fear before she scurries inside.

"This place is a mess." Danté mumbles from beside me, voicing my thoughts and I nod dumbly.

"Yeah."

I can't find it in myself to say more and Danté doesn't try change that. We travel further, going deeper into this side which makes me wonder why the territory of the rival gang seems so much more... alive. When we're driving down a quiet road with a lot of buildings that are tall, Danté pulls into the parking lot of what seems like a bar. There's cars parked outside and people stand around the entrance, smoking cigarettes and drinking from bottles of beers. Even though it's only the afternoon, the place still seems rather busy.

"Why are we at a bar?" Is the first thing I say after Danté shuts off the car. He stares at everything for a while before frowning.

"The actual base is probably behind the bar. Or below it. I mean, this property is huge." He says, glancing around us. And he's right- it is big. There even seems to be an entrance from behind the building but we cannot really reach it. "We should probably go."

I take in a sharp breath before nodding. "Yeah." I'm about to open the door when Danté grips my wrist, forcing me to look at him. His eyes hold my gaze and I see the message he's trying to tell me. The uncertainty, the fear. And I see the pain. But more than anything, I see him telling me to be careful.

"Te amo." He says and I give him a small smile.

"Te amo, Danté."

•••
This is where the story is really going to start picking up.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter :)

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