"You gonna run on me again?" Michelle Stewarts asked, Alex Howell, her newest case. This was not just any placement for Alex though. Social Services finally found her biological father, and while they weren't exactly pleased with the placement the law states that a child must go to the closet living relative for placement. It wasn't like Alex was a horrible girl, she was just better at living on the streets than she was in a nice two story brownstone walk-up, plus none of these places would have ever let her have Kovu, the pup she saved when she was only 10 years old. He was her only family; he always protected her when she was asleep. Everyone knew not to mess with the girl and her German shepherd. In the three placements that she has been in since her mother died a year ago, she had only actually stayed where she was supposed to for a total of four days. The rest of the time was spent on the streets, living the only life she knew, the life her mother taught her to live.
Alex simply shrugged her shoulders. This time she wasn't really sure what she wanted to do this time beforehand; she knew she would have to find a way to get Kovu back from Jack though. She was finally going to meet her real father; the man everyone feared in South Boston. She had heard rumors, seen a picture, but her mother forbid her to ever go see him. Living on the streets wasn't an easy task, especially with her mother's line of work or extra-curricular activities. But no matter how bad times got they were never supposed to have anything to do with father. He was never to know that she existed, and especially not that she was in fact his. For that led to one thing and one thing only, their death. But now her mother was dead on her own accord, and Alex was not the one to tell her father he had a child, that was the states job. And now she had no choice but to go to the forbidden South side to not only meet, but to live with the father she was forbidden to know. So was she going to run? For once she truly didn't have any immediate plans to, but things changed and in her world they tended to change really fast.
"Here we are." Michelle stated, as she put her car in park. They both simply just sat back in their seats and watched the world outside the car. Michelle sent a text from her phone; she was from this side of town and even grew up with the Alex's mother and just like everyone else from this side of town, feared her father. When she had found out her next case was his daughter she about fell out of her chair. Everyone knew Billy Darley didn't have kids. If such a thing deemed to happen, you either got an abortion or you got the shit kicked outta you by one of his boys, causing a miscarriage. But under no circumstance did you have the fucking kid. And yet here Alex sat, waiting to meet the father that never wanted her.
"They are coming down." Alex turned her head in confusion. "I told you earlier, my cousin is one of your father's lackeys." Michelle said with a slight tone, that let Alex know that it wasn't exactly a happy fact, and a sigh that stated it was clearly a fact that was never going to change. "And there they are." Alex turned her head to look out the window at the five men who were walking toward the car. "You can get out whenever you are ready." With that said Michelle got out and hugged the man with the tattoo on his face, and shake the hands of the rest of the guys, all except the bald guy.
Alex knew who he was, and knew that he was looking right at her. Michelle tapped the hood of the car, gaining her attention. She waved for her to join them. Alex simply looked out the passenger window, trying to ignore them and trying to figure out exactly what emotion was going to win out. Her curiosity to know the man now standing in front of her, anger at him for never wanting her and at her mother for keeping her away from so long, or nervousness and scared to not live up to what he expected. She jumped when she saw that someone had come to her side of the car. When she looked back at the front everyone else was walking toward the building, as her door was opened. The later of her emotions won out in the end. Her leg was jumping involuntarily and her hands held a slight tremor.
"You gonna come outta there or what?" A deep voice questioned. Alex looked up into her father's eyes for the first time in her life. Realizing she had no choice now, she unbuckled her seat belt, got out, throwing her book bag over her shoulder and stood in front of her father. He towered over her by about a foot, but she was only sixteen and clearly still growing. Her mother always did say that she got her height from her father. He looked her up and down, realizing she was definitely her mother's daughter, good for her, bad for him.
"So you're Kayla's kid." Alex simply shrugged her shoulders; she knew she looked like her mother, hell everyone who ever saw the two of them together thought they were twins. "Right, come on. I got shit to do and I don't need Michelle around while I do it." He stated in an exasperated tone. With that he motioned with his hands for her to walk. Waiting a beat behind him, she took in a deep breath let it out and slowly began to follow. Not exactly what most people would expect for a long lost father/daughter reunion, but hey it was Billy "Drug Lord" Darley, she was lucky he didn't shoot her on the spot. They walked back to the apartments, finding everyone else on the third floor, last apartment on the left.
"There you are. Glad to see you actually got out of the car and made it to where you were supposed to." Michelle stated as they entered the apartment. The first house they ever tried to put her in, her case worker left her in the car and when he came back she was nowhere to be found.
"We good here?" Billy questioned annoyance clear in his tone.
"Yeah, here is the files and paperwork. Sign it and bring them to the address, court date is in two months, I will be conducting the visit between now and then so you should be good on that front, she has already been enrolled in the high school and all the other contact info is there. Only thing you really need to worry about is if she runs again, you-"
"What the hell do you mean if she runs?" Billy barked, as everyone looked at Alex, who adjusted her bag and admired her shoes. She still wasn't sure if she was staying or not, but she did notice every way off the third floor.
"Billy I told you, everyplace we try to place she takes off. So if she takes off on you, you need to notify not only me but the police as well." Billy raised his eyebrow, like he was gonna fucking call the police. "And you better call the police within 48 hours or it's gonna be your butt that is questioned and in trouble." Billy looked at Alex and nodded his head once. He was surprised with himself for wanting to know to know not only why she ran away, but if she would dare run from him, too. He never wanted a kid, which was well known especially with one of the women he hooked up with most of them were prostitutes and junkies. At least Kayla was one who knew how to handle herself and a kid apparently. Unfortunately it also made him wonder that if one whore could hide a kid, it made him wonder if he had any other kids out there. He threw the thought away and tried to make himself just focus on his flesh and blood that was in front of him. Hell he was only thirty and this girl was either fifteen or sixteen; somehow Kayla had kept her hidden for a long time. The thing that pissed him off though was that he had seen Kayla not even a month before her death, she was a great fuck and all he had to pay her with is one little baggy, of whatever he had on hand.
"Well, if there are no more questions." Michelle knocked Billy out of his thoughts. Billy shook his head no. "Alright then, Alex. I'm gonna repeat what I told you earlier. You run again, you go to Juvey until you are eighteen. So stay put. I'll be back to check on you periodically. Talk to you guys later then." With a pat on Alex's shoulder, she was gone. Leaving Alex alone with all the guys, she didn't care about them but Billy couldn't keep his eyes off of her.
"So there is another Darley. Glad I'm not the youngest anymore." The smallest guy of the group spoke up. Alex raised a brow in confusion. She looked from the runt to Billy and back again. "I guess I am your uncle. Huh, an uncle at 25 that is kind of funny. Anyways I'm Joe. I live here too." Alex simply nodded her head in understanding and took a look at the other guys. Joe looked to Billy who only nodded his head at him. Joe introduced all the guys around; the only thing that showed that Alex was paying attention was her nod at each name. When Joe finished everyone in the room simply looked at Billy expectantly. He took a deep drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke out.
"Dog, Baggy, Joe at the corners. Jamie, Heco at the office. Tommy and Bodie checking on the girls and other lackeys. Cell's on." With that they all grabbed their things and left; Joe was the only one who acknowledged her as he left with a quick smile as he passed.
"Come on I'll show you were you can put your stuff." Billy said as Bodie closed the door behind him, as the last to leave. Alex followed Billy down the hall as he explained what each door was.
"Closet, Joe's room, bathroom, and here is where you will be. My room is the door at the end of the hall, the door beside it leads to my bathroom and closet." Once that was explained he opened the door to what was now to be her room. It was plain white, with dark blue carpet; the only furniture in the room was a bed, dresser, and a night stand with a lamp and alarm clock. It was apparent that the room was just cleaned. Alex walked in and put her bag on the bed, and went to look out one of the window; she quickly noticed the fire escape right out her window. Damn some places just made it too easy for her.
"You got other stuff we need to get or what?" Billy asked. Alex's mind quickly went to Kovu, but again only shook her head in response. Billy wasn't sure what to make of the girl. She still hadn't even made a noise let alone speak and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was clear that she wasn't sure what to make of him either, but then he always appreciated a girl that knew when to keep quiet.
"Look get settled in and do what you need to do. I need to make some phone calls and do some shit." When Alex nodded her head and watched as Billy left the room and closed the door.
"Seriously, couldn't even challenge me a little?" Alex stated aloud to herself as she walked to the door and flipped the lock. She quickly threw her backpack back on and opened the window to the fire escape took one last look back into the room and stepped out. Time to go get Kovu, six days away from Kovu was way too much.
Alex caught the two guys on each corner of the building watching the exits, had to wait twenty minutes before she found her opening. Thank god for gang members and their inability to control their sexual urges when it comes to hookers. Right now the one called Baggy was totally immersed in two obvious hookers that were most likely just coming off their shift. Only made Alex wonder did anybody in the building not work for Billy. After escaping the block, it took Alex forty-five minutes to make two pit stops and to locate Jack. He tended to move around and it took a total of four different spots before she finally found him.
"Damn, poor Kovu thought you were never coming home." Jack said as a greeting, while Kovu was giving his own greeting by jumping all over Alex, barking and licking her whenever he could. "Please, unlike you he knows that will only happen if I am dead and buried. And we both know how hard that is." Jack simply laughed, knowing how true that statement was for the girl. "Oh here I got you both something, while I was away." Alex pulled out a ham bone, which Kovu took immediately and laid on his bed to enjoy, from a butcher friend that always threw out the bones but saved one a week for Alex, and then she pulled out a Chipotle bag. "Chicken bowl? Damn, girl knew I loved you for a reason." Jack stated as he took his and took a seat on the couch. "So why did it take you so long this time? Getting rusty in your old age?" Jack asked with a full mouth.
"Got stuck in Juvie for five days." Alex explained, while digging into her own chicken burrito.
"And what about today? Got placed in another 'Lovely' little country cottage?" Jack stated with a laugh.
"Nope, she got stuck with me." A deep voice called from the doorway. Jack jumped so high his chicken bowl dumped all over the place, and Kovu immediately ran to Alex and guarded her, bearing teeth at the intruder, no intruders.
"HOLY SHIT! Your fucking Billy Darley." Jack stated, he knew Kayla had told Alex that Darley was her father, but no one ever believed her because everyone knew Billy's reputation when it came to having kids.
"Thanks captain obvious I think we know who we are. Now who the fuck are you?" Joe growled from the opposite side of the room. Making Kovu back right into Alex's legs, who still sat on the couch eating her food. Her only acknowledgement of the activities was to tap her leg and making Kovu calm down, and simply sit beside her.
"Ummmm…well you see. I am well. I knew Alex's mother." Jack finally stuttered out.
"Yea name someone who didn't." Bodie called out, with an all knowing look.
"Right, well Kayla and Alex usually crash at one of my places. Alex is like my own kid." Jack quickly explained. But that last part got a growl out of Billy.
Everyone was on guard as they felt the anger roll off of Billy; Jack was literally shaking especially since he didn't know exactly what had just pissed of the notorious gang lord.
"STOP IT." Alex growled out, taking everyone in the room by surprise. For her first time to talk to any of them and it was to yell at Billy, damn girl had guts. As she took a final bite of her burrito and handed the rest to Kovu, who quickly ate it. She got up and went to stand between Billy and Jack.
"Alex, it's ok." Jack stated, as he tried to stop the girl from getting in between them, he couldn't fathom something bad happening to her.
"He won't fucking hurt her, asshole." Joe jumped to defend his brother when he realized what the guy was actually thinking. "She's blood. Darley's don't fucking hurt blood." With that Alex's eyebrows went to her forehead. Everyone knew that there was nothing but bad blood between the Darley boys and their father.
"How the fuck did you find me." Alex asked clearly annoyed.
"You really think I wouldn't know when you went out the window. Hell I was expecting it after listening to Michelle go on and on about how many damn times you ran off." Billy stated, impatiently. "Hell, Bodie was sitting in his car waiting for you to make your move." This surprised Alex, Bodie must be good because she never even noticed him and it had been ingrained in the to notice everything around her.
"OK, so you found me. Leave." Alex stated as she turned her back on Billy and went to go back and sit down. Only problem was Billy's arm snaked out and vice gripped her upper arm twisting her right back to him, before he let it go.
"Sorry little girl, but that ain't how shit is gonna work." Billy stated in the calmest voice anyone had ever heard. And in nothing but Darley fashion Alex stood toe to toe with her father in complete and utter defiance.