A/N: So this is the sequel to Where I End & You Begin. I know I kind of left things a little bit weird at the ending chapter. There's alot of changes going on now, we're ahead 7 years being one thing. Another being that Brooke and Kyle are no longer together, haven't been for years. Brooke's dating someone else at the moment, but we'll get into that later. And Kyle hasn't had any sort of meaningful relationship ever since Brooke walked away from him. Naley and Jeyton are still going strong. Rachel is a model and Mouth is a sports announcer. Skills and Bevin have a kid. Brooke is very successful with her fashion line, Clothes Over Bro's and lives in New York City. Haley is an English teacher at THH, and Nathan is still in the NBA, but is looking into reitring to be with his family. Peyton opened a chain of art galleries in North Carolina, and she's looking to extending it. Jake joined a law firm after graduatin. And Lucas is a writer, he already published one book and is in the process of writing a second one.
And then there's Kyle lol. Well, I'm not really going to go too much into it here. Just know that he lives in Boston and has had nothing but pointless nights with different women who are hopelessly attracted to his dangerous job and his short temper. He just hasn't been the same, and you'll notice it.
I don't expect you guys to completely start loving this sequel since some of you didn't really like the whole mob business, but it's needed and I think that it'll be a very good contribution to the story, so just stick with it please. Enjoy and Review!!!
OTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTH
Chapter One: Damn the Good & Praise the Bad
There was nothing more annoying than a blonde you've never seen in your life wrapped sloppily in your finest Egyptian cotton bed sheets. And the fact that duty called too ealy in the morning to remember your name. Apparently someone had hijacked a shipment, and where did that leave the hijackers? Dead. Could they not learn by now? There was no use to trying to fight him, to try to take him down because in the end they would wind up 6 feet under with their family's tears moistening the dirt.
Kyle sighed irritatingly as he watched the sun begin to rise. At about this time he wasn't even supposed to be dressed. But the blonde had tried to cuddle with him earlier, and because of that he couldn't stay asleep. How dare she try to make him hers? Like she could do whatever she wanted? The chick was lucky she was even in his bed any longer. If it was up to him, her ass would've been out the door two hours ago. But his silented heart has spoken its opinion, and she was still here, until she woke up, then she would have to leave.
He'd asked himself the same question over and over again for seven years straight, and he had yet to come up with an answer. How had he come to this? People dying before his eyes and not once feeling bad to the point where he hated himself. He hated himself alright, but not because stupid people had crossed them, that was their own fault. He would like to blame the one that stormed away with his heart, but even Kyle knew that he couldn't blame her either.
But he could blame the bastard that caused this trauma to his soul, whoever he was. It had been something that had been with him ever since he knew of his cousin's murder, seven years ago. Constantly tearing at his brain, and at his heart, and everytime he thought about that day, what it had cost him, it made him want to do as much as kill.
A moan came from behind him, signaling the awakal of his unwelcomed guest. He wasnt sure what lounge or nightclub he had went to the night before, only that he had drank way too much, resulting in a one night stand with a woman he would probably never meet again. It was always that way though, meet a gorgeous woman, sleep with her, then she left without her dignity and with his still intact.
He turned around, his coffee cup in one hand and watched the woman slowly begin to sit up, clutching the bedsheets against her chest. She obviously didn't remember anything from last night either. Kyle didn't know, nor did he care, he just needed her out.
She looked up at him, eyes squinting, "What, what happened last night?"
Kyle smirked smugly, "I'm guessing by where you are and your current apparel," gesturing to sheets clung to her body, " or lack there of, you could probably figure that out for yourself. But you can do that anywhere but here. I have some things I need to do."
She smiled, a bit confused, "Wait, you're, Kyle Giovanni, right?" He could see the fear and uneasiness creep onto her face.
He glanced at her, "Yeah, I guess I'm pretty well known these days...."
"Yeah well, you are in the papers like, every week," she shrugged, slipping out of the bed and walking into the bathroom, probably wanting to be as far away from him as possible.
She was right. What with the way business had been going the past couple of months, his face had been in numerous papers in the area, saying that he was waging a war between certain organizations, and that he was as dangerous as they come. It seemed like the more they said it, the more Kyle started to believe it, and the more dangerous he did become.
In one swoop she was out of the bathroom, already dressed from her clothes from last night. He mentally kicked himself, seeing as she had three buttons missing from her blouse, and two hickeys on her neck.
"I think it would be best if you weren't to tell anybody it was me," Kyle said. "You wouldn't want to be in danger, would you?"
She shook her head instantly, "Yes, I agree. But if you want I could give you my number? No one would have to know?"
He chuckled, "Sure, you could give me your number. And then we could hang out and go to dinner. And then the week after that there would be a headline news with your face on the front cover, saying how you had been in a tragic car accident, pictures of your car wrapped around a streetlight. So, maybe it's not such a good idea."
"Yeah, maybe not," she said wearily, the mental images flowing in her head.
He watched her, thinking about that actually happening, questioning if that could really happen, if it was even possible. His cell phone rang with Leo on the caller ID.
"Hello?" Kyle said.
"When are you going to be down at the restaurant?"
"Hmm maybe in about fifteen minutes. I got a late start this morning," Kyle said, glancing in the corner of his eye, seeing the woman slip on her shoes. He walked into the patio, so he couldn't be heard.
"Hm I'll bet. There's been some new things going on and I think you should be filled in."
"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can. Oh, and while I'm talking to you, are there any evidence that leads the shipment heist to us?"
"Not that I know of. So far it's been quiet around town. I'll have Daryll look into it down at the department."
"Okay that's fine. I'll see you soon."
He walked back into his bedroom to see it empty and the slam of the front door singing in his ears. He smirked, if only she hadn't decided to go out last night, maybe she wouldn't be afraid for her life. But she wouldn't be, only the people that mattered. And good for him, no one knew of anyone that mattered, and he was going to keep it that way, at all costs.
Slipping on his gray Armani jacket, Kyle observed himself in the mirrior. After about the fourth year of taking over, he noticed himself slowly starting to change not just mentally, but physically as well. Of course, being the boss of the most dangerous type of corporation, you had to have an edge, something that made your enemies cringe at the thought of what you could be capable of. He was always a pretty muscular kid growing up, but now he had reached probably the prime of his body now.
What with his basketball career disappeared before his very eyes, he had to find some way to stay in shape and take out all that hurt and anger. His main focuse wasn't about a sport, it was about making himself look the part. His hair was the same, still dark and still worn sharply, with hair gel being his daily friend. There was also the 5 o' clock after shadow that he had recently adapted to. It benefited his dark looks and his luck with a lady at the end of every night.
But his eyes were a different story. Someone had once told him to open the eyes that she had loved so much. Well, looking into his eyes would be the last thing she would ever want to see. His eyes read weariness, anger, violence, destruction, and vengeance all at the same time. People say that the eyes are windows to your soul, and in this case, Kyle didn't want anyone looking into his eyes. He wasn't sure about his soul anymore. It had already been tortured enough as it was, he didn't want to know what it looked like. He would save that for his death.
His penthouse apartment was another thing to be reckoned with. He wasn't really into decorating it with nice colors, since it wasn't like he would have anybody there except his family and his businessman. But still, it had it's certain edginess about it. The sofas were a jet black with a glass coffee table, all in front of a 72 inch plasma screen. The kitchen held it's own emptiness, with granite counter tops and a steel refrigerator. There were two bedrooms and an office. The office held it's own as probably the most important part of the house, probably because it held the most importance. But there woud always be that cardboard box located in his massive safe stored in his office.
Kyle didn't even have to wonder if his guard would be there at the front door, because he was, ready with the elevator door open. He stepped into the elevator, the ding heard dimly throughout the enclosed room. At this point he wasn't really looking forward to this meeting. One being that he had to deal with something that went wrong with the weekend shipments. Another being that he didn't want to meet with his uncle because frankly, he hadn't been able to have a heart felt conversation with him since Manny's death.
A sleek black BMW was pulled up in front of the opening doors. He briskly slipped in to avoid the coldness and to maybe dodge a bullet. Dealing with this for seven years made it a little bit more adolescent to go through. He looked out the window into the busy streets, once again wondering how he had come to this life. In his head he'd like to call it a change of fate, because that's exactly what it was.
If it had been up to the Kyle he had seven yers ago, he wouldn't even be in this city. He would be in Tree Hill, North Carolina, playing for the NBA and living the good life. Even better, he would've been with her, even married and had kids. But no, someone had to die, and therefore Kyle had to do his duties, as much as he didn't want to.
He looked ahead at his driver before nodding in relief. It wouldn't have been the first time someone disguised themselves as his driver before throwing a knife in the backseat, trying to aim for his heart. Living on the edge had proved to be quite boring for the past two years. Kyle tried to maintain his modesty and humbleness, but he had come to the conclusion that he was unstoppable. No one could take him out, and after his war with Rossali had proven over once and for all last year, no one had tried to. Apart of him felt proud that he had managed to stay alive for this long, but the other half of him felt idiotic that something this ridiculous could be an accomplishment.
The car stopped in front of a posh restaurant called The Globe in the middle of a series of shops and cafes. He stepped out of the car and walked in, the door being held open by two tall built guys with black suits on and looked like they lived in hair gel.
The restaurant had a dim light to it, only open to customers at night, but this morning was a special occasion. It was shaped in a complete spherical figure, as close to a global shape as possible. In the center was bar with just about every kind of alcoholic beverage available. One one side was a series of circular couches available for the VIP section. Black tables and chairs lined the rest of the restaurant, showing it's class and expensiveness.
And Kyle walked right past all of it and straight into a black door that read 'Do Not Enter.' Inside were five different men, all of them family, all dressed in dark suits, Kyle being the odd one out with his gray suit and black shirt. They were all seated at a long black table, with five other large men standing near the door.
"What took you so long?" Leo asked, his right hand rested onto the table, drumming his fingers impatiently. Ever since that night seven years ago, Kyle hadn't been able to connect with his uncle again. After Manny died, it had all been business, and from the way things were going, it was going to stay that way.
"Give me a break, alright? I've had a busy morning," Kyle mumbled, sitting down in a seat.
"Busy morning with a woman? That doesn't surprise me," he said simply.
"What is this a life analysis? I thought we were here to discuss the shipment that almost got taken over not even three days ago?!" He yelled aggravatingly.
"Guys calm down," his cousin Tony said. "Arguing isn't going to help with everything that's been going on. Now someone thought it would be a good or successful idea to try to take over our shipment. So far we have no idea what they wanted to use them for. Could've been to just throw them into the river or maybe try to sell them off as their own, but they wanted them. Who was it? That is still up for discussion."
"Who have we had the most problems with lately?" Kyle asked.
Leo rolled his eyes, "That's the thing, we haven't had any problems lately. This has come out of the blue without any sort of warning at all. Which makes it even harder to figure it out. So I say we just drop the whole thing."
Kyle shook his head, "That's not going to happen. We're going to find out who the hell thought they could do this and not get away with it. We have to show them that we're in charge here."
"But there's nothing to go on? Look into every family that lives within a 300 mile radius? We probably won't be able to find them soon enough if not at all!" Leo said, starting to become annoyed with his nephew. Sure, he had handed the job as the boss to Kyle, but he was out of control, and now he was regretting it.
"Doesn't matter because whoever did this just set us back a week in shipment plans. We can't make a move again until the murder cases close down, or else police will think something suspicious is going on and then our asses will really be on the line."
"Our asses will be in even bigger trouble is someone catches the drift that we're looking for the family that could've caused this. We'll be in even more trouble than we asked for! So we should just let this go and intervene only when it comes back up.."
Kyle banged his fist on the table, "This is non negotiable!! The idiot that thought that they could overpower me is going to pay and I don't mean in shipments, and if this continues, they will be shut down, I don't care what I have to do. No one is going to cut me off, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let someone think that they can take me on!"
As much as Leo didn't want to admit it, Kyle was right. No one could possibly take over Kyle and the family, even if they tried they would be shut down as soon as they started. That was the way things had been for years, and Leo couldn't say that he was happy about it. No one had been hurt in those seven years, and that was because of Kyle. That determination and strategy in basketball reverberated into other things. But that revenge and that justification for the death of Manny took a toll on his nephew.
He nodded slowly, "Fine, whatever you think is best. I still have to meet with Daryll at the house to see what all is going on. When we know that, it shouldn't be hard to cut their plans off."
Kyle nodded, "Good, and once we find out what family they're from, we'll know how to deal."
Leo shrugged, "Whatever you say Kyle."
"Don't act like you have no choice in this," Kyle said bitterly. "You didn't have to hand me the reigns, nor did you have to approach me with it, but here I am beause I thought it was the right thing to do. I put my whole future and threw it away because my loyalty was with you. So don't dare and try to pin this on me, because from the way I'm looking at it, I'm doing you a favor."
The five just shook their heads as they saw Kyle walk out of the backroom and out of the meeting, clearly wishing that this conference hadn't even been planned, because now they were all taunted with the past and what could have been. But they couldn't be mad at Kyle, because he was right. He was doing them a favor, and none of them wanted to end up cold and heartless like what had become of their own blood.
As soon as the cool air hit his face, Kyle immediately felt alleviated of everything negative that had creeped into his veins prior to leaving in a hurry. He had to get out of there. To him, it was like he was being blamed for trying to keep his family safe, and Kyle would never feel sorry for that, no matter how ungrateful they were.
He scanned down his contacts on his Blackberry until he reached his dad's number. He couldn't exactly say his father was supportive of his decision in the first place. Michael Sammet knew that there was no way to convince his son otherwise, so he let him do what he felt was right. Because of that, Kyle had asked his father to move somewhere safe, and somewhere he could live comfortably and do what he wanted. The only place that Mike could think of was Hawaii, and he had lived there for 6 years. Yeah, it sounded a little bit more drastic, but Mike was glad to do whatever it took to keep the weight off his son. Plus, Hawaii had awesome golf courses, and his father couldn't wait to check them out.
Whenever Kyle was bummed out or scared about something, he would call his dad. After Manny's death, Kyle's relationship with his family had been somewhat tarnished. They still talked, and Kyle still loved them, but he would never be able to understand their uneasiness and calmness about threats. And something told him he would never get the answer.
"Hey Dad," Kyle greeted over the phone.
"Hey Kyle. How are things going over there?"
Kyle sighed, "Not so good, Dad. Things are going, well, complicated."
"What's exactly complicated?"
"Everybody's ganging up on me, telling me how to run things. If I'm not mistaken, I'd have thought they came to me wanting to take over as the boss. They seem to think that they won't get hurt or nothing will happen. Someone tried to ambush our shipment the other day, and Uncle Leo said that we should just let it go. I'm sorry but I'm not about to do that and let them get away with it so they can go after another shipment."
"Did you voice your opinions to Leo and consider why he wanted to back down, or did you just shut everything he said down like you usually do?"
Kyle rolled his eyes, "Wow Dad, thanks for the support."
"Well honestly I don't support what you're doing, and you know that. But the point of the matter is, they're your family, not your little workers where you can order them around. And don't forget that you accepted the job, they never forced it on you..."
"That's not the point! They tried to guilt me into doing it, they came to me! They made it sound like because I wasn't there that I was the reason Manny was murdered that night. So I'm busting my ass day in and day out trying to make things better and shut down the people that are threats, now if I hadn't done that, our whole family would've been murdered the first year! I'm doing what I have to do for the people I care about, and frankly I don't see the crime in that."
"There is no crime in that. It's the way you go about it Kyle. You're popping your top and yelling at the people who you're supposed to be protecting, now does that really make them feel safe and confident in you?"
"It's worked for the past seven years," Kyle stated simply.
"But that's not the point either. What you've been doing for seven years is not good, and I've told you this before. What goes on with the organization is none of my business, so I'm not really in the position to talk. But all I'm saying is that you can't be rude to your family, because they're the people you're trying to keep safe. So instead of shouting and yelling, talk calmly and rationally."
"Yeah, I'll try my best," Kyle said quietly, knowing he could follow through all of a day.
"That's all I ever ask of you. I gotta head over to the range in a few, so I'll talk to you later."
"Alright thanks, bye."
There was only so much that Kyle could handle in terms of his job. He could nver guarantee that he would never disrespect of offend his family, because he would never be able to handle his temper when it came to keeping people safe. In some way Kyle knew that he was blaming his family for the way his life turned around, but he would never admit that out loud because maybe he would have to come to terms with it, and he didn't want to let it go. He didn't want to let her go.
"Where to, sir?" his driver asked from the front.
Kyle thought for a moment. He didn't want to go back to his penthouse, seeing as his house keeper was probably still in the process of cleaning.
"Let's go to the Tower," he said, looking out the window, the glum, grey morning reflecting his attitude.
The Giovanni Tower has been built and finished two years ago. Kyle never knew that coffee beans could've made you so much money. But when he took over the business, it didn't stop at just coffee. He had extended it into a chain of coffee shops in Massachusetts and supplied ships and other resources to ship products overseas. It was a ton of work, but it did pay a big fat bundle, and it was actually legal.
Going over the blueprints years before, he considered the whole safety factor. Anyone could have had a shotgun ready from any angle on the street, you could've easily gotten killed. So he paid off all the buildings within a 3 mile radius of the Tower to not even let a stranger into the building. They had obliged, therefore things were well in that area. Millions of dollars worth of bullet proof windows covered basically everything that windows were used for.
Guards were stationed at the entrances and the exits. Another thing being that you could only enter certain offices and other places with your fingerprint. Kyle had composed a list of people that could enter his office and converse and meet with him, and if you weren't on the list, Kyle had to leave his business meeting or something of that nature and determine whether he wanted to give this person the time of day. It worked out for the last two years, and he didn't think he would ever encounter a problem.
His office was just as edgy as his own penthouse. A long, black steel desk settled itself in the far center overlooking the city and guest chair sofas right in front. There were shelves of books and different things about business. A plasma television had been mounted onto the wall in front of his leather couches. Settled in it's own mini entertainment center was an Xbox 360 with two stacks of different games. It was funny, after everything that had happened, all the stuff he's done and all the pain he inflicted, Kyle still loved his video games.
He took off his jacket settled on his couch, excitement creeping up on him, but no one would ever be able to tell. He rolled up his sleeves and slipped in one of his many NBA games he had collected over the years. It was times like these the old Kyle came back, but only for a short time, because then work called, and he couldn't afford to be giddy over it.
About thirty minutes later, his team was winning by thirty two points when he heard a quiet but stern knock at his door. He rolled his eyes, wishing whoever that was would leave.
"Go away. I'm busy!" he yelled from his spot of the couch not taking his eyes off the TV.
Five seconds later he heard a knocking noise again, but this time a little more louder and a bit more longer. He sighed in aggravation, which had been a reoccuring thing ever since this morning. He threw his controller on the couch and started towards the door, saying a prayer for whoever interrupted him. His short fuse had proven to be a thing of avoidance with anyone that worked for him.
He swung the door open to reveal his secretary, Charlotte, standing there with a half scared half confused look on her face. Charlotte had been working for him ever since the Towers opened, and she had proven to be an intelligent women. Well, intelligent enough to know when he didn't want to be bothered. He could've swept her off her feet and had her in bed by the end of her first day, but she was good at what she did and co workers did talk.
"What is it, Charlotte? I thought I said I was busy," Kyle demanded, leaning against the door.
"Yes I heard you the first time, sir. But you have a guest in the lobby who would like to speak to you," she said.
"Are they on the list?" Kyle asked. God, did he constantly have to pull teeth for answers?
She shook her head, "No, I double checked. But they were insistent that they speak with you."
He sighed heavily, "Did they say what their name was?"
"No, all they said was that they knew you from when you went to high school together," she informed him, looking at him strangely. Charlotte had worked for Kyle ever since the Towers were opened, and she never knew anything of his personal life, let along growing up.
His eyes froze, looking straight at Charolotte's face, not wanting to believe her, but knowing that what she was saying was true. Half of himself wanting to get any more information out of her, the other half wanting to just slam the door on her face and not speak to anyone from Tree Hill, some things were just better that way.
"Alright, tell them I'll be there in a moment," he said slowly before closing the door softly. He collapsed on his couch, running a hand over his face. As far as he knew, everyone had remained in Tree Hill or somewhere else, not Boston. He didn't even remember hearing anyone being interested in Boston at all, which was one of the reasons why he was relieved that the family had moved here in the first place. He would never had a run in with anyone important to him.
Faces raced past his brain, wondering who it was that had came to see him. Slowly, he stood up and walked out of his office and down the hall. Whoever it was knew all the details of his story, which left only a few people. He could see his employees look at him from the corner of his eye, seeing their boss as disturbed and confused was starting to worry them because most likely he would be taking it out on them.
He gave another heavy sigh before turning the corner leading into the lobby. Kyle knew in his heart that whoever this person was, they were from Tree Hill, which meant that he would be pulled back into his old life, again. But this time he wasn't so sure it was a good thing.