A/N: Hello Ladies! Hope everyone is having a great week and staying safe. I'm planning to update every Thursday for this story. I do have a lot going on with homeschooling a 3rd grader and kindergartener, plus I have my online women's clothing boutique to run. Please be patient with me as I write and edit, which means that I don't really have time to do teasers.

Please Be Advised. WARNING: This story has strong, bloody violence, strong language, contains material that some find disturbing, and contain scenes of sexual nature.

I do not have an editor so there are going to be blips and mistakes. Please be kind when reviewing. This is purely for entertainment and not real life.

As always all mistakes are mine. Enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

CHRISTIAN

Past

Age: 23

We make our way into the back window undetected. The fool didn't lock a single one. Carefully as not to alert him of our arrival, we creep through the small laundry room and down a short hallway. We're here to follow through with orders from the head of our family. Most call him Mr. Grey or Boss but my whole life, I've called him Pop.

"Check those rooms." Ray whispers his commands as he points in the direction of where I'm supposed to go.

Ray is Pop's second in command and my handler. He's here to make sure everything goes smoothly. After tonight Pop wants me doing more and taking a bigger role in our organization. Ray has taught me everything I need to know about guns, knives, fighting and women since a young age. My Pop was always too busy when it came to anything other than making money and keeping his territory secured. He has Seattle at his feet, and everyone bows to him. He has the police in his back pocket and on payroll along with many state and local officials, making him untouchable.

"Clear." My head motions as I keep a steady hand on my weapon.

The sound of water in pipes noises above us from the second floor. Bingo. Our target is getting into the shower. He won't have a clue what's about to happen before it's too late.

"Just because he doesn't know we're here doesn't mean he's not prepared." Ray scolds when I lower my gun slightly. Ray has done nothing but lecture me since a young age and recently for some reason I find it annoying when he nags.

I was holding a gun at the age of six. Target practice was my afterschool chore. I was sent over to my Grandfather and Uncle in Italy during the summers to learn all that I could. And to get out of my Pop's hair.

At ten I had my first kill. Some punk thought he had the upper hand on my Pop. He caught Pop off guard coming out back of an alleyway. I was waiting in the car at the time and saw him holding a gun to Pop. I didn't hesitate grabbing for the gun in the console. My window was down, and it was an easy shot, clean. Afterwards, Pop praised me but also said that I took to long for the kill shot. Ray was assigned to me full time after that once he'd finished his time in prison.

By the age of twelve I'd already help kill a handful of enemies that crossed my Pop. Most kids played video games or rode their bikes or hung out with friends, but not me. No, I worked after school doing military training from Ray working to get my strength up and to be as quick as possible. Ray served in the military in Italy for a few years before he came under Pops' wing. He could shoot a man fifty yards away while on the run hitting his target on point. He also is an expert in hand to hand combat. By the age of fourteen I knew how to kill a person twenty different ways. I was made for this life even when my mother protested against it. I was the oldest and it was expected of me to fall in line and learn the business.

Getting back in position, my legs slowly start to ascend the stairs. The walls are covered in family photos of a woman with a small girl, the higher we go the older the girl becomes. Reaching the top there's a picture of the three of them. My target then the woman who I suspect is the dead wife of the target then the daughter. The pride and joy of the mother's eye. Our target looks as if he doesn't belong with this family, he has a put off look as if bored to have to be in the photo.

The picture had to be taken within in a year or two because from the intel that we received, the wife was deceased. The daughter is setting between her parents. Long curly brown hair with piercing blue stare at the camera lens with stark pearly white teeth beneath plump lips. She's gorgeous like the mother but for some reason she doesn't resemble the dad at all. I'd say she's around fourteen years old in the photo. She looks as though she should be gracing the covers of magazines or on billboards. My pulse quickens when I think about what she'll look like in a few years. Christ, what the hell, I'm twenty-three years old and gawking over some teenager. Get your shit together, Grey!

I glance over my shoulder and catch Ray mesmerized at the family photo I was just gawking at. His eyes are all over the dead wife as if he knows her. Ever since I could understand about fucking I've known Ray was the biggest man whore there is. 'My life wasn't meant to have family' is what he told me once when I asked him when he would settle down. Ma said that Ray was seeing someone before he was sent away for a few years. Said he wasn't always like this but did hide who the woman was, I was around nine years old at the time. When he return from prison I remember a complete difference in him. He was cold and hard, but his eyes always had shown a hint of sadness. Pop said that prison will do that to a man, makes you turn off all the compassion you once had. Pop had his stint locked up right after I was born. He did eighteen months for money laundering or at least that was all they could get him on. Of course, with Pop being who he was got out a lot sooner than that. After that he made sure to put people in place that won't go looking into him ever again or heads would roll in this half of the country.

My foot causes the floor to creek, halting my motion and my body freezes in place.

"Breathe." Ray instructs from behind. "Now move." He gives my back a shove to get me moving.

"Don't rush me!" I grit my teeth. I've done enough dealings that I don't need to be pushed. I've never failed any task I've been given, and I don't need him pushing me when I'm not ready. That's when mistakes are made.

The water from the shower shuts offs and my adrenaline starts to kick in. My biggest fear in life is disappointing my Pop. My whole life I've always wanted to make him proud of me, so I'd always go above and beyond to impress him. My grades were better than everybody else's, my shooting practice always hit the target, and I even changed my wardrobe halfway through high school to match his. There's nothing I wouldn't do for Pop.

The bedroom door opens, and Frank Lambert stands there in his boxers and wifebeater. From the look on his face we've surprised him completely. He tries to take a step back and slam the door but I'm on him within seconds.

I work out every day and maintain my body to be a deadly weapon. My size might hinder some, being that I'm well over six feet tall and solid muscle, but I'm quick.

"Not a chance, Frank." I've got him by the front of the shirt hauling him into the hallway so he's not able to reach for anything.

"What the fuck do you want?" He looks over my shoulder as if I'm not even there at Ray. "I've paid my loan this month already."

"We're here for something much bigger than that." I state, getting his focus back on me.

"I've got nothing here of any value."

"Oh, but you do." I grab the front of his thin shirt to keep him from going any further in the room as he tries to be sneaky and gradually move back towards the bathroom. "We have it on good authority that you're trafficking again."

There is a twitch in his left eye but other than that he's as stoic as ever. A pathological and practiced liar for sure.

"No idea what you're talking about. I've kept my nose clean and pay my dues like everyone else." He defends. If I'd been anyone one else, I might buy it but as someone who's been taught to read body language and the tone in a person's voice, I know he's full of shit.

"Then you won't mind coming with us to clear this up then, right?" My hand is by my side but I'm always on guard. You never know what a person will do when backed into a corner.

Frank tries to shove off me but from my size he's not getting anywhere. I might've just turned twenty-three, but I'm built like a train, standing six-three and pure muscle. I'd always had an athletic build but when Ray started making me weightlift the muscle piled on quickly.

Both Ray and I manhandle him down the stairs and into the living room. Ray grabs a wooden chair from the breakfast area, and I shove Frank down while pulling out the rope from my back pocket. Tying his hands behind his back then checking the binds to make sure he can't get loose, I stand in front of him.

Frank starts to plead his case now. I always hated this part, they'll do anything to save their miserable life now that they've been caught.

"Mr. Grey has ordered us to remind you that nothing happens in his city that he doesn't know about. You've been trafficking children within his territory for months under his nose."

"Please, I have a family."

"So do all those children that you've abducted."

"I'll do anything, please."

"Mr. Grey demands and expects loyalty."

Without another word I hold my gun up and fire once. Perfect aim, right between the eyes. His head snaps back and his body slumps as blood flows out of his head.

"Should've made it last longer." Ray comments. "That fucker deserved to be tortured." He moves towards the stairs and stops again at another set of photos on a table admiring them. "I'll get his laptop."

Ray leaves and I'm left there with dead body to add to the pile. Everyone always says that you remember your first. Not the second or fifth not even the hundredth but only your first. To me he's some scumbag who stole kids from their family. For some reason, my mind goes back to the photo of the daughter that's picture at the top of the stairs. The things that she and I could do together. If only she were older. She's definitely someone I'd love to have on my arm when I'm out on the town.

The backdoor handle jiggles and it paralyzes me frozen in place. The first floor of the house is dark except for the lamp Ray turned on in the corner. Was someone else here for backup to make sure it went smoothly? Surely, Ray would've told me.

The door opens and from the shine by the streets I know that it's not one of our guys, because whoever it is drops the keys clumsily on the ground then huffs. I'm on them quick. Ray made sure to teach me how to surprise someone.

"Don't make a sound." I breath heavily in their ear as I forcefully move them into the pantry. I've had this house mapped out for days and could probably move around this place with my eyes closed.

A scent hits my nose and I know exactly who it is, and this couldn't have happened at a worse time. From our intel the daughter has been placed in an all-girls private school since the mother died. She doesn't come back often, if at all, which is why we didn't see any trouble tonight. How wrong we were. What is she doing here?

She whimpers and her scent is consuming my nose and filling it with a sweetness. She's tiny compared to me, almost as if I could put her in my pocket. From the slight glimpse that the corner lamp projected her pictures don't do her justice. She looks like a beautiful life-sized fairy with her silky hair and small stature.

Our orders have always been to leave no witnesses. Even though Pop has the police in his pocket we still don't chance it. Our business is all about survival of the fittest, Pop didn't get where he was by not tying up loose ends.

Is that what I need to do now? Do I kill her so that she can't rat me out? She hasn't seen me so how much could she tell someone? If Ray sees her, she's dead. Wrong place at the wrong time is what he'd say to justify her demise. But even though I've been brought up to be a killer can I take an innocent life? She's young and has her whole life ahead of her. There's no reason to punish her like her scumbag father who kidnaps and traffics children.

I'm behind her as she faces the shelves of canned vegetables. Her small frame makes it hard to whisper so I bend my knees a bit. Opening my mouth next to her ear, her head whips forward hitting my gloved covered hand in quick secession.

"AHCHOO! AHCHOO!"

Did she just sneeze on me?

There's a murmur against my glove as I feel her cheeks move and I swear my ears hear her apologize. I'm about to tell her bless you but stop myself. I can't show any sympathy or kindness to her. I've been taught that showing mercy is a sign of weakness and our kind can't afford any of that, but for some reason I want to not be the harsh killer I've been trained to be all these years. Why is she so different? I've had plenty of women I've ran through over the years, but this little slip of a girl has me checking my brutality and orders from our lifestyle.

There's a creaking coming from the stairs and I know Ray is headed back this way from the upstairs.

"You are going to stay right here and not make a sound or my partner will fill you full of holes." I whisper with my lips on her ears. "Thirty minutes then you can come out and call the police. Tell them that your piece of shit father who kidnaps kids and sells them to the highest bidder is dead in the living room."

I let that sink in and her body starts to tremble even more. Her tears are soaking my gloved hand, but she stays quiet. She's probably in shock but at least she's following my command.

"We know all about you and where you go to school. If you don't do as you're told we'll hunt you down and do the same to you." This is the first time I've had to strongarm a female before, and I hate it but it's necessary if she wants to live. "Are you going to be a good girl and follow instructions?"

She nods frantically.

Ray is in the next room coming this way and I've only got seconds before he starts calling out for me.

"Thirty minutes. Don't disappoint me." I say into her ear then remove my gloved hand from her mouth, taking one more whiff of her before exiting the pantry. I get the door closed just in time as Ray comes in with a laptop in his hands.

"Ready?" He grunts.

I nod and we head out the backdoor that was left opened when I surprised my little invader. I'll check in on her in a few days to see if she's doing what she was told. I've never kept anything from my family before, but I don't feel the need to tell them this. She's innocent in all this and hopefully she's be able to have a good life now that she won't have to deal with her asshole of a father.

According to our intel, the mother left the father years before she died and divorced him. He was a con man who drank too much and wanted to live off the wife's large inheritance. She put a stop to it and left him while taking the daughter with her. He and the daughter never had much interaction until the wife passed away. She was sent to private school according to the wife's will and was to only give the father a minimal number of visits with her.

So, why was she here? The private school is over an hour away from here, so how did she get here?

"Was that car here before?" Ray interrupts my thoughts.

I look over to where he's nodding and my step falters slightly. I know it has to be the daughter's car or whoever brought her here sitting in the alleyway. A puff of smoke is coming from the dumpster just to the right of the car. Someone came with her. Of all the nights to make a home visit, she sure picked the wrong one.

"Yeah, we passed it coming through here earlier." I casually say. "Don't you remember? Man Ray, I think your old age is getting to you." I jest hoping it'll work but I'm sweating bullets now. I'm not sure what I'd do right now if he wanted to go and check it out, but I know that not a hair on that girls head is going to be harmed on my watch.

Ray grunts as he stares over at the car trying to recall if what I'm saying is correct or not.

"So, are you paying for dinner after a job well done or what?" I nudge him as we turn the corner and locate our vehicle down the street.

"You're paying, I had to babysit your ass when I could be out finding a woman to bed."

As he gets behind the wheel my mind drifts back to the tiny invader who I let slip through the cracks of my armor. Never show weakness is what is installed if you want to move up in the ranks in the organization. I'd like to think that maybe it wasn't a weakness but doing a good deed for an innocent person who has their whole life ahead of them.

I just hope this good deed doesn't come back and bite me in the ass later.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think! The next several chapters are going to time jump at the beginning so that we can move the story towards the present and see what the future holds for our favorite leading man. This story might not be for everyone and that is fine. This is completely off the normal of Fifty Shades and know that some will pass it up, which is fine, but please remember that ALL authors do have feelings when you leave a comment.

Thank you for reading and I hope you like my story! See you ladies next Thursday! Stay Safe.

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~Amber