Chapter 11

Josiah watched as Rossalyn talked with a few of the wives of his men. He couldn't help but feel like his choice of bride was not a poor one. Though she looked a little uncomfortable, she wasn't trying to glue herself to him nor was she hiding in the corner trying to ignore everyone. She was nervous, but that was to be expected. He let her relax into the setting then signaled Mike to have the men make their way to the office upstairs. He wanted Rossalyn to be occupied while he held his meeting. He wasn't ready to include her in everything quite yet.

He made his way upstairs with the other men and once everyone was there they shut and locked the office door. It took a few minutes for everyone to get settled at the table. He waited patiently, pouring himself a whiskey in the mean time. Finally the room grew quiet and everyone turned their attention to him. He'd taken the time to think about where he wanted to start while everyone got settled.

"Does anyone know when George got back into town?" Josiah asked. He asked calmly since it was his lapse of attention as much as anyone else's.

"There isn't any telling boss. Sometimes he likes to be really low key when he comes in. There are plenty of times that you sneak in and out from his territory too." Mike told him.

"Yes, thats true. I just refuse to believe that in the space of a day, word of Rossalyn had reached back to George. So, either this attack was him trying to start random shit, or someone has been talking about things happening within my organization." Josiah said.

"Sir, I can promise no one in the organization has been speaking with anyone they shouldn't have been. But there are a lot of people outside the organization that could have mentioned something to someone without realizing the danger. You didn't honestly think you could pull off a wedding ceremony, especially something of the size you're planning, without something leaking somewhere did you?" Brad asked, a little frustrated.

"There have been precautions taken to ensure that didn't happen. Though, you're right. The risk is still there. I still don't believe that in the space of less than a day that he will have received word." Josiah rubbed his face in a tired gesture. "Still, I want you guys to have ears out to try to figure out if we can figure out what his men know. I also want security to be tightened, especially for Rossalyn. She's an innocent and I won't have harm come to her."

"We'll protect her sir. Have you shared how dangerous George is with her?" Brad asked.

"I've told her he is a rival, which is as much as she needs to know. She knows I'm no boy scout and what she went through tonight will be enough of an example of why she needs bodyguards with her. I doubt she'll put too much fight up." Josiah said.

"Boss I think you need to be completely honest with her. He's threatened you and your..." Brad said but was cut off by Josiah's stern voice.

"She knows as much as she needs to!" Josiah snapped then stood up, looking angry for the first time through the whole meeting. "I won't scare her unnecessarily. I want George pinned down and the threat eliminated as quickly as possible. The faster that can happen, the faster we can focus on business as usual. George knows the more of my focus and energy is spent on what he is up to the less I have to spare for other things. So get it done." Josiah ordered and as if he'd slammed a gavel on the table dismissing the meeting, the men stood and quickly made for the door.

Josiah reentered the crowd by the bar and seen Rossalyn looking around nervously, though she seemed to be still attempting to keep a conversation going with the women around her. He was proud of them for keeping her distracted during his meeting but he seemed to be running to the end of her patience.

"Were you looking for me?" He asked as he approached her and seen a look of relief on her face.

"You just up and disappeared on me." She said, she had a forced smile on her face though her tone was reprimanding.

"I just needed to talk to the guys about some things." Josiah said and pulled her to his side. He didn't miss her stance relax a fraction in response.

"Food's here!" A male voice called out from the back of the crowd.

Josiah craned his neck and seen a few of the guys carrying in several bags of take out. There was a small scuffle as the bar was cleared and paper plates and plastic silverware set out to one side while several 13X6 aluminum pans were set out on the bar for everyone to eat buffet style. Rossalyn looked at him in confusion, though she wouldn't complain about a meal since their dinner had been abruptly canceled.

"One of the guys has an uncle that owns a pretty decent Mexican food restaurant not far from here. There is a little of everything from the restaurant. I recommend the fajitas." Josiah told her as he gestured toward the plates on the bar at the start of the food line.

Rossalyn noticed no one was getting food yet, though she could tell that was because they were all respectfully waiting for her and Josiah to get their food first. She wanted to protest but she knew it would come to nothing. So she nodded and grabbed a plate and picked out what she wanted from the containers on the bar. As if this had been the plan the entire time, the rest of the night went without a hitch. Everyone ate and talked about the upcoming wedding as well as told their own anecdotes about their own weddings or weddings they'd attended. She didn't know what she had expected, but everyone seemed so normal and welcoming.

******

George sat in an SUV in a parking lot across the street from the nightclub Josiah had escaped to. George wasn't suicidal so when he realized that was where he was running to, he'd called off the chase. He didn't have enough men to take on Josiah when he was in the arms of all of his men. He was starting to get impatient, though. He'd been planning his revenge for so long it was starting to consume him.

"Does he know it was us?" George asked into the cell phone.

"He seems sure, though I don't think he has any proof. But you're pretty much the only one that has threatened him in a long time." A male voice replied.

"Who was the woman with him?" George asked.

"I don't know everything yet, but he will be marrying her soon." The voice answered.

"Oh really?" George said, sounding almost gleeful. "This changes the plans. Lets let them get nice and comfortable. He took my boy, lets see what I can do to take his." George said then ended the phone call. "Lets give them some space." George said then the driver started the SUV and pulled away.