Never Judge

"Nervous?" Cara's driver asked Al and Cara as he glanced at the back of the car.

Al had pretended to be surprised that Cara had a car and a driver when the man showed up.

"A little." Al confessed as he gave the man a nervous smile.

It was no lie that he was nervous about meeting Cara's family.

Her father might realize who he actually was, it would create a bigger problem for Al, his family, and Cara.

Al was the perfect tool to use to get Raymond Laurence to do as they wanted. He was his eldest son, the heir to the Laurence fortune and the future king of the underworld.

"The boss can be intimidating, but he's not a bad man." The driver said as he did his best to ease what he perceived as Al's worries.

Al wanted to laugh when the driver said Cara's father was not a bad man.

He knew the truth, Cara's father had betrayed his uncle Seth and was working with another group to destroy what the Laurence family had built.

"Don't scare him." Cara said with a frown as they drove up to an unassuming apartment complex.

"We're here!" The driver told them as he got out and opened the door for the pair.

Al pretended to stretch as he took a look around the area.

He knew that his father had bodyguards following him at all times. They didn't report his location, they just made sure that Al was safe.

There was a man walking outside of the complex that Al recognized, they made eye contact making Al smile to acknowledge that he had seen his bodyguard.

"This place is quiet." Al commented as he looked around.

"My dad owns the whole place. He rents out the apartments, but since it's quite far from the city there aren't many tenants." Cara explained as turned around.

Al quickly followed her as she led them to an elevator and pressed the top floor.

"So your family is rich?" Al asked Cara as he did his best to act his part.

"Sort of, it's complicated." Cara said with a shrug. "My dad got on the wrong side of some powerful and important people, so now we are in hiding. He thinks I don't know, but I do."

Al placed a hand on her shoulder, only for it to be shrugged off.

"I don't need your pity, Al." She said in an annoyed tone as the elevator doors opened and Cara walked out.

"Miss Cara." A maid greeted as she entered, taking her bag. "You can use these." The maid said to Al as she pointed at a set of slippers for him to change into.

"Thank you." Al said with a smile as he took off his shoes and changed into the slippers.

"Dad!" Cara called out as she walked through the house, followed by Al.

"Cara, I'm in the office with your brother. Is your friend with you?" Cara's father called out.

Al had not known that Cara had a brother. This changed the information that the Dean Family Mafia knew.

"Yeah dad." Cara said as she waved for Al to follow her.

Cara's dad's office was at the end of the apartment unit which occupied the entire top floor of the building. It was probably placed at the furthest location to avoid guests from wandering in.

Inside, Al was greeted by two men who looked like the typical member of the Mafias Al had grown up around.

They were tall with broad shoulders,  but they weren't buff like body builders, their strength was more practical rather than for aesthetic purposes.

Both men had guns holstered on their hip, making Al involuntarily check his.

The Jao's had made a mistake in under estimating Al, they didn't even have him searched. But since his life was always at risk, his father made sure to have Al carry a concealed weapon everywhere.

"Cara!" The older looking of the two men greeted as he smiled at Cara.

They had the same mischievous look in their green eyes and although Cara clearly got her looks from her mother, Al could see similarities between Cara and her father.

"Dad, Colin." Cara greeted as she nodded to the younger of the two men.

Colin looked just like his father, except his blonde hair which was the same with Cara. They must have gotten it from their mother.

"Little sister, I didn't know you had a guest coming." Colin greeted Cara as he pulled her into a hug.

"What is your name, young man?" Cara's father asked Al.

"Al Reyes, sir." Al responded as he did his best to look nervous. He couldn't let these men think that something was off about him.

"Reyes, like the Reyes family?" Colin asked as he looked at Al suspiciously.

"Colin!" Cara scolded her brother. "There are thousands of people with the Reyes last name, it's literally the most common last name in the country. Don't scare my friend, I only have one."

Colin smiled and laughed as his sister scolded him.

"Relax Al, I know it's unlikely that you're related to them." Colin said with a grin. "After all, only one son is not known to the public and you're the wrong age."

Al nodded as he let out a sigh of relief.

It was a good thing that he was seven years younger than Emilio. There was no way anyone could mistake him for his cousin.

Plus Al took after the Laurence side of his family, not the Reyes side, so he didn't look that much like his mother or Uncle Cedric.

"Cara has told us so much about you, Al." Cara's father said as he waved for the pair to sit down.

A couple of maids then entered with snacks and drinks.

"I'm just glad that Cara has friends now." Colin chuckled, making Cara frown.

From what Al could tell, the siblings did not get along well and Colin was truly trying to insult Cara.

"I think it's because Cara is a good judge of character and doesn't make friends with just anyone." Al said with a smile as he defended his friend from her brother.

"Such a sweet young man." Cara's father praised.

"Al is actually pretty popular in school, dad." Cara said as she shifted the topic from herself to Al.

Of course, Cara's father probably already knew everything about Al before he had arrived.

They may not have followed him around, but they probably did a thorough background check on him.

"I still prefer Cara's friendship, sir." Al said as he looked at his friend and smiled.

He wasn't lying.

If Cara was not a target to him, she and he could have become friends.

"So, Al, tell us about your family." Colin said as he carried a sinister smile on his lips.

Something about Colin felt off to Al. Something was definitely suspicious about Cara's brother and Al knew that they needed to look into it.