Ava parked her car and got out. She couldn’t help but yawn as she got the groceries out. After working since seven am, and it now being well past ten in the evening, she was exhausted. The hospital was short-staffed when it came to nurses, and she had agreed to stay and work an extra shift. They needed the extra money and Ava always felt bad for her colleagues if she didn’t help out. It wasn’t like she had kids or a husband waiting for her at home. She looked at the house, it was strangely dark tonight. Her aunt and uncle usually would be sitting in the tv-room, watching one of their shows, by now. But there was no flickering light coming from the window. Maybe they had gone out. Sometimes uncle Jonas took aunt Laura out for the evening. Ava didn’t like when the two of them went out. They usually came home in the middle of the night drunk and loud. Aunt Laura was an honest drunk and would not shy away from telling Ava what she needed to change about herself. Weight being on top of he
Ava tried to stop her sobbing. She couldn’t stop the tears or the fear, but she continued crying in silence. The men had opened the garage door and they were now backing out, avoiding hitting her car, and started driving down the road. Ava was left with her fear and a pit in her stomach as she wondered where they were taking her. They drove for what felt like hours to Ava. But as they never left the city it felt unlikely. At some point, her tears stopped, not because she had resigned to her faith but out of sheer exhaustion. She had been tired when she arrived home, and now as the adrenaline started to wear off, she was left feeling like a balloon that had lost its air, empty and deflated. Her two captors hadn’t sad a word since they had left her house. In her mind she had dubbed the short one Mr Tiny and the other Mr Muscle. It made the situation feel less intimidating. T was just a coping mechanism, but t served her well. The car slow down. From Ava’s point of view, it was hard t
Zane walked with determined steps through the nightclub. He had been in his office on the third floor when Jax had called him and asked him to come down to the counting room. Zane knew Jax wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t something that Zane needed to deal with. He was still irritated to be interrupted and whoever had caused it would be facing the consequences. Zane smiled as two women called for him to join them. He didn’t have time to stop and talk, but he let his eyes move over both of their bodies. He made a mental note he should go back after he had handled the situation. He came to the door that led to the back area of the nightclub, he held his card up to the scanner and entered his code. He sighed as he stepped into the white corridor and relaxed as the sound of the music and the people muffled as the door closed behind him. The nightclub was a good investment and a good base of operations. But the noise of it could drive the sanest man mad. He walked along the corridor, spott
The man was clearly expecting Ava to answer. She nodded without meeting his eyes. “And your name is?” he asked.“Ava,” she told him in a thin voice.“Ava Cobler?” he wanted to know. Her name had never sounded so beautiful before, it surprised her. She almost forgot to nod. “My name is Zane Velky,” he introduced himself, holding out a hand. Ava’s eyes grew bigger as he heard the name. Oh no, not that, anything but that, she thought. “You have heard of me,” he smiled, he sounded satisfied. Ava nodded. Everyone who lived in the city knew the name Velky, it was the largest mafia group in the state with its centre in the city. And Zane Velky was the head of the family, the don, the big boss, the huge honcho, the Al Capone of the modern world. Ava felt her panicked brain spin out of control. “Calm down, angel,” Zane told her and placed his hand on her shoulder. His thumb went down in front of her throat. If he squeezed, she would be struggling to breathe, Ayya realised, but somehow his han
Zane looked at the trembling woman before him. His men shouldn’t have hurt her, they definitely shouldn’t have made the deal with her uncle. And they would pay for that. Zane didn’t believe in keeping his men at a short leech or babying them. But he had four rules everyone in the organisation had to live by. His word was law. They didn’t hurt women and children. They didn’t deal with human trafficking. No one was to sell drugs to children. The four rules were enforced with ruthless strictness. What his men had done to Ava was a violation of rule number two and a clear attempt at breaking rule number three. But this angel in front of him didn’t know that. Zane’s need to possess her had only grown. Her innocence was like a light in the night, and he was the moth. He needed to possess her, to corrupt her. He smiled his wicked smile and saw her tense up. She may be innocent, but her instincts were strong.“We need to get our money back and that is one way,” he shrugged.“How much does he
Ava felt her gut clench for the hundredth time since this conversation started. Was she really considering this?“Angel, any man that hangs around you will be interested in getting you in his bed unless he is insane. I don’t want you around crazy people,” Zane told her with a smirk.“And if he isn’t interested in women, if he is gay?” she asked. Zane looked at her with surprise. “I’m guessing you have a particular man in mind?” he said. “My best friend,” she nodded. “And you are sure he is gay?” Ava couldn’t help herself but smile.“I’m sure,” she nodded.“I could allow it if you agreed to let my men or me be present when you met, at least at first.” Ava nodded. She didn’t like the idea, but it was betting than losing Gabriel all together. If she would have to give hm up, it would have been a deal breaker.“I do have to treat male patients,” she told him.“What do you work with?” he asked.“I’m an E.R nurse,” she said, she was proud of herself for her work.“It won’t be an issue si
“Boss,” the mountain greeted Zane as Ava got into the vehicle. There was a second man in the driver’s seat. “Tom,” Zane greeted the mountain before getting in and taking his seat next to Ava. “Boss,” the man in front said.“Ryder,” Zane nodded. “Everything good?” the man called Ryder asked.“We should have no issues,” Zane said as he placed an arm around Ava. She jumped at the touch. Zane shot her a disapproving look. Ava took a moment to regret the fact she had never learnt to swear. She felt like this situation could have used a couple of good swear words. But she couldn’t really seem to use them even in her own mind. As the car started and she once again found herself in a black SUV with gangsters, without knowing her destination, she forced herself to relax her body. Fudge, fudge, fudge, she repeated in her head. Ava focused on the city passing by outside her window. She wondered if her aunt and uncle had got free from their restraints. She shouldn’t care. After all, it was her
Zane’s lips were as soft as his kiss was rough. The contrast did interesting things to Ava’s mind. She felt him drag his tongue along the seam of her lips and she couldn’t help but let out a small moan. Zane took the opportunity to invade her mouth. His grip around her neck getting more forceful. Just as Ava lost herself completely in the kiss he ended it and took a step back. She almost stumbled at the suddenly empty space where he had been. “Better than a handshake. Now, angel, I show you your bedroom,” he told her in a dark voice. There was a promise in the voice that terrified Ava. She was his now, he could do what he wanted with her. He led her to the door he had pointed out as hers. He pushed her up against the closed door and kissed her until her mind went blank again and all she could think about was his lips against hers. Zane felt his desire grow as he pressed Ava against the door. She tasted of lemons, and her soft lips moved in perfect sync with his. As he used his teeth