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, spotting Jax just ahead. He was just about to ask his right-hand man why he had called him down when a loud crash echoed through the corridor. Both men’s hands reached for their guns out of habit, but neither of them drew their weapons. A woman’s loud voice screamed, Zane couldn’t make the words out, but she sounded pissed.
“Zane, we have a situation,” Jax told him.
“No shit man, what’s going on?” Zane asked. He briefly considered that one of his ex-lovers or ex-girlfriends had thrown a hissy fit. It wouldn’t be the first time. But he couldn’t remember pissing off any women lately.
“Dave and Tobias came back from their run,” Jax told him.
“Did they collect?” Zane asked, irritated to have been called down for a simple debt collection.
“You can say that,” Jax said, he looked serious. Another shriek sounded from within the counting room and Zane had had enough. He walked over, unlocked the door and pushed it open. By nothing but sheer luck the stapler that came flying missed his head and hit the door frame. Zane’s eyes followed it as it fell to the floor with a second crash. He looked up and saw an angel. It took him a moment to realise it wasn’t an angel, but a scared and crying woman.
Even with the bruised cheek and split lip with tears running down her face, she was beautiful. Her honey blond hair had at one point been in a ponytail, but now large locks were falling down her shoulders and the loose hair tie were only holding the back layers of hair together. Her pale blue eyes were swollen from crying, but it didn’t take away their beauty. The bulky sweater and mom jeans couldn’t hide the curves of her body that made Zane grow hard. The voluptuous body was calling to him. He reluctantly looked away from the woman as she hurled a pen at his men. Both his men were looking at him and didn’t see it coming. The pen hit Tobias in the chest with a light thump, before falling to the floor. Zane noted that Dave seemed to pale somewhat as he looked back at Zane. Interesting, Zane thought. Jax stood behind Zane’s right shoulder and watched the scene. The woman had another pen in her hand and threw it at Dave and Tobias, it sailed in the air between them. Zane could hear the words she was shouting now.“Stay away, stay away from me, stay away,” she shouted, over and over. She kept shouting even though it seemed she had run out of things to throw. Zane was more than a little interested in knowing exactly what was going on. But he couldn’t focus with the woman making a ruckus.
He walked around the table towards her, she backed herself into a corner, holding her hands out in front of her, shouting the same sentences over and over again. Zane grabbed both her hands with one of his and stood right in front of her, looking into those brilliant eyes.“Will you shut the fuck up!” he roared at her. She fell silent and he saw tears start to fill her eyes, her lips trembled. Oh fuck, he thought. Like most men, a crying woman scared him shitless. He would rather have a gunfight with a hundred of his worst enemies than have to deal with one crying woman. His solution to the issue was to release her hands, noting the bright red marks around her wrists, and turn his back to her. Out of sight, out of mind. He wasn’t as effective in blocking out the quiet sobs that came from behind him, but he ignored them. “Can someone tell me why the fuck my bill counter is smashed on the floor and why I was nearly decapitated by a fucking flying stapler?” he growled to the three other men in the room. The room was quiet except for the soft sobs from the woman. Zane stared at Dave and Tobias. “Since that is obviously too hard for you to answer, let’s start with the fucking basics. Did you go to the collection?” Zane asked, feeling his blood rising. If he wasn’t given some answers soon, he would not be responsible for his actions, heads would fly. There was a fifty, fifty chance that they would literally be separated from someone’s body.
“Yeah, boss, we did,” Dave said.
“Did you collect?” Zane sighed.
“We did, Cobler didn’t have the money. But he offered his niece’s services as a way to pay off his debt,” Tobias grinned. Zane felt a primal urge to punch the man in the face. He took a deep breath and reminded himself the man was new to the family, he was allowed a mistake. One. Dave on the other hand should have known better.
“Explain,” Zane demanded from the man.
“It just sounded like a better deal than to come back empty-handed,” Dave shrugged. Zane shot Jax a look and his right-hand man nodded. He knew what Zane wanted.
“Go with Jax, I’ll clean up your fucking mess,” Zane growled.
“Yes, boss,” Dave said. Tobias gave Zane a look that spoke of defiance and of a want to take back what he felt was rightfully his. The woman, Zane thought. He waited until the three other men had left until he turned around again. Even in her dishevelled state, the young woman looked innocent and there was an air of goodness surrounding her. Zane felt a need to corrupt her, to show her the dark side of life and bind her down there with him. He had never meet someone like her, and the thought of what he could do to her, with her, sent a pleasurable shiver through him. A wicked smile spread across his lips.
Ava stood petrified, locked into the corner of the room with the giant man in front of her. If the blond man had been good locking, this man was like something created from a wet dream, made into a living being wearing a burgundy three-piece suit that showed off his toned body. If she wasn’t so petrified, Ava would be drooling. As soon as he entered the room her brain had noticed him with his dark hair styled back, his pale grey eyes and a five o’clock shadow. At first, she had hoped he would be her saviour, but he had trapped her in the corner and shouted at her. It seemed he was the boss of the other three men. Ava had a stray thought if this place was filled with hot men in suits. She immediately put the thought to the side as a highly inappropriate thought in the situation. Mr Tiny had said something about her uncle owing them money and not being able to pay, that he had sold her body to pay off his debt. But it couldn’t be true. It was true her uncle used to have a gambling problem, and it was true she often felt he didn’t care for her. But to sell her to those men? No, she couldn’t believe that. And now she was trapped behind this giant, hot man. As the door closed, leaving the two of them alone, he turned around and an ice-cold smile spread across the man’s face as he looked down at Ava.
“Jonas Cobler is your uncle?” he asked. Ava’s body trembled out of fear and she tried to stop her lower lip from trembling. The look in his eyes is something that forever will be in my nightmares if I survived this, she thought.
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
Ava was awakened by a light knock on the door. She was confused for a moment; she didn’t recognise the sheets, or the bed, or the room. Last night came back to her as a freight train mercilessly ploughing through her sleepy mind. There was a second knock on the door. Ava sat up and called for them to enter, making sure the cover was up around her waist. She had been sleeping in her tank top and panties since she didn’t have any of her nightclothes. The older woman from the night before walked into the room with a smile on her face.“Good morning, miss Ava,” she said.“Good morning, Anna,” Ava replied. At least she thought that was the woman’s name. The smile she got back had her thinking she had been right.“I have some new clothes with me and some make-up,” Anna told her and put the bundle she had in her arm on the dresser. “Thank you,” Ava said.“Not at all. Let me have a look,” Anna said, walking up to Ava and turning her head to look at Ava’s cheek. Anna made a tutting noise. “Ba
Zane looked up at her.“Say whatever you want,” he told Ava. “Obviously I can’t say I’m your girlfriend. How about I tell them you hired me as a private nurse?” she pondered.“Why is it fucking obvious you can’t be my girlfriend?” he asked. She thought he sounded angry, which confused her. Were her questions irritating him?“Because you told me yesterday it wasn’t what this was. I can’t go around telling people you are my boyfriend and then pretend to turn a blind eye when you pick up other women. Anyone that knows me know that isn’t what I would do,” Ava explained. “Right,” he said. But he didn’t sound happy. Maybe he just wasn’t a morning person, Ava thought. They sat in silence for a while longer. They had both finished eating when the two men Ava vaguely remembered had driven them from the club last night entered the dining room. “Ava, this is Tom and Ryder. They will take you shopping and anything else you need. Just let them know where you need to go and they will make sure y
“Since this morning, apparently,” Ava said, hooking her arm into Gabriel’s. “And I might need your help to pick out more than a dress,” she added.“Ava,” Gabriel whined. “I told you, just because I’m gay, it doesn’t mean I like shopping,” he objected.“Please, pretty please? You are the only one I can trust. I know you will tell me the truth about what fits and what doesn’t. And I will spill the tea, and it is a really, really excellent tea to spill,” she begged. “Damn you and your knowledge of my weaknesses. It better be the best tea I have ever heard,” he groaned. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said. They headed into the first shop to start their hunt. Ava felt bad she had to lie to her friend, but she couldn’t tell him the truth. She didn’t think she would survive if Gabriel cut her out of his life. He was a good man, but Ava knew when she more or less voluntary signed a sex contract, she had become a glorified sex worker, a pet. She didn’t think anyone would like someone