Zane was sitting in the dark van which was parked in an alley, trying to be invisible, which was hard for a vehicle of its size. Zane had a hard time sitting still. He was bouncing his knee up and down, staring at the com system, willing it to come to life. Jax, who was sitting next to him, gave him an annoyed look. Zane glared back at him. Zane’s temper was not at its best. Three weeks. Fucking three weeks. They had made him wait. If Zane was being fair, which he wasn’t in the mood to be, it hadn’t been Jax’s, Ryder’s or Tom’s fault that it had taken three weeks. If they had known where Ava had been held, nothing could have kept him from going after her. But that had been the issue. No one could find where Johnson had been keeping her. It had taken Spenser less than three hours to find Ava’s aunt and uncle and drag them back. That had been an entertaining evening, Zane thought. Within thirty minutes of Zane stepping into the same room as Jonas Cobler, he had told Zane everything he
Relief so powerful it almost felt like a tidal wave, flooded is system. That was until he registered the state of her. She looked so tired and why did it look like she had lost weight? But in her brilliant blue eyes he could see hope. Then his focus shifted to the man who was dragging her backwards by the arm. Johnson’s son, Zane realised. As Ava was dragged out of his view, Zane turned towards the chaos that was playing out on the ground level. Jax and his men had made progress. They were forcing most of Johnson’s men to the right while some of Zane’s men herded the guests and workers to the left. No one was foolish enough to assume the guests and workers were harmless. They all knew there could be numerous guns, knives and other things hidden amongst them. They would be searched and dealt with when this thing was over.“Found the item,” Zane shouted. Jax, Ryder and Tom looked at him and he glanced toward the stairs, they all nodded. There was an effort made to clear the way to
Ava woke up feeling dazed. Her mind was fuzzy and it took her a minute to start to remember what had happened. She tensed up as she remembered the small room she had been in the last weeks. Then she realised she was home, no, not home. She was in Zane’s bed. Someone was holding her hand and she squeezed it as a way to relax. “Ava?” She heard Zane say and she turned her head towards the sound. Zane had pulled up one of the armchairs next to the bed and was sitting in it, holding her hand. Ava smiled at him and felt herself relax. He looked tired but he returned her smile.“Hi,” she said, her voice sounded hoarse and dry.“Hi, angel. How are you feeling?” he asked. Ava thought about it. She had a feeling she should be in a lot of pain, but she wasn’t. “Fine, a bit fuzzy, like my brain is wrapped in a soft cloud. And I’m thirsty and I think I’m a little hungry as well,” she told him. Zane reached out with his free hand and stroked her hair. “You are on some heavy
Zane was looking at Ava and at the spot on the bed next to her, but he didn’t move. Ava looked back at him and wondered what was going on. “Come on,” she said, patting the spot again.“I’ll just sit here,” he told her, heading toward the chair he sat in when she had woken up.“Why? I would like you to sit next to me,” she asked.“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.“Don’t be silly. Gabriel was sitting there not five minutes ago. Come on, let’s have a talk,” she told him. Slowly, with hesitant steps, Zane rounded the bed and gently got on it. He watched her to see if she was uncomfortable or in pain. Ava just smiled at him patiently. As he sat down facing her, he took her hands in his and looked intently at them. Ava just let him be. He had something he needed to talk about, and she would give him the time to think it through.“I’m sorry,” he said, looking up at her. That was not what Ava was expecting. “For what?” she asked, genuinely surprised. Zane sm
Ava looked up at Zane with big eyes.“But…,“ she started.“No but. You need to stop doing things that put you in danger, angel. But we will save the punishment for later. Now relax,” he told her, and he savoured the feeling as she made herself comfortable in his arms. Having her back where she belonged felt amazing, like the world suddenly made sense again. Her body felt too angular and thin, and her hair had lost its shine. But he didn’t care. She was back in his arms, in his bed, and he had told her he loved her. Zane still had a hard time believing she loved him back, and she forgave him. He didn’t forgive himself and would spend the rest of his life making it up to her if she would let him. A cold hand clutched his stomach as he remembered he didn’t know what they had done to her. He knew she had been beaten from the pictures. Linda had told him she had seen all the signs of starvation and dehydration. But other than that, Zane had had plenty of time to think about what
Ava was slowly healing and getting her strength back. The first days she had been on a strict diet which Linda had ordered. But as the week moved on, she gradually could start eating like normal. Zane made sure she got all her meals and snacks in their room. He also made sure she had dessert with every meal. As he had told her, he didn’t leave their room. He was constantly by her side. If he needed to work, he did so from the armchair by the TV. He helped her to the bathroom, and he helped her to shower whenever she wanted to. There was a constant stream of people coming to visit Ava. She was moved by how most of the men, some she had only met in passing, came by to look in on her. She made it a point to thank each of them for helping to rescue her. Then there was Anna. She made sure to bring Ava’s meals herself and stayed to talk a little. Tom and Ryder were almost in the room as much as she and Zane. Ryder was looking better by the day as Gabriel was finally talking to him, even t
Zane looked down at Ava, she was licking his still hard cock clean. She had not let go of his gaze and Zane admired the way the rhinestones sparkled in the soft light. His wicked angel. “On your feet, angel,” he told her and she gracefully got up. It was evidence of how far along she was in her recovery. She had been right, he was trying to hold back, trying to not acknowledge how much better she was. Because if he did, he would have to let her go out into the world. And that scared the shit out of him. He just wanted her safe. But as he drew her into his embrace, kissing her like he had wanted to kiss her since she woke up, with a scoring heat. He knew he had to give in and let her keep going on with her life. “You have been a really good girl, time for your reward. On the bed, angel, on your hands and knees,” he told her. He saw the happy smile which appeared on Avas face as she almost skipped over to the bed. She was a needy little angel, he thought as he stripped out of his
It was time for Ava to deal with things. She had let Zane keep her in their room, with brief visits to the kitchen and the library, for weeks. She felt much better, especially since Zane had stopped thinking she was too frail for sex. Ava almost felt like her old self again. No, that wasn’t entirely true. She felt like a new and improved version, Ava 2.0. Somehow her time with Johnson had given her a little more confidence, and the fact she knew she had Zane and Gabriel in her life left her with a sense of security she hadn’t felt since she was a child. It was time she put this new version to the test.“I want to see my aunt and uncle,” she told Zane as they were eating breakfast. Ava had convinced him they should start having their meals in the dining room and not the bedroom. It felt like a good sign he had agreed. “No.”“You said it was my decision what happens to them,” she objected.“It is. You will tell me what you want, and I will make it happen. No where is
Ava sat at her desk, she had gone through the last of the reports regarding the latest batch of potential new clients. She had selected three she thought had potential. The rest would get a kind refusal letter, telling them the firm had to mush on their plate to take them on as clients, but they could recommend the attached list of accountant firms. Gabriel’s and her business were blooming. They had stopped looking for new clients as they had their hands full with their existing ones and the ones who asked to join. There was ha knock on the door and Tom opened the door.“We need to get going in ten minuets if you want to have time to get ready, Mrs A,” he told her. “Thank you, Tom. Could you make sure these three potential clients get wetted? I’ll just say bye to Gabriel and then we can go,” she told him. He nodded and took the folders from her. When Ava had started working from the office, Zane had insisted she needed a bodyguard. Since Tom’s injurie, his wife had become s