Chapter 2

Amaya's POV. 

I couldn't believe my eyes. This was the so called important guest? It was like I got transported to five years ago, when I looked into those same eyes, as he ripped my world apart. 

“Amaya?” He asked, “What are you doing here?” 

I ignored his question, getting over my momentary shock and pretending that I didn't know who he was. 

“What would you like today, sir?” I asked, keeping my voice level. 

“Don't pretend like you don't know me, Amaya! I can still read you like a book!” He shouted. 

“What do you want me to say Nikolai? Thank you for ruining my life and pretending that nothing between us ever mattered? What are you even doing here? Who are you?” I asked, hurt and anger evident in my voice. 

“I… I

I can't answer that. But I'm sorry, Amaya. Please, you have to believe me.” He said, reaching out to take my hand in his. 

I stepped back, avoiding all contact with him. “No, Nikolai. It doesn't work like that.” I took a few deep breaths and let myself fall back into my stage identity as Zephyr. 

“I'll ask again, shall I dance for you, sir?” 

He nodded, the action seeming a bit reluctant, but he couldn't mask the desire in his eyes when he looked at me. I moved to straddle his hips, bearing my weight down on him which caused his eyelids to flutter closed in pleasure, his hands finding their way to my hips. 

I did what I knew how to do best, drawing out the lust of men with my movements. I moved with the slow beats of the song pounding softly from the speakers, Nikolai's fingers tightening on my waist and his breaths becoming deeper and more erratic. I felt his hardness underneath me, and I rotated my hips over it again and again, drawing out soft groans from between his lips. I refused to acknowledge the effects those groans had on me, how they made my skin heat up, and instead focused on my dancing. 

As soon as the music ended, I got up from his lap so quickly you would think I was getting burned. 

“Please Amaya, don't run from me,” Nikolai pleaded. 

“It's too late for that, Nikolai.” I grabbed the wad of cash I saw on the table, not caring if it was even for me or not and bolted out of the room. I quickly changed back into my jeans and hoodie in my cubicle, gathered my things and left the club. 

It was cold outside, so I quickly called a cab and got in, giving him my house address. As the cab began to move, I counted all the money I had made tonight, from my wage at the coffee shop to the tips I had gotten tonight. If I added the bundle of cash I took from Nikolai's private room, combined with my savings at home, I discovered that we finally had enough to settle our rent, get a decent amount of groceries and even make a down payment on a new apartment. I was ecstatic, but that mood quickly faded as I thought back to the events of earlier. 

Nikolai and I had history, if you could call it that. Five years ago, I was a naive girl in my second year in college, and Nikolai was the hot, charming foreigner everyone was obsessed with. We had hit it off instantly, our relationship becoming the talk of the campus as soon as it started. I was so love drunk I ignored the warnings of my friends to be careful, choosing instead to focus my whole life on Nikolai. 

What a mistake that had been. 

Nikolai left me the night after I gave him my virginity. I woke up to an empty bed and no messages from him, even after I tried reaching out to him. I cried for weeks afterwards, using every means I had to look for him, but it was like he had vanished from the surface of the earth, as no one had a clue where he went to. So after some time, I forced myself to move on and cleared my mind of all memories of him, never thinking about him again. 

Until tonight, that he reappeared into my life. 

I reached home and paid the cab driver, heading straight to my landlord's apartment to pay him the rent first before going upstairs to mine. I found my sister fast asleep in her room, smiling at the sight of her cured up in her pajamas. 

I took a quick shower to wash off the sweat on my body, poured some cereal and the last of our milk into a bowl and went to my room, settling on the small bed and having my dinner/breakfast while organising the rest of my money. I laid the bowl on my nightstand when I was done, tucked the rest of the cash into my wallet and put out my lights so I could catch some sleep before morning. 

I was woken up by a loud pounding on my front door. Cursing, I put on my slippers and moved towards the door, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I opened the door to see about four giant men dressed in black suits and sunglasses standing in the hallway. 

“How can I help you all?” I asked, confused. 

“Are you Amaya Kingston?” One of the men asked me, ignoring my question. 

“Yes, I am.” I replied, growing uneasy. 

“Your father owes a debt to our boss, a very big one.” The man said. 

“Then go to him, why are you coming to me?” I asked them, my mood turning sour at the mention of my father. 

“You see, Miss Kingston, your father doesn't have the money. And we've been ordered to bring you as repayment if he couldn't settle his debt.” Another of the main said. 

“What?” I shrieked, “What do you mean? Who ordered that?”

“Our boss did, and your father was in agreement to taking you as repayment.” The first man said. 

“This is bullshit! You can't take me, what will happen to my sister?” I shouted. 

“That's not our problem. Just come with us, or we'll have to use force.” The second man said, moving forward slightly. 

I tried to run, but they were bigger and faster than me, so I was caught in no time. I struggled and kicked, but the man holding me only stood still, like a solid wall of muscle. 

I heard my sister shouting as they carried me downstairs against my will, where two black SUVs were parked. I was thrown unceremoniously into the back seat of one, before he locked the door in my face. I banged on the window and wiggled the door handle, but it was locked from the outside with no way to open it from the inside, or at least, none that I could see. In my hysteria, I didn't notice that I wasn't alone in the back seat, until a low chuckle sounded out beside me. I froze, turning my head slowly to see who it was. 

Only to come face to face with Nikolai.