Chapter 6 - Introduction

Hazel POV

“Come here, darlin’”, I hear a man call out to me. I shake my head slightly, but I walk to him. I know better than to cause a scene in this kind of environment. I know better than to disobey the man in these meetings, they are all dangerous, and although I like to live dangerously, I still like actually to live.

I walk to him slowly, and he places both his hands on my hips, making me gag. I close my eyes, trying to avoid a scene of me puking all over him. His hands feel wrong touching me. The cute guy, all of a sudden, stands up with a gun in hand, and I try my best not to gasp in horror. It’s not that I have never seen a gun before, because I have, but no one has ever pointed at someone to defend me. “Our present has arrived, gentleman”, the guy says, and I swallow my tears and the bile that has risen from my stomach into my mouth.

“Leave”, he says with the most dangerous tone I have ever heard in my life. His entire body is positioned in the way of power. I nod my head, and when I start turning to leave, the guy behind me pulls me to sit on his lap. I feel the tears threatening again as memories from my past start to come back. I want to avoid them because this is not the place to remember the most traumatic event of my life.

“Someone should fucking teach you some manners on how to treat a woman”, The guy says, and I mouth a small thank you, but his eyes are not on me. They are on the guy behind me, placing his hands on my legs. My eyes are wide, and I feel like I could pass out any second with the horror of being touched without my consent. I might be tough, and I might be mouthy, but I am scared too.

“Are you going to be the one to teach me a lesson, boy?” he asks, and the guy takes one step closer, his eyes moving to me as he points the gun at his face.

“Might be. I said to leave”, he says, looking at me with such intensity that it wakes up all over my body, making my hairs stand. The guy lifts his hands up from my body, and I walk out. I walk without looking back, biting my lower lip to try and avoid crying. What did he mean I was the present? Did Pavlov send me to be raped and used by all those men?

I get back into the car and sit quietly in the back. I put my seat belt on and look out the window. I am biting my tongue to stop myself from crying. I knew that there was more to this trip than Pavlov let on. He was going to make me fuck those guys there. I was their present. Theirs to share. I feel anger bubbling up inside of me. I feel like I am about to explode. That fucking asshole.

“You’re very quiet”, Gorilla B says and I just nod my head as he looks at me. I can see he is looking back at me. He then looks at his friend and shrugs his shoulder. When we reach the hotel again, I walk inside without looking back. Inside the elevator, Gorilla, A looks at me. “Cat got your tongue?” he asks, and I don’t know where all my anger came from.

I smash my fists into his chest. He watches me as I scream and slam my hands against him, trying to get my frustration and my anger out of my system. Gorilla B pressed the stop button, and I rested my back against the wall as I felt the tears streaming down my face.

“Are you okay?” Gorilla B asks, and I nod my head as I take deep breaths trying to steady myself. He puts a finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him.

“What happened in there?” he asks, and I shake my head, cleaning the tears from my face with the back of my hand.

“Nothing, I want to go home”, I say. They both look at me weirdly as they drive me to the hotel. I go straight to the room as we arrive, followed by them. As I am about to close the door, A stops with his hand. I take one step back. I don’t need this. I close my eyes, waiting for the impact, waiting for him to grab me and have his way with me.

“Hey, what happened in there?” he asks as he puts one hand under my chin. I look him in the eye, and I can see kindness. I can see he is not going to hurt me. B walks into the room, closing the door behind him as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“They… Your boss, he….” I can’t find the words, and as if realisation hit them in the face, they both take one step closer to me and wrap me between their arms. They feel warm and comfortable. They feel at home, and I allow, for the first time in years, to cry about my past and about my present. I allow myself to feel complete. I sob between their massive bodies as they both stroke my back. When I stop and pull away, A pulls a face.

“You look ugly, and you better get that sorted”, he says, pointing at my face. I giggle a little, clearing the mascara that has melted down my face with the back of my hand. “I’m Angel, and he’s Derick”, A says, and I nod my head.

“I kind of prefer the names I gave to you in my head”, I let out, taking my shoes off. They both look at me, frowning as if asking what I had baptised them in my head.

“Gorilla A and B”, I say, pointing at them. They both look at each other and then look at me in shock. They shake their heads.

“Get comfortable for dinner. We have a table booked in the restaurant in two hours”, A, I mean Angel, says. I nod my head before both guys leave the room. I stand in the middle of the room with my hands on my waist, looking around. I look in the mirror with horror at my image. I decide a shower is a way to go. When I am done, I get dressed in Denim jeans and a white top. I look out of the window, and it’s dark and raining. A proper winter day.

I go downstairs to the restaurant, and when I arrive, the guys are already there, still in their black suits but without their ties. “Dressing casual, I see”, I say as I sit in front of them and they both smile, shrugging. The waitress brings the menu, and we order some drinks when Angel starts talking. I have to say I got them both wrong. They both look tough and evil, but they are really nice guys. I could get used to them.

“So, how did you get involved in all of this?” Derick asks, and I shrug as I shove a green olive onto my mouth before taking a sip of my martini.

“My mom is sick, and I needed the money”, I say, trying to dismiss it, and they both nod their heads. “What about you?” I ask, and they both look at each other.

“Pavlov is my brother”, Angel says, and I open my eyes widely. What the actual hell?

“Really? You two look nothing alike”, I say, and to be fair, they behave nothing alike.

“What can I say? I got the good DNA”, he says as he chuckles. I nod my head as we keep chatting, and they actually make me laugh.

I am caught by surprise when I look up and see those beautiful green eyes watching me. Without hesitation, Angel and Derick stand up, and I follow them, resting one hand on each of their arms. They both look at me, keeping their hands inside their jackets while the man stands in front of us with his hands in his pants pockets.

“Are you okay?” he asks, looking between the three of us, and all I manage to do is nod my head. “Thank you”, I say, and he nods his head as he keeps his eyes trained on Angel. It is like they are both ready to pounce on each other and fight to the death.

“Would you like to join us?” I ask stupidly, and Angel shakes his head, looking at the man. He shakes his head and takes one step back. “I don’t want any trouble. I just wanted to make sure that the bastard didn’t hurt you”, he says, and Angel looks at me frowning and then back at the guy.

“Thanks to you, he didn’t”, I say, and he nods his head.

“Okay then, I’ll leave you to it”, he says as he turns around to leave.

“What’s your name?” I ask awkwardly, and he turns to face me as if in shock. He looks at the boys and then back at me.

“They know”, he says, and they both keep their eyes on him.

“I’m Hazel”, I let out, and he nods his head.

“Stay out of trouble, Hazel. I might not always be around”, he says as he walks away, and I am left speechless watching him walk away. His ass is perfection, and I swear I could smack my hand and break it. I lick my lips sitting back down, and Angel grabs my hand forcing me to look at him.

“Stay away from the Irish. My brother won’t like to know you have something with one of them”, he says, and I nod my head. I am losing the courage to ask the stranger’s name.

“What is his name?” I ask, looking between them, and they keep their mouths shut and go back to the quiet and inquisitive guys they were before. Freaking great.