MelinaI wake up with a steady throb pounding inside my head. With early childhood conditioning, I don’t open my eyes as I scramble to remember what happened. Austin put a drug in my wine and I’m back with my brother. The fact I’m not dead yet is not good. It takes a few minutes to gain the courage to open my eyes.I squint into the brightly lit room and receive a sharp pain in my head. The four-poster bed is not my brother’s and I exhale the breath I was holding. Glancing nervously around the room, I try to figure out where I am. This could be a room I haven’t seen at Austin’s place, but it doesn’t feel right. I pull the cover back slightly and notice I’m naked. I jump when the door opens and I immediately regret not checking for a weapon.A woman with dark shoulder-length hair enters. She’s carrying a tray and smiles in my direction when she sees I’m awake. “Welcome to my home,” she says. “You’re safe here. My husband brought you early this morning. It’s after noon now and I know yo
AustinFernandez’s compound is eerily quiet. We’ve been watching it for several days. We’re about half a mile away in a barn on some mostly abandoned property, biding our time, but I’m not happy about it. The cops stayed on my ass for a few days, so I couldn’t be here to scope out the situation and had to rely on Andreas. The men haven’t seen any sign of Melina or Fernandez. We took out eight of his men and by the looks of it, only a skeleton crew is here. It fucking pisses me off.Melina is all I can think about; her smell, her voice, the velvet feel of her skin and my art on that very skin. If he killed or even hurt her, I’ll skin him alive and slow roast him over a fire for days. I need to find Melina, but I need to find him first. Thoughts of her invade my dreams and every waking moment. I cared for Cindy and can admit that now. It’s no comparison to how I feel about Melina. She’s rocked something inside me and I know I’ll never be the same. It could be good or the change could be
MelinaI rub my temple wearily. “I’m ready to work. I can’t stay here in your home without doing something. I’ll go look for a job if you’ve changed your mind about the escort service.”Mak blows out a frustrated breath. We’ve been going back and forth since the first day I arrived. “I’ll take you in with me this morning. Xavier has increased my security and if you go work somewhere else, he’ll have separate men on you, which he won’t appreciate.” She adds a stern lift of her eyebrows to get her point across. Xavier is Moon. It’s cute the way he uses her given name and she uses his but no one else does.My brother is extremely dangerous, and I don’t want Mak, Moon, or any of their people hurt. Their home is so different from where I grew up even if Mak calls it a mausoleum. There’s warmth here and love. I started working out with Gomez’s wife, Celina, yesterday and she kicked my ass. My muscles are sore but in a good way. I feel like I’m taking my power back even though Mak wants me i
MelinaThat news about knocks me over. “You were a cop?”“Yeah and don’t hold it against me. The work I do now is more to my liking.”I can barely wrap my head around it. “Is escort work legal?” I ask. As far as I know it isn’t, but Mak and the surroundings don’t add up.“Escort work is legal, what the girls do as part of that work, no. Your job is answering phones and scheduling. The men for the most part keep their requests on the down-low. We keep records on all of them and they know it. Requesting an escort to accompany them to events is legal and that’s all you’ll be scheduling. Do you have a problem with it?”“Nope,” I say as I shake my head. “Will I work behind the front desk?” I look down at my jeans and tee. I like them, but they don’t fit this amazing place.“I have the fashion consultant the ladies use coming to measure you this afternoon.” She holds up her hand. “You can spend as little or as much as you choose and yes, you can make payments. The girls tip well when they h
AustinI’ve been unable to locate Fernandez and it’s driving me insane. Moon has Melina on lockdown or I would have her back at my home right now. The waiting is killing me, but first her brother needs to die so she’s safe.I’m sparring with Andreas and he’s taking a beating because of my irritability. He taps out again and I curse, “You’re getting fucking soft in your old age.”“Fuck you, age has nothing to do with it,” he says when I release him and he scrambles off the floor for the third time. “That woman is causing you problems, boss.”My right leg kicks out and sweeps his, sending him back to the mat. “What woman?” I challenge through heavy breaths.He only laughs and rolls into my legs, grabbing me at the knees and taking me down half on top of him. I outweigh him by thirty pounds, so it’s not his greatest move. We wrestle on the mat until I secure him in an arm bar and cut off his air. He taps out and I grab my towel and head out of the room following a long sigh of disgust.H
MelinaCelina throws a punch to my head, which I block. “Getting better there, sweetheart,” she says while trying again with a left hook. Even sweaty, Celina is a knockout. Her ponytail makes her look badass. Her designer workout gear is black with a turquoise stripe slashing across the front. I want to hate her just for being perfect, which is impossible because she’s so damn nice.I block the next punch too. “I’m a quick learner and besides, you hit like a girl.” Yeah I’m on my ass after that remark, but it feels good. I like knowing I will eventually be able to defend myself. It’s thirty minutes before dinner. If I’m not showered and looking respectable, Gabriella will kick me out of the dining room. Celina and I are in the same boat and conclude our workout to keep the wrath of Gabriella off our backs.Getting the shit beat out of me is a good way to keep Austin out of my mind. Too bad it doesn’t work for more than a few minutes after I leave the gym. I head to my room and grab a
AustinIt’s after midnight when I arrive at the Scottsdale Airport. I use an air service when traveling and Andreas managed to arrange a late flight. He’s included himself in the travel itinerary and he’s back on my needs-to-be-beat list.“I’m your protection. It looks bad for you to go into another territory without me. You should have more than just one bodyguard, but I didn’t figure you’d go for it,” he said before we boarded the small jet.He was right.I’ve thought about how to approach Moon’s home since we left. I still don’t have a set plan. There’s a rental vehicle waiting, and I ponder how to deal with Moon while Andreas navigates the streets. When Victor was alive, we visited Moon’s place about once a year. Cindy came along even though Victor rarely involved her in business. Cindy enjoyed Madison’s company, so Victor gave in.We hit the tight road leading up to the front gate and two vehicles pull out and block us, causing Andreas to abruptly stop the car. I step out unarmed
MelinaI’m having trouble registering what Mak is telling me. “He pissed on me after drugging me?”“Yes. Gabriella and I bathed you before putting you in bed. You smelled like piss, but I had no idea why and Moon didn’t volunteer the information.”So many things go through my mind. “Why would he do that?”“He marked his territory, or so Moon told me last night when he finally came to bed. Who knows why men do stupid shit. I’ll put a bullet in his dick if you say the word.”I like the sound of it. “Where is he now?”“He’s downstairs having breakfast. We’re leaving by the side door and you won’t be seeing him until this evening. The first round of clothing will be delivered today and we’ll have you popping so Austin knows what he’s missing when you kick his ass to the curb.”I look down for a moment and then meet Mak’s gaze. “I don’t want to see him at all. I have nothing to say to him.”Mak sits beside me on the bed and takes my hand. “I think you have feelings for him and it all start