Liliana"What do you mean it's only worth three hundred dollars? I can tell you right now that this bracelet was probably at least four figures!" I tell the third and last pawn shop owner."I'll give you four hundred tops for it." The slimy owner states, looking bored.There isn't much I can do about it; this shop is willing to pay the most, but I try again, "How about six hundred?"Looking annoyed now because he's trying to watch a horse race on the old static television that sits in the corner of the counter, he gives me his last offer: "Five hundred. Now, either take it or get the hell out of here!""Okay, I'll take it." I hand him the bracelet and the box, and he gives me five crisp one-hundred-dollar bills.I can't leave the foul-smelling shop any faster than I already am. The whole place has a haze of smoke from the owner's cigar; he must chain smoke daily...sheesh. Tucking the money away in my duffel bag, along with the rest of my savings, I head for the bus station. Even if I
LilianaI stare up at Heath and remember all the times that I wish he had seen me as a woman when we were younger, and now, here we are. He sees me as a woman who he wants to teach, but does this mean that he likes me that way, or is he only trying to be nice? "Do you want to teach me?" I ask my own question. His dimples poke out as he grins that boyish grin that I've always loved. "I would love to teach you this and so much more if you'd let me." He caresses my cheek, and I lean into his hand. "Let's forget the movie for now," he says as he takes my hand and pulls me up from the couch. I know exactly what he's thinking and I don't know if I'm ready for that just yet, and I tell him so. "Heath, I don't know about the rest. At least not yet." "It's okay, Lily. There is no rush for all that. Let's go to the bedroom and get comfortable, and I will teach you the basics while we wait for the food to arrive.""O-okay." I let him pull me into his room.I've been sleeping on his couch the
JarekIt's been a whole fucking week, and Liliana has somehow disappeared. How one simple girl can fall off the radar as she did is beyond me. Yeah, she pawned off the bracelet, but that asshole only gave her a measly five hundred dollars, where I had paid four grand for it. I'd thank him because without the money that she should have gotten for it but didn't, she won't get too far, yet I want to beat the fucker for swindling my pauper.However, even without the money, Liliana has still been able to evade me. She has to have someone helping her—I'd bet my life on it, but who the hell could that be? My pauper has no friends.Scrolling through my email, I come across one from Carl that I never opened. The subject line says, Inheritance. How the fuck did I miss this? I guess having my mind on my pauper all week, had me forgetting all about my other issue. With Carmen gone all week, it's been quiet at the house, so I never thought twice about the inheritance shit.As I scan the email's co
LilianaI wake up and stretch. I've been sleeping in Heath's bed ever since that first night we were intimate. It's been about two weeks, and I still haven't let him take it all the way; I'm just not comfortable with it yet.It's still early, so I'm surprised that I find it empty when I look over to his side of the bed. Heath never rises so early; he's a late sleeper. Throwing back the covers, I hug myself against the slight chill in the air as I pad my way to the door.I'm dressed only in one of Heath's heavy metal rock band t-shirts, and my feet are bare. When I come down the hallway, I can only hear the muffled sound of Heath's voice. Smiling, I wonder who he could be talking to other than himself, but when I hear him say my name, I slow down until I'm just by the living room doorway."Yeah, I've been working with her. Lily's turning into a real porn star. Her cherry will bring in a shit ton of money when we're ready." There's a long pause, and then his next words clarify any confu
Liliana4 Years LaterI'm sitting outside my makeshift house with two of my neighbors as we play a game of cards. We usually do it when none of us are out trying to earn money. The two of them panhandle all day, whereas I try to stay out of the public's eye.My lack of a birth certificate or proof that I was, in fact, born here makes it hard to get a real job. I get it, I probably could have gone to the courthouse, but the loops I would have needed to go through because Heath had taken my ID just didn't fit into my timeline. I hadn't expected to stay here until I started seeing flyers with my face on them being put up all around town. That's when I knew I needed to burrow deeper into the parts of town that decent people would never venture into.I wouldn't say Heath Richards was decent, but I know he wouldn't have looked in the dilapidated building I hid myself in for that first year of hiding. Thoughts of hitchhiking to the next town had crossed my mind, but then I'd have to be seen
Jarek"You will give me what I want—you are mine to do with as I please, or have you forgotten the contract you signed? I don't keep you here for you to do what you want. You are mine until I say, so remember your place!" I shove Sasha away from me, annoyed that she isn't living up to my expectations, just like all the others…an utter disappointment and a colossal mistake on my part.I found this submissive in one of the many gentlemen's clubs I own and frequent; she was supposed to be fairly innocent, or so I was told by her Dom. I was duped. I want a woman that I can mold into the perfect little puppet for me, and Sasha is far from it. Yeah, she's good in the sack and can play the part of a perfect sub when it serves her needs, but she's stubborn to a fault."I'm sorry, Master. I will be better!" she begs on her knees like the good whore that she was trained to be, but I'm so over it."Get the fuck out before I throw you in the cage and put you on display." I knew that threat would
LilianaI knew the day would come when I would see Jarek again. The tabloids do not do him justice. If I thought he was handsome in high school, he's devastatingly beautiful now. Only, there's a hint of something just below the surface that I can't quite pinpoint.I remember that I once said he was the devil, and he just confirmed it. Why would I involve myself with someone like that? He's part of the Mafia, for Christ's sake, but—I can't help thinking about that itty bitty part of him I saw flash through his eyes when he looked me in the eye. It was almost as if he was pleased to see me.I must be wrong, though, because he was the bane of my existence years ago; I doubt he's changed all that much."Do you mind telling me what you were doing being dropped off by that fancy car from earlier?" A raspy voice behind me makes me jump, and I spin around to see Fran smirking at me."It was nothing, really," I rush out.Fran leans into me and, for my ears only, says, "If you're turning tricks
JarekMy pauper is a virgin?Well, well, Liliana was meant to be mine after all. Four years and she's remained untouched—it's unfathomable to me. She's always been beautiful. Even when I found her caked in dirt, her beauty still shined through it all.I gaze at the woman before me, with her baggy jeans and oversized shirt. Her thin, dingy jacket helps hide her body from me, but I'm not daft. The bone structure in her face and delicate-looking hands tells me that I'll find a thin body under it all—maybe a little too thin for my liking."Hmm, tell me, pauper… how long have you been living on Sunset?" I can't bring myself to say the word homeless.She lifts her chin defiantly and answers, "Four years, Sir."So, she's been here, under my nose, this whole time."Answer this question, and I will grant you your stipulation. Was I that bad that you needed to run from me?" I reach my hand out and caress a finger down her dirt-free face. "I would have taken care of you."I watch as she swallows
Jarek"Rossi has arrived at his home back in Italy," Lonzo informs me over lunch.My underboss called, asking me to meet him because he had news about our little friend. Joseph Lonzo Sr. may not have had a beef with the Rossi Boss before, but now that he almost took Lonzo's son from him, he wants Rossi to pay dearly."Does he know we have his daughter?" I ask, lifting my glass of whiskey and taking a healthy sip.The restaurant where we meet for these particular meetings is private for the Elite in the city. Anywhere from doctors, lawyers, and corrupt businessmen, dine here when they don't want to be bothered. I have a special table at the back so we can see who enters at all times.There are only a handful of diners here at the moment, so it's pretty quiet. That's how I like it. It makes no difference how corrupt or upstanding the person is; I don't trust anyone. My top-tier men are the only ones I trust with my life.The smile on my underboss's face is all I need to know that he's u
LilianaWhen Jarek left, I was livid. Why wouldn't he take me with him? It happened to me—I should at least be there when he hands out Heath's punishment.A thought sprung to my mind… Jarek's going to kill Heath!I didn't hesitate. I went to Jarek's side of the bed, where I knew he kept one of his guns, and grabbed it. I hated what I was about to do, but I figured I'd just ask Jackson for forgiveness afterward. Thankfully, Fran and Heidi were nowhere around because although Fran would have cheered me on, she would have been pissed that I held Jackson at gunpoint.We all love Jackson; of course, I could never hurt him. I had removed the bullets, making sure the chamber was clear as well before I pointed it at him. I have a lot of makeup to do because I don't blame Jackson one bit for the silent treatment I've received since we left.No matter what Heath had done, I just didn't know if I could allow Jarek to kill him. He was my best friend at one time, and he had gone through some shit.
JarekI had said it. I told Liliana that I loved her. I hadn't expected her to say it back, but it doesn't mean I didn't feel disappointed when she didn't. I did a despicable thing to her, and she's slowly forgiving me. I can't expect her to fall in love with me just because the sex is great. She will in time, as long as she stays and gives me the chance.I've spent the last few days with Lily, giving her my every moment, but I couldn't put off the inevitable any longer. As I walk into The Reformatory, the workers nod as I pass them, and I return their greeting with my own nod.I enter the basement, where we keep our cells, and am greeted by Frankie. He immediately unlocks the door to the hall leading to the cells."Have they given you any issue?"Frankie smirks, "Only when Joey comes and visits Zita Rossi."I narrow my eyes and ask, "Why is that?""Have you never heard those two go at it?" Frankie asks astonishingly."Un-fucking-believable! He knows better than to fuck the prisoners.
LilianaMy prayers were answered—Jarek came for me. I lie here in my bed, where Jarek tucked me in after the shower I took once I finished soaking. Almost three days' worth of filth washed away, and now I can get some much-needed rest, or so I thought.I toss and turn, unable to fall asleep even though I'm exhausted. Sleeping on that cold cement floor had me waking up frequently. But that isn't the worst of it. It was the being down there all by myself. I don't want to be alone right now.Throwing the covers off me, I climb from the bed and go to the dresser to grab one of Jarek's t-shirts. I bring the collar to my nose and inhale the masculine scent that is all Jarek. It smells of sweet tobacco and leather, and it's becoming my favorite scent.Not caring about putting panties on, I pad over to the door and open it. The hallway is quiet, and the sconces on the walls are turned down to dim lighting. Taking the stairs down to the first floor, I turn to go to Jarek's office first; it's w
JarekIt's dark by the time we get to the cabin. There are a few guards, because clearly, Carmen didn't think she would need more. The bitch probably thought she was in the clear. I ensured only my trusted men knew of my plan and who was involved.It's been a long time since I've been part of a raid like this; my men usually take care of the grunt work. However, this involves Liliana, and I will not leave it to anyone else to save her. I need to personally see that she is alive and uninjured."Koval, you take your men and disarm all the guards. Do whatever it takes to keep them from alerting our presence," I order through the earpiece.My men are positioned around the cabin, hidden within the thick forest. The trees are so dense, so unforgiving, that no one can see us—not even her. That's Carmen's second mistake—dragging Lily into the woods, believing she could keep my pauper hidden. She never considered the very shadows she trusted would betray her. She can't see us coming, and that
LilianaI don't know exactly how long I've been here. I think it's been two, maybe three days at most. There are no windows down here, and I'm always in the dark. The only light I ever see is when Heath brings me my two meals.I sit in the dark, I eat in the dark, and I use the bathroom in the dark, which consists of a five-gallon bucket. I'm left alone, and that's okay because my situation could be worse. There are many things Heath could be doing to me, but he isn't, and for that, I am thankful.I'm just finishing my lunch when I jump at the sound of the door opening. Typically, Heath doesn't come back until supper time. He leaves me my food and takes my lunch tray back upstairs, so his presence this soon after he's brought me my food is alarming."You get to stretch your legs, Princess." Heath stalks toward me, causing me to cower.I don't mean to show him this weakness, but I'm tired and sore and in no condition to fight off any unwanted attention. Heath doesn't touch me, though. H
JarekThe whole estate is in an uproar over Liliana's disappearance, but none are as distraught as I am. My office looks as if thieves have come in and ransacked it—broken glass and furniture litter almost every corner.Every time we get a lead that doesn't pan out, another bout of destruction occurs. I don't know how much more of this I can take before I start hurting people. Lily's friends have steered clear of me, not that I care. The old bat doesn't like me as it is, so I really don't want to keep seeing her glare at me the way she did when she heard about what happened."What the fuck do you mean Lily was taken? She was with you!" she squawked. "Leave it to a Falcon to fuck shit up! You better pray my friend and that babe are found safe…"The woman pretty much threatened me, but I can't blame her—I fucked up. It's been two fucking days—Lily can be anywhere. Make no mistake, I will not stop until I find my pauper and heaven help the motherfucker who took her. If there's the littles
LilianaMy head pounds and my mouth is dryer than the Sahara Desert. I'm feeling disoriented, and when I try opening my eyes, they don't seem to want to cooperate with me."Hurry up, she's waking up," a low, raspy voice states.It sounds a little familiar, but the pressure on my neck has me pushing those thoughts away. I try to move, but I can't pull my hands apart. When I try tugging at them, there's a clinking sound.Am I handcuffed?There's cursing and more pressure, but when I move my head, someone holds it in place."Don't fucking move, Lily."No! I do know that voice—it's Heath!I try screaming, and that's when I realize my mouth is taped shut. Even with my head throbbing, I start to struggle, but then I feel the weight of a body as it straddles my waist. My first thought is the baby, and I still, not wanting anything to happen to him."Will you hurry the fuck up already?" Heath barks at whoever he's with.I hear a loud snap, and then my neck feels bare. They took my collar off.
JarekWhat a way to rain on my fucking parade. Someone is going to pay dearly for interfering with this special day. As pissed as I am about being interrupted, I can't help the grin that splays across my lips from hearing the good news. We're having a boy."I'm sorry you were called away, Mr. Falcon. I can go back and pick her up once I drop you off," Jackson offers.I wave him off. "I've already contacted Richards to go pick her up. Hopefully, the damage isn't as bad as Lansky made it sound.""Lansky is the one who called you?" Jackson asks, frowning."Yeah, what of it?""Nothing…" he shakes his head. "I just figured it would be someone higher up the ladder."Although Jackson's statement is true, there would be chaos if there were an explosion. The warehouse manager was probably trying to delegate jobs to everyone. I shrug off his words and pull my phone out.A text from Lily tells me that Richards has picked her up, but before I can respond, Jackson curses. I look up and see the des