Thanks for sticking with me! I hope this story is everything you expected and more - Theia
Soren stared at Vin, worried about his friend. He had suspected that the letter would contain some kind of message from Jimmy, but he didn’t want to break the news to Vin. There was no way to make this easy for him.Vin could lie to himself all he wanted, but anyone with eyes could see that he was in love with Callie. And his reaction to the letter he held in his hands was proof of that.“Callie’s free,” Vin whispered a second before crumpling the piece of paper in his hand.The world seemed to spin around Vin. Callie had been a constant in his life for only a few months, but he knew he couldn’t live without her.Everything in him screamed not to let her go. To find an alternative. To buy her back. But another part of him, the moral side of him, knew that Callie deserved to be free.That deal was to play with her, right? Never did he think he’d be this devastated when this day finally came.Callie wasn’t a bird trapped in his cage anymore, and she deserved to see the world, as the wor
To survive in a world full of chaos, one must learn to embrace it. It was hard— Callie knew that awfully well. She lived in a city where guns were easier to acquire than medicine, and where violence was the answer to everything. A place that the government has forgotten about and where the police worked for infamous crime lords. To survive amid chaos was hard, and Callie was only barely able to hold her head above water. And with each passing day, she feels herself sinking further and further, deeper into the filth. “Ugh, can you believe this?” Sienna asked with a sigh. She and Callie have been friends since they were teens. Now, they go to the same community college where the bulletin boards are riddled with dozens of warnings, curfew notices, and missing person posters. “You would think living so far away from the Ashen City would protect us from the scum that live there—” Sienna shook her head in disbelief. “But no, we still live in a nightmare.” Callie looked away from her beau
Callie stared in open horror as the gray-eyed man brought a glass of water over from the sink before pouring it all over her uncle’s unconscious form. The coldness jolted him awake with a shriek of pain, undoubtedly from the many sores and open wounds he had sustained. “Stop! Who are you?! What do you want?” Callie yelled in hopes of distracting the men who invaded their home. Three of them, she counted, including the one who took pepper spray to the face. The man holding the glass stood up straight and cleared his throat before he wiped his bloodied hands across the front of his shirt. “Pardon me,” he said before making a grand gesture of bowing to her. “Well, I’m Soren, and these are my colleagues.” It was the way the man called Soren spoke that told Callie something was off about him. There’s a playful tone in his voice every time he speaks as if nothing ever fazes him, treating everything like a joke. His movements are big and satiric, but he showed no sign of weakness. With bi
Soren let out an unhinged chuckle at Callie’s remark. As a debt collector for the mafia, he must have seen dozens of different reactions to the mention of Vincent Baros, but he somehow found Callie’s reaction the most fitting. “I knew I liked you. Sit tight.” He didn’t need to force Callie inside the waiting vehicle, she went without resistance. Soren followed inside. With only the two of them sitting in the spacious backseat, Callie sat as far away from Soren as she could. Callie didn’t know what to expect once the car started driving toward the Ashen City. She had only heard rumors about it, and some stories from her university buddies who have dared to sneak inside for a peep at what life in the city was like. All their stories were horrifying. For the first few miles, after the car drove past the border, Callie felt the anxiety grow in her chest. The place was extremely gray. Most of the buildings they passed were either destroyed or unlivable. And though the ashes from the gre
Never in her life had Callie felt so small as she did in the presence of the mafia boss. Vincent Baros radiated an aura that told her to run away. He was exactly like the stories; tall and proud, with eyes slightly slanted, giving him a menacing countenance. He smelled nice, of cedar and rosewood, effectively cleansing Callie’s nose from the heavy scents of cigarettes and sweat that reeked around the club. The club halted all operations once Vin entered the scene. The music was turned down to a dull pump, and the people had started to back away from the commotion. The mafia boss looked down on Callie, frozen in his hold. He watched as her eyes dilate from what he assumed was fear. Callie’s legs shook as Vin took most of her weight, keeping her from falling. Without letting the woman go, Vin directed his attention at the three men he caught touching her, zeroing in on the man with a half-hard cock hanging out of his pants. He must be high out of his mind. “Attempted rape in my club?
Callie barely registered the pain as her nails dug deeper into her forearm. Nothing registered anymore. Not the noise in the club, not the stench of blood, and not Vin’s voice that told her to stop. As soon as Vin noticed, his hand came lashing out to grab Callie’s to pry her hand away from herself. “Stop doing that,” the mafia boss barked out, but Callie only looked at him through her tear-filled eyes. It was like Callie was possessed as she struggled in Vin’s hold with nothing but pure adrenaline. Pained screams left her mouth when Vin accidentally gripped her injured wrist too tightly. Suddenly there was a sharp jab against her neck and Callie was out like a light. Panic filled Vin’s eyes as he watched the life drain out of Callie’s eyes. “What the fuck?” Vin was surprised, but he managed to catch Callie before she could fall to the floor. Behind her, Soren stood holding up a syringe muttering, “Sedative.” As if no other explanations were needed. Vin looked disgusted– offended
The air pressure in the room seemed to drop because Callie found herself having trouble breathing. With Vin’s face so close to hers muttering those dangerous words, Callie was starting to realize how much trouble she was in. True, Vin saved her life, but he did it at the cost of three others. Any man who can pull a trigger without remorse is someone to be feared. “Follow me,” Vin said before grabbing the discarded black jacket from the floor and throwing it to Callie. Quickly putting the jacket on, Callie followed him deeper into the apartment. With her heart hammering in her chest, Callie could barely appreciate the luxury that was Vin’s apartment. The large space must be filled with nothing but furniture and accessories from designer brands. When they got to what appeared to be the kitchen, Callie’s eyes zeroed in on a gorgeous blonde woman who seemed to be waiting for them. She was tall, maybe five-foot-nine, with perfect porcelain skin. She wore her hair in a low ponytail with
Vin was minding his business, scanning through yet another missing person’s case that landed on his desk, when Ella burst into his office. “Don’t hurt her.” The mafia boss looked up from the document and fixed the doctor with a hard stare. And when he spoke, there was a dangerous edge to his voice. “Ella, you know better than to barge in here unannounced.” Ella was used to being reprimanded. She wasn’t the type to bend to anyone’s will outside of the bedroom, so in this case, she wanted Vin to hear her. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, anyway. “I’ll take any punishment for speaking out about this. I know it’s not my business what you do with your women, but please don’t hurt Callie.” Vin didn’t plan on hurting her. He wouldn’t hurt a woman. But having Ella stand up for her, made him all the more curious about his new little pet. Shifting from foot to foot, Ella started becoming uneasy under Vin’s piercing gaze. “That’s all I came here to say. Oh, also! I know you like it rough in th