Bane walked with determined steps through the nightclub. He had been in his office on the third floor when Jax had called him and asked him to come down to the counting room. Bane knew that Jax wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t something that Bane needed to deal with.
He was still irritated to be interrupted and whoever had caused it would face the consequences of it.
Bane smiled as two women called for him to join them. He didn’t have time to stop and talk, but he let his eyes move over both of their bodies. He made a mental note that he should go back after he had handled the situation.
He came to the door that led to the back area of the nightclub. Bane held his card up to the scanner and entered his code. He sighed as he stepped into the white corridor and relaxed as the sound of the music and the people were muffled as the door closed behind him.
The nightclub was a good investment and a good base of operations. But the noise of it could drive the sanest man mad. He walked along the corridor, spotting Jax just ahead. He was just about to ask his right-hand man why he had called him down when a loud crash echoed through the corridor.
Both men’s hands reached for their guns out of habit, but neither of them drew their weapons. A woman’s loud voice screamed. Bane couldn’t make the words out, but she sounded pissed.
“Bane, we have a situation,” Jax told him.
“No shit man, what’s going on?” Bane asked.
He briefly considered that one of his ex-lovers or ex-girlfriends had thrown a hissy fit. It wouldn’t be the first time. But he couldn’t remember pissing off any women lately.
“Dave and Tobias came back from their run,” Jax told him.
“Did they collect?” Bane asked, irritated to have been called down for a simple debt collection.
“You can say that,” Jax said. He looked serious.
Another shriek sounded from within the counting room and Bane had had enough. He walked over, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. By nothing but luck, the stapler that came flying missed his head and hit the door frame.
Bane’s eyes followed it as it fell to the floor with a second crash. He then looked up and saw an angel. It took him a moment to realise that it wasn’t an angel, but a scared and crying woman.
Even with the bruised cheek and split lip with tears running down her face, she was beautiful. Her light blond hair had at one point been in a ponytail, but now had pieces falling down her shoulders.
Her pale blue eyes were swollen from crying, but that didn’t take away their beauty. The bulky sweater and mom jeans couldn’t hide the curves of her body that made Bane grow hard.
He reluctantly looked away from the woman as she hurled a pen at his men. Both his men were looking at him, and the pen hit Tobias in the chest with a light thump before falling to the floor.
Bane noted that Dave seemed to pale somewhat as he looked back at Bane. Interesting, Bane thought. Jax stood behind Bane’s right shoulder and watched the scene.
The woman had another pen in her hand and threw it at Dave and Tobias. It sailed in the air between them. Bane could hear the words she was shouting now.
“Stay away, stay away from me, stay away,” she shouted, over and over.
She kept shouting even though she had run out of things to throw. Bane was more than a little interested in knowing exactly what was going on. But he couldn’t focus when the woman was making a ruckus.
He walked around the table towards her. She backed herself into a corner, holding her hands out in front of her, shouting the same sentences repeatedly. Bane grabbed both her hands with one of his and stood right in front of her, looking into those brilliant eyes.
“Will you shut the fuck up!” he roared at her.
She fell silent, and he saw tears fill her eyes. Her lips trembled. Oh fuck, he thought. Like most men, a crying woman scared him shitless. He would rather have a gunfight with a hundred of his worst enemies than have to deal with one crying woman.
His solution to the issue was to release her hands, noting the bright red marks around her wrists, and turn his back to her. Out of sight, out of mind. He wasn’t as effective in blocking out the quiet sobs that came from behind him, but he ignored them.
“Can someone tell me why the fuck my bill counter is smashed on the floor and why I was nearly decapitated by a fucking flying stapler?” he growled to the three other men in the room.
The room was quiet except for the soft sobs that were still coming from the woman. Bane stared at Dave and Tobias.
“Since that is obviously too hard for you to answer, let’s start with the fucking basics. Did you go to the collection?” Bane asked, feeling his blood rising.
If he wasn’t given some answers soon, he would not be responsible for his actions. Heads would fly. There was a fifty - fifty chance they would literally be separated from someone’s body.
“Yeah, boss, we did,” Dave said.
“Did you collect?” Bane sighed.
“We did. Cobler didn’t have the money. But he offered his niece’s services to pay off his debt,” Tobias grinned.
Bane felt a primal urge to punch the man in the face. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that the man was new to the family. He was allowed a mistake. One. Dave, on the other hand, should have known better.
“Explain,” Bane demanded from the man.
“It just sounded like a better deal than to come back empty-handed,” Dave shrugged.
Bane shot Jax a look and his right-hand man nodded. He knew what Bane wanted.
“Go with Jax. I’ll clean up your fucking mess,” Bane growled.
“Yes, boss,” Dave said. Tobias gave Bane a look that spoke of defiance and of a want to take back what he felt was rightfully his. The woman, Bane thought.
He waited until the three other men had left before he turned around. Even in her dishevelled state, the young woman shone with innocence and pureness. Bane felt a need to corrupt her, to show her the dark side of life and bind her down here with him. A wicked smile spread across his lips.
Emma stood petrified, locked in the room's corner with the giant man in front of her. If the blond man had been good looking, this man was like something created from a wet dream, made come to life wearing a burgundy three-piece suit that showed off his toned body. If she wasn’t so petrified, Emma would be drooling.
As soon as he entered the room, her brain had noticed him with his dark hair styled back, his pale grey eyes and a five o’clock shadow. At first, she had hoped he would be her saviour, but then he had trapped her in the corner and shouted at her.
It seemed he was the boss of the other three men. Emma had a stray thought, she wondered if this place was filled with hot men in suits. She immediately put it away as a highly inappropriate thought in the situation.
Mr Tiny had said something about her uncle owing them money and not being able to pay, that he had sold her body to pay off his debt. But that couldn’t be true.
It was true that her uncle used to have a gambling problem, and it was true that he didn’t love her the way she would have hoped he would. But to sell her to those men? No, she couldn’t believe that.
And now she was trapped behind this giant, hot man. As the door closed, leaving the two of them alone, he turned around and an ice-cold smile spread across the man’s face as he looked down at Emma.
“Jonas Cobler is your uncle?” he asked.
Emma’s body trembled out of fear and she tried to stop her lower lip from trembling. The look in his eyes is something that forever will be in my nightmares if I survived this, she thought.
The man was clearly expecting Emma to answer. She nodded without meeting his eyes. “And your name is?” he asked.“Emma,” she told him in a thin voice.“Emma Cobler?” he wanted to know. Her name had never sounded so melodic before. It surprised her. She almost forgot to nod. “My name is Bane Velky,” he introduced himself, holding out a hand. Emma’s eyes grew bigger as he heard the name. Oh no, not that, anything but that, she thought. “You have heard of me,” he smiled. He sounded satisfied. Emma nodded. Everyone that lived in the city knew the name Velky. It was the largest mafia group in the state with its centre in the city. And Bane Velky was the head of the family, the don, the big boss, the huge honcho, the Al Capone of the modern world. Emma felt her panicked brain spin out of control. “Calm down, angel,” Bane told her and placed his hand on her shoulder. His thumb went down in front of her throat. If he squeezed, she would struggle to breathe, but somehow his hand calmed
Bane looked at the trembling woman before him. His men shouldn’t have hurt her. They definitely shouldn’t have taken the deal with her uncle. And they would pay for that. Bane didn’t believe in keeping his men at a short leash or babying them. But he had four rules that everyone in the organisation had to live by. His word was law. They didn’t hurt women and children. They didn’t deal with human trafficking. No one was to sell drugs to children.The four rules were enforced without exception, with severe punishment for disobedience. What his men had done to Emma violated rule number two and was a clear attempt at breaking rule number three. But this angel in front of him didn’t know that.Bane’s need to possess her had only grown. Her innocence was like a light in the night and he was the moth. He needed to possess her, to corrupt her. So he smiled his wicked smile and saw her tense up. She may be innocent, but her instincts were strong.“We need to get our money back and that is one
Emma felt her gut clench for the hundredth time since this conversation started. Was she really considering this?“Angel, any man that hangs around you will be interested in getting you into his bed unless he is insane. I don’t want you around insane people,” Bane told her with a smirk.“And if he isn’t interested in women, if he is gay?” she asked. Bane looked at her with surprise. “I’m guessing you have a particular man in mind?” he said. “My best friend,” she nodded. “And you are sure he is gay?” Emma couldn’t help herself but smile.“I’m sure,” she nodded.“I could allow it, if you agreed to let my men or me be present when you meet, at least at first.”Emma nodded. She didn’t like the idea, but it was better than losing Simon all together. “I do have to treat male patients,” she told him.“What do you work with?” he asked.“I’m an E.R nurse,” she said. She was proud of herself for her work.“It won’t be an issue since you won’t be working,” he calmly said.“What?”“Angel, I
“Boss,” the mountain greeted Bane as Emma got into the vehicle. There was a second man in the driver’s seat. “Tom,” Bane greeted the mountain before getting in and taking his seat next to Emma. “Boss,” the man in front said.“Luke,” Bane nodded. “Everything good?” the man called Luke asked.“We should have no issues,” Bane said as he placed an arm around Emma. She jumped at the touch. Bane shot her a disapproving look. Emma took a moment to regret the fact that she had never learnt to swear. She felt like this situation could have used a couple of good swear words. But she couldn’t really seem to use them, even in her own mind. As the car started and she once again found herself in a black SUV with gangsters, without knowing her destination, she forced herself to relax her body. Fudge, fudge, fudge, she repeated in her head.Emma focused on the city passing by outside her window. She wondered if her aunt and uncle had got free from their restraints. She shouldn’t care. After all,
Bane felt his desire grow as he pressed Emma against the door. She tasted of lemons, and her soft lips moved in perfect sync with his. As he used his teeth to tug at her bottom lip, she let out a soft moan that nearly made him come undone. There was no question about him wanting her, nor was there any question about that he would claim her as his. But when he did, she wouldn’t be covered in bruises and be half unconscious from lack of sleep. No, when he claimed his angel, she would feel no other pain than the one he wanted her to feel, and her mind would be able to take all of it in.He stepped away from her, ending their make-out session. The hard-on it had given him was painfully pressing against his zipper. “You go and take a shower and get to bed, angel. I want you rested for tomorrow. Anna will wake you in the morning and you will have breakfast with me,” he told her. She looked at him with confusion, and then she nodded. “Yes, Mr Velky,” she said.“Emma, I think it’s time y
Emma woke from a light knock on the door. She was confused for a moment; she didn’t recognise the sheets, or the bed, or the room. Last night came back to her as a freight train mercilessly ploughing through her sleepy mind. There was a second knock on the door.Emma sat up and called for them to enter, making sure the cover was up around her waist. She had been sleeping in her tank top and panties since she didn’t have any of her nightclothes. The older woman from the night before walked into the room with a smile on her face.“Good morning, miss Emma,” she said.“Good morning, Anna,” Emma replied. At least she thought that was the woman’s name. The smile she got back had her thinking she had been right.“I have some new clothes with me and some make-up,” Anna told her and put the bundle she had in her arm on the dresser. “Thank you,” Emma said.“Not at all. Let me have a look,” Anna said, walking up to Emma and turning her head to look at Emma’s cheek. Anna made a tutting noise.“
Bane looked up at her.“Say whatever you want,” he told Emma. “Obviously, I can’t say I’m your girlfriend. How about I tell them you hired me as a private nurse?” she pondered.“Why is it fucking obvious that you can’t be my girlfriend?” he asked. She thought he sounded angry, which confused her. “Because you told me yesterday that it wasn’t what this was. I can’t go around telling people you are my boyfriend and then pretend to turn a blind eye when you pick up other women,” Emma explained. “Right,” he said. But he didn’t sound happy. Maybe he just wasn’t a morning person, Emma thought. They sat in silence for a while longer. They had both finished eating when the two men Emma vaguely remembered had driven them to this place last night entered the dining room. “Emma, this is Tom and Luke. They will take you shopping and anything else that you need. Just let them know where you need to go and they will take you,” Bane told her. Emma looked up at the two giant men, both dressed i
“Since this morning, apparently,” Emma said, hooking her arm into Simon’s. “And I might need your help to pick out more than one dress,” she added. “Emma,” Simon whined. “I told you, just because I’m gay, it doesn’t mean I like shopping,” he objected. “Please, pretty please? You are the only one I can trust. I know you will tell me the truth about what fits and what doesn’t. And I will spill the tea, and it is a really, really excellent tea to spill,” she begged. “Damn you and your knowledge of my weaknesses,” he groaned. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said. They headed into the first shop to start their hunt. Emma felt bad that she had to lie to her friend, but she couldn’t tell him the truth. She didn’t think she would survive if Simon cut her out of his life. He was a good man, but Emma knew that when she more or less voluntary had signed a sex contract, she had become a glorified sex worker, a pet. She didn’t think anyone would think that would be okay. So she avo