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I know, because it’s where I want to be as well. Isla can have that, she can have Aidan, however, I cannot, so he should be with her and not his whore.

  “The others will be home from school soon,” he murmurs.

  My mouth drops open. “Others?” I ask.

  He smirks. “I have four children, Giovanna. Isla is my youngest.”

  Four. Four children. My head spins from his words. No wonder he always came to my bed so late, no wonder he wasn’t consistent. No wonder he wanted to fuck a prostitute. With four children, I assume time is limited, and dalliances are not something he has the time or inclination for. It all makes so much sense to me now. Also, he wouldn’t want to bring some strange woman to his home, parade her in front of his children, just to have her never come back.

  “And Mrs. O’Neil?” I ask quietly, my curiosity getting the better of me.

  He snorts. “Don’t know. Living far away from here with cabana boys, I assume,” he shrugs.

  I nod, understanding the situation completely now. Stupidly, I let my heart feel for him. I knew I shouldn’t have, and I did it anyway. There was no way to guard myself from Aidan O’Neil, I’m not sure any woman truly could. Now, I’m sitting in his perfect living room, decorated by a woman who is long gone, waiting for someone to pick me up so that I can perform my duties for Blackburn.

  “Go to Isla, Aidan,” I whisper.

  His gaze leaves mine and he looks upstairs before he comes back to me. “Timofei is going to have you set up in a safe house until he meets with Blackburn himself.”

  I lift my chin, unable to speak aloud. I knew it was what would happen, and still, I’m sad. I had moments, glimpses of hope that somehow my life would be changed by this man, but they were all illusions of grandeur—nothing more.

  Aidan nods then turns from me without saying another word. I watch as he walks up the staircase toward his beautiful sick daughter, then I turn back around, and I wait for whoever it is that will pick me up. I feel like the cargo that I am, which is all that I will ever be.

  This whole thing is nothing if not a reminder of who I am. I needed it before I was sucked too deeply into my false self-illusions. It was good for me—that’s what I tell myself anyway.

  AIDAN

  Pussy.

  Giant fucking pussy.

  That’s what I am as I watch Dominik, one of Timofei’s men, guide Giovanna out of my home and into his car. I’m standing at Isla’s window while she sleeps, like a fucking cunt, and watching the woman who has wormed her way beneath my skin walk away from me.

  My phone rings and I quickly answer it. Not wishing to wake Isla up, with quick strides, I leave her room. I gently close the door behind me when I do, so I don’t wake her up with my conversation.

  “Dominik has picked up Giovanna, and my meeting with Blackburn is set for tomorrow at six before tribute at the Oleandr,” Timofei states. The Oleandr is a Russian restaurant he owns, and much like the bar for me, it is where he conducts most of his business.

  “I’ll be there,” I state.

  Timofei chuckles. “Why would you care to be there, Aidan?” he asks, sounding cocky and fucking smug.

  “Is Giovanna not still mine? I believe it is still me who says what she does with her body?”

  Timofei hums. “She is, but in the end, I am in charge of her. If I have to make a decision, it will always trump yours,” he coolly announces. “See you tomorrow.”

  The call ends, but I’m unable to move. The rage building inside of me simmers, but it simmers at the surface, and I know it wouldn’t take much for it to explode from my body. I wait until it’s controlled, nothing but a low boil, which it will probably stay until tomorrow. Hopefully, I don’t try and kill Blackburn where he sits, but I hold no fucking promises.

  I spend the rest of my evening with my family. Isla feels better after her nap and even joins us for dinner. I don’t remember the last time I just sat with the children, so that’s what I do, even if I’m completely preoccupied with what will happen tomorrow.

  I hope that Giovanna is okay, that she’s well cared for. I don’t know why I’m so worried about her, I never concerned myself with her well-being when she was in her condo alone.

  Once the children head to bed, I do the same. Unfortunately, sleep doesn’t find me easily, tossing and turning, I give up on sleep and decide to go exercise in my home gym. I spend hours running, then lifting weights, then running again. I’m physically exhausted by the time the sun comes up, but my mind is still running a million miles a minute.

  I want her for myself, I want Giovanna here with me, with my family. I saw the way she looked at me when I picked Isla up at the school. The way her eyes heated at the sight of me holding my daughter. She wants that, she wants a man and a family.

  I could practically taste her desires as they filled the room. I could give it all to her, a readymade family, plus more babies of her own if she wanted them. For her, I would do that—whatever she asked. If I could have her for myself. If she could be what I need her to be if things were different.

  Fuck, I wouldn’t care either. Fill this house with babies, laughter, and good times of the like it’s never had before if that’s what she wanted. But she’s not mine to possess. Not unless I buy her myself, not unless I take her, and own her, completely.

  Once the kids leave for school the next morning, I go into the bar for the day. Shaughan is behind the counter when I arrive, and he gives me a chin lift as I walk by. I do the same distractedly and think about the possibility of it all. I think about buying Giovanna for my own.

  Mannix is sitting in the chair across from my desk when I walk into my office. I’m surprised to see him here, but I don’t say anything, still deep in thought about Giovanna. I sit across from him and let out an exhale.

  “You haven’t accepted the fact that this mystery woman is who you want yet, have you?” he asks.

  I frown at my brother and grunt. “I’ve told you, it isn’t that simple,” I mutter.

  “Talk to me, Aidan. Since Fallon has been gone, I thought you would be happier, not even more miserable. You need to get your shit together, and you need a steady woman in your life to balance you,” he explains.

  “Is this your version of tough love? Who says I need a woman?” I ask.

  A figure looms in my doorway and I turn to face Shaughan standing there. “You need a steady woman, Aidan. We all do. We’re fucked up in the head, brother. A woman calms us, makes us less angry,” he pauses. “Well, the right woman does,” he smirks.

  Shaughan leans his shoulder against the jamb and watches me. “There’s a woman,” I state. They both let out a huff of air. “She’s the daughter of Antonio Rossi,” I explain. Both of their eyebrows shoot toward the sky, almost disappearing in their hairlines. “She’s a prostitute, traded by Rossi and the Russians. Timofei knew who she was, saved her for me after Fallon left. I don’t know, maybe he was playing matchmaker, maybe he just knew I would enjoy her. Fuck, I don’t know,” I sigh.

  “That’s a lot of fucking information,” Mannix states.

  I shake my head. “I didn’t know she was Rossi’s kid. Not until yesterday. Rossi wants her to do a job, a job involving the mayor, a personal favor. I heard the whole thing; I basically told him she was mine and to fuck himself. I didn’t know it was for the mayor, not until Timofei told me. He hires the fucking police commissioner.”

  “The mayor wants your woman?” Mannix asks.

  I nod. “Timofei asked me if I wanted to keep her as my own. I told him she wasn’t mine to keep,” I admit.

  “Fuck,” Shaughan hisses. “You don’t deserve her then.” My head snaps up to my brother, but he only shrugs. “You want her, you claim her, easy. She’s fair game, and if letting the mayor fuck her, gets us a favor with the police commissioner, then Timofei’s only doing what’s best for both our organizations.”

  I can’t even argue with him. My little brother is one hundred percent correct. “But you lied. She is yours,” Mannix guesses.
>
  “I lied,” I admit. “I lied to myself and everybody else. Now, I’ll need to buy her to keep her. How do I bring a prostitute home to my kids?” I mutter.

  Shaughan laughs. “Brother, we’re all fuckin’ prostitutes. We all are. We whore ourselves out for affection, money, gifts, food, whatever the fuck it is, we all do it. So, she got paid to spread her legs. My woman does it for Friday night date night. Nola does it for her Sunday afternoon bath rituals. We all fucking do it, Aidan. Nobody will think twice about you having this woman on your arm.”

  “Nola does it for more than just Sunday afternoon baths.” Mannix chuckles with a wink.

  I shake my head, a smile tipping my lips. My brothers, they always, always have my back and they always make me feel fucking good about a shit situation.

  “What do we know about our missing security guard?” I ask, changing the subject.

  Shaughan shakes his head, walking into the room and closing my office door behind him. “We can’t find him. But we found his wife, his girlfriend, and a whore he sees on the regular,” Shaughan announces.

  “Shit,” I hiss, thinking about those three women.

  He chuckles. “Shit is right. We’re bringing them all in for questioning,” he states.

  “Together?” I ask, lifting a brow.

  Mannix lets out a bark of laughter. “What other way to get the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on this fucker?” he asks.

  I shake my head with a smile, my dilemma about Giovanna all but forgotten for the moment. It will enter my mind again soon, but at least I was able to forget it all for a minute and laugh with my brothers. Tonight will be another story though. Tonight, I have a big decision to make, if I’m allowed to even make it. I won’t know until I speak with Timofei, and until I hear what this Blackburn has to say.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  GIOVANNA

  Dominik introduced himself to me last night, picked me up from Aidan’s home, and then brought me to a small three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in a quiet little neighborhood. He didn’t say anything else before he left and then two hulking men who never spoke a single word to me hung out in the living room all night long.

  Now, it’s the next day and instead of sulking in my room all day, I’ve decided to shower and dress. Making my way into the kitchen, I’m surprised to see that the hulking Russians are powering down breakfast and have even left enough for me on the stove.

  “Eat,” one of them says with a mouthful of oatmeal.

  I shrug, grabbing a bowl and pouring some for myself. Walking over to the card table that also serves as a dining room table, I sit down. “Thank you.” I smile.

  “Timofei will be here in a little bit to talk to you,” the same Russian says, his accent thick. He’s handsome, in an overgrown Neanderthal kind of way. He has blond hair and green eyes. His skin is pale, and his jaw is square. “I have girlfriend,” he states.

  I blush at his words, he was watching me ogle him. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to this. I didn’t mean to stare,” I whisper.

  “She’s a call girl, too,” he states.

  Lifting my head, I can’t stop my eyes from widening and my mouth from dropping open. “She is? How does that work?” I ask.

  I slap my hand over my mouth in embarrassment. I shouldn’t have said anything, and I expect the man to growl or become angry, but he only smirks and winks over at me.

  “It works because he’s a kinky bastard,” the other man grumbles.

  I’m unable to contain myself as a round of giggles comes up my throat. “It’s true,” he admits. “I am kinky. She makes good money though. She likes it, and most of her clients allow her to record their time together so she can send it to me,” he grins widely.

  The other man shakes his head “Kinky,” he mumbles as he stands up and deposits his dishes in the sink.

  “Sometimes I pay for another girl, we have quite a lot of fun, yeah,” he chuckles. “Don’t be sour because you don’t have any fun,” he calls out to his friend. The other man only lifts his hand as he continues to walk away.

  Taking another bite of oatmeal, I decide to ask my newfound friend a few questions. “She works for Timofei, then?” I know that I’ll be headed to the brothel soon.

  There is no way that Aidan will continue this with me, not with this whole Blackburn thing coming up. I might as well get used to the idea of living at a brothel again.

  “She does. Makes good money, you’ll be okay, sweetheart,” he winks.

  I want to tell him that I know I’ll be okay, but the rest isn’t true. There won’t be any money for me, there never has been. Not when you aren’t an at-will employee, not when you’re owned. I thank him for talking to me, and for breakfast again, then I make my way back to my room.

  There’s a knock on my door a few hours later, and when it opens I’m surprised to see Timofei Vetrov himself, standing on the other side. I jump to my feet, swaying from side to side, nervous energy flowing through me. I haven’t seen the man since the day my father traded me off to the Russians.

  “Come into the living room, Giovanna, we’ll talk,” he orders gently.

  I nod, following behind him and then quickly sitting down in a metal chair off to the side while he takes the sofa. “You’re okay?” he asks.

  There is obvious concern in his features, and I’m confused. I don’t understand why everybody is being so kind to me here. I’m not used to it, and it makes me feel uneasy. Before moving into the condo, the only person who had ever been nice to me, aside from a few clients, was Madam Carmella.

  “I am, Mr. Vetrov,” I exhale, dropping my gaze to my fingers in my lap.

  “Please, Giovanna, Timofei,” he says with a chuckle.

  Lifting my gaze, I meet his eyes and his warm smile with a tip of my own lips. “You know what’s happening, I assume?”

  I nod, then shake my head, then nod again. “I’m not sure, completely. Mr. Blackburn has requested my services. My father wanted me to sneak around to meet him, but now that you know, I assume something else will be happening?”

  He grins, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. I watch as he uses his thumb and turns his wedding ring around on his finger. A nervous habit he’s probably picked up just recently, the ring looks practically new. “I am meeting with Blackburn tonight. I wasn’t going to ask you to come, it being business and all…” he trails off.

  “But since I’m the business it involves?” I ask, arching a brow.

  He chuckles. “Right. Plus, I want to see how he is with you. I’m not someone who just throws my girls at men because they hold some type of status. I need to know they’re safe, at all times,” he explains.

  Taking a gulp, I nod. “Blackburn has a temper that is hot and fast. He doesn’t like to be questioned, he likes to think he’s the one in control and that he’s the biggest, baddest man in the room. He sees himself as the ultimate alpha,” I explain.

  Timofei’s eyes widen but he doesn’t say anything. “My father never charged him, not once. I was payment for whatever it was my father needed from him. Blackburn is mean, he’s unpredictable, and you can never trust him at his word.”

  “How do you know all of this?” Timofei asks me.

  I let out an unladylike snort. “He thinks I’m stupid, Timofei. When a man thinks you’re nothing, when he thinks you are only good enough to spread your thighs or open your mouth for him, he’ll talk in front of you. He would take business calls all of the time with me in the room. He’d joke about making promises and never keeping them, about watching people get angry but knowing they could do nothing about it. He would say things like, I want to watch them crawl to me, they thought they could top me, nobody tops the alpha. All kinds of stupid shit like that.”

  “And, how did he treat you?” he asks, his voice gentle again.

  My eyes fall to my lap again, and I find it hard to look at the man in the eyes when I tell him. “Like an animal.”

  “I don’t want the details, do I?”

  Te
ars well in my eyes, thinking about Blackburn makes me physically ill. I’ll do it for Timofei though, it’s my job, and as Madam Carmella always said. We don’t choose our jobs, but we do choose how we conduct ourselves during the job, later you can cry about it, or you can simply be proud of the way you behaved while the other person cannot feel the same.

  “No,” I rasp.

  Timofei grunts. “Go get dressed, something that would make Blackburn weak in the knees. You’re coming with me,” he states.

  “Yes, sir,” I say, standing up tall.

  Timofei reaches for my hand and gives me a gentle squeeze. “We’re going to play with him, Giovanna. Trust me, please. I will always protect you,” he murmurs. “Go put your armor on.”

  I give him a small smile and lift my chin a bit higher. I’m filled with a sense of nervousness, but also excitement. Playing with Blackburn is dangerous, but he deserves it, every fucking bit of it. His days of dehumanizing me are finished.

  AIDAN

  Walking into the Oleandr, the air feels thick around me, it’s heavy. The restaurant is closed this evening for our meeting. Shaughan and Mannix are at my side, and I’m thankful for it. Tomorrow they’ll be at my side again, but we’ll be interrogating the bitches that sleep with the security guard who stole our supply. Tonight, it’s a different scenario.

  The meeting room is empty, save for a few of Timofei’s men. “Sit there,” one says.

  He’s as big as a fucking mountain. I’m not a small man, but this fucker practically dwarfs me. Walking over to the chair in the middle of the banquet table, I sit down. Mannix and Shaughan sit on either side of me.

  We wait only a few minutes before there is a noise behind us. Turning around, I watch as a man who must be Blackburn waltzes through the room as if he owns the place. He doesn’t ask where he should sit. With his nose lifted high in the air, he just walks around and sits directly across from Mannix, his two men on either side of him.

  The mountain man snorts. “Mr. Vetrov will be here shortly. He was detained slightly.”