“My innocent little Aurora doesn’t want to know that.” He gave her a devilish smirk. “But if you’d like to know-”
“No, no! I’m good, I’ll take your word for it!”
Tristan and Harper both laughed at her, another snort coming from Harper. Finally, they found the small restaurant Tristan had been boasting about. It was a cute place, but one she would have never found on her own or dared going into. The three of them went inside, the cool air chilling Aurora’s bare arms. While Tristan ordered his veggie burger, Aurora pulled her hoodie back on. Tristan paid, then Harper ordered a royal burger which was a regular burger with a sunny-side up egg under the bun.
“Aurora, I’ll pay for you. What do you want?”
“You don’t have to pay for me.” She protested.
“Nonsense, this day is about you. Get whatever you want, I’m hungry.”
“Ok, I’ll have a bacon cheese burger, please.” She smiled at the man working the register.
“Coming right up ladies.” He gave them a wink, took Harpers money, and waited for the cooks to get the food ready.
Harper gave Aurora a look that told her she thought the guy was cute. Aurora rolled her eyes and laughed. Tristan’s food came first and he went off to find a place for them to sit. It took a couple minutes for their food to come out and when it did, they thanked the man behind the counter and each carried a tray over to the booth Tristan had picked out. It was next to a window, the sun shining on their table.
“What did you guys want to do after this?” Aurora spoke after she finished the first bite of her burger.
“Whatever you want to do, girl.” Tristan spoke while chewing his food.
“Ew, don’t you know how to swallow?” Harper’s nose scrunched in disapproval.
“Of course, I know how to swallow.” He gave her a suggestive look.
“Okay, gross! I’m eating!”
Aurora couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them. She couldn’t be more grateful for having such great friends. They always knew how to make things better. She continued eating her burger as she listened to Tristan and Harper ramble on about different things. It was nice and was definitely helping take her mind off things. Her eyes wondered outside, a reminder of where they were and that they should go back to the strip when they finished. She noticed three men standing at the corner across from the restaurant. One sitting on the curb, his elbows resting on his knees and his chin in his hands. The second stood behind him, his arms relaxed at his side while he talked to the third. None of them bother her until she realized the third man seemed to be staring into the restaurant. His light brown hair was cut close to his head, his eyes squinting and a trail of smoke drifting up from the cigarette he loosely held between his lips. He had his arms crossed over his broad chest, the shirt he wore accentuating his muscles. They all looked rather strong, but he had to be about the size of Theo. She shivered.
“I- Um, I think we should get out of here.” Aurora swallowed hard.
“You haven’t even eaten half your food.” Harper gawked at her plate.
“I’m not really that hungry.”
“Girl, we’re always hungry. What’s wrong?” Harper genuinely sounding concerned.
“I don’t know.” She mumbled. “We should get back to shopping, we have the whole other side to check out.”
“If you say so. Do you want to take your food to go?”
“No, it’ll go bad while we shop. Plus, I don’t want to carry it.” She giggled, trying to lighten the mood.
Tristan and Harper finished up their food after a couple more minutes, each of them dumping their tray and walking back outside. Tristan stretched his arms above his head and took a deep breath.
“I can’t believe how nice it is!”
“Yea.” Aurora agreed, but she wasn’t really paying attention.
The men she had been looking at were staring back. She averted her eyes, a blush creeping across her face. She didn’t like attention and she had a bad feeling that these guys were going to give them a hard time. She felt her pocket buzzing, her thoughts momentarily moving away from them. She pulled out her phone, her mouth slightly parting as Theo’s name showed across the top. She clicked the end button, but he called back right away. What in the world did he want?
“Hello?” She weakly answered her phone, the three of them walking down the sidewalk.
“Don’t you know how to answer your phone?” He yelled, anger clear in his voice.
“I’m out with my friends, what do you want?”
“I want you to get your ass home right now.”
“What? No! We’re not done looking around.”
“I said now, Aurora.” He growled.
“I don’t have to listen to you, Theo.” Her voice firm.
“Aurora-”
She ended the call, turned her phone on silent, and tossed it into her purse. She truly was sorry for how she freaked out the other day but that didn’t give him the right to start bossing her around again. She looked up at Tristan and Harper, both sets of eyes on her.
“What did he want?” Harper looked concerned, by now they both had an idea that her foul mood was due to Theo.
“I don’t know.” She sighed.
“Hey baby, why don’t you bring that sweet ass back here?”
Aurora fought the urge to freeze but couldn’t stop herself from looking behind them. The three men from the corner were all walking toward them. The man that had been sitting on the curb was the one she guessed had spoken because the moment her eyes locked onto his, he licked his lips. She swallowed hard and picked up her pace.
“Hey, I was talking to you!”
“Leave us alone!” Harper yelled at them.
“I wasn’t talking to you, bitch.”
“Just ignore them, they leave us alone soon.” Tristan whispered, the three of them walking faster.
Aurora believed him until the footsteps behind them got louder. A hand roughly grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. She fell against the guy’s chest, his other arm wrapping around her and squeezing tightly. His hand covered her mouth and effectively cut her off mid scream.
“Let her go you creep!” Harper screamed.
“What the fuck are you going to do?” The second man Aurora spotted spoke up.
“I- I’ll-”
“That’s what I thought, run along.”
Aurora continued to struggled during their little conversation. The man’s grip tightening to the point of pain. She whimpered against his hand, her legs thrashing around and kicking backward until she nailed him in the balls.
“Fuck!” He growled, his hands going to the tender area she had smashed.
The second he released her, she bolted. Tristan and Harper surprised but quickly ran after her. Tristan flew past her, Harper at her side as they both panted and pumped their legs as fast as they could. She could hear the men yelling, their feet thumping against the broken cement path. When she spotted the side of a building on the strip, she felt a glimmer of hope that they would back off. But all was shattered when her foot caught the edge of the uneven sidewalk, her heart fluttering as she felt herself falling forward. She was thankful for the two arms that prevented her from landing on the rough surface until she was slammed against the side of the building she hoped would save them. Tristan and Harper stopped and ran back to see her pinned between the largest of the three and the brick wall. The man’s hand slipped around her neck, squeezing in warning not to try the same thing with him.
“Let her go!” Harper screeched, her eyes holding panic.
“This doesn’t concern you.” One of the men spoke, blocking their way to Aurora.
“Yes, is fucking does! You can’t just take our friend!” Harper’s voice raising higher, her eyes darting down the sidewalk to see if she was getting anyone’s attention.
“Ain’t no one going to mess with us, doll face.” The other man laughed.
“W
hy don’t you two make yourselves useful and tell Stone we’ve got something of his.” The third man spoke for the first time, his voice dark with a hint of irritation.
Aurora’s eyes widened. They were talking about Theo, but how in the world did they know who she was? She felt sick to her stomach, Theo’s words from his phone call piercing all thoughts.
“Stone?” Harper’s voice lowering as she questioned him.
Tristan and Harper glanced at each other, then back to the man holding Aurora.
“He-He’s talking about Theo.” Aurora struggled out.
21
“You fucking left her!” Theo roared, his anger flaring.
“What we’re we supposed to do?” Tristan huffed, his arms around Harper as they stood in front of Theo’s door.
“I don’t know, fucking try? You are a man, aren’t you?” Theo barked, Tristan’s mouth dropping open. “Never mind, don’t fucking answer that.” He gritted his teeth and pushed past them.
“Wait, where are you going?” Harper took a step after him.
“To get Aurora.”
Theo jogged down the stairs, too enraged to wait for the elevator. If she had listened to him, she wouldn’t be in this position. His hands turned into fist as he exited the building, his car straight ahead. In the matter of seconds, he was speeding off down the road toward Luca’s hang out. He had been there a couple of times, usually to discuss boundaries or to watch a fight he betted on. He hadn’t been there in a long time, they hadn’t exactly been seeing eye-to-eye lately. His anger continued to rise as he swerved in and out of traffic, his hand gripping the steering wheel in a death grip. Pulling up to the abandoned warehouse brought back bitter memories. He barely parked his car as he threw open the door, slamming it shut and storming up to the entrance.
“Stone-”
He decked the guy in the jaw, his body reeling back and a hand raising to rub the side of his face. It did nothing for the anger raging in him. The second guy let him pass without a word. It was obvious they were expecting him.
“Luca!” He yelled, his voice echoing in the large space.
He heard a deep laugh, his head tilting up to see Luca standing on the metal balcony above him. A wide grin on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.
“Didn’t take you very long to get here.”
“Where the fuck is she?”
“She’s sleeping, must have hit her too hard.” He shrugged as he chuckled.
“You bastard.” Theo glared, his jaw becoming sore from clenching his teeth.
“You know the rules, she was on my side.” He uncrossed his hands and rested his hands on the railing in front of him. “I’ve got to admit, you have great taste.”
“Let her go, she has no idea about any of this.”
“It’s not going to be that easy.”
“Luca.” He roared.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
“What?”
“I’ve got a match coming up with weekend. You enter and win, I’ll let you have her back. If you don’t win, she’s mine.”
“You know I don’t fight in those anymore.”
“You want her back you will.”
Theo was silent, he had given up fighting a while ago. The thrill of it gone. But if it was the only option Luca was going to give him then he’d do it.
“Fine but let me take her place. She goes home, I’ll stay until the fight.”
“What’s the fun in that?” A smirk forming on his face. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her.” He let out another laugh, his back turning to Theo as he walked off.
Theo took a step toward the stairs, ready to run up them and beat the life out of that infuriating man but three of his guards blocked his path. Each one holding a gun pointed at him. He wasn’t going to be any use to Aurora if he was wounded or killed. A growled escaped his throat, his body tense with anger as he swallowed his pride and left. He didn’t remember getting back to his crappy apartment, his fury blurring his actions. Inside, he threw the end table by the couch across the room and smashing it into the flat screen TV. Several holes were put in the walls throughout the small space and anything he could lift was thrown from its place. He didn’t stop his path of destruction until his eyes landed on the plate of cookies Aurora had made him. He wasn’t sure how long he stared at them.
“What the hell happened?” Lacey’s voice broke into his concentration, his eyes lifting to look at her. “I can’t even watch TV, what am I going to do?” She rolled her eyes.
“I don’t give a fuck what you do, go get your ass killed for all I care.”
“I see you’re still upset.” She raised an eyebrow at him.
Theo’s attention returned to the plate of cookies as he ignored the woman. Ever since Eli got into some trouble and Lacey had to stay with him things had gone to shit. He was tired of picking of the pieces for everyone else while his life shattered around him. A hand with long red nails came into his line of sight, her fingers reaching for a cookie. His hand caught her wrist in a painful grip.
“Ouch! What the fuck?”
“They’re poisonous, remember?” He snarled at her, flinging her wrist away from him.
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes again, a habit she’s always had.
“Stop rolling your fucking eyes at me.”
“What the hell is your problem?” She snapped. “You’ve trashed your shitty apartment and you’re being violent with me for no reason!” She shouted at him, her hands turning to fists and resting on her hips.
“Go find Eli, I’m done watching your annoying ass.”
“You know damn well I can’t do that.”
“Then find someone else.”
Theo snatched the cookies off the counter and carried them into his bedroom, slamming the door as he did. He grabbed the leg to his end table and flipped it upright to set the cookies down on it. His mattress was leaning against the wall, one easy pull on the edge of it and it was flat again. He plopped down, a cookie in his hand. The TV in his room also smashed, his thoughts on Aurora has he bit into the sweet. Things were going to change the moment she was back in his arms. He laid there for about an hour or so, a few more cookies gone from the place. His phone buzzed at his side, a message from the freckle faced girl asking about Aurora. He didn’t answer her. He didn’t know what to tell her. Hell, he didn’t know what he was going to tell Caleb. He pushed himself off the bed and left to go to the gym. Working out was something he was used to, but fighting was completely different. He needed something that would hit back.
22
Aurora’s eyes fluttered open, her mouth dry and her stomach aching. She laid where she was for a few moments, her eyes taking in her surroundings. She seemed to be laying on a bed in a room with no windows. She couldn’t make out much more than that, even when her eyes adjusted. When she attempted to sit up, she hissed in pain. The muscles in her stomach sore and tense. Eventually, she forced herself up. As far as she could tell, she was wearing the same clothes which was a good sign. What wasn’t was the cold braces around her ankles. She let her hands wonder over them, her finger tips finding the cuffs and the chain they were attached to. Her tongue slid across her lips, her throat burning. She opened her mouth to yell but only a dry croak came out. She was about to try again when a door flew open, the light from outside pouring into her cell and blinding her. She squeezed her eyes shut and used her arm to cover her face.
“Finally, up.” His deep voice monotone filling the almost empty room.
She recognized him as the man who had pinned her to the wall. His hand had been around her throat but she didn’t remember struggling for air before passing out. Actually, she hadn’t remembered passing out at all but the dull pain in her stomach told her in was caused by a fist.
“Wha-What do you want with me?” She lowered her arm, her eyes in slits as she peered at him.
“Nothing.” He leaned against the door frame. “It’s Theo
I’m after.”
“Then let me go.”
“I will when his end of the bargain is complete.” He took a step into the room.
“And what is it that he has to do?”
“Win a couple fights for me.” He casually walked over to the bed, his hand grabbing the chain and yanking on it.
“Fights?” She mumbled softly, her head dropping away from his gaze.
“Should be easy-” He lifted her head, his fingers wrapped around her jaw.
His Favorite Toy Page 9
