by Marian Tee
“Your brother told us to do it!” the boy with the gun blubbered.
“Didn’t mean you had to follow him.” Bang. Bang. Bang. “I don’t give a fuck about being an heir to the Andreadis fortune, and you can tell that to my dear older brother.”
His voice hardened. “What I do care about is when you bring your shit into my territory. Every inch of land here belongs to Afxisi. You harm any of our people and we take it very personally. Enough to kill. So this will be your only warning. Go home to Greece and don’t ever think of coming back. If I ever see any of your faces again, you won’t have a second chance of coming out alive. Do you fucking understand me?”
None of the boys spoke.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“I didn’t hear you say yes. Did you fucking understand me?”
Yes. Yes, sir. Yes. They started sobbing the words out.
The rider started reloading his gun. “One last thing, too. Tell my brother that if he tries this kind of stunt one more time, I’ll come after him and he won’t be able to hide behind his mama’s skirts when I do. Understand?”
They couldn’t say yes fast enough this time.
“Now go.” He remained standing there, a lone figure in black, his gaze trained on the boys who hurried into their cars and drove off.
A moment later, a dozen or so bikes roared into the scene. Each and every one of its riders radiated power and authority. Just looking at them made me swallow. These guys were the real thing, and their strength made me sick even though I knew they weren’t the bad guys. They were nothing like my dad—
Oh my God, James!
James could be awake now!
“You didn’t need backup at all,” one of them was saying as he clapped his hand on the rider’s back.
The rider who had scared the boys away took his helmet off.
Instinctively, I fumbled for my camera. Click.
And then I turned away and ran.
By the time I climbed back into my room, my heart was beating so fast it was a miracle it hadn’t cracked a hole in my chest.
The sight of the broken hinges on my door made me want to throw up, but that would be a waste of time. Swallowing back the bile trying to rise in my throat, I hurriedly pushed my bedside table aside. One of the floorboards was loose, and I hid my SLR under it before pushing the table back into place.
After that, it was time to face the music.
“Dad?” I hated how my voice shook as I called out for him upon reaching the foot of the stairs.
Smash.
He answered me with a fist to my face, so hard that I hit the wall next to me with a loud thud. I bit my lip as he dragged me by the hair towards the garage. He threw me on the floor. “Where have you been, you spoiled piece of shit?”
He didn’t wait for me to answer. It wasn’t like I could anyway. He was kicking me everywhere, the pain of every kick making it impossible for me to speak.
When he stopped, I managed to crack one swollen eye open.
Oh God, he was getting on his bike.
Flat. Flat. I had to be flat.
Relax. Relax.
Ssssh. Think of…
Oh God, I wanted to close my eyes and cry.
But I couldn’t. That would mean giving up. That would mean James winning.
I had to survive.
Flat. I had to be flat. Relax. I had to relax. And think…I needed to think of that biker who saved the man. He was proof that there was good in the world. That life couldn’t be shitty forever.
So close now. The motorcycle’s rumble was getting louder and louder.
Sssh. Think. Dream.
That man on the bike. He’d save me too if he knew I was in trouble. I knew he would.
So for now I had to survive.
Flat. Relax. Eyes open. Sssh. Don’t breathe. Don’t make a sound.
SWISH.
Chapter One
Two years later
Girls started to fan themselves as the president of Afxisi walked past them, flanked by his officers on each side. Just looking at Helios Andreadis was enough to have the girls cry his name out. How badly they ached to touch him. But they didn’t. No one touched the president without his permission. It was one of his many infamous rules.
At nearly six foot seven, Helios Andreadis towered over everyone in his club. Aptly named after the sun god, Helios did look like one, with his long golden hair and eyes nearly the same color.
Dressed plainly in a baseball shirt and jeans, he should have looked like an ordinary fourth-year student of Christopoulos University. But instead, Helios stood out like a pagan god amidst mere mortals, and everyone wanted to worship him.
“I conducted a survey yesterday,” the club’s vice president, Kellion Argyros, murmured in Greek. His green eyes flashed with amusement as he explained, “98.6% of this year’s female applicants were after the position of the president’s bedmate. It’s up by three percent from last year.”
“Congratulations, President,” the club’s secretary, Yuri Athanas, deadpanned, also in the same language. “It is a commendable feat, especially when considering your attempt to alienate the school’s female student population.”
“Fuck off.” These words were, on the other hand, spoken in accented English. The girls who heard him sighed. If only that one had ended with a ‘you’ and was addressed to them.
Kellion smirked, but his voice was serious when he asked, “Have you heard from Andreus?”
Helios switched to his native language at his vice president’s question. “No. Not yet.” The delayed return of the club’s treasurer brought a hard look to his face. A smarter one would have known it represented danger. But the girls around him weren’t that smart. Seeing that look on Helios’ face only made them imagine being fucked by the president. Hard. Harder than they had ever been fucked.
“Shall we change our plans?” Yuri asked as they came to a stop in front of the steel gates of their club’s headquarters.
After a moment, Helios replied, “No. I don’t want to act preemptively and risk bringing a war into our territory.”
Kellion raised a brow. “We continue pretending then?”
A green light flashed above the gate just before it slowly rolled up. The girls started to scream. The day they had long been waiting for had finally arrived – a chance to be a part of Afxisi, even if it meant year-long servitude.
All the girls cared about was being part of a club that the American media had adoringly dubbed as Heart Racers, mostly because the club’s real name was impossible to pronounce. All they saw were college heartthrobs with big bikes and even bigger bank accounts.
None of them saw the truth. None of them saw past the good looks, the wealth, and the exciting and sometimes dangerous lifestyles the club’s members were known for.
And that was exactly how the club wanted it.
Helios answered Kellion’s question simply by turning around to face the crowd, a cold smile touching his lips. “Let the auditions begin.”
****
MJ Cartwright burst out of the school building’s back doors with a gasp. Checking her watch, she saw that she still had about ten minutes before club auditions officially started. She was not much of a runner. Death-defying stunts were more her forte. But stuff that were more a test of stamina than strength? She was a total loser at it. Back when she was in high school, MJ would watch the cheerleading squad run laps around the football field in their teensy weensy uniforms without breaking a sweat. She had once tried to do the same and nearly expired from heat stroke and dehydration after just five minutes.
She had never tried to run after that, but today she was going to make an exception. She had been at the dean’s office, waiting for her class schedule to be printed out, when she heard girls talking about Club Day. It was going to be a bloodbath, the girls had said. That one clinched it for her. MJ snuck out five minutes before her first class officially ended, determined to be one of the early birds for the audition.
By
the time MJ spied the distinct red roof of the club’s headquarters, she was busy trying to catch her breath. Just a few more feet, she told herself. She would make it.
Or so she thought, until she realized that the club’s automated steel gate had started to lower.
“WAIT!” MJ ran as fast as she could and found herself bending back almost to her waist to slide past the gate. Behind her, the gate slammed down hard on the ground just as she skidded to a stop, landing on her knees like Michael Jackson finishing one of his dance moves.
Sheer relief had her eyes falling close even as someone started clapping his hands.
When she opened her eyes, MJ expected to see sneering girls who probably thought she was being too full of herself, applying for a spot in the university’s most popular club.
But what she saw was worse.
There were no girls, no bloodbath, no anything.
All she saw were three pairs of eyes looking down at her, and one of them belonged to him.
My name is MJ Cartwright. I’ve been wanting to meet you for two long years. You wouldn’t believe what I had to do just to be here, studying in the same school, just so I could be near you. But seeing you – just seeing you has made everything worth it.
That was what she had intended to say to the man whose face she had memorized, the man whose every photo on the Internet she had saved in her hard drive and backed up in Dropbox.
Meeting Helios Andreadis was a distant hope she had desperately clung to when she had nothing to hope for. This moment was all she had lived for, and in her dreams, serendipity would work its magic on the two of them. Their gazes would meet, their hearts would speak, and it would be a happy-ever-after.
But in reality…
“Ahh...gaaah…errr…uuurgh…”
At the garble that came out of her mouth, Helios Andreadis raised one eyebrow, an odd look on his gorgeous face. That look didn’t say, ‘Who’s this beautiful girl?’ No, that look on his heartbreakingly perfect face meant something more like ‘Should I call the police before this creature attacks me?’
Inside her mind, MJ knelt down and prayed.
Dear God. Can’t you be like Morgan Freeman this once and rewind my life? I just want to start all over again and let him know I at least speak English. Please?
Chapter Two
As the silence inside the room lengthened, Helios found his friends slowly turning to him in askance. Kellion’s eyes were gleaming with amusement. Yuri’s face was inscrutable. But it was obvious both were of the same mind. He was the president. It was up to him to decide what to do.
Helios reluctantly returned his attention to the girl, who was still on her knees. She was a small one, with dark hair that brushed against her shoulders and its tips going in all directions. Her large violet eyes dominated her triangular face, which was completely free from makeup.
She looked like a kitten. A confused and out of place kitten, and one to be escorted out without delay. Everything about her told Helios that she did not belong in his club. She didn’t even belong in his world, and she never would.
Her clothes were the least of her problems. Checkered polo, tank top, faded jeans, and worn-looking sneakers. Even the girls assigned to clean the club’s bathrooms still dressed themselves in Chanel and tottered around carrying buckets of water in stilettos. This girl might be the first one properly dressed for house cleaning, but that wasn’t the point at all.
Everything about her was the opposite of what his world represented. Money. Class. Bloodlines. She had none of those. In fact, the only thing she possessed of worth was the expensive camera slung around her neck.
None of those would normally matter to Helios. Although he always made it a point to bed only women who belonged in the same privileged circles he enjoyed, he could never be accused of being a snob. But there was something about this girl…something that rubbed him the wrong way.
Just looking at her made him…feel, too strongly for one who had trained himself never to feel.
Her hair was too unruly. He wanted to run his fingers through it to discover its texture.
Her eyes were too big, too trusting, too revealing. He wanted those eyes focused on him completely, and he hated every second those eyes did not linger on him.
Her body seemed too small and frail, even if she was dressed like a tomboy. He wanted to crush that body towards him, wanted to feel every inch of her trembling with passion and need as he possessed her with his cock.
That last thought stunned him, and he said abruptly, “I apologize, but you are too late. All the positions have been filled up.” Helios knew that the formality of his words would betray his emotions to his friends. But at that moment, he didn’t give a shit. All he knew was this girl, who was a mixture of odd and fascinating, had somehow gotten under his skin.
She was now a complication, and Helios never wasted time getting rid of complications.
I apologize…
MJ didn’t really hear the rest of what he had to say. All she could think about was how Helios Andreadis’ voice was even more beautiful in person. He spoke like a…like a god. Slow, quiet, authoritative, with each syllable spelled out with the faintest Greek accent. He spoke like he would never have to do anything in a hurry because he was powerful enough to do whatever he pleased, whenever and wherever.
Actually, he also looked more beautiful in person, too. MJ was already too nervous as she was, and she knew it would be better for her to ignore how good-looking he was. But it was impossible. That was like ignoring how bright the sun was.
Her senses fluttered like crazy every time she stole looks at him, which, embarrassing as it was to admit, were quite frequent. Enough for one of the other guys, the one with wicked green eyes, to smirk at her.
As he spoke, MJ couldn’t stop herself from staring. Tall, golden-haired, and lethally built, he looked more like someone who belonged behind a majestic chariot than a motorcycle. While he did not look older than his twenty-two years, he did feel more powerful than someone still in college had a right to be.
Looking at him was enough to have MJ tongue-tied. She had a bad feeling that if he made her speak right this very moment, she would do so in a weird mix of Yugoslavian and African that no one could ever translate.
When he stopped and looked like he expected her to speak, MJ turned red. “I…I’m sorry, come again?”
Was she a fucking idiot? What was so hard about what he had said? But when she only continued to gaze at him with genuine looking confusion, Helios bit out, “Auditions are over. You can leave now.”
The words were so unexpected it took MJ a couple of seconds to comprehend them. When she finally did, MJ immediately felt herself whitening. “Y-you’re joking, aren’t you?”
Yuri coughed. It was his first time to hear a girl – or anyone for that matter – contradict something the club’s mercurial and arrogant president said.
Kellion wasn’t as polite. He grinned, making him look even more devilishly handsome.
Unbelievable, Helios thought with growing anger. Why the hell was she still here? He was tempted to shake her but controlled the urge. He had a feeling something unwanted would happen if he ever touched any part of her.
Maybe his Greek had failed him, MJ thought hopefully when Helios only glared at her. Maybe all those English interviews of his that she had listened to were scripted and he wasn’t really fluent at all. Maybe what he meant was the opposite, that she was actually super early for the interview rather than super late.
So she said very slowly, “I. Am. Here. To. Audition. For. The. Club.”
Yuri slowly bowed his head. It was the best he could do to keep his amusement from showing. He had been raised to be the epitome of chivalry and courtesy, but this strange funny girl was pushing him to his limits.
Kellion, once again, wasn’t as polite. A bark of laughter escaped him, and he didn’t even bother to try containing his amusement when Helios threw him a dark look.
Helios’ scowling glance
snapped back at the girl. Why the fuck was she talking to him like he was an idiot?
The look on Helios Andreadis’ face made MJ whiten even more. What had she done? Oh no. Maybe she had still spoken too fast and now the other men were laughing at Helios for his inability to understand her?
So she said again, more slowly, this time, “I....” She drawled the word out as long as she could. “Aaaaaaaam…Heeeeeeere…”
This time, even Yuri found himself defeated. He laughed with Kellion.
Helios snapped, “Shut up.”
She said automatically, “Yes, sir.”
Yuri and Kellion laughed harder.
Helios glared.
MJ’s heart sank.
“Why the hell are you talking to me like that?”
Deeeeeeym. He spoke the words so wonderfully fast that MJ knew right away she had been wrong. MJ admitted weakly, “I thought you didn’t speak English very well.”
Helios Andreadis looked like he wanted to kill her now, and her heart sank even more.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I do speak English perfectly.”
Confusion warred with misery. “Then I’m really late?”
“By about an hour,” Helios confirmed coldly.
“But I still had classes—”
Yuri said gently, “The vacancies in our club are highly sought after. A lot of the girls simply chose to ditch their classes in order to be one of the first to apply.”
MJ’s shoulders slumped as all her hopes crashed down around her. She couldn’t believe everything would end just like this. After two long years of planning how she could be close to Helios, this had to happen.
Yuri’s gentleness sharpened Helios’ irritation. He did not want anyone to be kind to the girl, dammit. All he knew was the kinder Yuri was to her, the more he wanted to be cruel to the girl.
Kellion observed the unusually contemptuous expression that had fallen over Helios’ face. It was not that Helios never held anyone in contempt. Like any Greek male, Helios was damn good at carrying grudges. All of them were. It was the fact that Helios’ face revealed any emotion at all that made Kellion murmur, “Just out of curiosity, moro mou, which spot are you hoping to apply for?”
