by Mia Knight
“What the fuck happened to you? Who hurt you?” Carmen leapt off the bed and didn’t bother to brush her dress down to cover her girly bits. Carmen braced her legs apart like a superhero ready for take-off, gold glitter hooker heels shining in the light. “I’ll tell Vinny. He’ll kill whoever did this to you.”
“Vinny's going to kill his boss?” Lyla asked sardonically and gingerly touched her swollen lip.
Carmen’s eyes bugged comically wide. “Gavin did this to you?”
“Yeah.”
“But Gavin loves you. He’s been looking for you for years—”
“And he’s pissed enough to beat the shit out of me,” Lyla said and brushed a hand over her tender throat.
Carmen flushed with rage. “What the fuck? What else did he do to you? I’ll kill him myself!”
Carmen’s overprotectiveness loosened something inside of Lyla. Unlike everyone else in the business, Carmen was unrestrained and passionate. Her husband, Vinny, was Gavin’s cousin. When they were younger, they double dated the Pyre men. That seemed like ages ago. Carmen was two years older than Lyla and a Las Vegas native. Carmen showed Lyla the ropes when her family moved from California when she was eight. They had been inseparable ever since. Carmen’s father, a second generation enforcer for the Pyre family, helped Lyla’s father with the accounting job at a Pyre Casino when they hit a rough spot.
“I’ve missed you,” Lyla said simply.
Carmen’s eyes filled with tears and she launched herself at Lyla, knocking the wind out of her.
“I’m here. It’s going to be okay. I promise,” Carmen whispered.
Lyla clutched at her. “I’m scared.”
Carmen made a shushing sound and brushed Lyla’s hair back like a mother would to comfort a young child. Lyla took a deep, shuddering breath and took in Carmen’s cotton candy scent.
“Do you know how he found you?” Carmen asked in a soundless whisper.
Lyla shook her head. Carmen pulled back and clasped Lyla’s face between her hands.
“We’re going to get through this.”
Lyla didn’t agree with Carmen’s fervent reassurance. She felt as if she might shatter into pieces. She wanted to be anywhere but here. She felt unsafe, frightened and desperate. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no one to help. No one fucked with the Pyre family. You screwed them, they destroyed you. Whatever you did to them, they paid back ten times over. They were the crime lords of Las Vegas. The Pyres had a stake in every sinful desire you could dream up and the manpower and money to make anything happen. Why hadn’t she realized she was playing with fire?
Carmen tugged Lyla down so they sat side by side on the bed. She held Lyla’s hand in her lap and said, “Now, tell me everything.”
Lyla told her how she created a new identity, kept her head down, and about Jonathan.
“And Gavin knows about this guy you were living with?” Carmen asked incredulously. At Lyla’s nod, she asked, “And he’s still alive?”
At Lyla’s fearful look, Carmen quickly reassured her that Gavin probably wouldn’t bother Jonathan as long as she didn’t piss him off. Lyla regained a little color in her face and told Carmen about her father’s debt.
“Your father’s always been a dumb shit,” Carmen said.
In a quavering voice, Lyla finished her story by explaining what occurred in the kitchen this morning. Carmen’s baby blue eyes were alight with holy fire.
“He doesn’t get to treat you like this!”
“He can do whatever he wants,” Lyla said and couldn’t stop her shudder.
“Don’t take this lying down.”
“What do you mean?”
“Girl, you had him once.”
“Yeah, me and a hundred other girls.”
Carmen let out a disgusted sound. “You know what I mean. Gavin may have fucked around, but no man searches for their ex for three years unless he has feelings.”
“Or an ego the size of Texas,” Lyla countered.
Carmen tapped long, pointed acrylic nails together. “I don’t believe that. I still think he loves you.”
“This is love?” Lyla said, gesturing to her bruises. “Aside from the fact that he never said he loved me, he beat the crap out of my dad and blackmailed me into coming back to him. That’s fucked up, Carmen. This isn’t a fucking romance novel.”
“You have power.”
“Power? Are you high?”
“He wants you. If Gavin wanted to kill you, he’d kill you. If he wanted to make you pay he wouldn’t bring you to his home, feed you and then take you to your mother’s house. Comprende?”
“Who knows why Gavin does what he does? He’s losing it.”
“Manny gave him the reins two years ago.”
Lyla didn’t care.
“Gavin doesn’t take no shit. He’s harder than Manny and ten times more ruthless. Vinny says he got worse after you left.”
Lyla got up and paced her tiny bedroom. “Why? Gavin has a million girls to choose from. I’m nothing special.”
Carmen hummed and wagged a finger. “Girl, everyone sees it but you.”
“Sees what?”
Carmen braced her hands on Lyla’s shoulders and gave her a small shake. “You’re gorgeous.”
“There’s other girls more—”
“You’re loyal and you love with everything in you. You’re strong. Strong enough to make it on your own without anyone’s help. That probably pissed Gavin off the most.” Carmen suddenly hooted and clapped her hands together. “Here he thought you’d been taken or would come back begging. Instead, he finds you after three years in fucking Maine with another guy. Tell me that isn’t funny.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lyla said.
“Well, I know and that’s enough,” Carmen said crisply and let her go. “You can make this work to your advantage.”
Lyla tried to stomp on the trickle of hope. “Carmen—”
“Listen to me,” Carmen snapped. “I’m older and wiser.”
Lyla took a deep breath. She was willing to try anything. “Okay. What do I do?”
“You make him crazy.”
“Gavin is crazy.”
“I mean, make him crazy for you.”
“But I don’t want him crazy for me. I want him to forget that I exist and let me go.”
Carmen looked crushed. “But you just got back.”
“Carmen, there's a reason why I left.” Because her ex was a serial cheater and possible serial killer.
“I know, but what if Gavin’s changed? Would you consider staying?”
“How the hell did you go from threatening to kill him to asking me to stay with him?”
“I don't want you to go.” Carmen sounded like a petulant child. “I've missed you, bitch.”
“I missed you too, but I'm a captive, hello.”
“You’re only a captive if you let yourself be. Captivate the captor,” Carmen said with an exaggerated wink.
“What are you talking about?”
“Mama, use what the good Lord gave you.” Carmen ran a hand between her legs, cupped her tits and slapped her ass. “You look like a stripper and have the smarts to stay off his radar for three years. Use it to your advantage! Make Gavin your slave.”
“He hates me, Carmen.”
“It can't be all hate. He hasn’t been the same since you left. Just try to get him in bed and see what happens.”
Lyla clenched her hands into fists at her sides. “Done that.”
Carmen's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. “You fucked him?”
“He raped me.”
Carmen's eyes narrowed to slits. “He raped you?”
“I was having a sex dream and when I woke up, he was in me.”
“A sex dream? About Jonathan? Is he, like, a hot IT consultant?”
“He’s cute.”
Carmen didn’t look convinced. “You love him?”
She and Jonathan never discussed it, but, “Yes,”
she said defiantly.
Carmen leaned in close and examined her suspiciously. “Like, love him, love him?”
“Yes.”
Carmen gave her a somber look. “Lyla, there's no escape this time. The moment you started dating Gavin, you became Pyre property.”
“That was years ago!”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s obvious that Gavin will do everything in his power to make sure you stay put this time. Men like him don’t let go of a good woman.”
Lyla made an impatient sound. Men like Gavin... Maybe she could get Gavin hooked on someone else and she could pay off her father’s debt another way other than as his sex slave... or whatever it was that he wanted from her. Invisible walls were closing in. The urge to run was an insistent drum beat in her mind. Lyla jumped as someone knocked on the door. Her mother appeared with Lyla’s cell phone in hand.
“It's Gavin. He wants to talk to you,” Mom said.
Lyla’s heartbeat went into overdrive. Before she could figure out a way to avoid the call, Carmen snatched the phone out of her mother's hand.
“Gavin, what the fuck did you do to my cousin?” Carmen demanded.
Fearing for Carmen’s life, Lyla lurched into motion and tried to rip the phone out of her hand. Carmen ruthlessly shoved Lyla away and continued to talk.
“Don’t give me that shit, Gavin. If Manny sees her like this, he'll have a cow. What do you mean, its none of my business? Of course it is! She's my cousin.” Carmen’s heel tapped rapidly as she listened to what Gavin said on the other end. “No, I’m taking her out.”
Carmen yanked the phone away from her ear. They could hear Gavin shouting. Lyla shook her head wildly while her mother wrung her hands.
“Carmen Pyre,” Lyla’s mother said and tried to take the phone from her.
Carmen held up one finger and gave Lyla’s mother a threatening look. Carmen put her hand over the phone and mouthed, “He needs to woo her back.”
Lyla made a gagging sound.
Carmen put the phone back to her ear. “She needs some work done. Hair, nails, the works. We’re going to have a girl’s day. You can see her after.” Carmen listened for a moment and her eyes flicked to Lyla. “Okay. Fine. Here.”
Carmen handed the phone over. Lyla took it, afraid what hell Carmen created and how dearly she would pay for it later. “Hello?”
“Lyla?” Gavin bit out.
She closed her eyes against the sound of his voice and the memories of this morning. He wasn’t the man she fell in love with. He wasn’t a man she wanted to be around, ever. She learned to care for herself, to work for what she had. Now, she was reduced to a possession, a child that would be punished if she didn’t please her master. She trembled with helpless rage. “Yes?”
A pause and then, “I should have figured Vinny would tell Carmen you’re back. Do you want to go with her?”
“Yes.” She needed to get out of this house, away from her mother who worshipped the ground Gavin walked on. Carmen stood up for her when no one else dared. She would stick to her cousin as much as possible.
“Blade will shadow you,” Gavin said.
Lyla said nothing.
“I’ll come for you after work.”
Again, she didn’t reply. What was there to say? He called the shots and she did as she was told. That’s what he wanted, right? A submissive doll to dress, fuck and control.
“Lyla?”
“Yes?”
Gavin cursed and hung up. Lyla wasn’t sure what that meant and didn’t care. “Let’s go,” she said to Carmen who cheered.
“Lyla,” Mom began.
Lyla kissed her mother on the cheek as she passed. “I’ll see you later, Mom.”
Lyla got out of her family house as fast as possible. She felt better once she was outside in the sun. She paused for a moment to brush off the effect Gavin’s voice had on her and saw Blade in the driver’s seat of the SUV, ready to go. Gavin hadn’t wasted time informing his security about their outing. Carmen put on a pair of pink sunglasses and jumped into a gold convertible. Lyla’s lips quirked at the ridiculous car. Of course Carmen would have a gold car. Lyla belted herself in and held on for dear life as Carmen drove like a reckless demon.
“You don’t know how happy I am that you’re back,” Carmen shouted over the sound of the wind and traffic. “I mean, I know you don’t want to be here. You never liked the way they do business and it sucks that you saw the worst of Gavin, but that’s the way it is. This is home and if you want, I know you can be happy here again. You were before. You were happy before you found out about the other girls. You have the power to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Had she ever been happy here? It was hard to remember since the events that caused her to leave overshadowed the good. She didn’t want to think about making a life in Las Vegas with Gavin. She wanted to believe that this was a fucking mistake that would go away. She would be set free and then... Then what? She would reinvent herself again. She couldn’t go back to Maine, to Jonathan. Not after this. Fucking Gavin made her feel like a whore. Was it rape if she had an orgasm? Her body welcomed Gavin back as if the time in between had never been. Apparently, her body didn’t realize that they belonged to Jonathan now. Well, used to belong to Jonathan—
“Are you listening to me?” Carmen shouted and narrowly avoided rear ending a Ferrari. When the driver honked, Carmen flipped the bird and resumed lecturing Lyla about her new life. “Vinny adores me and everyone knows it. I keep him topped up, you know what I mean? He’s part of the underworld, but we’re happy, girl.”
“But I don’t want Gavin!” Lyla shouted back.
“You wanted him once and if you can overlook some things, he’d make a solid man. He’d provide for you and protect the fuck out of you. He would never take you for granted since you left him once already.”
Carmen parked with a screech of tires in front of a salon. She bustled out and linked her arm through Lyla’s. Blade was on their heels when they walked in. The salon played hip hop music shockingly loud. Hairdressers wore the craziest wigs and hairstyles Lyla had ever seen. A large woman wearing a skintight dress and heels ran to them. She and Carmen exchanged air kisses before Carmen shoved Lyla forward.
“This is my cousin, Lyla. She’s with Gavin,” Carmen said.
The hairdresser’s eyes widened. “No shit?”
“No shit,” Carmen said solemnly. “She needs the works. Don’t cut her hair and no dye or he’ll have my head.” Carmen gestured to Blade and the two other guards in the entrance. “Her bodyguards. She should be in eyesight at all times.”
“No problem,” the hairdresser said. “I’m gonna give you to one of my best. Keenan!”
A muscled black man in zebra tights and a sagging tank top stomped towards them with a sulky expression.
“Keenan, she’s with Gavin Pyre and needs the works.”
Keenan lit up as if he’d been offered a million dollars. He kissed Lyla on the mouth and wrapped an arm around her.“Girl!”
“No kissing,” Blade barked from the entrance and the noise in the salon dimmed a bit.
Keenan blew Blade a kiss. “You got it, big boy.”
“Trim, no dye,” Keenan’s boss ordered.
“You got it. Come, baby, and tell Keenan all about it,” he said and ushered Lyla into the back of the salon to a private corner. “Let’s condition that gorgeous hair. So, did Gavin rescue you from a rough customer?”
“Customer?” Lyla echoed blankly.
“You’re an escort, right? Gavin took you in?” Keenan gestured to her neck, lip and arms. “Were you working for him and a customer got out of hand?”
Apparently, the salon catered to the Pyres and weren’t concerned how they made their money. The elite of Las Vegas were willing to get their hands dirty. Escorts, drug dealers, con men, strippers and high rollers were the ones who rose to the top in Las Vegas. Lyla wasn’t sure what to think about Keenan’s conclusion. Did she look like an escort? Did Gavin take in a l
ot of girls? Her stomach clenched when she realized he didn’t wear a condom last night. He could give her an STD. Thank God she had an IUD. She got it in her teens before she and Gavin had sex for the first time. She should have been a slut after Gavin so she would be immune to him now. At least she had been Jonathan's, even if it was just for a short time.
“No, I’m not an escort,” Lyla said.
“Really? Stripper?”
She knew he wasn’t trying to be insulting. “No. I’ve known Gavin since I was in high school.”
Keenan looked like he might swoon. “No. You’re high school sweethearts?”
Sweethearts? She didn’t know how to explain what she and Gavin were and was relieved that she didn’t have to. Keenan spun a Romeo and Juliet tale in his mind. He drew his own conclusions and Lyla allowed it. If only he knew how dark and twisted reality was. With just a few sentences, she was able to keep Keenan chattering excitedly about a range of topics, her least favorite being Gavin who Keenan had a major crush on. Keenan talked about Gavin’s nightclubs and strip bars. It brought up memories of the night she found Gavin cheating on her. It made her stomach turn even after all this time. Why the fuck did Gavin bring her back? He didn’t want her, not really. If she meant so much to him, he wouldn’t have fucked around on her. He seemed genuinely contrite after she confronted him at the club. He told her the women didn’t mean anything to him and that he wouldn’t do it again. She hadn’t made up her mind whether she would give him a second chance or not when she witnessed him murder that guard in his basement. That was her tipping point. Gavin should have forgotten about her and moved on. Every year that passed, she became more confident that she was free of Gavin and yet, here she was.
Keenan chattered about his many lovers and their professions which ranged from strippers to doctors and interrupted himself to say, “I love your hair. I can’t believe this is your natural color. Honey sunshine.”
Lyla smiled at the description and watched as Keenan blow dried her hair so it fell around her in shining waves. She couldn’t deny that she felt like a million dollars. It felt good to let other people take care of her. She gave Keenan air kisses and moved onto waxing. They waxed her bare (which was fine since she didn’t have much hair anyway) and went onto nails. Carmen chose scarlet polish for Lyla’s acrylic nails. Carmen chatted with everyone while Lyla listened, not adding much to the conversation. Everyone was friendly and dressed with a seductive edge that reminded Lyla that she wasn’t in Maine. A couple of days ago, she wouldn’t have been mistaken for an escort. Her crop top and skirt made her appear nun-like compared to the salon workers. She didn’t know how to feel about her circumstances. Her emotions were a jumbled mess. Any moment now, she expected Gavin to burst through the door and beat the crap out of her in front of everyone. The expression of hatred on his face this morning haunted her. Even if he decided to do something to her, no one would interfere when a Pyre was involved. Even though Carmen had some leniency, Lyla knew no one could stop Gavin from doing what he wished with her.
