Mine (Ties that Bind Book 1)

by A. Zavarelli

  Mine

  Ties that Bind Duet

  A. Zavarelli

  Natasha Knight

  Copyright © 2020 by A. Zavarelli and Natasha Knight

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Design by Coverluv

  Photo by Wander Aguiar

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Thank you

  Also by A. Zavarelli

  Also by Natasha Knight

  About A. Zavarelli

  About Natasha Knight

  1

  Kat

  Sometimes, a smell will trigger a memory. Aftershave. His particular brand. Other times, it’s music—like the heavy metal he’d play that sounds so much like the beat on the dance floor.

  Tonight, everything has been made more intense by the vodka I consumed before we even got to the club. That and the little pill Nina gave me.

  He’s not here, I tell myself. It’s not possible.

  I’m being paranoid. And I need some air.

  After making my way to the back of the club, I pull the heavy metal door open. I’m shocked by the cold air as the door closes with a clang behind me, shutting out the music and the people. Leaning against the brick wall, I look around and meet the eyes of a woman taking the last drag on her cigarette before dropping the butt and stamping it out under her boot.

  She doesn’t smile but neither do I as her boyfriend leads her back inside.

  My head is spinning. Closing my eyes, I draw in what I hope will be a steadying breath. The cold helps, at least.

  The door opens again, and I hear music and voices. Men’s voices.

  Opening my eyes, I straighten, my back stiffening when I look over to find there are three of them.

  When they spot me, they stop talking to take me in, openly looking me over.

  One grins, then steps forward. “Smoke?” He holds out a half-empty pack of cigarettes.

  The nightclub is full, but we’re the only ones outside.

  “No, thanks,” I say, pushing through them to catch the door and slip back inside before it closes all the way.

  I catch my reflection in one of the mirrored walls and almost don’t recognize myself with my new hair. Magenta. It was an extravagance, but you only turn nineteen once. I scan the club for Nina and spot her on the dance floor with a couple of guys.

  She sees me and flashes a smile. I feel my mouth stretch into one too and touch my face. It feels numb. I’ve taken Ecstasy once before, but it didn’t feel anything like this.

  The music is getting to me. It’s the constant beat. My heart is hammering to keep pace with it, and the smell of sweat and alcohol and too many people is making me nauseous.

  I’m about to head to the dance floor to tell Nina that I don’t feel good when the door opens, and the guys who were just outside come back in a waft of cigarette smoke.

  When the man who offered me the cigarette sees me, one side of his mouth curves upward. He walks toward me, and his friends fall into step behind him.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  I turn to walk away, but one of his friends moves around to block me.

  “Where are you going?” he asks.

  I change direction, but the other one is in front of me now. I turn again, but I’m blocked by the third man. I feel dizzy as I glance beyond them to the dance floor, but I can’t see Nina anymore.

  He’s talking again, the leader, but the music’s too loud and his words sound hollow. I scan his face, then his friends’ faces. They appear almost demonic, and behind them, the room is spinning in a sea of technicolor lights.

  “Excuse me,” I say, trying to push through the wall they’ve made to block me.

  Their leader steps directly in front of me, cutting me off. When I back up, he plants his hands on the wall on either side of my head, effectively caging me in.

  “Don’t be like that. We just wanna have some fun.”

  “Look, I’m here with my boyfriend,” I lie.

  He leans toward me. “I don’t see a boyfriend.” He lets his gaze run over me. “In fact, you look like you’re looking for one the way you’re dressed.”

  I’m wearing black from head to toe, faux leather pants that hug my curves a little too tightly, a corset top, lace fingerless gloves that go halfway up my arms and high heeled, lace-up boots. Not out of the ordinary for this place although I did borrow the entire outfit from Nina and it’s definitely not my usual style.

  “Well, I’m not.” I try to slip out from underneath his arm, but he just shifts his body, once again blocking me. “Get away from me.”

  “One dance with me and my friends. Right here. I’ll go first.”

  Lights pulse around us, making me feel sick. I slump against the wall, unsteady in the high heels of the boots. I don’t know what he reads in that, though, because next thing I know, he’s pressed up against me.

  “What the hell?” My eyes fly open, and I shove him. “What are you doing? I said let me go!”

  “And I said one dance.”

  “Are you deaf?” I hear myself ask as I try to push him backward. The walls seem to be vibrating around me, the bass pounding against my head and in my chest. Or is that my heart? I need to get out of here. “I’m warning you to get off me.”

  He laughs outright, and his friends follow like monkeys. “You’re warning me?”

  “Yeah, asshole. I’m warning you.” Without a moment’s hesitation, I ram my knee into his groin.

  He grunts, hunching over, and his arms fall away from me.

  The instant they do, I whirl around and trip over his feet in my haste to get away. I’m sure I’d fall flat on my face if it wasn’t for the chest of the man I slam right into.

  “Whoa.”

  Big hands close around my arms, catching me before I go sprawling, and my nose smashes into the middle of his very hard chest.

  I hear the jerk I just kneed mutter a curse behind me.

  “Everything okay, sweetheart?” asks the man I just crashed into with an accent I can’t quite place. It’s familiar but not, and he smells good. Not like sweat or beer or cigarettes.

  I blink, looking straight ahead at what would be his pristine white V-neck T-shirt but for the smear of magenta lipstick. It matches my hair and has ruined his shirt.

  “I…” I take a tiny step backward because he still has me. I turn my gaze up.

  And up.

  The first thing I see are his eyes, beautiful and dark, and for a moment, I can’t look away.

  He pauses too, or
I think he does at least. And when I smile, he smiles back, and a little dimple forms on his right cheek. It softens his features and brightens his eyes.

  Then the room around him goes darker, the music and people too loud.

  “I need to sit down.” I sway on my feet.

  He mutters a curse under his breath and catches me.

  “My girlfriend’s had a little too much to drink,” the man from outside says as he grasps my arm so hard it hurts.

  “I’m not—”

  “Your girlfriend, huh? That’s not what it looked like a minute ago,” the one with the accent says.

  I look at the hand wrapped around my arm and open my mouth to tell him he’s hurting me, but before I get the chance to, the one with the accent shifts me, placing his body partially between ours. He doesn’t even have to touch the guy to get him to let go. Even I can see he’s bigger, badder, and his body language alone is enough to get the other guy to back up a step.

  My knees buckle again, and he tightens his grip around me, pulling me into his side.

  I need to find Nina and go home. I try to straighten, to pull away, but it’s like my body won’t listen to my brain. My feet tingle in my borrowed boots. My whole body tingles.

  “What’s happening to me?” I ask. I’m not sure anyone hears me because no one answers.

  I squeeze my eyes shut, and I think Nina got the wrong pill. If this is Ecstasy, I should be feeling ecstatic, right? I just feel out of control.

  “Get these idiots out of here,” the one with the accent says, and I look up to see two other big guys move in behind the one I just kneed.

  But then Nina’s there. “Hey, you okay?” she asks, peering into my face. “Crap.”

  “I think I need to go home,” I tell her.

  She looks up at the one who has me, and a worried expression wrinkles her forehead. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” she says, but when I try to slip out of his hold, he doesn’t let go.

  “What did she take?” he asks Nina.

  “Nothing. Just vodka,” she lies.

  I know he doesn’t believe her from the silence that follows. “How old are you two anyway?”

  My gaze shoots to Nina’s. We’re not twenty-one.

  “We’re just going to go,” Nina tries to pry me from the man, but he won’t let me go. His grip doesn’t hurt, not like the other guy, but I know I’m not going anywhere until he allows it.

  “Did you buy something off someone in the club?” he asks her as if she hasn’t spoken at all.

  Nina exhales, looks around, and finally nods.

  “Who?”

  “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”

  “Who?”

  She points.

  “All right. Take her home,” he says, and one of his men steps forward.

  “I’m not leaving Kat,” Nina says.

  “Kat?” he asks.

  At the mention of my name, I look up into his beautiful, dark eyes. The way he studies me, eyes so intense, I feel my face burning up.

  “Kat’s not going anywhere,” he says. He’s still looking at me, but he’s talking to Nina.

  I’m not? “But—”

  “That man you bought from doesn’t have permission to sell here. I don’t know what you got, but I need to keep an eye on her in case things go wrong.”

  “Nothing’s going to go wrong. I’ll just take—”

  “You know who I am, don’t you, Nina?”

  I wonder how he knows her name, but Nina just bites her lip and nods. I don’t think she’s surprised that he knows her.

  “Who is he?” I ask her.

  She just glances at me but doesn’t answer.

  “I don’t want to have to call the cops,” he warns.

  “Cops?” I ask, suddenly panicked. We used fake IDs. We’ll get in trouble.

  “Shh. It’s okay,” he says to me, tucking me into his arm. His tone when he talks to me is different than when he’s talking to Nina, and I get the feeling he’s trying to keep me calm.

  “Just let me take her home, okay? You can have one of your guys drive us if you want. She’ll be fine. I’ll take care of her,” Nina pleads.

  He doesn’t answer right away. I think he’s considering her request, and at that moment, I’m not sure what I want.

  “I don’t think so,” he says finally. “Andrei will take you home. Kat will stay here with me.”

  “But—”

  “Andrei,” he cuts me off, looking over Nina’s shoulder at a man I don’t like the look of. “Take Nina home,” he says.

  Andrei eyes Nina, and I don’t like the look on his face.

  “Just take her home, you hear me?” he tells Andrei.

  Andrei snorts. “Yes, sir.” He mock salutes, then shakes his head. “Let’s go,” he tells Nina, grabbing her arm.

  “We have to leave together,” I try to tell him, but Nina’s already walking away with Andrei.

  “Relax, Kat,” he tells me as Nina turns to look back at me over her shoulder. “Nina will be fine,” he adds, and I look up to find him studying me again.

  “I don’t feel good,” I manage, just as my knees give out. This time, he scoops me up in his arms like I weight nothing and begins to walk in the opposite direction of where Nina’s going.

  “You just close your eyes,” he tells me. We’re on an elevator a moment later. The doors slide closed, and at least it’s quiet so I can think again.

  “The music’s too loud.”

  He looks down at me and smiles like he’s humoring me. “You don’t like loud music, but you’re at Delirium?”

  Delirium. It’s the name of the club. Nina’s been here before, but it’s my first time. “Where are we going?”

  “Somewhere you can rest.”

  I nod. I’d like to rest.

  “Is Kat short for Catherine?”

  “Katerina.”

  “Katerina.” It sounds foreign when he says it. “Means pure.” His face grows thoughtful. “You don’t belong at this club, Katerina. You’ll just get dirty here.”

  Before I can think about what he means, the elevator doors open, and he carries me into a large, quiet room. There are several doors leading to other rooms, and a large desk that’s holding three screens that flash various images of the club downstairs.

  He sets me on the couch. I watch the monitor that shows Nina walking in the parking lot, then getting into a car with that man.

  “Nina?” I try to get to my feet on legs that feel like Jell-O. Nina and I have a pact. We come together, and we leave together. Always.

  “Shh, Kat,” he says. His hand on my shoulder gives me a gentle but firm squeeze. “Nina’s fine. Andrei’s going to give her a ride home.”

  “We’re supposed to leave together,” I tell him again.

  “Not tonight.”

  He sits down beside me, and I’m glad I don’t have to get up because I don’t think I can stand.

  I look at him, really look at him. He looks different up here without all those flashing, colorful lights. He has messy brown hair, and his eyes aren’t as dark anymore as he studies me. They’re warm now. Like chocolate.

  I love chocolate.

  Without thinking, I reach out and touch his face, feel the rough stubble of his jaw. He raises an eyebrow but lets me.

  “Do you know what you took?” he asks.

  I drop my hand when I see that pink stain of lipstick I put on his shirt. I try to rub it out, but he pulls my wrist away.

  “It’s fine. What did you take?”

  I squint my eyes and shift my gaze up to the ceiling, trying to remember. “It looked like candy. It was my birthday gift.”

  “Happy Birthday, Katerina. How old are you?”

  “Nineteen,” I say without thinking, then remember my ID says I’m twenty-two.

  I open my mouth to amend my answer, but the elevator dings, interrupting us. He stands up. I realize I don’t know his name. I’m about to ask, but then the steel doors slide open and a man
comes inside. He’s carrying my coat in one hand and a little bag of those colorful pills in the other.

  “That’s them,” I tell him.

  They both look my way but ignore me, and when they speak, I don’t understand a word they say because they’re talking in a different language. Russian, I realize.

  I lean my head against the back of the couch and close my eyes. I feel hot, and there’s a residual thumping between my ears like leftover sound from downstairs. I wish it would stop, but at least I’m out of the noise and sitting down.

  Someone touches me. Forces one eye open.

  “Hey!” I turn my head.

  “She’s rolling,” he says, then they switch back to what sounds like Russian.

  When I open my eyes again, we’re alone, and he’s crouched by my feet undoing the laces of my boots.

  “Awake again,” he says.

  I’m embarrassed to have drifted off.

  He tugs a boot off, and it feels so good to have it gone. Nina’s feet are half a size smaller than mine, and the boots were pinching my feet.

  I watch his dark head as he unlaces the other boot and takes that off too, then stands. He might be the tallest man I’ve ever seen.

  “You’re beautiful,” I tell him, laying my head on the back of the couch again.

  “And you’re tripping. Here.” He walks away, then returns a moment later and hands me an open bottle of water.

  I take it and drink a sip, then several gulps, realizing I’m parched.

  He sits beside me, and I look down at what he’s holding. It’s my clutch. He opens it, and I’m slow to process as he takes out my things and lays them on the coffee table.

  “Hey,” I say. “You can’t do that.”

  He ignores me, eyes my fake ID and pockets it, then studies the real one.