She squirmed in his lap, driving his cock wild. “I’ll leave after this, demon.” Damn right, because there was no way he could let her go now. Part of him wanted to ask her to stay longer, pay whatever it took to keep her here the whole night and even longer, but that wasn’t him. This situation was already messed up, and it would be downright stupid to complicate it further. One more fuck and then he’d let her go.
Make that two fucks.
Afterward, she gave him a gentle kiss on his lips, lingering, and when she stood, he had to resist the urge to bring her back to the bed…pull her into his arms so they could hide under the duvet together. He couldn’t take his eyes away from her as she got dressed, watching as that dress caressed every curve of her body. Once she was ready, he pulled on his pants and then walked her to the living room. He grabbed the money from the table and placed it inside her bag.
She stared up at him, eyes wide and…hopeful? “Meet again, Blade?”
It was what he wanted, more than anything. “Let’s see.”
She walked out and then paused, glancing over her shoulder at him through the open doors, a small smile on her lips. Something resembling fucking joy lit up inside him.
And then she was gone, leaving that emptiness behind.
CHAPTER SIX
* * *
THE DEMON HAD A REPUTATION and was supposed to be hard-assed and all that, but when she was in his arms, she felt safe. He cared about her…didn’t he? She couldn’t think like that. At the most, he might become a regular client, but even that was enough.
I have something to look forward to in my miserable life.
“Hooker! Whore!” The shouts from the young men who crowded the entrance of her apartment block didn’t bother her today. They lived in the same building, and most of them were involved in illegal activities, and—yes—they frequently spent whatever ill-gotten cash they could get together on women like her. Yet, apparently, she was rotten. Even though what she did hurt nobody. Only herself.
She kept that smile stuck to her face, looking ahead and avoiding their scowling faces as she walked through cracked glass doors. They opened into a reception area, but apparently it had been years since a security guard manned it. And even longer since a cleaner touched it. As always, she avoided the elevator that was used as a public toilet by residents who came home drunk, taking the stairs instead. When she reached her floor, the apartment door was ajar. Had Daisy forgotten to lock it? But when she touched the handle, the lock had been broken. That only meant one thing—James’ men had been around. She opened the door to enter the living room and then froze. The lock was only the beginning—the whole place had been ripped apart. The sofas were upturned, curtains shredded and even the peeling wallpaper had been ripped from the cement. And in the middle of all that chaos sat Daisy, against the wall with her knees drawn up to her face.
“Daisy?” Her housemate looked up, black mascara running down her cheeks and lips trembling, but thankfully, there were no new bruises on her face. “Are you all right?”
“Am I all right? What do you think? I told you not to take on those fuckers.” Her housemate stared at her as if this was her fault. Yes, she had refused to go back to James, but even she had the right to say no. Didn’t she? “Why the hell wouldn’t you just listen to me? He’s never going to leave you alone, and when he gets hold of you, you’re going to wish you’d gone back to him the first time he told you to.”
Alyssa pressed herself back against the wall, trying to escape the other woman’s anger. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“What else did you expect to happen? I didn’t deserve this, Alyssa.”
No she didn’t, no more than Alyssa had deserved what she’d been given. She hadn’t asked to be abandoned as a baby by her mother and left in the care of an abusive father. Yes, she’d been naïve when she made her way to Manhattan, but she didn’t deserve what she’d gone through at the hands of James and other clients. “Daisy? They didn’t touch you, did they? Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she spat. “No thanks to you. They were wise enough to not rough me up for nothing. They need me to work, don’t they, for those few extra dollars I earn for that miserable cunt James?”
Thank God for that. Alyssa would have been unable to forgive herself if Daisy got hurt. “I’m so glad you’re safe—”
“Get out,” Daisy told her. “I want you out of this apartment and my life. I’ve got enough shit of my own to deal with without getting involved in yours.”
Alyssa didn’t argue with her. After what Daisy had just been through, the least she could do was leave without a fuss. She went into her tiny room, with its single bed and a chair where she chucked her clothes. Luckily, the guys had left the bedrooms alone. She picked up the rucksack she’d brought with her to Manhattan and packed it with her belongings, as sparse as when she arrived. She didn’t want to spoil the red dress she’d worn to Eclipse, so she removed it, rolling it to place it inside the bag. After wrapping a towel around herself, she stepped out of her room and into the bathroom for a quick shower before dressing in old jeans and a tee shirt. She took out the money that Blade had given her, keeping some of it in the rucksack pocket. The rest of it should cover the damage done to the apartment.
Rucksack in hand, she returned to the living room and placed the money on the floor, next to Daisy. “Use this to fix up the apartment.”
Daisy glanced between the money and her. “I can’t. You’ll need it.”
She’d manage, somehow. “Please let me do this, at least.”
To her surprise, the other woman scrambled to her feet and hugged her. “I’m sorry, Alyssa.” And before she stepped away, Alyssa glimpsed the woman Daisy might have been, if she had not been roughened by her experiences. “Listen to me. James has put a load of men out, and they’re crawling all over the borough looking for you. He’s also sent out messages to local businesses with your details. Don’t travel anywhere. Find a place to hide and stay there.”
Shit. She stepped away from the woman she’d never been able to share more than an apartment with and then picked up her rucksack and flung it over her shoulder. She walked out of the place for the last time and closed the door behind her, with no idea of where she would hide.
BLADE WAS JUST ABOUT TO leave the office when he received the call. He picked it up immediately—no choice when it was Drake. He just hoped there was no more trouble for him to deal with. Even before the mobster spoke, his head went through a million scenarios as he tried to figure out why James’ right hand might have contacted him.
The other man’s voice was pleasant enough. “James has asked me to double-check on how things are going with tightening up on his girls.”
Not that crap again. “You’re happy to be involved in this scenario, are you Drake?”
“What the fuck do you think?”
No. From what he knew of the human, he hated getting involved in this side of things, especially because many of the girls were forced to work for James. “Everything’s fine. Junaid’s doing a great job of keeping your girls away. In fact, he’s reported a few to James.”
“According to the list I checked, fifteen now.”
“I just hope they didn’t get into too much trouble.”
“So do I. But you know how unreasonable James can—” He stopped without finishing, but it was the closest Drake had come to criticizing his boss. Was he also fed up with James’ way of doing business? He stored that piece of information at the back of his mind, ready to be used at a future date.
“Everything’s going well. To be honest, once the girls figured we were serious about reporting them, there aren’t as many trying to get in. They’re getting the message.” That’s what he tried to convince himself.
“I’m concerned about a particular girl…Alyssa.”
Blade sucked in his breath. When he spoke, he ensured his bloody voice remained calm, because he couldn’t let the human pick up on the fact that he knew her. “Alyssa? Who i
s she?” And why the fuck was Drake interested in her? Yes, she worked for the mob boss, but so did the other girls who had received warnings.
“James has declared she belongs to him, and nobody else is to fuck her. No clients, lovers, nobody.” Tension clenched Blade’s chest. What the hell was going on? “James is trying to track her down. Has she been around the club, Blade?”
“No.” It was a miracle he kept his voice under control, even though half a million thoughts rushed through his head. The sadist had laid a claim to her? The thought of her in his hands made him want to fucking kill someone.
“Well, if she turns up—” For a moment, Blade toyed with the idea of telling Drake where to stuff the fucking request, but he came to his senses before he did. After all that work to maintain harmony in the borough, he couldn’t let it fall apart just because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants, not when it affected so many. “Demon? Listen to me. James is well pissed with Alyssa. If he tracks her down, he will rough her up big time…worse than he has already. I don’t know…maybe it’s best she just comes to him and apologizes. Soothes his ego.”
Damn, the guy hadn’t called to track Alyssa down…he wanted to help her. “Thanks, Drake.”
He ended the call. James was looking for Alyssa, and when he found her—because he would, eventually…the pressure raged through his mind, so intense he wanted to bang his head against the wall. The demon’s rage didn’t come over him often, but right now, when he thought of the danger she was in, it threatened to engulf him. As red flashed before his eyes, he went to the bar in the corner of the office and pulled out some whiskey, drinking it straight from the bottle. And then he took another gulp.
She meant nothing to him. She was just a hooker he had fucked a few times. He’d spent enough time lecturing other supernaturals for losing it over females and wasn’t about to pull the same shit himself. He turned off the laptop, unable to focus on anything else, and then slammed the door behind him before making his way to the villa. His steps were labored as he walked through the garden. Soon, he was inside his compound.
Tonight, even this sanctuary brought no relief.
A shadow shifted before him, and for a moment, he thought his demon senses played with his mind, conjuring up an image of what he wanted to see. But there she was, sat by the bloody pool, a rucksack resting against the lounger. He really needed to start shutting that gate. And what the hell did the security guards do all day? They’d be looking for new jobs if anything like this happened again. “Alyssa? What the fuck are you doing here?”
Her eyes widened as she stood up. She glanced down at her clenched hands. “I’m in trouble”—she could bloody say that again—“and I need your help, Blade.”
“My help?”
“You know James?”
Did he fucking know James? The guy who’d been driving him up the wall for years. “You know I do.”
“I need to get away from him—”
She could say that again. But what the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn’t hide her here, because someone would find out sooner or later. And nowhere in the borough was safe from James’ men. “I can’t help you.”
She stepped closer. “Please…I’ll do whatever it takes.”
He shifted to maintain the distance between them. If she thought this matter could be settled with a fuck, she had another thing coming. “I said no.”
“Please.” Those green eyes misted over, pleading with him. “I’ve got nowhere else to go. Can I stay here, just until I’ve got myself sorted? Just a night or so?”
“Are you bloody kidding me? Where the hell do you get off coming here and expecting to have a place to stay? I hardly know you.”
Her voice was small. “James’ men came around last night and trashed the apartment. My housemate doesn’t want me there, anymore. I don’t blame her, but I need somewhere to stay.”
They came around while she was here? The thought that she might have been at home when they came—and what they might have done to her—made him want to roar in frustration. But, damn it, he couldn’t let her stay here. Such an action would only drive a wedge between supernaturals and the mob, and it wouldn’t guarantee her safety, either. Only one thing would. If James was placated.
“Why don’t you go back to wherever you came from?” he suggested, even though the thought of never seeing her again made something tear inside. But that was better than what James might do to her.
“James’ guys are out everywhere looking for me. I can’t risk it. If they catch me—”
Shit. There was no other choice. “You have to make things right with James. If you go to him of your own accord, it will salvage his ego.” It killed him to say it. “I’ll come with you and talk to him, make sure he understands he can’t hurt you. Apologize, and be nice to him.” He nearly choked on his next words. “Beg for forgiveness if you have to…subjugation is what he wants. Do what it takes to bring him around.”
“I won’t go to him. Never.” Her face crumpled. “You’ve got no idea of what James wants. Those cigarette marks and bruises, they’re nothing compared to—” When he said nothing, her eyes widened. “But you do know, don’t you? You know exactly what James is like?” He just about stopped himself from slamming a fist into the wall. No need to scare her even more. She didn’t deserve the shit she’d been through, and he fucking hated himself for not being able to do anything to help her. “Look at me, Blade…if you haven’t got the balls to look at me, then listen. James is a goddamn sadist who doesn’t take no for an answer. I rejected him, and he’ll make me pay, just to set a bloody example.”
There was only one other option left to her. “In that case, you have to hide…somewhere other than here…and make sure he doesn’t find you.”
“But where?” When he remained silent, “So you won’t help me? Blade?”
He needed her out of here, even if he had to send her away. “Why the hell would I get involved?” His voice now had an edge. “You’re just a hooker, for fuck’s sake. And I’ve paid you for your services. I don’t owe you anything.”
Her voice turned cold as she picked up her rucksack. “Yes, I get fucked for money, but it’s better than what people like James and you do, fucking others over.”
“I don’t give a damn what you think,” he said, even as something screamed inside him, telling him to not let her go.
She pulled her rucksack over her shoulders and then walked past him. He turned his back, knowing that if he didn’t, he would reach out and tell her not to go…promise to look after her.
This wasn’t his choice to make. If he broke this truce, then others would suffer. People who didn’t have the power he did. Damn, some supernaturals had such limited abilities that they were on a par with humans. But the mob…they had weapons and no conscience. And one thing about James was, he never forgave or forgot.
Don’t let her go.
She didn’t deserve to be treated like this, damn it. He turned to watch her as she walked away, her shoulders stooped and pace slow. For the first time, he truly regretted ever getting involved in this shit between the supernaturals and the mob.
At the gate, she paused, as if she still hoped that he would call her back. But he turned away, and a few moments later, he heard the gate close.
His friends were right. He was goddamn soulless.
CHAPTER SEVEN
* * *
I FUCKING HATE MYSELF.
Blade sat by the pool, thinking only of her. How the hell could he have sent her away, when she needed his help? And where would she be now? He went inside the villa and pulled out his laptop, trying to work on the plans for the club expansion. If anything would drag his thoughts from her, that would. But no, he couldn’t focus. Her hurt expression kept flashing before him. She had believed she could come to him. They barely knew each other, but she’d trusted him. And he’d knocked her back just to stay on the good side of the asshole who controlled her. The figures blurred before him, and there was a flash of re
d. The rage was threatening to come…goddamn it, he had to hold it back.
He returned to the pool and pulled off his clothes before jumping in, swimming vigorously for fuck knew how long, until the turmoil was dispersed and thoughts of her all but banished. But as soon as he rested by the side of the pool, out of breath, she was back. She invaded his mind…like a mate.
Fuck, no. She was a pathetic human who he felt sorry for, that was all. He climbed out of the water and then went to shower before getting dressed. He was better off in Oasis, where the loud sounds and bright lights might provide some distraction. But when he left the villa, all it took was one glance at the pool and memories invaded his mind, of how he’d first met her, her laughter and giggles…her fear of James. And then dread clutched his chest. What if the mob boss tracked her down and decided to punish her? What if—
Instead of crossing the garden to the rear of Eclipse, he got into his Mercedes, which was parked in the small compound that adjoined the villas. He left through the rear exit and then drove along the wall until he reached Oasis. He parked his car inside the gate and then his gaze flitted over the queue. When Junaid noticed his vehicle and came over, Blade opened the window.
“Is everything all right, Blade?”
He swallowed. “Alyssa…have you seen her this evening?”
The shifter’s expression did not falter. “She was in the area earlier. The guys knew to keep an eye on her after the warnings. The last they saw of her, she was heading back to the river crossing—”
“Thanks, Junaid.”
He drove out through the gates and turned on to the road that led to the crossing. He got out of his vehicle, ignoring the shouts telling him to move it to the car park.
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