Revenge (Love in London #3)

One

Revenge

verb

inflict hurt or harm on someone for an injury

or wrong done to oneself.

The Present

Kai

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding?”

Whoever coined the phrase, "Revenge is a dish best served cold," should be strung up by the nuts.

I should have taken Ava when I’d had the chance, but no. I had been advised not to be too hasty and I’d given her space; time to reflect upon the various ramifications of her actions.

More. Fool. Me.

The fact that one of my men had let her get away, again was now as unpalatable as dog shit—almost to the point where I felt like I was choking on it.

“Sorry, boss, the bitch is a menace,” Hamish Doyle explained sheepishly. You would have thought he’d been in the ring with Mike Tyson from the bruising on his face; the menace, as he’d called her was my stepsister, Ava.

Ava Marie Cawthorne, the daughter of my father’s ex-wife, a girl, who I should say, used to be my stepsister. She was nineteen, five foot four, tops and one hundred pounds soaking wet. My glare narrowed as I assessed Hamish’s six-foot frame and huge shoulders. Yes, the guy was old and wasn’t in good shape by any means, but he was still built like a brick shithouse.

Hamish had unashamedly called Ava a bitch. I decided to let that go, for now. No one spoke out of turn about her; she was my thorn in the side and no one else's. I was the only one allowed to cast aspersions and for a good fucking reason. Ava owed me big time.

Once again, the little witch had slipped through our fingers, and the man to blame was sitting in front of me, with an expression I wanted to wipe from his face with my fist.

Hamish had guts; I’d give him that, but if the details of his failure didn’t sit well with me, I would feed them to him. gastrointestinal piece at a time.

After Hamish’s fuck up, it was time to bring out the big guns, but not until he explained what the hell had happened.

My orders had been straightforward enough. Get in. Get the girl. Get out. Simple.

Nico opened his mouth to comment but I shook my head, silencing him. He was my best friend and second in command but if he gave me any more of his bullshit, I was liable to put my fist through the wall.

“ Go easy on her. She was just a hormonal teenager,” Nico had said two years prior, comments which, if uttered by anyone else in my organisation would have resulted in a bullet to the head. He was the one who advised me not to be hasty.

Apart from Nico, no one attempted to reason with me. I was the most unreasonable fucker on the planet. Especially when it came to her—Ava—replace the word ‘thorn’ with ‘bullet’ in my side and you get the drift.

“I don’t know what to say,” Hamish grunted, his face conveying he wanted to be anywhere but there.

“Just walk us through what happened,” I suggested shooting Nico a dark look.

Hamish then went on to explain his shit show attempt to grab Ava from the lobby of her apartment building in Milan. The city she had run to almost two years ago.

How could tracking and capturing one single female be so much of a fucking ball-ache? Because you’ve recruited one of your father’s cast-offs.

I managed to curtail that need to introduce my palm to my forehead as I stared at the five men most loyal to me. Closing my eyes, I meticulously pinched the bridge of my nose between myfinger and thumb.

I was only twenty-seven but the last few months had aged me.

The silence sat heavy after Hamish’s rambled confession and my frustration doubled. When I’d found out that the useless cunt was on his way back to London empty-handed, I’d thrown a good bottle of whisky across the room. A loss I would be docking from Hamish’s pay. I didn’t do out-of-pocket for anyone. Especially not someone who had failed me.

Motioning with my other hand to make my point, I repeated Hamish’s confession more succinctly, “So, let me get this straight. Ava kicked you in the balls, throat punched you and brought you to your knees within seconds ?”

Following my words, there was an exchange of looks between the men who sat before me.

I raised my eyebrows at Hamish, a signal for him to hurry the fuck up and answer me.

“Yes, boss. But don’t forget the sign she clocked me with, that thing weighed a ton.” Supposedly, Ava had hit Hamish with a wet floor warning sign. Classic. That had explained the shiner on his face. If I weren’t so pissed off, I would have laughed at that one; an example of the intense emotions I was experiencing in that situation, as I never laughed. Not any more.

Nico had pointed out that my sense of humour seemed to have been ripped away the day Ava had left. He was right but I’d told him he was overthinking things.

Shaking off those thoughts, I prompted, “And then she took your gun off you?”

There were a couple of coughs and the sound of a throat being cleared. All nervous gestures people indulged in when they were shitting themselves.

“That’s about the extent of it boss, yes,” Hamish, the number one drippy fucker I had on my management team admitted. I dropped my hands and glared at him. His face was bright red from shame and so it should have been. I still wasn’t sure whether to demote the cunt or kill him.

Shaking my head in disbelief I omitted a groan of exasperation. I didn’t have time for this shit. I was trying to play nice with the Italians and to do that, I needed Ava back in London ASAP.

I was Kai Kinlan the son of Gerard Kinlan, the previous big chief of the Kinlan Cartel. Now I ran the show.

My father went to prison two years ago, and a past agreement with an Italian Cartel had become strained; especially when they were informed of my father’s death in prison last year. A faked death, I may add, after my father had been diagnosed with cancer. Only a few trusted people knew that Gerard was now spending the rest of his days (however many that may be) in a safe house outside the city. Either way, my point being; that my father was out of the picture.

The leader of the Italian Cartel thought I was too young to front my father’s organisation and adhere to the terms of their prior partnership. I had spent the last twelve months attempting to prove them wrong.

Dante Messina, their don, thought me a flighty, playboy with no understanding of traditional family values. Family was extremely important to Italian men, it equalled stability and gave a man something to lose.

A man with nothing to lose couldn’t be threatened—and a man who couldn’t be threatened—was indestructible .

Mafia organisations did not like to conduct business with other criminal enterprises with no apparent Achilles heel.

That Achilles heel came in the shape of a family.

In a nutshell, if I wanted to continue to do business with Messina, I would have to change my image from said, flighty playboy to a settled-down Kai. Not the pipe and slippers shite, but a contented man with a better half who he could sprog-up and expand his family.

Did I want that? To take on a wife to satisfy some jumped-up fat fucking Italian crime boss? Hell, no, but for the time being, I needed his business.

So, I had to be seen to be putting down roots; roots made a man more trustworthy; I had been told.

And that is where Ava came in. She owed me a debt and would pay it by playing a role.

Batting off thoughts of the bigger picture, I turned back towards Hamish and quirked a brow, “Where was Sean whilst you were in battle? Jerking off?” I highlighted ‘in battle’ through fingered quotation marks.

Hamish shuffled in his seat before casting a nervous glance at his colleagues. They all maintained the poker faces I paid them for. “No, he was waiting in the car—so we could make a quick getaway,” the dipshit explained. A quick getaway ? Where were we, a movie set?

The leather of my chair creaked as I pushed to my feet and slammed a fist against the surface of my desk. All the shit there rattled and everyone present flinched, apart from Nico. He had been dealing with my temper since we’d met at school when we were twelve. He’d called me a Dirty Thieving Mick and I’d knocked him out with one punch. Since then, it had been a match made in hell (not heaven—you’ll soon see where I am going with that).

Placing my hands palm down on the flat surface, I leaned forward, “So, you allowed, one little girl to fuck you up. Is that all you have to say for yourself?”

Hamish swallowed and peeled his collar away from his neck. I could see the moisture on his skin, the sweaty bastard. Thank God he wasn’t my mistake; I didn’t recruit him, I inherited him from my father.

The only reason I still tolerated the tool and had given him a seat at my table was down to his old man; Hamish’s dad was a judge and as bent as they come. He assisted me in keeping the fuzz at Scotland Yard off my back.

The fucker was still rambling on, “She isn’t a little girl anymore, boss.” The constipated expression on his face was like a neon sign screaming ‘I fucked up, please don’t kill me!

Pushing off the desk, I straightened and dragged my fingers through my hair, “I could snap her in two with one fucking hand,” I snarled in contempt, getting angrier that I didn’t have my not-so-delightful stepsister in front of me—allowing me to unleash hell; the whole pent-up two years of it, after the little witch had shot me and left me for dead.

“The girl is tough; she did some ninja shit with her legs,” Hamish blurted.

Balling my hands into fists by my sides, I started to lose the fucking will. Nico was amused but put his hand on Hamish’s arm to suggest he shut up.

Hamish shook it off and carried on, “You don’t understand. She’s had training. She knows how to defend herself. Fuck me, she put my own gun to my head like a fucking pro. Her hand was steadier than an experienced hitman. Even more so than Cillian’s,” Hamish rattled off, name-dropping my head assassin and one of my most valuable assets. His comment was severely debatable.

I placed a hand on my hip, unable to rein in how incredibly narked I was, “ Your gun ? Which means she wasn’t carrying herself,” I pointed out with a sneer, throwing myself back into the leather chair behind me. “What would have been an unarmed defenceless female, brought you to your fucking knees within seconds. You pathetic piece of shit.” He was such a disappointment, so much so that my brain had started to ache. My trigger finger also itched; oh dear.

Hamish pushed forward with his meaty face layered with beads of moisture. His burst of bravado about Ava’s talents waning, “But she was carrying, that’s just it. She had a weapon down the back of her jeans. It was like she took mine just to show me she could. She was fucking with me, boss. She isn’t the simple target you think she is.”

And—I’d. Had. Enough.

“Lars, take this pussy out of here,” I snapped at one of my Lieutenants before glaring back at Hamish, “You’re lucky I need your father, otherwise, I would be redecorating my office with fragments from your fucking skull right now.”

Taking a deep breath, I then added, “Talking of skulls, you’re on clean-up duty so sort the basement out. I’ve been told there’s still some of Michael Langston’s brain matter on the vinyl.”

Langston was my ex-accountant who had tried skimming some off the top. If you made a mistake in my outfit, you only made it once. I’d beat the crap out of the prick even after he had squealed, just for fun. What could I say, that was the norm for people like me. It was all about letting off steam. Most men involved in the mob had questionable coping strategies.

As Lars and Hamish went to leave my office, I called out as they got to the door, “Oh, and Hamish.”

He turned, looking flustered, “Yes boss?”

“If I ever hear you call Ava a bitch again, I’ll end you. Understood?”

The porky bastard had the sense to pale and I watched the large swallow he took, “Yes Mr Kinlan. Sorry.”

After waving them away, I pushed to my feet again and glared down at the people who were supposed to be my A team.

“Everyone, get the fuck out. Nico, you stay.”

I watched through narrowed eyes as the men supposed to be my elite level of soldiers left my office with their tails between their legs. Maybe I needed to restructure?

Nico remained in his seat with a shit-eating grin, “Surely you knew he’d fuck up?”

His words needled me, “I’m afraid my use of The Force wasn’t working when I chose that prick to handle matters. Fucking amateurs,” I snorted, jamming my hand through my hair, feeling as wound up as fuck.

“You should have sent me,” Nico pointed out, leaning back in his seat, and placing his feet on my desk. You think? The vein in my temple was surely at bursting point as I glared pointedly across the space at his booted feet.

“I needed you for more important things. Messina has been up my arse all month about my ability to run this fucking outfit, in case you’ve forgotten,” I grunted. “And get your feet off my desk.”

With an eye roll and a shrug, Nico slid his feet off and lit a smoke.

“And did I say you could light up in here?”

“Fuck me, you’re a cranky bastard tonight,” he huffed as he took one long drag and then stubbed the butt out on my desk.

“You damage my desk, you pay for it,” I growled.

“Bill me,” he deadpanned.

My phone lit up on my desk to say I had a text and I lifted it to my face and swiped my thumb across the screen. It was from Cillian.

I have her new address. Cill had messaged.

Thank fuck.

A rush of adrenaline pumped through my chest. Ava was the answer to ending my troubles with the Italians. She had the power to stop a war and she didn’t even know it.

“Boss?” Nico said as he watched the mixture of emotions that must have flickered across my face at the news.

“It’s from Cillian. He’s located Ava,” I replied, throwing my phone on the desk, and washing a hand down my face.

Nico’s gaze glanced to the phone and then back to me. “So, Suki squealed?”

His words brought a smile to my lips. My father’s last wife and my ex-stepmother; Susannah Cawthorne, aka Suki, was Ava’s mother. I’d given her a home even though she’d now divorced my father (and had taken back her maiden name). The woman had lost everything when Gerard was arrested and I had been forced to step in. I’d purposefully kept her close to get to Ava. I had then instructed one of my men, Cillian to find out what she knew. And no, I don’t mean thumb screws and bright lights, I meant the traditional way. Seduction.

“I imagine she did, if the rumours of Cillian’s expertise in bed are to be believed.”

“Please don’t. You’ll give me a hard-on,” Nico said with a smile.

He meant it too as Cillian was a handsome fucker. Nico came out a few years ago and it was common knowledge that he had the hots for Cill. Unfortunately for Nico, Cill was as straight as they come. In his love life anyway. In every other way, he was as crooked as fuck.

My top hitman had been tasked with cosying up to Suki to find out if she knew where Ava was. Pillow talk was a bitch.

Cillian would be generously rewarded for his efforts. He was a lethal killer but hugely popular with the ladies. He oozed danger. The man probably had ‘Warning, Touch at your Own Risk’ stamped across his dick. Still, the woman had fallen for his deceit, hook, line, and sinker.

And now, Ava had been found.

I sat up in my chair and drilled Nico a look of determination.

The silence suddenly pressed down on me like a physical force.

Scratching my jaw, I considered my next moves.

Ava had collated incriminating evidence which had sent my father to prison. Before I divvied out her punishment, I intended to establish why she did it and who she was working with.

Sending Gerard down was her true crime and luckily for her, unrealised by the men in my organisation. I would keep it that way, for a price.

Ava had also shot me the day I found out about her betrayal, but I’d let that slide, for now.

“So, do you want me to go fetch her?”

I pondered Nico’s words and then made the right decision. If you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself.

“No, I’ll go,” I stated firmly. “Tell my pilot to get the jet ready; I’ll take Lester and Sean, and put a team of four on us for security detail. That leaves you in charge of handling things here. Once Hamish has finished downstairs, I want him back at the casino.”

“Boss,” Nico nodded in agreement. “How are you going to do it?”

“I’ll go to Milan and drag Ava back by the hair if she forces my hand. This is no longer about revenge.”

“No?”

“No, it’s about redemption,” I said with a determined smile.

Nico’s eyes clashed with mine. “Poor girl.”

And he was right. My ego alone could choke the life out of my victims. I was good at what I did and I never failed.

For as long as I needed her, Ava would be mine.

Ava

Why did I have a feeling that I wasn’t alone?

Having let myself into my best friend, Anton’s apartment, I now had no option but to hold my breath and pray I was wrong. My heart was thumping so hard in my chest that I was surprised I couldn’t hear it. The only noise was the blood rushing in my ears and that faint annoying buzz from the fridge freezer in the kitchen.

Placing my grocery bags down by the door, I straightened. I needed to get to my Glock. I had hidden it at the back of one of the drawers in the kitchen. Anton didn’t like guns and staying in his place meant I had to respect his wishes.

I’d had no warning, there had been no telltale men watching me from the shadows as I’d entered the building; no strange looks from Anton’s neighbours as I walked up the stairs. Nothing to signal the noose was drawing tight again.

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled and I moved slowly towards the kitchen which was more of a kitchenette. It was through an archway at the other end of the open-plan living room. And right then, it felt like it was miles away.

Focusing solely on the drawer, I moved through the living space closer to the kitchen. I didn’t turn my head or glance towards the corner where the TV and sofas were.

I knew he was there. Not one of his incompetent soldiers. This time, the big man himself had come in person.

That meant I was screwed.

I could have said it was due to my sixth sense, but that would be bullshit. My stepbrother, Kai had a unique scent that I remembered well. Spicy and fresh with a hint of that sandalwood cologne he wore. It flowed through my memory like a sweet poison.

I took a deep breath, inhaling that aura of danger, telling myself to keep calm.

Once I got to the counter, I slid open the drawer, pulled out my gun and pivoted sharply, pointing it directly at Kai’s smug motherfucking face. Thankfully my hands were steady, a sign that my training had kicked in.

The man who had hunted me for the last twenty-three months was sitting in one of the chairs at the far side of the living space, his hands resting on his knees, feet crossed at the ankle. He looked so casual, as if he’d been invited in for coffee but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

“Miss me?” he began with a smirk. And I must admit, the view from where I stood wasn’t too shabby. Kai was unfortunately even more good-looking than he used to be. His black hair stuck out in all the right directions, his deep dark eyes were like rich burnt toffee, and he had a mouth that could probably do unimaginable things to a girl's lady parts.

Kai Kinlan was still a prime specimen of maleness, with skin naturally tanned and a build packed with muscle. There was no doubt about it, Kai’s body was a playground purposefully built for sin. Sex on legs; but he was still the biggest wanker on the planet, a valid point not to be forgotten. He was also my arch-enemy. Well, since I sent his daddy to prison and then shot Kai almost two years ago. The first part was intentional; the second, not so much. But he didn’t know that.

It still made me uneasy, that level of sexual awareness I now felt as an adult. When I was thirteen, it didn’t exist, but I suppose I’d been so young. Kai had been a man and I had looked up to him; until I’d approached that awkward age of sixteen (which had been anything but sweet). At which point my feelings burst into a full-on girlish crush.

For me, the age gap had closed further the day I ran away. I wondered if he still saw me as a child. The last time we had been face to face, I’d been seventeen to his twenty-five. At almost twenty, I felt more than ready to take him on. Wanting to was another matter entirely.

His next question shook me out of my pointless musings about his sex appeal and age. It’s not like it made any difference, nothing would ever come of our relationship. I told myself we hated each other and I wasn’t the type of person to involve myself with someone who had so many social issues. I’d had a couple of hookups over the last year, but purely to scratch that essential itch; nothing serious. My attraction to Kai was now unwanted and unnecessary.

“Why are you living in such a shit heap?” Kai questioned with distaste, dragging me back down to earth with a thud. I almost laughed out loud, compared to some places I’d crashed, Anton’s apartment was a palace.

Narrowing my eyes, I answered him like I thought his question moronic, “I’m laying low. Word on the street is that there is a crazed lunatic trying to kill me.”

“Crazed lunatic?” Kai replied with a twist of his lips, tasting the words. “I’m not a lunatic.” I noticed he didn’t correct me on the trying to kill me section. A shiver swept over me at the thought. Would he really be able to do that, take my life away from me? We hadn’t always been enemies. Could my stepbrother kill me in cold blood?

“Compared to most men in my profession, I think I’m pretty sane,” Kai tacked on.

I released a nervous chuckle. “Are you kidding, mental health professionals would sell their souls to study you.”

“Indeed,” he said with a slight smile, that deep voice of his deceptively calm.

I knew it was madness but I stepped forward and raised the gun slightly higher, aiming directly at his head. “Whilst I like a catch-up as much as the next girl, I think we’re done now. So, I suggest you leave before I redecorate the apartment with your brains,” I explained in a firm voice which brooked no argument.

He didn’t pay any attention to my threat. Of course not. The man listened to no one apart from his second, Nico. I wondered fleetingly where he was at. He too had been my friend once, or so I had thought. Men of the mob variety were untrustworthy fuckers, all of them.

Kai unfolded his massive frame from the chair and then started slowly towards me. Like he was purposefully drawing his approach out. Fear flooded my insides; he wasn’t holding a gun himself but I knew he’d be armed.

“Six months ago, I was prepared to be patient with you.”

My huffed response felt like it was squeezed from me, “And now?”

Kai’s gaze seared into me, “And now. Time’s up.”

As he got closer, I aimed slightly left into his shoulder and pulled the trigger and it clicked. I ignored his look of shock as I glanced down at the weapon. I attempted it a second time; but nothing. I should have known it would have been a futile attempt. It appeared Kai had all his nine lives and was still the luckiest man on the planet.

Panic rushed through me as I watched as he quickened his step, my mouth open, eyes as wide as saucers. Kai moved with a lethal show of grace that made my temples pound and my mouth dry, danger was written deep into every proud inch of him.

Shit! My inner monologue shut down, flustered as Kai prowled across the space.

There was now an ominous scowl on his face, his smile no longer in place. Kai looked like he was one breakdown away from murdering me. His broad shoulders bristled aggressively, and that dangerous vibe pouring off him; doubled in thickness.

I raised my hand, showing him my palm in a ‘stop’ gesture. It was severely pathetic but it worked.

Kai halted around a foot in front of me, almost within touching distance. Probably to stop himself from choking the life out of me. His hands were fisted and his entire stance oozed how pissed off he was. And a pissed-off Kai was not a good Kai. I’d once witnessed him make a grown man cry. Not nice.

His nostrils flared as he stared down his nose at me, “You really are a bloodthirsty little bitch. I can’t believe that you were going to shoot me—again,” Kai growled taking a large step forward, grabbing the Glock and yanking it roughly from my hand.

I gasped as the motion twisted my fingers. And he was wrong, I wasn’t bloodthirsty, I’d purposefully aimed to the side, ensuring minimal damage; a flesh wound only. Part of me hated Kai, but I didn’t want him dead.

“I’m sorry,” I panted, stepping back as he glared at me from his imposing height. He’d filled out over the last two years; his broad shoulders and arms were stacked with even more muscle, and I noticed new ink on his knuckles. The man looked as aggressive as fuck and an unwelcome wave of lust rushed through my pelvis. What could I say, I dug a bad boy. The man stole all the air from the room and I felt hot and bothered. That masculine scent of his almost smothered me.

Get a grip, Ava! You can’t still be attracted to someone so deranged; it just isn’t normal. You hate him, remember?

“Sorry just doesn’t cut it, Ava. You could have killed me, again!” Fuck, he was cross.

“I—It—wasn’t loaded,” I croaked in my defence, rubbing my bruised trigger finger. I was lying, I couldn’t have been sure if it had been loaded. My panic clouded my thoughts and I’d gone with my gut.

“You didn’t know that.” The horrified tone of his voice suggested that he felt I’d just done him a disservice; yeah, like I owed him anything after what his father had done to me and mine.

“Of—course I did—You think I don’t know the weight of my own gun? The differences between it being loaded and unloaded?” I was babbling now as I had always been a shit liar. And then it hit me like a train. OMG, what had I become, I had pulled the trigger on instinct. If it had been loaded, Kai would be bleeding. My stomach churned as I didn’t deal well with the red stuff. At least I’d had the sense to redirect my aim from his skull. A wave of dizziness swam into my head. I couldn’t even watch slasher movies on TV.

Kai must have seen my weakness and he stepped into my personal space, looming over me like a monster. “I have no fucking clue, but if you ever pull a gun on me again, there will be consequences. Severe ones you won’t enjoy.” The warning came with a shake of his finger into my face causing me to blink rapidly.

I raised my chin and met his glare for glare, “I’m not scared of you, Kai.” The slight tremble in my voice exposed me as a liar in a nanosecond. Only a fool would be unafraid of the person this man had become.

Rumour had it, that he was more of a tyrant than his father had been. God ‘do not’ rest his soul. I’d heard from Anton that Gerard Kinlan had passed away in prison the previous year and now Kai, as his only son, fully ran the show. Good riddance to my not-so-sweet stepfather. Now my mother was free of that ogre forever.

I had shopped Gerard into the law behind his back two years prior and was partly responsible for him being sent to prison. After he’d appealed his sentencing, his legal team started to pick holes in the evidence I had provided. I still wasn’t sure if Kai had told his father before he died that I was the one who betrayed him, but either way, the thought of him being paroled had been a worry.

Now the fucker was six feet under, where he belonged. That, however, didn’t stop his son from coming to take a pound of flesh on his father’s behalf.

Kai narrowed his eyes as he watched me down that hawklike nose, “You’re not afraid of me?” he volleyed back, “Then you’re a bigger fool than I thought. You have ten minutes to pack a bag,” he replied sharply.

Raising my eyebrows, I leaned back against the kitchen counter. “Why on earth do I need to pack a bag?” My heart was in my throat as I knew exactly why.

I watched, waiting for his reply as he shoved my gun into the back of his tailored suit trousers. He was dressed impeccably in Brioni; the crisp white of his shirt contrasting with the tanned column of his thick neck. Kai’s ties were always blood red.

“You are to pack a bag as you’re coming with me. We’re going back to London.”

“I don’t want to go back. I don’t want anything to do with that life. I’d rather die.”

His lip curled into a sneer, “Oh no, my bloodthirsty little stepsister. Death is too easy. I have far better plans for you. Do you know what I do to people who betray me, Ava? Have you any clue how much trouble you are in?

“I can imagine.”

“So, be smart and get your fucking shit together.”

I swallowed at the threat in his words and my heartbeat thumped harder. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“As I said, my patience ran out six months ago, so it will go better for you if you just do as you’re told.”

Kai dashed a hand through his hair, a sign of frustration as he attempted to keep control of his temper. And then in his usual high-handed alpha-hole way, he said, “Your refusal to do as I say used to be adorable, now it will just piss me off and so I would advise against testing me, Ava. You either come willingly without fuss or I carry you out. Your choice.”

Acting quickly, I reached behind my back and snatched a weapon from the knife rack, fisting it tightly in my hand. A dark twisted look crossed Kai’s God-like features; it was a cocktail of anger and elation, like he got some sick pleasure at the thought of doing battle with me.

“Put the knife down, before you hurt yourself,” Kai ordered with a patronising tone. I was determined to wipe off his smug fucking face.

“Before I hurt myself indeed. Just because I’m small, doesn’t mean my brain is tiny. You’re on glue if you think I’m doing anything of the sort.”

“Do it now,” his voice dripped with threat but at that point, I realised that I knew he’d never really hurt me, not physically, anyway. We had too much history.

“Get out of my apartment and take whichever goon you have standing outside the front door with you,” I snapped, angry now he’d invaded my space.

Ignoring me, Kai stepped closer into the kitchen, the knife’s edge almost at his chest. If he were to fall forward, it would be game over.

Watching me with intelligence and severity, Kai glanced at the closed door before pinning his eyes on me. “How do you know I have a man outside,” he questioned with a head tilt.

Smirking, I stated, “Because you’re never alone. You always have someone with you. Your protection detail. Everyone knows you can’t look after yourself.” I knew the words were risky, almost giving him an excuse to prove me wrong but I didn’t care. I wanted to fight with him. It was a suicidal choice considering I was five feet, four and my opponent was easily over six feet tall.

The way he was looking at me was borderline psycho; a sexy one, but a psycho all the same. Kai had always been the other side of sane and, from the looks of things, his dark side had matured with age.

I flexed my fingers around the knife’s handle, reminding him I was the one in control.

And then, I wasn’t.

He moved so fast. His wrist struck out and captured mine, the one that wielded the knife. He then grabbed my shoulder with his free hand and twisted my arm around and up my back. I flinched as the knife skimmed the cotton of my top, probably leaving a slash. Kai’s large chest pushed into mine and my breasts were flattened against his hard torso. I was trapped. I panted trying to shove at his shoulder with my free hand, but it was like trying to move concrete.

“Let go of me you brute!”

The intensity in his eyes made my heart race. I gasped as he pushed my arm further up my back, pain exploding through the fragile bones there. My arms had always been skinny and I was sure it was close to breaking.

“A brute, am I? Drop the fucking knife, Ava,” Kai growled against the cuff of my ear as my nose was squashed against his shirt. His breath was warm against my skin and was tinged with the scent of honeyed whisky.

My grip on the steel was still tight but after he jarred my arm again, I screamed in pain and released my fingers.

My only weapon clattered against the kitchen flooring and Kai kicked it into the corner with a swipe of his foot.

“Please,” I said, tears clouding my eyes due to the amount of pain he was inflicting. So much for him not hurting me physically. As I gasped again, Kai seemed to come to his senses, like he hadn’t realised what he was doing and he loosened his grip slightly. Relief pooled into my features but as I let my guard down, he grabbed my other wrist and peeled my hand off his shoulder. Kai then twisted that one to meet its twin, holding me with both arms behind my back. His muscled biceps were bunched around my body, caging me in. The movement had pushed my small frame even closer to his. I suddenly felt helpless and it made me teary-eyed.

“Please, don’t,” I whispered again as I felt the telltale moisture running down my cheeks.

Kai pulled his head back and looked down into my upturned face. “It’s cute that you think you have the skills to outmatch me. My resources told me you’ve been in training over the last six months. Well, guess what princess, I’ve been training my entire fucking life.” The anger in his eyes was palpable. I’d pushed him too hard, too fast, and now I was paying the price.

We remained in that position for a few more beats. Both of us were breathing heavily, me from exertion, Kai from annoyance.

My mouth dropped open as his gaze moved to my lips, “Kai, please,” I begged.

With an elongated sigh, he placed his forehead against mine, his lips now so close. “I love to hear you beg, Ava,” he whispered gruffly. “I enjoy it so much that I aim to hear you do it again. And again, and again. Until I am fully satisfied. You’ve led me a merry dance and now it’s over. You’re coming home. I want you back where you belong and if you’d stop being so stubborn, you’d realise that’s what’s best. Think of your mother, she’s been worried sick.”

“Coming home? That’s bullshit. You are not my family,” I spat, dragging my head back from his to glare at him. “And stay away from my mother.”

I expected his expression to betray how much he got off on controlling me; holding me against my will, just like his sick bastard of a father. When I saw regret shining back at me, it almost floored me. What the hell? Kai with a conscience was not something I was used to.

Blinking, I attempted to shoo off those ridiculous assumptions. Being held so closely against him was doing strange things to my body, things that under normal circumstances would have been nice. I pushed my thighs closer together to try and stamp out that heat I felt between them.

“Let go of me.”

Kai’s next words caused my pulse to skyrocket and panic mode kicked the fuck in.

“I don’t think so, Ava. You are coming back with me. I gave you your space and now it’s time to come home.” There it was again Kai’s description of that mausoleum I’d been forced to live in as home .

I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this than just revenge for grassing on his father and putting a bullet in his side.

“Home. My home is nowhere near you. My mother divorced Gerard ages ago. That means you and I have no connection now,” I husked, feeling a sudden sting near my hipbone. WTF? Had he stuck me with something? I gasped.

“That’s where you’re—Ava—what’s wrong?” Kai must have seen my pained expression as he released me and stepped back with his hands up. I automatically pulled my arms to my front and rolled my shoulders to ease the ache.

The movement caused another sharp burning sensation near my hip and I glanced down to see what looked like a red Sharpie line along the bottom of my white tank top. As I raised my head towards my would-be attacker, Kai was also staring at that portion of my body with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Placing my hand against the mark, another stinging feeling shot through my side and I pulled my hand away to see blood—dark—red blood staining my hand from what was indeed a knife cut against my skin.

As I lifted my fingers to my face, my head started to swim as dizziness threatened again. OMG.

“Ava, look at me,” Kai stepped forward to grab my sagging body beneath the arms, taking some of my weight as the nausea rolled around my stomach.

“Oh no,” I said breathlessly, my legs suddenly like jelly.

“Ava, you’re OK. It’s only a scratch,” Kai reassured, shaking me gently but I swayed like a flower in a breeze.

The last thing I remembered before darkness took me was Kai’s worried expression; like he was genuinely concerned.

And then I collapsed against him as the blackness swallowed me whole.