Fifteen
T he car door slammed shut, her presence overwhelming. My heart pounded uneasily until she whipped her head around and I got a good look at her face. She had dark brown hair, but I told myself they could have forced her to color it. The Rubi I remembered from the photos had light hair, blonde, like her mother. Her eyes were all wrong, too - green instead of blue. I watched as she whipped her head around, looking for any sign of my daughter in the lost girl before me as she pleaded for our help.
“Let me out of these,” she begged, extending her chained wrists to Jett. “Please, hurry! Get me out of here!”
We had the wrong girl.
With a sinking feeling, I recognized her. My daughter’s best friend, the very one I’d accosted in the back alley of a nightclub when I was looking for answers. Her dark, silky waves cascaded down her back, and she sobbed with relief as Jett clipped the shackles off her arms.
I watched in disbelief, the car rocking as it kept speeding off, the sound of gunshots fading in the background. Jett unshackled the girl fully, and she kept crying as the chains came off. He tossed her his blazer, and she covered up her half naked body, shivering.
“Who are you?” Paisley whispered, looking up at my partner. “Please, get me out of here. Thank God you came. I’ll do anything. Just take me to the police, I’m begging you. I’ve been kidnapped. Where’s the police?”
“We’ll deal with it soon. Not before we find out what went wrong,” Jett muttered, making a call on his phone. Her face fell, and I smiled. Finally, Jett was thinking of more pressing matters than the bruised girl in our car.
Like the fact that she wasn’t my daughter.
Dismayed by his reaction, Paisley crawled toward me in the car, hands on my knees as she raised herself to look into my eyes. She was going to beg, but it wasn’t going to help her. Maybe an innocent girl ended up in that car with Glasgow, but she still owed me an explanation. I needed her to be someone else, and it should have been my daughter we were rescuing.
Why the fuck did this girl end up in every place I looked to find Rubi? It had to be a clue.
“Are you going to help me?” Paisley pleaded just before she realized who I was.
Our eyes connected, and her cheeks paled as she pulled back. “Hello again.”
“ You… Are you looking for Rubi?” she whispered.
I stared back, my heart pounding as I tried to recover from her scent assaulting my nostrils. She wasn’t wearing perfume this time, just lotion, and her natural fragrance filled my head with forbidden, delinquent thoughts. It really was her. Paisley.
Paisley Deville, my daughter’s best friend in foster care. While I was locked up in jail, the girls were best friends, apparently. But then Rubi disappeared, and Paisley had some shit to answer for.
I remembered my promise to myself - punishing Paisley the only way I knew how. An eye for an eye. A child for a child. She took Rubi away from me, so she had to fucking pay up.
My fist wrapped around her throat while Jett argued on his phone. I forced her up, and her hands clawed at my fingers as I made her sit on the backseat.
“Why are you here again, Paisley?” I demanded. “Where the hell is my daughter?”
“Relax,” she wheezed, clawing at my hands to get them off. “Look, I know something! Please, just stop!”
I unwrapped my fingers from the chokehold one by one. “Spit it out, bitch. Before I end this once and for all. I’ve had enough of running into you everywhere I turn. I know there’s something about my daughter you’re not telling me.”
Her eyes flashed with fear as she struggled to put her seatbelt on. The car was still speeding, and Paisley was covered in blood. I wasn’t sure if it was her own, but I knew it was there because of me.
My men fired the shots.
Jett and I organized the shoot-out. Glasgow was going to die, and we were going to intercept my daughter from being sold. But in her place was the same person I blamed for this mess all along - mysterious Paisley, who was the last person to see my daughter alive.
But that was eight years ago.
And now, she was being sold to Glasgow, a known criminal, when my intel told me it was Rubi who Glasgow was buying.
“I saw Rubi again,” Paisley finally whispered, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “I saw her, she was where they took me. I swear it was her. She called out my name, too.”
Panic consumed me. I never got a clue to my daughter’s whereabouts. All I had was some video from a nightclub, showing her with Paisley before they got separated. Eight fucking years ago.
“When?” I snarled.
“I don’t know,” Paisley managed uselessly. “The days. They blend together. It was still warm, but fall already, not long ago. Weeks, maybe.”
My daughter was alive. “Where is she now?”
“I’m not sure,” Paisley said. “They took her away when we spoke to each other. I think she was special. They treated her differently. She had a cloak on, and they gave her better food. Cake, too.”
I swallowed hard. The thought of these innocent girls thrown into such a fucked up thing was disturbing. I’d gone to jail to avoid it. Why was my daughter caught in the hell I’d paid seventeen years to keep her out of?
I scanned Paisley’s face for a sign that she was lying. Her green eyes insisted on mine, begging, bottom lip trembling with fear. She was damn pretty, and I knew why they’d taken her. No wonder Glasgow had an interest in the girl - she was gorgeous.
“Where did they kidnap you?” I asked despite myself. I knew one thing for sure - none of Glasgow’s girls ended up in this shit of their free will. He liked them unwilling, it got him off. At least he wasn’t one of the demented perverts who went after children.
“Sicily,” Paisley whispered. “I was on vacation with my boyfriend.”
I remembered the guy, and the shame coloring her cheeks told me it was the same boyfriend she’d mentioned the last time I saw her.
Five years ago, Paisley Deville came to Amora, the club where Rubi went missing.
I waited there for her every night since I got out of prison.
I served over seventeen years, taking the fall. My condition was that my daughter, Rubi Rizzo, was kept safe while I was in jail. I never got to meet Rubi, and her mother died when I was locked up. Rubi entered the system, where she met Paisley Deville. The two became fast friends.
I got out a day too late - missing Rubi by less than twenty-four hours. She went missing the night before my release. I tracked her to Amora, a club called Dolce back then, and watched her disappear on the camera feed after she got separated from her best friend - Paisley.
I killed the owners. I bought Dolce and turned it into Amora. I wore a fucking blue paisley-print tie every day, and waited for Paisley Deville.
Three years and no leads later, Paisley walked into Amora. I didn’t recognize her right away, and I had my tie to thank for the connection. I followed her to a back alley after I noticed her glancing at me all night.
I used my power and influence to tempt Paisley Deville into giving me anything I wanted.
She had no clue who I was.
Paisley Deville begged me to do more.
With my cock buried in her tight little asshole, while she confessed it was her first time taking something in there.
Right before she ran away from me, once she realized I was Rubi’s dad.
Why the fuck did she run away?
Paisley was hiding something, but this time, the secrets were spilling from her lips, and I was eager to find out what she knew if it meant bringing me closer to Rubi.
But I needed Paisley alone first.
“Jett, fucking leave us alone,” I hissed at my partner. He nodded, then knocked on the partition and the car skidded to a halt. Jett got out, and we sped off again, this time with just me and Paisley in the back.
I kicked the remains of her chains away and leaned in. “You need to tell me everything.”
Paisley Deville nodded eagerly, huddling deeper under Jett’s blazer. “Of course. Everything. Just let me talk to the cops first.”
“ After we find my daughter,” I hissed impatiently, and Paisley’s green eyes filled with distrust.
“Why not now?”
“Because I don’t fucking trust you,” I bit out. “And you’re not as important as Rubi.”
“No?” she asked, glaring. “It’s not important for me to get away, is it? You have no idea what they did to me in there, you sick fuck. Take me to the cops, or I’m not telling you another word.”
“You seem to think you’re in charge,” I seethed. “You’re here in my car. With me. So you will do as you’re told.”
“Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?” she demanded.
“Your angel of mercy.”
“If you felt merciful, you would have let me go already,” Paisley spat out. “Let’s put all the cards on the table, shall we? You’re not letting me go.”
I smirked. “No, I’m not.”
She bit her bottom lip again.
“Why did Rubi go missing?” I demanded. “She wasn’t even eighteen.”
“I don’t know,” Paisley whispered. “I never forgave myself for that.”
“Then why did you run away from me?” I asked sharply. “That night at the club, you took off running. You could have helped me find my daughter. If you were innocent, you would have.”
“Are you kidding me?” she scoffed. “You accosted me in the middle of the night. You were going to do worse. I could see it in your eyes.”
I stared at her. “You can’t rape the willing, Paisley, remember?”
She withered before me, leaning back on her seat. “I want you to promise you’ll help me get out of this hell.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I’ll help you find Rubi,” she promised.
“Tempting,” I said. “But you’ll have to do one other thing first.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Confess that night was completely consensual,” I whispered in her ear. “Do that, and I’ll set you free.”
She pulled away, but I held onto her hand.
The car pulled to a stop. The doors opened, and Jett pried her off me. A few of the guards marched her into an elevator in the underground garage. I followed suit. We rode up in silence. She didn’t fight anyone. She probably still thought I was going to save her.
The offices were empty. The guards took Paisley to use the bathroom and feed her, while I waited in my private suite. It took them nearly half an hour to come back, and the whole time, I paced my office, unsure of my next step.
Just like always, seeing Paisley Deville in the flash rattled me.
She was the only person who could make me weak besides my daughter, and I fucking hated it.
I hated her, for being able to manipulate me so easily. I fought my instincts hard with Paisley around, but not hard enough.
She kept her gaze on the hardwood when the guards brought her in. She was still wearing a tall pair of bridal shoes. One look from me was enough to send everyone out, leaving a lone guard by the door, hand on his weapon in case Paisley tried to pull anything stupid.
She had buttoned Jett’s blazer, and sat down on my leather couch, shivering. I sat next to her, offering her a glass of orange juice. She gulped hungrily.
“Did they not feed you?” I asked. I didn’t have much food in my office.
“I had something,” Paisley muttered. “But I don’t know where your goodwill ends. Might as well take advantage while I can.”
Guilt twisted my stomach. “Paisley…”
“I find it rather unfair you know so much about me, but I don’t even know your name,” she interrupted, eyes blazing fire. “Are you going to tell me, or make me ask like Glasgow did?”
“My name is Hawkes Rizzo,” I muttered. “Rubi’s last name is Rizzo, too. And yours?”
“I’m not lucky enough to have a rich, sicko dad looking for me,” she said. “So I had to make up my last name. Paisley Deville. Not that it matters, because you already knew. And I’m not her anymore, anyway. I’m nothing now.”
I swallowed and placed her empty glass back on a coffee table. Paisley sat back, arms crossed, watching my every move as I leaned back. I kept a respectable distance between us.
“Tell me about Rubi,” I insisted. “Don’t leave out any details.”
“I told you everything. Black velvet cloak. They wanted her hidden for a reason,” she muttered. “I don’t think anyone else knew who she was but me. But they don’t let us speak to each other. When she said my name, they took her away.”
I knew what the velvet cloak meant. Girls wore the hood up when they were considered pure, untouched. It was a sign for the guards to back off and treat them with respect. This gave me some hope for my daughter. It was a good fucking sign.
But the color of the cloak wasn’t a good sign.
Black meant the woman had been sold.
“Glasgow was supposed to buy Rubi, not you,” I continued. “Any idea why that fell through?”
“Probably because she recognized me when we saw each other.” Paisley looked at me with worry. “Can you find her?”
“I’ve been trying for years. You know that, sugar.”
Maybe it was because I used her old nickname, or she was simply too broken by everything that had happened to her. I felt my shoulders fall under the weight of unspoken accusations. She stared at me like I was going to save her… But Paisley had to know by then - I was going to keep condemning her time and time again, until I found my daughter.
Silence wrapped around me, and next, Paisley’s limbs did, too.
“I was never able to forget you,” she confessed, ignoring the guard by the door. “Not since we met for the first time. I wanted to give you more, but… I got scared.”
“I looked for you,” I admitted. “I needed to see you again.”
“I’m here now…” She guided my hands onto her hips. “Are we going to finish what we started?”
My hands toyed with the little straps holding her outfit together under the blazer. I wanted her naked, fully exposed.
“Do you remember how to come?” I asked her roughly.
“Why?” she demanded.
I shrugged. “Some of the girls say it makes it easier. What they do to them.”
Icy silence wrapped around the room. I knew how much my words exposed me, but by then Paisley knew I was willing to do anything to find my daughter.
“I’ve forgotten how,” she whispered. “I don’t know what it feels like anymore. Pleasure. Making love.”
“You will get it back,” I promised her, hating myself as I slid my thumb over her parted lips. “I’ll help you. You will get it all back some day, your old life. Your old friends. Your old job, home, everything…”
“Do you swear?” Her eyes bore into mine, fingers tightening around my tie. “Swear you will save me.”
“Of course.” I looked into her eyes. “I’ll save you, Paisley.”
Comforted, she slid back onto my lap. My cock probed at her pussy through the thin, sheer fabric of her pink panties. She could tell, but she didn’t stop me, her eyes trusting as she pulled me lower by my tie.
“Kiss me,” she begged, reminding me of the first time I’d met her. “Just once. Remind me it’s not always like… that.”
I lowered my lips to hers, stealing more than I should have. Paisley smiled against my kiss, and I tasted her tears as I continued, showing her what she could have one day.
If only she played by my rules.
Her hips jerked against mine and my arms wrapped around her on instinct. Her manicured hands wrapped in my hair, pulling me impossibly close until I could feel her heartbeat against my chest. My own fingers clawed their way up her back, noting the curve of her ass, exploring the dimples above it.
She moaned and arched her back, grinding her wetness into my crotch. Her palms were behind her, on my knees, as she looked up.
“I want to come,” she said. “Can you remind me what it’s like?”
Knowing what I was going to do to her convinced me to give in. If I had any doubt about what she’d gone through with those men, she erased it as she slipped the blazer off. There was a guard in the room, and he looked away as Paisley shivered before me in barely there underwear.
“Please?” she added, and I cursed softly. “I’ll do anything. Let me show you.”
“Show me,” I growled.
“Just lie back and enjoy,” she said.
“Bold words,” I hissed, getting horizontal on the couch. “Don’t let me down.”
She unbuttoned my pants, pulling my boxers down and pulling out my cock. She didn’t wince like some of the others did. I watched Paisley’s pupils dilate as she took in my length and the upwards curve.
She wrapped her fist around my dick and started jerking me off.
“Finish as fast as you can,” I dared her. “Let’s see how good you are. Did your boyfriend teach you any tricks?”
Her grip tightened. Thighs parted, she sunk her free hand between them. “Let’s see who comes first, Hawkes.”
I watched her massaging her center and soaked up the sound of sweet moans escaping her lips. My cock tightened and grew, veins throbbing with the need to spray her with my seed.
I could tell she would give in faster. Laughing, I leaned back, offering her no help at all.
“You or me, Paisley?” I muttered. “Who deserves it more?”
She bit her bottom lip, quivering as her hand left my cock. She pinched her own clit and cursed softly. I watched her come apart as her orgasm made her fingers tremble.
Once she could breathe again, Paisley crawled back on top of me, fingers wrapping around my cock again.
“Do whatever you want,” she whispered in my ear. “Don’t hold back.”
“Couldn’t if I wanted to,” I hissed, groaning as her hand worked my cock. “I like seeing you work for it, but it’s going in your cunt.”
She paused for a split second before picking up her movements, making them faster and so much harder to endure.
“Of course,” Paisley whispered. “As long as you set me free once you’re done.”
The broken tone told me everything. In her mind, Paisley had condemned me, too. To her, I was just like the rest of these men who’d put chains on her. Just as bad, if not worse.
She was only doing all this to get out.
I started pulling up my boxers, and Paisley looked up at me with confusion.
“No, please,” she managed. I buttoned my pants as she pulled back, eyes full of stars as she hugged me. “Don’t let me go, Hawkes.”
I didn’t hold her, but it didn’t deter her. I motioned to the guard by the door. My office opened, and Jett walked in along with two other armed guards.
“Is he dead?” Paisley whispered against my neck. “The man in the mask?”
I thought of Glasgow, chained up somewhere dark. “No, not yet.”
“Will you kill him?” she asked, her eyes meeting mine. “He deserves to die.”
I didn’t answer, motioning for Jett to collect her. Paisley rose as Jett gently took her by the shoulder.
“Where are you taking me?” she whispered. “Can you take me back home, please? I can pay for a plane ticket back home. I’m from New York, remember?”
My lips pursed as she started crying and Jett led her away. It was like she knew what I was going to do already. I felt guilt, a thin veil over my lust.
The door slammed and I wanted to fucking scream as I bit into my own fist.
I collected myself, steadying my body until it was still and strong like fucking stone.
The door opened as I walked to the window, staring down at the city.
“What are you going to do?” Jett muttered. I ignored his silhouetted shadow in the glass behind me. Closing my eyes, I exhaled. I had some thinking to do, but there was no fucking time. Was I cruel enough to condemn Paisley just to get answers?
Promises I’d made myself disappeared before me, disintegrating into dust as I turned to face Jett. “Release Glasgow. Bring him back the girl. Tell him we stopped the culprits, and they’re all dead.”
Jett nodded, but I could tell he didn’t like it. “Consider it done. Do you have more business with the girl?”
I turned back, watching London move. The night was dark. My thoughts were darker. “No.”
Jeff left my office, closing the door a little too hard. I knew what he was thinking. We were Rizzos - we made a promise, an omerta to each other. No hurting women. Why was I so easily condemning this one?
I told myself I sent Paisley back to get me the answers I needed from her new Master.
Glasgow was once a Rizzo too, but that was a long time ago. All I had left was Jett.
Saving his life and giving him Paisley would at the very least establish him as our ally. I’d be able to find the girl again, once she’d stewed in her misery for a while, and demand more answers.
I knew my daughter wasn’t in Glasgow’s house yet, but it never hurt to have another plant in the mansion. Paisley would hate me, but I’d also be her only way out.
I’d make her buy her freedom, after she helped me find my daughter.
“An eye for an eye,” I mutter to my reflection in the window.
Back at my desk, I was clipping a cigar. I lit the end and leaned back in my office chair. Even the smoke couldn’t get the truth out of my mind. The real reason I broke the Rizzo rules and sent Paisley back to Glasgow, knowing what was going to happen there.
Possession. Obsession. Devotion. Love .
Call it what you will. Whatever makes you feel better.
For me, her name was Paisley. And the intensity of my crushed emotions was too fucking much. I couldn’t trust myself with Paisley here. My only purpose was finding my daughter. I didn’t have time to waste on Paisley.
So I’d make her work for every second of my presence, one fact at a time.