50. Violet
50
Violet
“ D id you like your little present?” I rolled my eyes as Reid’s rich voice came from behind me. Only he would call a grand piano a ‘little present.’
I turned to watch him walk into his office. He was in his usual dark suit and black shirt. His hair was styled; some gray showing at the temples, but it only made him appear more sophisticated.
He moved with such confidence as he walked to where I was sitting on his desk. Having that much sex appeal should be illegal.
He stopped an inch in front of me. I could feel his warmth on the knee of my crossed leg. My fingers itched to grab the lapels of his jacket. To yank him forward and bring his lips to mine. I resisted the urge, hating that I had to.
Yet, a smile tugged at my mouth. Just having that desire, the confidence, was a win. It felt like another piece of me was healing, becoming whole again.
“It’s beautiful. Thank you.” My chest tightened as I stared into his kind blue eyes. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. “But it’s too much.”
I rolled my lips together to stop myself from saying the truth. The reality was I didn’t think I could play it. Music brought out too many emotions. I was afraid of what would happen if I touched the keys. Worried the floodgates would open and I’d fall apart again.
The breath stuttered from my lungs as he gripped my chin, forcing me to hold his gaze. “It’s not enough, pretty girl. You deserve so much more than we can give you.”
Something flashed behind his eyes. I didn’t have time to figure out what it was. He closed the distance between us and captured my mouth with his. The kiss was slow and sweet. There was no rush. No command.
It was hard to believe this was the man who’d tied my legs together with a belt a few nights ago. The one who demanded more orgasms when I’d felt like I was ready to pass out. The man in front of me now was softer.
I sighed, savoring his gentleness. It was natural, like we had spent years kissing. Like we’d spent the next hundred in each other’s arms.
But that didn’t stop my body from heating. I uncrossed my legs, making room for him to step closer. My fingers dug into the desk as I arched my back, hoping he’d take this further. But then the door opened and crashed my dreams.
Reid wasn’t as quick to stop. His mouth trailed down my cheek as I turned to see who had entered. He was placing kisses to my neck as Connor walked in the room.
“Am I interrupting?” He smirked.
“Yes.”
“No.”
We said at the same time.
“Reid.” I chuckled as I tried to shift away from him.
“What?” He grumbled as he reluctantly stood to glare at his brother.
Connor didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered at having interrupted us. “Ivette is looking for you.” Reid dipped his head, giving me another quick kiss before stepping back. Connor moved to take his place. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep our girl busy.”
I giggled at Reid’s annoyed expression. “Not tonight.” His eyes racked over my body, making me shiver. “She needs her rest. I’ve got plans for tomorrow.”
“Try telling that to Maverick.” He dipped his head and put his lips right where Reid’s had been only a moment ago.
“He’s working.” Without another word, Reid left. My brows furrowed as I wondered what kind of work he was doing. Maybe security for the club. That might be why he was training all the time, but I’d never asked. It didn’t seem important.
And that didn’t change when Connor’s hands skimmed up my legs and his mouth moved along my neck. “Hear that, little bloom.” My nipples tightened as his tongue flicked across my pulse. “My cock is hard just wondering what he has planned for us.”
Us. It still confused me that they could pass me around so easily. Or that I enjoyed it as much as I did. There was no jealousy, only acceptance.
“Come on.” He gripped my hands, pulling me from the desk and towards the door Reid had disappeared through. “Let’s head down to the bar.” My teeth tugged on my lip when I thought about the last occasion I’d had a drink. My cheeks colored from the memory. “No alcohol for you, though.”
He added when he saw the apprehension on my face. He wrapped an arm around my waist and I relaxed into him. They took care of me. They cared about me. Nobody ever had before.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
He placed another kiss on my head before releasing me. “Use the one in Mav’s office.”
I could feel his eyes on my back as I walked away. Goosebumps broke out on my skin like it was a physical touch. I was so gone for these men. Lost in them. And I didn’t want to be found.
Maverick’s office was identical to Reid’s, except it had an air of disuse. There were no papers on his desk or garbage in the trash. It was clear he spent little time in here.
The bathroom was as nice as the rest of the club. High end finishes, but it was tiny. I suppose it didn’t need to be big since it was for private use.
After I was finished, I moved to the sink to wash my hands. I pressed on the blue glass soap dispenser, but nothing happened. I tried again, harder, but only a squirt came out.
Men.
I rolled my eyes as I turned to the closet. It seemed like the most obvious place to store extra. But when I opened the door, I was surprised to see another. There were shelves to the right and left with random supplies. Paper towel, soap, garbage bags, lube, condoms, printer ink.
But the wall in front wasn’t a wall. Why would a closet have two doors? I pictured the layout of the building in my head, trying to imagine what was on the other side. Nothing should be there. This corner faced the outside.
Maybe it was a safe. I shouldn’t open it, but curiosity got the better of me. I was always hoping to learn more about them. It seemed they knew all my deep dark secrets, and I only had glimpses of their pasts.
But as I touched the warm handle, my thoughts took a turn. My throat tightened. My gut clenched, remembering a closet. One I’d been held in. Was there a trap beyond this?
No! My guys would never do that. They weren’t evil.
Then why was my hand shaking? Why was sweat dripping down my spine? I willed myself to yank the door open. To face my fears.
In my heart, I knew I wouldn’t find anything. It was probably just more paper. Or a safe that I wouldn’t even be able to look inside. I was letting my trauma run away with my mind again.
The breath whooshed from my lungs as I twisted the knob and pulled. The shift in the air wasn’t solely my doing. It was the pressure coming from another room. Actually, what I was staring at was a staircase that led down. But down where?
I felt my heart slamming on my ribs, yelling at me to close the door and run. But it was too late. I shuffled my feet forward until I started to descend. My heels made a click on each concrete step.
My chest constricted, making it hard to breathe as I headed further and further underground. Just as I was telling myself to turn back, I heard a shout. It was definitely female. My entire body jumped to life. I rushed down the stairs without thinking.
I should run the other way. Get help. But the idea that someone could be suffering like I had pushed me into action.
The stench of sweat filtered through my nose. The noise grew in volume, but I was too distraught to realize it was coming from more than one voice and it wasn’t only female.
My dry mouth parted when I finally reached the bottom. My feet carried me forward. Pulled by the force of curiosity. Too bad I forgot curiosity got you killed.
I was in an underground warehouse with stained concrete floors and crumbling brick walls. There were boxing rings illuminated by dim lights. The room was filled beyond capacity with people. The sweaty bodies bumped into me as I stood still in the chaos.
They were nothing like the crowds upstairs except, with one glance, I could see they had money. They had expensive clothes, but the shirtsleeves were rolled up on the men. Their ties were shoved into coat pockets.
And the women wore designer dresses. Only these were the ones made to reveal more than they covered up. There was none of the tease that Eros had. None of the seduction.
And if that wasn’t enough, I saw the exchange of money. People had it clutched in their fists. Women crammed it down their tops.
Instead of expressions of pleasure, their features were contorted in rage as they shouted. I watched one man as his face danced with delight. I heard a grunt before his cheeks were splattered with red.
Whatever this was fed a different kind of kink. It was a different hunger. Greed.
My eyes flew to where the blood had come from. My stomach bottomed out as I saw Maverick standing in the middle of a boxing ring. His red coated hands hung at his sides as he circled the man on the ground.
He was shirtless, which wasn’t unusual. Normally, a warmth would spread through me when I looked at his naked muscled body, but all I felt was nausea. His abs rippled as he lifted his foot, then slammed it down onto the man’s stomach.
I winced. The air rushed from my lungs as if it was happening to me. It was like the first day I’d spent in their house when I’d seen him and Charlie practicing. Now, I knew why. But this wasn’t practice.
The man on the ground was covered in blood. As he rolled to his hands and knees, I saw one of his fingers was bent at an unnatural angle. He smeared more of the viscous liquid along his skin as he swept his hair from his face.
My head spun. The world shifted hard as I recognized him. Felipe. The young cook from the restaurant Connor had taken me to. The guy who had a little sister he was raising on his own.
A gasp caught in my throat as Maverick punched him again. Felipe swayed before his body hit the mat with a dull thud. The crowd erupted around me. Shouts and whistles. I was jostled as they all shifted closer to the ring.
What was this?
Tears burned my nose as I looked at Maverick’s unconscious victim. No. There was no way that my Maverick did this. The sweet man who’d saved me.
My mouth dipped at the corners as I shook my head. My gaze slid up, colliding with his. The smoky gray had hardened to stone. These eyes were nothing like the ones I knew.
The ones I thought I knew.
Fear clutched my gut as I turned. A man cursed as I shoved past him. Another tried to grab my arm, but I pulled myself free. Terror propelled me forward. Everything I believed seemed to be crashing at my feet. I elbowed my way through the crowd, ignoring curses and shouts. I didn’t stop until I reached the door again.
“Violet!” I heard my name over the din of noise, but I refused to look back.
I needed to get away. Needed to process what I’d just seen. My heels stumbled on the stairs. The concrete scraped along my palms as I threw an arm out to steady myself. I felt the stickiness of blood, but I didn’t pause to examine it.
By the time I reached the bathroom, my chest was heaving. My lungs screamed for oxygen, but I couldn’t calm myself down enough to breathe. Everything I believed was a lie.
The men I knew were good guys. They’d saved me. Took care of me.
An image of Maverick smashing Felipe’s face flashed into my mind. Blood splattered in the air, covering his skin. My jaw clenched. I squeezed my eyes closed, wishing it away.
How could I reconcile what I knew with what I saw?
“Violet.” I whipped around as Maverick stepped into the room behind me. He shut the closet, sealing off the place I was never supposed to see.
Nausea rolled through me, my mouth watered as I took him in. He wore only loose gym shorts and tape on his knuckles. But what was once white was now almost black from blood and dirt. Crimson splashes scattered across his sweat soaked chest. A drop had slid down, leaving a trail through his solid abs.
Memories smacked into me. Blood on a different person’s knuckles. My blood. My pain.
“No!” I shouted as he stepped closer.
His gray eyes swept over me, but his feet stilled. I watched as his fists clenched at his sides as I walked backwards towards the door. I had to get out before he shifted all that anger on me. Before, another guy I thought was nice turned evil.
“Don’t do that, belladonna.” His tone held a hint of regret as I retreated. “Don’t pull away from me.”
For the first time since meeting them, I didn’t want to listen to their orders. “What the fuck was that?”
I hated how broken my voice sounded. I wanted it to be a shout instead of a distraught gasp.
My hand curled around the knob as I waited for his answer. Somewhere inside, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but staring at him like this. Like he was a warrior from battle, was twisting the signals in my brain.
He ran his fingers through his buzzed hair, sending droplets of sweat into the air. “A fight.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I’m not fucking stupid. Why? Why were you fighting him? Why were they watching?”
His tongue swept over his bottom lip as he thought. And it wasn’t sexy. It felt dirty. His hesitation made me believe he was searching for another lie to feed me.
“For money. Not every business we own is legal. Ares is an underground fight club, and I’m the undefeated champion.”
Legal. Money. Champion.
The words floated through my mind. Telling me all the things I’d been too afraid to notice.
They were criminals. Violent. They used people for money. Used their pain for profit.
Like Simon had used me.
I’d spilled my secrets to them. My own misery. Lived with them. Fucked them. And I’d never really known them. I wasn’t aware of how awful they were.
I had no idea this violence could live in them.
Maverick stared at me. His shoulders straight. His jaw tight as if he was proud of his business . But his eyes pleaded with me to understand. The soft grays I’d started to fall for had returned, begging me to pretend this didn’t matter.
It mattered. They’d lied. Now I wasn’t sure what to believe. I didn’t know who they were, and I didn’t want to find out. I couldn’t. And I couldn’t stand by while they hurt people.
I twisted the knob, escaping the bathroom and him.
“Violet.” He lunged forward; his arm outstretched as he reached for me. I jerked away before his bloodied hand could touch my skin.
“I said no!”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. His eyes hardened. His chest rose with an angry breath. “You also said you wanted this. That you wanted us.”
My palm clutched my tumbling stomach as I put more space between us. I’d been stupid. Na?ve. Damaged. “I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t know you hurt people.”
“It’s not like that.”
He could tell me everyone wanted to participate in the fights. But I knew the real truth. You only did something like that when you had no other choice. When you needed the money to survive. You only rely on people like him when you were desperate. As I had been.
“It’s exactly like that. You lied to me.”
“We never—.”
“You lied!” A hot tear slid down my cheek. I didn’t bother swiping it away. Didn’t try to pretend that I wasn’t hurt. I was in so much anguish it was hard to breathe. Hard to think. “You used me.”
They’d taken advantage of me. Of my suffering and weakness. Just like they did every person who came into that warehouse. He was the champion. He knew he’d never lose.
Until now. He lost me.
I chuckled because he didn’t even care. I was nothing to them. I was a fuck toy. A lay. Disgust twisted my insides as I thought about all the times I thanked them. But they’d gotten what they wanted. Me in their bed. Under their control. Trapped like I was with Simon.
Only I’d been too blind to see it this time. I had closed my gaze to all the red flags. Well, my eyes were open now.
I let them decide everything. To take me. Keep me. Fuck me. I allowed them to command me. And I didn’t even know who they were. And I only had myself to blame.
No more. I decided now.
I turned on my heel. “Don’t go.” My body betrayed me, stilling as he pleaded. “It’s not safe.”
I did have someone who cared about me. Who needed me. I’d been sitting here playing house with a bunch of fucking criminals. Pretending I belonged with them. That they were my family when my real family was in danger.
Who was I? What was I doing?
A hysterical laugh ripped from my chest as more tears fell. “Staying here is what’s dangerous for me.”