CHAPTER ONE
Alex.
“Go away.” Luce mumbled waking her as her phone started going off.
Pulling her head out from under the covers she reached out to pat the side table where she’d left it.
Finding it and picking it up she brought it to her.
Her eyes felt grainy, she’d been working her ass off for days with little sleep.
Stretching and squinting her eyes in an effort to see it.
What was the damn time?....
Grasping the screen and swiping she opened her phone and checked it. Just gone half four.
Crickey, she’d just slept half the day away….
Luce rubbed her eyes. The damn phone still pinging.
Stretching her eyes wide again in an effort to wake up, the call stopped, and a message pinged.
Still blurry, she pressed the icon for messages and read it.
Now she was really confused. Pete wanted to know where she was. Sitting up she looked at it again.
Didn’t he know where she was?.....
Pulling back the covers, texting him, telling him how she’d got here and where, here was. He came back moments later with ‘all good’ and a ‘see you tonight’. She frowned.
What the fuck was that?.....
She had a moments panic.
How did he not know where she was? Wasn’t that a bit weird?....
Leaning back on the headboard she took in her room.
It was bigger in day light she decided, now wondering just where the hell here was.
She really didn’t know did she? Taking for granted what she’d been told last night.
That was stupid. But it was time to find out.
Throwing the covers off she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
Having done her thing she pulled on a robe that was hanging on the back of the door. Soft, thick and comfy she took a minute feeling it knowing someone had spent money. It fitted perfectly and went in search of coffee.
Stopping when faced with the coffee machine. It was a really nice coffee machine in the corner of the kitchen. It looked fancy, complicated and brand new. She took one look at it and decided instant was safer, having no clue how to use it.
Checking through the cupboards she groaned finding only real coffee for the machine.
Damn it…… Coffee snobs…..
She groaned, needing coffee. Badly. She also needed food.
One look at the cooker and she cringed. That was going to take a degree to work and looked new too.
Looking around, finally getting that everything looked new.
Frowning, she pulled the fridge door remembering it was well stocked, if you liked to cook that is.
And closed it again. Not up to dealing with that.
Spotting the phone. What did the reception guy tell her? Press 1? Picking up the phone she pressed 1. It rang twice and was picked up.
“Good morning My Lady how can I help you.”
She was taken back by some unknow guy at the end of the phone and the formality.
“Err hi, is there any chance I could get some coffee and breakfast delivered?”
“Yes My Lady. Do you have any preference for breakfast?” He asked her. She looked around.
What the hell? She thought, they had money. “Well bacon, eggs the usual if possible or just a muffin would do but I need coffee, hot, black, cream and plenty of it please. Oh and no decaf, the good stuff.” She told him latterly thinking she had gone way over the top with the bacon and eggs.
“I’ll send out for it now. It will be with you shortly.” He told her.
“Thank you.” She smiled, putting the receiver down.
Ok. Not so shabby. She could live with this….. if she knew where this was….
She went back to the fridge thinking she has this and pulled the door again. It had plenty of what she liked. Grabbing some juice, she poured a glass. Walked around the living room and gazed out the window, sipping it as she went.
Nice view……
Top of the building, personal elevator, security, great view, very stylish.
She glanced round again, some of those ornaments looked more expensive than her entire wardrobe.
Not sure what the apartment cost but it wasn’t going to be cheap or within her budget.
Deciding she needed to check with Pete that she could afford it.
It was way better than her dump that was for sure.
But that had been all she could afford up to now and it was as safe as anywhere in that price range. She’d made sure it was. And grinned.
It felt weird jumping from that to this and looked around again. Pete didn’t say she was in the wrong place, so it had to be good right? Old fears crept up on her breaking out in a sweat.
Stop it. She wasn’t that lost child any longer…..
She had a purpose. She belonged. She wasn’t useless. Damaged. Dead inside maybe but she hadn’t let it win.
Shower first….. decisions were an after-breakfast thing…..
Dragging herself towards the shower she shook off the negative feelings and took her juice with her.
Stopping to pick out some clothes from the closet on her way passed.
Not at all happy that someone had been in her old apartment, packed it, unloading all her stuff here without asking or saying a damn thing.
That was embarrassing and as annoying as hell and begged the question, how did they get in?
Entering the bathroom, she pulled open the shower screen.
Damn, if it was as good as it looked, she would be in here till teatime.
Hell, it was teatime. Grinning she walked to the taps and turned it on to let it run.
Returning to the main bathroom area grabbing her toothbrush and paste and cleaned her teeth.
As the room streamed up, she stripped and headed into the shower.
And nearly died thinking it was heaven. Bucketsful of hot pure heaven pounding at her skin, messaging in all the right places, multi jets from all directions doing their thing.
She lingered, soaped, shampooed, conditioned, turned sat on the built in seat and relished in it.
Eventually dragging herself out she emerged refreshed and dressed as the door chimed. Grinning racing over. She was so ready for coffee and food. Pulling the door open she faced three large men. One had a breakfast tray.
“Hi. Is that for me?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes My Lady.” The one with the tray told her. Luce leaned forward to take it.
“Great thanks, you’re life savers I’m starving. I need this.” She told them taking the tray and turning.
“A moment My Lady. I need to introduce you to the day security mam.” Tray guy told her.
Luce looked up. “Ok.”
“They are stationed outside the lifts on this floor, and you go nowhere without them during the day. Do you understand My Lady.” Luce nodded at tray guy. This was getting way weird.
“If I go out, they come too.” Looking at the two men. Tray man nodded.
“If its day yes. Night you have your own security for that. If you go out they go with you.”
Shrugging she looked at all three of them slightly perturbed. “Ok thank you.” She told them and closed the door.
Wow, maybe she was in some danger working for House Arturo after all….
Two nights ago …
Luce sat behind Pete and watched as the guy Pete had pointed out to her, Arturo, walked into his office with his wife Regin up ahead of them and another male called Alex. The room already full.
“Thank you all for coming, I think we need to take this to the dining room there’s more room.” They moved down the corridor passing several people including Pete and her plenty of others in tow to the dining room. “Everyone help themselves to drinks.” Arturo told the room.
People pulled up chairs around the table. Someone poured drinks. Others already present. A second row was placed behind the ones at the table and she took one in the second row behind Pete and Val, Pete’s girlfriend. Two large men came in last.
Wow….
She opened her laptop and went back to work. Arturo looked around.
“Everyone here has a job in our House or a connection to it. Marcus has gone way out of his way to piss us off and its time he understood that, was a mistake.” In her periphery vision she could see everyone agreed with him.
“James, update us on your visit to his compound.” He did giving the information he’d found.
When James had finished, Arturo turned to Sarah.
“Sarah, tell us what you found and what happened.” She did. She saw several shocked, annoyed and out right rage on many faces by the time Sarah was done. “Pierre, update on tonight please.” Once Pierre was done, Arturo turned to one of the big guys that came in last. “Anything to add Brandon?”
Brandon nodded. “We’ve been keeping tabs on the pass and no one is coming through that way now. Our territory is mainly clear. There’s been the odd incursion but nothing like before. I’d say it’s been a success.”
“John what’s the situation here?”
“We’ve pulled in all our people from the outer fringes.
We still have a problem with several unauthorised Vamp groups in several areas.
We’re trying to oust them, not authorised to be here, if they don’t take gentle persuasion then their dust. We expect the odd one or two during each month, but this has been driven.
There are around 15 groups that we’ve found so far.
” John turned to Gia to confirm. She gave a nod.
And he continued. “Most of them have a low-level leader, no power. Aggressive and little control. Those that are killing we’re ashing but as fast as we do, it seems another group takes their place. None of them with permission.”
Luce saw Arturo clenched his jaw. He looked deadly and kept her head down tapping away. “That might stop now the pass is cut off. Well I think we can all guess where they’re coming from or was. Pete, Charlee anything to add?”
Pete looked at his notes. “Pete can give you the highlights.” Charlee told him.