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Two of my lower-level lackeys drag someone between them, and Jace hurries to close the door behind them. For a long second, everyone just stares at the limp, dirty person hanging between the men and silence reigns.
Then she lifts her head.
Dirty blond hair frames a heart-shaped face, and tear tracks create clean lines down pale cheeks. Huge blue eyes meet and hold mine, vulnerability and something harder, something steelier shining in them.
It’s a woman. Not just any woman, but the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Even filthy and bruised, her hair a mess and her clothes torn, she’s captivating.
My men let her go, and she hits her knees on the floor, holding my gaze as she tips her head back to stare up at me.
I can’t look away, even if I wanted to.
“What the fuck is this?” I ask, still staring at her even though my question is meant for my men. For a second, nobody answers, and my blood boils. “I said what the fuck is this?!”
The girl stiffens at my raised voice, and for the first time in a very long time, I feel a surge of guilt. I thrive on people being afraid of me, and yet, the idea of scaring her makes me want to murder someone. I want to gather her up into my arms and make sure nobody ever causes her to feel afraid ever again.
But first, I have to figure out who the hell she is and why she’s in my office.
“This is Ford’s payment,” Jace finally says, and my head snaps up to glare at him.
“What?” I snap, my voice dark and full of deadly promise.
To his credit, Jace holds my gaze instead of flinching away the way the lower-level guys do. “He sent her as payment to clear his debt,” Jace explains, and I swear to God I’ve never been so angry in my damn life.
My eyes return to the girl, unable to stay away from her any longer. She’s shivering, but she hasn’t dropped her head, her eyes still trained on me. There’s strength in the way she refuses to cower, and goddamn it’s incredible. She looks a good ten years younger than me, and I can’t help but wonder where the hell Ford found her.
If Ford thinks this is going to get us off his back, he has another thing coming. This just shows how big a piece of shit he is. I’m an asshole, but I’ve never hurt innocents or tried to pay with people instead of cash. He won’t get away with this.
“He thinks he can just send a random girl instead of the money he owes?” Nick asks in shock by my side.
“She’s not some random girl,” Jace says. “She’s Ford’s daughter.”
2
AVA
Axel Corbyn’s icy blue eyes are glued to mine. I refuse to break the stare, barely even risk blinking, unwilling to show any more weakness. I’m already on my damn knees, having been dragged in by his men, and probably look like I’ve been living in a bloody dungeon for a month. Which isn’t too far from the truth.
There’s blood and grime underneath my fingernails, and my hair is a wild mess around my face. The thin black dress I’m wearing is ripped and filthy from the way I’ve been handled.
If holding this man’s gaze is the only advantage I can get, I’m gonna take it. No matter how hard it is. Not because I’m staring at one of the most feared men in the city, a man whose reputation I know like the back of my hand, but because my entire body is reacting to his presence. Instead of thinking about all the blood on his hands like I should be, I’m thinking about how those hands would feel touching me. My blood runs hot, my heart beats so fast I’m sure he’ll be able to hear it, and my mind spins. Can he feel this pull the way I can, or have I finally lost my mind?
I’ve just been sold to him for God’s sake, finding him attractive is the last thing I should be doing. But he’s over six feet of muscle, dark hair hanging in waves around his ears, black clothes clinging to him like they were made to show off his body … and I just can’t help it. I should be terrified, and I have been since my father so callously informed me of my fate, but I can feel the terror leaving my system the longer Axel holds my gaze.
When his enforcer tells him who I am, Axel’s entire face turns stormy. I can’t blame him for his obvious hatred of my father, considering I hate him more than anyone else ever could. The only positive about being literally sold is that I don’t have to live under my father’s roof any longer. No fate can be worse than that, after all.
“Get out,” Axel snaps, and I hear the men around us shuffle on their feet. Nobody leaves, though, and when I risk a glance at the guys who dragged me in here, I see the complete confusion on their faces. Axel’s fists clench at his sides. “Don’t fucking make me repeat myself,” he growls at them.
Holy shit, I shouldn’t find that gravelly, demanding tone hot, but my body doesn’t care about logic.
In a rush, everyone leaves except Axel and the man standing by his side. I know he’s Axel’s second in command, Nick. You don’t grow up with a gang leader as a father without knowing who these people are.
“You, too,” Axel says darkly to his second, who frowns.
“Sure, Boss,” Nick says, heading towards the door despite the skepticism in his voice. It’s obvious none of them want to leave Axel alone with me, but what he says goes. It’s hardly like I’m a threat to him, anyway, unarmed and defenseless as I am.
The door closes with a snick that seems impossibly loud in the ensuing silence. And just like that, I’m alone with the most feared gang leader the city’s ever seen.
Axel takes three long strides towards me, and my eyes get glued to the shine on his shoes as he approaches. He’s the perfect combination of shiny businessman and dark and dirty, and it’s scrambling my brain even more than the exhaustion from today is.
