“I’m going to fuck you now. Would you like me to continue my point in front—”

  “No—”

  Angel picks me up and walks away from the window. He puts me down in front of his desk then turns me around. He lifts my uniform up to my waist. I knew it was a good idea to wear the dress today.

  "Who do you belong to Alice?" Angel asks as he lightly slaps my cheek.

  It fucking stings, but only enough to excite me. I hear his zipper, and then his trousers drop to the floor. In one quick movement, he buries himself inside me as he grabs a handful of my hair.

  I try to pull up away from him. When I said no, I didn’t mean to not fuck me in front of others. I meant I hadn’t forgiven him.

  "Stop fighting me, Alice. This is happening. I know you want it as badly as I do. If you weren't so wet for me, I might think otherwise," Angel shouts as he thrusts in and out of me.

  My fucking body betraying me again with him, because my body does want him. The way he touches my body…no other has ever done that. No others have ever made me this wet just by talking to me. Yes, I do want him, but I also don't. My body surrenders to him.

  "Who do you belong to, Alice?" Angel asks again. He continues to pump in and out, harder each time, and I moan with every thrust. Angel pulls my hair harder so my face is pulled up off the desk. "I don't hear you, Alice."

  My hands grip the side of the wood table as Angel moves faster. I scream as my pelvis hits the desk with his thrust, but Angel isn’t getting gentler. He’s getting harder and harder.

  "Alice, answer my fucking question," Angel demands as he pulls my hair.

  "You, I fucking belong to you," I scream out of rage at him.

  Angel let’s go of my hair, and his hands grip my hips. His fingers dig deep into my skin, and he thrusts harder.

  "Yes, you fucking do," he shouts.

  I moan out loud. I'm about to come.

  My head rests on the table as my body starts to tremble. I come and Angel starts to pant as he pulls my hips into his.

  My name leaves his lips with a moan as I feel his cum inside me. His thrusts begin to slow down as he makes sure every drop of him is in me.

  Angel drops on top of me. "Mine," he whispers in my ear. Angel stands up and brings me up with him. "I'm sorry, I hurt you. I never took it further than kissing her, and I promise from this day, I will never let anyone, including myself, hurt you."

  Angel cups my face, brings his lips to mine, plants a small kiss, then takes a step back to get dressed.

  Chapter 14

  Angel

  I turn to watch Alice straightening her dress. For the first time, I’m glad that I got dresses for the female staff.

  “Alice,” I take a step closer to her, and she takes one back.

  "I know this is happening, but I don't forgive you for what you did," she says as she looks over at the window. "I don't even care what they all think. I still remember what you did. You stood here and looked me in the eyes while you kissed her." Her voice comes out edged with anger.

  I know she has every right to be. What I did was wrong, and she has the right to be mad.

  “It won’t happen again.” I take a step closer to her. My hand slides onto her waist and I pull her closer to me. “A few hours of knowing I hurt you, made me crazy. I won’t do it again. Please know I was doing it to protect you.”

  Alice places both her hands on my chest. “I know, and I get it, but if you ever hurt me like that again, I won’t come back,” she promises. Her voice is soft, gentle, but I know she means it.

  “I won’t,” I reply.

  I lean down to give her a kiss, but stop when someone knocks on the door. I already know it’s Pike, because he is the only one who has the balls to knock on my door when he knows who is in here.

  “What?” I shout, standing next to Alice with my arm around her waist.

  Pike walks in, and I watch him glance at Alice then back at me. "You still want everything to go ahead tonight? I need to get things set up."

  Alice starts walking away, but I pull her closer. “Continue with what we planned,” I tell Pike. It’s time to see if we can trust Vinny or not, as well as see how much he tells Alice.

  “And security for Alice?” Pike gives me that look, telling me she needs it and I shouldn’t argue. I know she needs protection. Once word gets out that I have a girl, people are going to be coming for her.

  “No, not happening,” she argues. “I am not having your men around me all the—”

  "Alice, you can't fight with me on this. Do you know how many families will be coming after you?" I say. We have a long list of people who would happily kill someone we care about.

  “This weekend, I’m going away with Drew and Ellie. I want a nice time without one of your pawns looking over me.” She stops as I start laughing. “Please, at least give me the weekend before you start getting over the top, which I really didn’t think could get worse.”

  "First, one of my pawns? It will be a fucking team. I'm not giving a pawn the job of protecting you. Second, this weekend…"

  “I am having my weekend, Angel. After that, fine, we can talk about it. And I have Vinny, I trust him.”

  “I don’t,” I snap back.

  Pike was my first choice for protecting her. That's going to be a fight. As much as I like having a woman who can stand her ground, I get the feeling Alice is going to be a little more trouble than I would like. As long as she is next to me, I don't care.

  “Enjoy your weekend. I want a message on the hour to let me know you’re fine. The moment you get back to Sinwick, you call and come where I am, understood?” I ask her.

  Giving her this weekend without protection is bringing my blood to a boil. But after this weekend, she is about to be a part of a family that looks over their shoulders. I should at least give her this.

  “Fine. Can I go now?” she asks.

  I press my lips together, trying hard not to smile at how moody she looks right now. “I will see you before the bar closes,” I tell her and I give her a kiss.

  The moment the door closes, I ask Pike, “How is the girl?”

  Someone attacked Elijah and Warren’s club, wanting to scare us. The guy told her to tell the Frost family they need to stay away from William Hughes. They know I’m getting close, and tonight Carl is going to tell me which family paid them.

  "She’s scared. Elijah has told her to take time off, and Warren put a bullet in the guy’s head." Pike follows me to the window, and I watch Alice and Vinny talking.

  If Vinny passes the test, I might think about him protecting Alice. I know she will be happier with him, and more comfortable with him. If I don’t want to fight with her constantly, Vinny is the best option.

  “You have everything ready for Carl?” I turn to face him. “The family is starting to attack us now. It’s only a matter of time before they go for family,” I say as I look back over at Alice. I will be worrying about her every fucking day.

  “Something tells me she can fight if needed,” Pike says with a chuckle.

  "Yeah, but I would rather not have her fighting anyone, if that's okay," I say as I make my way back to my desk. "Any news on the drugs?" I look over at the chess board.

  “Some of the lads have brought some in. They wanted to taste it to see if they’ve had it before.” Pike moves to stand next to me. “They say it’s some strong stuff, nothing they’ve had before.”

  "Have we taken down any of them?" I ask. We need to start bringing them down, one pawn at a time.

  "Not yet. The lads are still finding all the places they are selling. They've spoken to me, and I've told them to find all the spots they are selling first, then we move in." Pike moves one of our pawn pieces, and I look at him. "Our next shipment of guns goes out tomorrow night, too."

  "What about the next fight?" I trust what Pike is doing. He has been in the family business as long as I have, and he knows it just as well as I do.

  "We have a few families who want fights with others, but I don't think it's a good move at the moment," Pike says.

  As much as I hate it, he's right.

  “We have too much happening to throw in fights.” I look up at Pike.

  "Angel, you have too much going on in your own head. The family behind the guards, this new family hiding behind O'Reilly, Alice…and you're not sleeping. Do you want to add more to that?" Pike asks.

  My hands slip into my pockets and pull out the cigarette box. As I think about Pike’s question, I ask myself if I want to add more to that. Can I add any more to that?

  "You think Craig can take over the fights? I’ll ask him first," I say as I light up my cigarette, inhaling deeply as I take in the first drag.

  "Talk to Elijah, then we will talk to Craig," Pike says. I give him a nod before sitting down and leaning back in the chair. As Pike continues to tell me what else the lads have found out about the drugs, I contemplate our next move.

  Pike sits on the chair in front of the desk. “You really need to sleep, Angel,” he says.

  I take in a deep breath. "Sometimes, I close my eyes and feel the knife going into my chest. I would rather stay awake and not feel that, because it fucking hurts." Every scar on my body hurts. It burns, and that pain won't go away.

  “Come on. The bar is about to close. We have work to do, and you told Alice you’d see her before she leaves,” Pike reminds me.

  I knew he wouldn't say anything more about my sleepless nights. None of my family has mentioned the scar since I showed them. None of them have asked what happened. Pike is the only one who would ask about my sleepless nights, and the only one who will make sure that nothing happens to me again. He sees how much those two years changed me.

  ***

  I stand in front of Carl, rolling up my shirt sleeves, as I watch him trying very hard to breathe. The doc came to check on him again, to keep him from dying until I’m ready. He will only die by my hands when I say so.

  “How are we feeling, Carl?” I ask, taking a step closer to him. I lift his head so he can look at me. “You don’t look so good.”

  “I don’t know anything,” he says in a very shaky voice.

  “We’ve lost a hand already. How many nails do we have left?” I ask, lifting his hand. Two, he has two nails left. I have to say my family has really enjoyed having fun with him.

  "Which family paid you, Carl?" I ask. I grab the pliers, bringing them to his middle finger. He struggles as I grip his nail.

  “I swear, I don’t know anything,” he begs. He seems more awake now, his voice coming out a little stronger.

  I tug hard on the nail, and hear it tear from the bed of his finger. Carl screams, the cries coming from deep inside him. He really isn't going to last, and I'm okay with that, but I don't believe him. He knows something.

  “I know you do, why else would you still be breathing,” I argue. “Now that your nails have all gone, I think you’re teeth are next.” I lift his face again, making sure he looks at me. “Which family paid you? They hurt a girl who works for us.”

  “All I know...a...family in...London.” Carl can barely get his words out. He’s getting weak.

  I suppose a London family brings my list down a lot. Most of the families in London won't touch us. They have tried, but it never ends well for them. There are a few who’d like to fuck us over.

  "A minute ago, you said you knew nothing. Now you say it's a London family." I grab his face harder, squeezing his cheeks together so his mouth opens for me. His eyes plead with me to stop, but I have to know.

  “What else do you know, Carl?” I ask as I pull out his back tooth. The blood splattering over my hand disgusts me. I drop the pliers and punch him in the face hard enough that the blood from his mouth spreads over my shirt.

  “Please,” Carl whimpers, “enough.”

  "Was it enough when you stabbed me, Carl?" I grab a knife, pushing it hard into his abs. He wants to scream, but he doesn't have anything left in him. "This is how it felt, Carl. What did you do next?" I demand.

  I look on the table to see if Craig put what I asked for there for me.

  As I turn to face him, I nod to Pike and he turns Carl’s face so he’s looking at me.

  “The only difference between you and I, Carl, is that you cry and hide behind a family, where I planned on killing you. I never showed you fear, because I didn’t fear you or them,” I shout in his face as I push a handful of salt into where I stabbed him. Finding pleasure in his pain, I throw more salt on it.

  “Now would you like to share anything else?” I ask him as I take a step back from him. Pike lets his head drop again.

  “London, Will...he...told...us…,” Carl pants each word.

  I grab another knife off the table and stab him. Over and over again, the knife plunges into his stomach, covering my hand in blood as I continue to stab him. This asshole laughed every time he stabbed me. Now, I'm going to make sure I stab him until he has nothing left in him.

  I stab him in any space I can find that I haven’t already. I take a step closer to him, as I continue. My hand is soaked in his blood, my shirt sticking to my skin. I don’t know how long I’ve been stabbing him, but it’s feels like an eternity has passed.

  "Angel!" Pike shouts at me, but I don't stop. He grabs my arm, angering me. "He's gone!" he yells.

  I push Pike hard against the wall with my hand around his neck.

  “You’re home,” Pike says as he places his hand on mine. His eyes lock with mine. I don’t know what he is seeing in them right now, but I know it can only be darkness. “You’re home, Angel.”

  I drop the knife and take a step back from him. He walks towards the door and shouts Craig's name.

  “Yes?” Craig answers.

  "Call the cleaner," Pike commands.

  I don't hear a reply from Craig, but I know he’ll do as he’s been told.

  I turn to look at Carl’s lifeless body.

  “Come on.” Pike pulls me out of the room.

  I wanted to take my time, hear him beg more, but my anger took control and I couldn't stop myself. If Pike wasn't there, I'm sure I would have continued to stab him until I had nothing left in me.

  I make my way to the shower room and begin to take off my shirt.

  “Here.” Pike hands me a glass of whiskey.

  I take it off him and drink it all in one gulp. I put my hand out for him to fill it up again. After downing the drink, I put the glass to the side and continue to undress. Pike leaves, not saying another word. I've kept a lot from the family, and I think tonight Pike's seen just how much darker my life has become.

  I head back to the office, knowing Pike wouldn't have left. As I enter the office, Pike turns to face me as I make my way to my desk.

  "I've made a list of the London families who could have done this."

  I grab a bottle and a glass as I look at the list. "I'm thinking even the Hall or Young family," Pike adds.

  The Young family stands out to me. The family who killed my grandad. We took revenge for that, but always thought they would come back for us one day.

  "Young family," I say. Lighting up my cigarette, my eyes glance over at the clock. "Pike, get some sleep," I tell him. There's no reason for him to be here.

  Pike leans forward and grabs his drink, and says. “Thought I’d stay here, work up a plan.”

  I think after how he saw me tonight, he doesn’t want to leave me alone.

  Not replying, I lean my head back and smoke the rest of my cigarette, not wanting to think about anything just yet.

  Chapter 15

  Alice

  This weekend has been fantastic. I messaged Angel every hour, because I didn't the first hour and he was not happy. He completely lost his shit with me and said if I didn't call him he would send a man to watch me. I didn't make that mistake again. I understand why Angel is doing this, I do, but I think it might get a little out of hand with how much he worries about me.

  Drew and Ellie both have a two-hour long massage planned. Drew said they only had two spaces, and Ellie said we should do something together, but I told her they should go since I wanted to get a facial done. I need her busy for an hour or so, so I can meet Ben. If Ellie saw me with him, I know she would tell Angel, and I'm not ready for him to find out about my past just yet. I know Angel will either find out on his own, or I will tell him before that happens. I plan to. Not just yet though. I can't tell him that another family is hunting me when I can already see that he has so much going in that head of his.

  I look over my shoulder before I slide the key card in, something I’m used to doing whenever Ben and I meet. The moment I know he’s in danger, I will be cutting ties with him. As much as I hate the thought of not being around him, I just can’t put him in more danger than he already is.

  I walk further into the room and I smile the moment I see Ben. As I get closer to him, he pulls me in for a hug. "You've gotten taller," I say as I tip-toe to give him a kiss on the cheek.

  Ben is about six foot, with green eyes like mine, and a pretty boy face. Not a gangster face at all. The Frost men look as though they are part of this world. Not Ben. He has a sweet look in his eyes, which I think he hides from them. I always tell him he could be a model. He as that Ashton Kutcher look about him.

  Ben starts laughing. “No. Still the same as last time,” he tells me. “Come on. I got us some lunch.”

  We walk over to the table as I link my arm with his. “So, is it too early to ask about Angel?” Ben asks as he pulls out a chair for me.

  I start laughing. "I’m surprised it's taken you longer than five seconds." I look at him as he walks around the table to sit in front of me. "There isn't much to say, other than what I told you last time. He is…" I stop for a moment, working out the best word to describe Angel. It’s a long list. "Dark," I say, the last word a little quieter.

 

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