by Kasey Martin
“Oh? What firm is that?” I continue to look at Sasha as I asked her “date” the question. Although she looked everywhere, but at me, I knew that she could feel my intense gaze. As what’s-his-face, rambled on about whatever the fuck he was talking about, Sasha finally looked at me.
There was so much turmoil in her gaze, but I refused to look away from her. I want Sasha to see me, and I want her to know that I see her. She can try to deny what she feels, but I refuse to let her.
“Austin…” Sasha interrupted the rambling man, “I need to go check on, Raven.”
Austin could barely nod his acknowledgment of Sasha’s words before he began his incessant musings. The only reason I hadn’t told him to shut his ass kissing mouth the fuck up was because I didn’t want to cause a scene at the baby shower.
“I’ll show you where Raven is,” I volunteered, taking Sasha by the hand. Before she could protest, I intertwined our fingers and led her away. I needed to touch her, but more than that, I needed to get away from the man who thought she was his. It was only so much I could take before my crazy slipped out. Nobody needed that shit to happen.
“Where are you taking me?” Sasha’s voice was a harsh whisper, but she didn’t let go of my hand.
“We need to talk.”
I led Sasha into the first available room and shut the door behind us. I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. I was worked up from that bastard putting his hands on her, and I needed to calm myself down.
“What do we need to talk about, Sawyer? I’ve already said what I needed to say.” Sasha huffed, crossing her arms over her ample chest. The motion drew my eyes down to her pert breasts. Her petite body had curves in all the right places. But that’s not what attracted me to Sasha. Her huge heart and creative mind were the most gorgeous things about her. But I had to focus on what was important. And my little Sasha was skittish, and talking about our past right now would have her running for the hills.
“I want to come by the gallery for my paintings,” I said, the most normal thing that I could think of. If I asked her why she left or told her I wanted to push her up against the wall and fuck her until every man at the baby shower knew that she was mine, that wouldn’t go over too well.
The last time I let her know exactly what I wanted to do to her, she slapped me. I’m not a masochist, but the shit turned me on. The way her beautiful mouth formed into an angry pout and the way her eyes lit up with rage made my dick hard.
Antagonizing Sasha Phillips is one of my favorite things to do. It was also one of the reasons she gave me the nickname Monster. But now that I’m back on the island to stay, I would make sure that my sweet Sasha would see me every day.
“Oh!” Sasha was shocked by my statement. I know she was waiting for me to ask questions, but I’d beat that horse to death. It was time for me to try a different route.
“I’m sorry that Bambi hasn’t set that up yet. I know that she tried contacting the number that was left, but our messages were never returned.” Sasha said, relief covering her pretty face.
“No worries. I’ll be able to accommodate your schedule.” I made sure to look Sasha up and down seductively. Letting my eyes travel the length of her body and back to her face. When our eyes connected, I could see the desire flare in the depth of her gaze. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her.
“I’ll have Bambi call you on Monday.” Sasha’s voice came out breathless, and her pupils were dilated as if she were high.
Sasha didn’t know it, but with that one simple look, she had sealed her fate. I wouldn’t stop until she was mine. I couldn’t resist her any longer.
I leaned down and took her lips in a hard, unrelenting kiss. My tongue devoured every inch of her sweet mouth. As hard as it was, I regretfully pulled away. Her lips were swollen, and it made me smile. I marked her as mine, and she didn’t even know it. I winked at her before leaving her in the room breathless.
***
I waited for over a week before I was finally able to go to the gallery to get my art. Of course, that wasn’t the real reason I wanted to go to the gallery, but that was the excuse I used. I needed the time away from Sasha so that I could get my shit together. I couldn’t act like a possessive asshole behind a woman who claimed she didn’t want me. But that’s exactly what I did whenever I was around Sasha. I couldn’t seem to help myself.
When I walked into the gallery, again, the building had me in awe. The architecture and interior design choices were perfect. I continued my admiration as I made my way to the offices upstairs. I frowned at the fact that the security guard wasn’t at his post at the front door. The gallery was only open to the public at specific times, but there should’ve been a guard during off hours. I made sure that Darby did a background check on the two security guards that worked here. Old man Todd did a pretty good job when hiring qualified help, at least with one of the guards. Jack Lewis was retired military and good at his job, so I wouldn’t have him fired. But the guard that wasn’t at his station was definitely going to be replaced.
When I got to the top of the stairs, it was eerily quiet. I had an appointment, so I know Sasha was expecting me. I knew that her curator, Bambi, had left early because I checked with Markos to make sure that I would have Sasha all to myself.
“I gave you more than enough time to get the money to pay me back.” The voice was low but threatening. I knew who it was, and my vision instantly blurred with hatred. Darby hadn’t told me anything about this man being in Sasha’s life. He couldn’t have known. There’s no way Darby would’ve kept that from me.
“I just need a little more time.” Sasha’s voice was a timid whisper. She didn’t sound anything like herself, and it pissed me the hell off. How dare she be afraid of this bastard. Not on my motherfucking watch!
“No. This building and you will be mine.”
“The fuck she will!” I slammed into the office like a hurricane. My sudden presence surprised both Sasha and her unwanted guest.
“Sawyer? Wha…” Sasha’s teary eyes searched mine for an explanation, but my eyes were locked on the man that I would kill if he thought of trying to take Sasha from me.
“Nash? What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Abbott. I could ask you the same fucking thing.” I wanted to rip this fucker’s head off.
“I’m conducting a business deal. One that you so rudely interrupted.” The smug bastard responded with a satisfied grin covering his bearded face. His beady eyes narrowed in my direction, and I could see he was plotting something.
I could feel the scowl deepen on my face. Patrick Abbott was the son of a rival crime family back in the states. The Abbott’s had been making a name for themselves in the crime world in the last five years. To me, they were just a bunch of bottom feeders that would do any and everything for money. They didn’t care who they hurt or who they crossed for the almighty dollar. They had dealings in everything from the sex trade to human trafficking. They were trash. But they made a lot of money and fast, so some respected them.
“You’re not conducting shit with my woman.”
“Your woman?” Abbott smirked before continuing, “I did my research on Ms. Phillips, and your name never came up.”
His answer had me narrowing my eyes. Abbott was beyond one the grimiest fuckers to ever walk this Earth. If he was doing searches on Sasha, he wanted her. And she would never be his. She was mine to protect.
“Sawyer, it’s okay. We’re almost finished here.” Sasha’s voice was stronger, but I could see the worry etched across her face. I don’t know what type of deal she made with this evil bastard, but I would put an end to it by any means necessary.
“It’s not okay, Sasha. You have no idea who this man is.” My voice was a growl as I vibrated with anger. She had no idea who the fuck she was dealing with.
Chapter 5
SASHA
It shocked the hell out of me when Sawyer burst into my office. His face was red, his large hands were shaking, and
his green eyes were filled with rage. I thought he was going to choke the shit out of Patrick Abbott. I had no idea how the two men knew each other, but it was obvious that there was bad blood between them.
I wanted to calm the situation down, but every time I opened my mouth, Sawyer looked like he was going to shoot fire at my head. He had never treated me like this. He was always so sweet and tender with me, but now everything had changed, and it was my fault. I could accept it, but it was still a hard pill to swallow. And although he was obviously angry with me, and his high-handed attitude made me angry, I was grateful for him being here. I can admit that I’m in over my head.
When I couldn’t get a traditional loan, I went to see a guy my cousin Joe knew. Joe told me that Patrick Abbott could get me the money I needed to buy the building from Mr. Todd. I knew what a loan shark was, and I knew that they would charge an extraordinary amount of interest. I was prepared for all of those things, but I wasn’t prepared for Patrick to go back on his word. He told me that I would have a year to pay back the loan. He lied.
It had only been a few months, and here he was knocking on my door for his money. It wasn’t like I could pay him back. I didn’t have another show scheduled for another few weeks, and it still wouldn’t garner the type of money for me to be able to pay off the entire loan.
I panicked, trying to come up with an excuse to hold Patrick off when Sawyer came in. I know that I shouldn’t have felt a wave of relief wash over me at the sight of him, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t. To see Sawyer’s tall, muscular body taking up the doorway at the exact time that I needed him, calmed me completely.
However, this was not his problem to deal with; it was mine. It wasn’t his business which I had dealings with, and I couldn’t involve him. He couldn’t save me, and I wasn’t some damsel in distress. I was a big girl, and I needed to figure this shit out. I just needed a little more time. Even though I was glad Sawyer showed up, I couldn’t rely on him to save me.
“Sasha, you need to let me handle this.” Sawyer was trying to once again handle business that wasn’t his.
“Sawyer! I appreciate you being her, but can you let me finish up with Mr. Abbott?” Patrick Abbott was a snake, but he was a snake that I chose to do business with. So, it was up to me to clean up my own self-made mess.
“Fuck, no!” The anger dripped from Sawyer’s words, but I didn’t have time to figure out why Sawyer was so upset. I learned two years ago that Sawyer kept a lot of secrets, and this was just one more.
“Nash, you heard your woman. We have business to finish. And I’m not leaving until I get my money, or…” Patrick let his words trail off as he looked at me and licked his thin pink lips. The action made me want to vomit.
Patrick Abbott could qualify as handsome if he never opened his mouth. His brown hair was almost the same color as Sawyer’s, but it didn’t have that luster and shine that made you want to run your hands through it, like Sawyer’s did. Patrick’s eyes weren’t bright, either. However, his eyes did hold the same dangerous glint as Sawyer’s. It was something that I’d noticed when I’d first met him. He had a straight nose and a thick dark beard that surrounded his forever smirking mouth. Patrick was always dressed in a tailored suit that showed off his body, but he still would never measure up to how Sawyer looked in a suit.
However, I didn’t like Patrick’s threats. I didn’t have the money and I was hopeful that he wouldn’t kill me. I knew that Patrick owned some bars and gentlemen’s clubs, and I hope he didn’t think I was about to be shaking my ass or selling it to his money.
“How much does she owe you?” Sawyer’s question broke through my frantic thoughts, and I frowned.
“Half a million.” Patrick leaned back in his chair and crossed one long leg over the other. The number upset me all over again. I borrowed two-hundred-seventy-thousand and not a penny more. Now, I owed a loan shark five-hundred-thousand. I knew the risks, and I knew about the high-interest rates. I knew that I couldn’t call the police. I knew I was completely fucked.
“You’ll have it by the end of the day,” Sawyer said, shocking the shit out of Patrick and me.
“Sawyer, you can’t do…” I didn’t finish my sentence because Patrick had jumped out of his chair and got in Sawyer’s face.
If they were going to fight, there wouldn’t be anything I could do about it. Both men were over six-feet tall with solid muscular bodies. My little one-hundred and thirty-five-pound five-foot-three frame surely wouldn’t be able to pull them apart, and I will be damned if I tried.
“You’re always sticking your nose in my business. This has nothing to do with you.” Patrick growled menacingly.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Sasha is my business. And you’ll have your money, so stay the fuck away from her.”
“Hey, hey, fellas. Let’s all relax and calm down.” I tried to interject, but neither man was listening to me.
“You have no jurisdiction here, Nash. You can’t order me to do shit!” Patrick sneered at Sawyer. I’m not an idiot by any means, but I couldn’t follow their conversation. It was like they were speaking in code or something. What did he mean by jurisdiction? I know Sawyer wasn’t some kind of law enforcement? How exactly did they know each other?
“You’re right, and I don’t have any jurisdiction here. But Sasha’s my wife, so that makes her off-limits, or did you conveniently forget about that rule.”
“Wife!” Patrick and I exclaimed at the same time. I knew Sawyer was crazy, but this man needed to be in an institution. I don’t care how sexy his ass was; he needed to be in a straight-jacket. Pronto!
“She’s not your wife! It wasn’t on the check,” Patrick was shaking his head with his fists balled up. I don’t know why he kept mentioning a check. At first, I thought it was about the loan, but the more he keeps saying it, the more I think he’s referring to a different type of check.
“Sasha will be my wife in a few days. We wanted to keep it under wraps for now, but since she didn’t tell me about this deal with you,” Sawyer looked at me with a stay quiet expression when I went to interrupt. I could see he was trying to help me, so for now, I would stay quiet. Clearly, there were things that I didn’t know about Patrick Abbott and Sawyer Nash.
“I have to tell you about our union. This makes Sasha as well as the gallery off-limits to the Abbott family.” Sawyer finished his little speech, and I was still confused.
“If you’re not married by the end of the week, I’m going to the council about this.” Patrick stormed out of the office, and I was left with a million questions and a new fiancé.
***
“Okay! What the hell is going on?” I yelled the question at Sawyer as soon as Patrick was gone. I was standing in the same room as the two men, and it was like they were speaking in riddles. I couldn’t follow their asinine conversation, and it made me mad.
“I’ll tell you what the fuck is going on! You made a deal with the fucking devil, and now you have to marry one to get out of it!” Sawyer’s body was radiating anger. He continuously ran his hand through his chocolate brown locks as he stared a hole into the wall.
“We don’t have to get married, Monster. That is utterly ridiculous. I just need to pay the man his money back, and all this will be over.”
“You can’t be this fucking dumb!” Sawyer yelled his face crimson as he ran his hand down his face. The statement sent fire through my veins. This motherfucker!
“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? You barge in here talking in riddles and claiming me as your wife, and you call me dumb.” I point to myself, appalled at the nerve of his crazy ass.
“Patrick Abbott is a loan shark!” Sawyer yelled again, and I took a step back. It took all of my patience not to slap his face again.
“I know what he is! That’s how I got the money in the first place. No bank would give me a loan.” I shook my head in frustration. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I willed myself not to cry. I know that I’m in bi
g trouble and this time I don’t know how to fix it. But I wouldn’t allow anyone to bully me and make me feel weak. I did what I had to do at the time.
“You don’t know, Sweetheart,” Sawyer said in a much calmer tone. “His family deals in human trafficking. If you don’t pay him his money, how do you think they’re going to get it from you?”
Sawyer’s question caused my breath hitch, and my mind swirl. They would sell me. Holy shit!
“I-I. Oh, my God!” I could no longer hold back the tears as I flopped down in my chair. What the hell was I going to do?
“Listen, I’ll pay the money for you, but we have to be married in order for you to be fully protected.” Hearing the word “protected” gave me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Sawyer, I need you to answer this question. And I want full honesty,” I stated, looking up into his handsome face, “Who are you?”
It was a question that I’d been afraid to ask in the past. Even after my life had been threatened, I still don’t know who Sawyer Nash really is. We had a silent mutual agreement that we didn’t talk about ourselves when we were together. For a blissful two months, we never went beyond surface level bullshit.
He sighed as he sat down in the chair in front of my desk, “Since you’ll be my wife, I guess you should know everything. But not here. I have a place that we can talk that’s more secure.” I was thoroughly confused about why we had to leave the gallery to have a conversation, but Sawyer’s face told me that I would need to hear whatever he had to say. I nodded my head with a sigh and began to gather my things.
Sawyer led me outside, where a large redhead was standing waiting by an SUV. I recognized Darby immediately, or was it, Flynn? I couldn’t tell them apart, but I’ve seen them around when Raven’s father got shot. They are hard to miss being over six-five with bright red hair and muscles like the Hulk. I nodded at the man, and he winked with a smirk. Once we were in the SUV, I could feel the tension floating around us like smoke.