by Brit Vosper
His stride was confident and effortless as he made his way over. Graceful despite his intimidating size. The black leather jacket hung heavy on his shoulders, framing a broad chest that flexed under his white shirt as he moved. He commanded my attention.
Flutters rose from my stomach as I watched him saunter to us. I was attracted to him. Drawn towards his presence. That made me even more uncomfortable.
How could this man cause me to feel this way? I’d never believed I was capable of such lust, and to have it from the monster that approached made me feel dirty all over.
Milena stood and hit me on the arm, bringing me back from my daze. I had to shake my head to clear the thoughts. Placing my drink on the table, I stood and regained my composure. Remembering who he was, what he’d done, and why we were here.
My shoulders squared, and I folded my arms, shifting the weight on to my back heel. His eyes fixed on me as he reached the table. He gave me a cocky half-smile and switched his attention to my sister, extending his hand.
“Aaron Mason. You must be Milena.”
The surprise took me aback. “Wait, what?”
Milena shook his hand, not at all phased by his introduction. “Yes. Pleased to meet you, Aaron.”
He extended his hand towards me and the cocky smile returned. “And you must be Olivia.”
The flutter danced up my spine as he stared. I had to steel my irritation to suppress it. I refused his hand and tightened my arms against my chest. “Who the fuck are you?”
He laughed under his breath, and his arm dropped back to his side. “I’ve already told you.”
I heard the annoyance tinged beneath his controlled voice, but the amusement stayed in his eyes. They didn’t appear so dark now he was close. They were hazel. A ring of gold surrounded his pupil and spread out to a deep leafy green. I longed to gaze into them and figure out what was behind, but I caught myself and focused on the job in hand. “Where’s Marcus?”
He ignored me and directed his response to my sister. “Marcus sends his apologies. He’s asked me to come and meet with you today.” His deep voice purred, but he pronounced every word with care; no hint of a common dialect. He sounded well educated.
Milena nodded. “No problem.”
“He didn’t feel the need to grace us with his presence?” I spat back at Aaron.
Milena shot me her shut the fuck up look which is pretty much the same as her don’t fuck with me look.
The amusement grew in Aaron’s eyes as he glared back at me. “Something unavoidable came up.”
“So, he sent his lackey to meet with us instead.”
He gritted his teeth, and anger flashed on his face as quickly as it fell. “I work with Marcus, not for him.”
His tone unnerved me. It held the resonance of a man that shouldn’t be fucked with. I’d never let that stop me before. “Why should we meet with you and not Marcus himself?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t see your father anywhere around here.”
Milena interjected, trying to release the tension between us. “Aaron, please ignore my sister. We’re more than happy to work with you. Won’t you take a seat?”
He continued to hold my stare, and the arrogant glint reappeared. “Of course.”
He dropped my eyes and sat in the chair opposite, pulling his phone from his pocket and tapping away like nothing had happened. I huffed and took my seat, angling my body away from his, towards my sister. He placed his phone on the table then fixed his gaze on the side of my face.
Milena gave him her best fake smile. “Could we get you something to drink?”
“Sure.”
Milena annoyed me. Putting on her most charming persona; playing nice to a man that didn’t deserve it. Aaron may not be that piece of shit, Marcus, but he was still a fucking brute. A good looking one, but a brute nonetheless. She gestured to the waiter hanging around by the bar for our summons. He came over as attentive as private club staff could be.
“What can I get for you, Sir?”
“Single Malt. Straight. The older, the better.”
“Certainly, Sir.”
The waiter disappeared, and I felt Aaron’s glare on my skin once again. I turned my head to scowl at him. The second I caught his eyes, the flutters rushed through to my core, creating a ripple of heat between my legs. I crossed them and turned away, trying my best to quell the sensation. Disgusted with myself for feeling it.
Milena broke the silence. “How long have you worked with Marcus? We’ve not heard of your name in our circles.”
“Long enough, and that’s because I prefer to keep a low profile. Marcus is more than happy to be the face of the business.”
My curiosity piqued. “Why?”
He looked back at me, and I took a breath to stop any sensation before it happened.
“Why what?”
“Why do you keep a low profile? Most men in this business like the power trip of notoriety.”
That look of amusement returned as he smiled at me; it was pissing me off.
“I get my power trip in other ways.” There was a sinister inflection in his tone that made me uneasy. He turned his attention back to my sister. “Is this about me, or is there a reason you called this meeting?”
“Yes, there is.” Milena shifted in her seat and paused her answer while the waiter brought Aaron’s drink.
He took it from the tray and savoured the scent before taking a sip. Then nodded his approval at the waiter. “Well, I’d be glad to hear it. It’s no secret that your father despises Marcus. So we were more than intrigued when you contacted us.” He smiled at my sister but there was no sign of the amusement he held with me. “I’m guessing it’s got something to do with that unfortunate Manchester robbery.”
I fisted my hands at his mention of it. He knew damn well it did.
“It does.” My sister nodded. She wasn’t surprised that he knew. “We’ve had trouble with our suppliers in South America and we’re unable to arrange another shipment for some time.”
“You need our contact?”
“Yes. And also stock if you have it.”
He laughed. “You’re not asking much, are you?” He tilted his head and raised his eyebrow. “We’re not going to cut our own distribution to allow you to keep your market share.”
Milena nodded. “Of course. We’d make it worth your while.”
He took another drink while he considered what she asked. “This isn’t about short term gain. We can make much more on our stock than you can offer, especially now your product will be off the streets. We can take the slack and squeeze you out of the market.” He laughed again. “Why should we help you at all?”
I seethed. He was playing with her. I didn’t know what their end game was, but I knew it had fuck all to do with increasing their share. Marcus would’ve tried pulling this shit a long time ago if it had. Whatever the reason, it was bigger than profit.
Milena smiled back at him. “I said, we’d make it worth your while. Not, we’d pay you well.”
He smiled. “I’m listening.” He turned and looked me over. Holding my eyes once again with that knowing amusement. “What have you got to offer?”
I narrowed mine and glared back, determined to rid myself of the attraction. To see him for the monster he was.
“Consider this favour as a gesture of good will,” my sister continued, despite his intent focus on me. “We will pay you for the contact and fair price for any stock. Then we join into a new partnership and make the Syndicate a true syndicate.”
I turned to my sister in surprise. “What?”
He looked back at Milena, laughing. “You want to join forces? Really?”
She smiled and held her position. “Really. Our father heads the Syndicate, but hasn’t let Marcus be a part of it. I think he should be. He’s the only other major player in the UK. If the Syndicate stands any chance of going against the European families, then we’d need him and his resources on board. If Marcus wants real power in Engla
nd, then the Syndicate is the only way.”
I couldn’t believe what I heard. “Are you fucking nuts?”
Aaron swilled the drink in his glass and considered her proposal. “What about your father?”
“Leave him to us. We’ll make sure we get him on side.” My sister turned to glare in my direction. “Won’t we?” She cocked her head and raised her eyebrows.
My jaw was wide open as I stared at her in utter disbelief. “No, we won’t. One, he’ll never agree to it. Two, I’ll never agree to it. Three, you’ve got to be fucking insane for even considering it!” She couldn’t be serious, could she? It had to be a ploy.
Aaron laughed. “Okay, how will you get her on side?”
“Olivia, think about it. This is the next logical step for the Syndicate.”
“You think this is logical?” I wasn’t sure if I should laugh at her, or slap her.
“Yes, it makes sense.”
I shook my head as the frustration crawled under my skin. “You said it yourself, you can’t trust anyone in this business, and now you want to climb into bed with these fuckers. That makes no fucking sense.”
“Business is business.”
“It’s moronic.”
“We’ll discuss it later, Olivia.”
“Don’t you try to shut me down, Milena!” I growled. “I can’t believe you dropped this on me.”
Aaron cleared his throat. “I’ll agree in principle to the deal under one condition.” His face was alight with amusement at our conflict. “Olivia, has to be our contact.” He smirked and looked me over again. “They’d be nothing more entertaining than having you at my beck and call.”
Anger surged through my veins. I couldn’t take any more of his arrogant digs. I couldn’t take any more of this fucking conversation. “Yeah? You’d like me at your beck and call, would you?”
His grin widened, and he looked me straight in the eyes as he nodded.
“Let’s start with table service.” I grabbed my drink and threw it in his face. Then picked up my phone and stormed out.
Six
Aaron
I rang the bell incessantly. “Answer the fucking door, Marcus.”
He’d asked me to come here after the meeting; I would’ve thought he’d at least have the good grace to be expecting me. The car was in the drive and none of his drivers had heard from him, so I knew he was home. I slammed on the door hard enough to rattle the seams. “Come on, you twat.”
I dialled his number and tried calling. It went straight to voicemail, again. What the hell was he up to?
I looked up at the grand Clapham house as I stepped back down the path. It stood in a prominent central position with views over the common. There was no way I’d get through the windows unnoticed. It had houses on either side so I couldn’t get to the back door without garden hopping. The large bay windows showed no signs of life.
Walking back to the front door, I tried the bell again. A faint shadow appeared at the top of the stairs through the opaque glass and I knocked on the door harder. “Finally.”
The shadow approached and Marcus shouted through. “Alright, don’t break the fucker down.”
“I wouldn’t have to if you’d fucking answer it.”
He flicked the latch, and the door opened. The sound of thrash metal greeted me before he did. Marcus answered in just his jeans. Deep scars laced his chest and intricate tattoos wove each of them into a maze of black and white skin. I’d asked him about his scars before but he’d changed the subject. From the look of them, there wasn’t a pleasant story behind it. I didn’t broach it again.
He laughed as soon as he saw me. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“Olivia Romano.”
He chuckled as he started back into the house. I shut the door and followed him to the kitchen. It was a massive room. Fitted out with black gloss units and top of the range appliances. A kitchen that would be the envy of any world class chef, yet, it was probably never used a day in its life. Marcus wasn’t the domestic type. He pulled two glasses from a cupboard, retrieved a half empty bottle of bourbon from the counter top, and stood opposite me at the centre island.
“How did it go? I mean,”—he gestured at my shirt—“apart from the obvious.”
“As expected, more or less. They’re after contacts and stock to cover the Manchester shipment. I take it that was your doing?”
“Of course.” He held a hand over his chest and took a theatrical bow.
I chuckled and shook my head. “You stole their shipment just to get me in a meeting with them?” When it came to business, he was nothing if not creative.
He poured the glasses and slid one over. “It worked, and we get extra stock to boot. Win, win.”
“If it hadn’t worked?”
His eyes creased with amusement. “Then we would incur the full terror of Gian and go ahead, anyway.”
I huffed. “Remind me never to cross you.”
“You never would.” He took a sip then smiled. “So, which do you think? Not that I haven’t already worked out the answer.”
“Olivia is the one to go for, definitely.” Her face flashed into my mind, and I imagined the satisfaction I’d get from breaking her. I couldn’t wait to thank her for the meeting we had this morning.
“Knew you’d say that. I’ve heard she’s… spirited.”
I laughed and gestured to my shirt. “That’s one word for it.”
“Okay. Make your arrangements to pick her up.”
“She’ll need a lot of work.” I raised my glass to him and took a sip, savouring the heat and thought of what was to come. “But it’ll be so much fun.”
He cleared his throat and glared. That comment annoyed him. “This isn’t about you getting your rocks off, y’know? There is a reason behind it.”
“I know, but… win, win.”
He shook his head and stared into his glass. “She’s not like the other girls.”
“You can say that again.”
He looked back up with a stern scowl. “I’m serious. Take her, but don’t hurt her. And don’t touch her.”
Why would he say that? He’d never questioned my training tactics before. “You know me, Marcus. I only take things as far as they make me.”
“I trust you, Aaron, but be careful with this one.”
“Consider me cautioned.”
He grabbed the bottle and headed towards the kitchen door. “Come on, I’ve got some friends I’d like you to meet.”
I followed him out of the kitchen and up the sprawling staircase to the first floor. The music grew louder as we climbed. He opened the door to one of the back rooms and gestured me inside.
As I walked in, I was greeted by the cooing of three semi-naked girls draped over the sofas lining the walls of the room. A blonde in a pink basque and stockings laid with her hooker heels up against the back and smiled. The two brunettes lounged in their underwear studying me with interest. By the look of the half empty glasses and bottles that littered the place, the four of them had been partying all night.
“Who’s your friend?” The blonde called over the music to Marcus.
“Aaron, meet Tinker bell, Trixy and TeQuila.”
“It’s Tamara, Roxy and Bailey,” she laughed.
He scowled at her. “No one fucking cares.”
I turned to Marcus and raised an eyebrow. “This is why you turned off your phone?”
He shrugged. “A guy’s gotta relax somehow.”
I sighed and headed over to the far sofa. It was the only one unoccupied. Marcus moved a girls leg, sat on the one next to mine and pulled the glass coffee table towards him. The open bottles and half drunk glasses shook as he dragged it closer. In the centre was a small, ceramic bowl filled to the brim with cocaine. He picked up a credit card, scooped out a fair share and racked up lines. I knocked back the rest of the bourbon and placed the glass on the table, spotting the remote for the MP3 player as I did. I grabbed it and eased down the volume. The girls moaned in
protest.
“Shut the fuck up,” Marcus snapped at them, then looked at me and gestured to the lines he was cutting. “Are you partaking?”
I shook my head.
“Well, you’re a real fucking buzzkill today, aren’t you?”
“I’ve got to go out. One of us works around here.”
“Are you heading back to the farm?”
“No, I need to stay here tonight. I’m heading into town to watch our new girl.”
“You installed the tracker?”
I threw my hands up. “Who are you fucking talking to? Of course I did. That was the whole point,” I laughed. “Actually, she couldn’t have made it any easier. Her phone was on the table, the Bluetooth was switched on. All I had to do was search and press instal. Even you could’ve done it.”
He smiled. “I love it when a plan comes together.” Picking up the straw from the table he took a line. Then pushed the table back to the centre as he squinted his eyes and pinched his fingers against the burn in his nose. “Your turn, girls.”
They rushed to their knees and crowded on the floor, giggling while they held back their hair and shared their cut.
He sat back and ruffled his greying hair. “What happened with the shirt?”
I threw my head back and laughed hard as I remembered. “You’re gonna love this. Milena proposed that she would get you in the Syndicate, as in, to combine efforts and take on Europe.”
His chin dropped as he huffed. “You’re fucking kidding? She said that?”
“I shit you not. The whole we’re stronger together spiel.”
He shook his head. “I wish I could’ve been there for that.”
“It gets better. Olivia had no clue she was going to do this. She ranted at her sister in the middle of the club.”
“At which point, you wind her up to make things worse. Yeah, I’m getting the picture.”
I kissed my teeth and cocked my head to the side. “I may have dropped a comment or two, you know me.”
“And it didn’t end well for your shirt.”
I laughed. “No, she threw her drink over me and walked out. She’s… interesting.”
He gave me a wry smile. “She’s a handful.”