Of course Laila did not approve.
“Yes, but I’ll be fine,” Tori said.
“I don’t know why you don’t just quit,” Laila replied. “Doesn’t it bother you to force people to give you money for no reason?”
“We’ve talked about this before; you aren’t going to talk me into quitting my family’s business. I know you don’t approve, but you are going to have to deal with it,” Tori said. “Now, come on and let’s take this other shot!”
Laila smiled as the waitress sat the drinks on the table. Everybody counted to three and downed them.
“Whoo!” Tori screamed. She was starting to feel really good.
“I’m going to put some good music on that jukebox,” Rachel said getting up from the table. She staggered a few steps and then continued to make her way across the room with the rest of them laughing.
“I’ll be surprised if she makes it back here,” Tori said.
“I’m not sure I could walk any better right now,” Laila added.
“Whoa! Who is that?” Mary asked.
Tori turned her head just in time to see Mikhail Maximoff walk through the door. She knew who Mikhail Maximoff was. He was the leader of one of the biggest biker gangs in the city—The Hellraisers. They were basically an organized crime outfit who masqueraded as a typical biker gang. But they had their hands into everything from drugs, to theft, racketeering, loan sharking, and gambling. Mikhail himself owned several small gambling places full of slot machines; and of course for those special customers who knew about the card games in the secret basement.
The Hellraisers had been at war with her father’s crime syndicate for a few years now, ever since they had established themselves in the area. She had met Mikhail on a few missions for her father, mostly to try to smooth things over to prevent an all-out war regarding turf. Her father believed that the Hellraisers were less likely to try to kill his pretty, young daughter. Of course little did they know that she was usually armed and could have probably taken a good many of them out if she were so inclined or they wanted to start something.
“That’s Mikhail Maximoff,” Tori said. “He’s the leader of The Hellraisers.”
“Oh, yea. I heard you mention him once before. You did not tell me he was that damn fine!”
Tori smiled. She could not pretend that she had never noticed Mikhail’s attractiveness. He was tall, about six foot three with broad, athletic shoulders and a tight body. He kind of reminded her of John Cena with long, wavy, blonde hair that you just wanted to run your fingers through. And he was tough. Tori loved tough guys. She was a tough girl and she could only respect a man who was a lot tougher than she was; those guys were hard to find.
But Mikhail was also thick headed, unbending, and unreasonable. He was very intelligent and very driven, just like her and her father. But he just saw things from another angle and he refused to ever compromise even an inch which made doing business with him almost impossible sometimes. Lately communication between their factions had come to a complete stand still and Tori sensed a war about to erupt.
It was probably going to get messy.
Mikhail spotted her and began to approach, moving in his slow, cocky swagger. The man walked like he had titanium between his legs. The entire bar suddenly began to grow silent, until only the click clack of his boots remained on the hard floor.
“Hey, there stranger,” Mikhail said in his deep, bass voice.
Tori rolled her eyes and grunted out a “hey”, trying to ignore him and send the message that she did not want bothered. She had always kind of gotten the impression that Mikhail might have a bit of a crush on her. He liked to tease her and some of it bordered on flirting, but his style was to give her a mild insult in a flirtatious way so she never knew if he was being sincere or not.
“Now, who let you have alcohol? You can’t be old enough to drink; you’re much too small,” Mikhail said.
“Hey, we don’t want any trouble,” Laila said. “It’s her birthday; we are just trying to have some fun.”
“Oh, it’s your birthday? Well, happy birthday. I promise I’ll behave,” Mikhail said with a cocky grin.
“Well, since you promised,” Laila said. Tori almost shot her a glare as if to say “really?” but didn’t. It sounded like Laila was trying to get herself into flirt mode.
“So, did you get anything cool for your birthday?” Mikhail asked sitting down at an empty chair beside Tori.
“Well, if you would get lost then that would be the best possible gift I could ever have,” Tori replied with a chuckle. Her friends’ mouths almost dropped to the ground in shock, but even they could not hide their laughter.
“Oh, now don’t be that—“Mikhail started.
BANG!
The gunshot echoed in Tori’s ears for a nanosecond before she hit the ground rolling away from the table. She bolted to her stance and surveyed what was going on quickly.
On the other side of the bar there was a group of guys who were now in the middle of a brawl. One man was on the ground bleeding while several guys tried to wrestle a gun from one man’s hand. They were all screaming at the top of their lungs, a few of the men broke away and started fist fighting each other. Tori wasn’t sure if they guys were in rival gangs or if it was just a drunken brawl gone terribly wrong.
“Laila! Get down!” Tori yelled. Laila and her friends dropped to the floor all screaming. This was usually a nice part of town, but in New York City anything could happen anywhere apparently.
Tori pulled out her gun hoping to diffuse the situation as the gunman on the other side of the room broke free from his attackers and started firing shots at them as they all scrambled to get their own guns out.
She took aim and began to squeeze the trigger, ready to blow a hole in this man.
Then everything went black.
CHAPTER 2
Tori opened her eyes and bolted upright, ready to fight.
But she was now alone. Gone was the bar, the brawl, her friends, Laila—she was just in an empty, dimly lit room by herself.
It was a fairly nice bedroom with very basic, somber décor. The bed clothes were an odd design, a bunch of dark maroons, browns, and blacks in an odd repetitive pattern she did not recognize. The curtains were a dark maroon over top of black shades that blocked out any chance of light.
The only light came from a few plugins in the room.
She did not recognize this place; where the hell was she?
Tori threw the comforter off and swung her legs out of the bed. She was still wearing the same clothes, minus her boots which were standing neatly beside the wall. As she stepped out of the bed she felt a pain in the back of her head that gave way to a series of nausea and vertigo. She felt like she might be falling and had the sensation of needing to throw her hands in front of her to steady herself.
She grabbed her boots and pulled them on before trying the door. To her shock it opened up to a long, wide hallway. She came to realize that she was on the upper floor of a large house. It looked fairly ritzy and elegant; it was almost as nice as her father’s house, but she liked the décor a bit better.
As she approached the top of the staircase she could hear piano music drifting up from downstairs. It was familiar… Fur Elise, by Beethoven. She loved classical music; it always had such an exhilarating effect on her, which probably would have surprised most people given her tough edge. She was not sure why, but she had always gravitated towards the discipline of it, the exact nature, and the pure human emotion behind it.
She started down the winding staircase slowly, the music getting louder as she neared the bottom. Finally, she rounded the corner into a huge living room. A flat screen television hung on the wall. There was a large sectional couch that looked irresistibly comfortable, adorned with black pillows. A fully stocked bar stood in the corner complete with several bar stools.
And in the other corner a grand piano with a man playing it. He had his back to her and it took a few seconds before Tori re
alized who it was. Mikhail Maximoff.
“What the hell is going on?” Tori asked.
Mikhail stopped playing and turned around on the stool with a big grin on his face.
“Oh, you’re awake,” he said with a smirk.
“What happened? What am I doing here?” Tori asked.
“I brought you here,” Mikhail said rising to his full height, tall and majestic as he walked over to the bar and poured himself bourbon, neat. “Care for a drink?”
“What? No I don’t want a drink. How did I end up here? What do you mean you brought me here?”
Mikhail continued to smile. “Listen, sit down and I’ll explain everything.”
He gestured towards the couch as he sat down on the adjacent love seat; it looked like a throne beneath his large frame.
Tori felt like pulling her hair out, but she wanted answers so she sat down.
“Well, I’m waiting,” Tori said.
“I have a deal for you,” Mikhail said.
“Deal? I’m not interested in any deals with you.”
“Oh, I think you will accept this deal. Trust me; it’s a matter of life and death.”
Tori was definitely listening now. “What? Are you threatening me? I’m not someone you want to threaten. Now let me out of here or I will make you sorry.”
“The door is right there; it’s not locked.”
Tori started walking towards the door. “So, what kind of funeral will Laila have?” Mikhail asked.
Tori stopped mid step. She turned to look at him slowly.
“What did you say?”
“I was just wondering what type of funeral your best friend will have. You see, if you walk out that door then she dies.”
Tori walked back into the room. “What the hell kind of game are you playing? This is low, even for you.”
“It’s very simple; I have always had a thing for you. There is something about you that I find irresistible. So I’ve decided that you will be mine. In time I’m sure you will grow to enjoy my company as much as I’m sure I will enjoy yours.”
“This has gone on long enough; where is my friend?” Tori asked.
“I have her somewhere safe. Well, safe for now. You see if something happens to me then I have instructed her to be killed. If you leave my home then Laila will be killed. If you try to contact anybody about this then she will be killed. It really is that simple. In time if you do what I say then I will let her go—when I decide.”
“So, you hit me in the head and brought me here? Did you stage that little stunt with the gun fight too?”
“No, that was a happy accident. But I am a man of opportunity. I love chaos; it allows you to take advantage of so many things.”
“So, what are you going to tie me up? Force me to be your sex slave or something?”
Mikhail laughed. “Well, that is for me to decide, isn’t it? You don’t get to negotiate the terms of your stay or your release. But I promise that if you do what I say then Laila will never be harmed and she will be let go at some point.”
Tori stared at Mikhail. She wanted to rip his head off with her bare hands more than she had ever wanted to hurt anyone in her entire life. How dare this bastard treat her like she was some kind of property of his?
But what choice did she have? He had taken her gun and her phone; and he had Laila somewhere. If he had taken her then surely he’d figured out a way to get Laila, too. She could not afford to gamble with her best friend’s life.
She now belonged to Mikhail Maximoff.
CHAPTER 3
“I’m going mad!” Tori cried out as she leapt out of her bed. She’d been lying there for close to an hour debating about getting out of bed or not. She usually slept like a baby until her alarm went off just before five in the morning and then she would be out the door moments later for her morning run. She loved to get her heart rate going first thing in the morning and watch the sun come up.
But since she was Mikhail’s prisoner there would be no runs outside. He had a state of the art gym in his house, just as her father did and the past three days she had done a lot of treadmill work, but it was not the same. Usually exercise helped her get herself centered for the day, it was a great stress reliever, and just allowed her to feel more connected to herself and the world around her. But now the world around her was encased in a very large tomb it seemed.
She was not sure how much longer she could stand to be here.
But she had no choice. Every time she thought about giving up and running out the door she remembered Laila. She was counting on Tori to be strong and to get through this. Mikhail was not the kind of guy to toy with; he would make good on his threat. Tori had seen what happened to people who tried to test him; the same thing that happened to people who tried to test her father.
It had been over almost two weeks since she’d been Mikhail’s prisoner. She spent her days wondering around his huge mansion and looking for Laila. Tori doubted that she was there, but it was worth a try anyway. At least if she was looking for her friend she felt like she was doing something to remedy this situation she was in.
When she grew frustrated with looking for Laila, she hit the gym, and when her body became too exhausted to workout anymore then she read. Mikhail had a huge library with a great selection. The man knew his literature. She wondered how much of his collection he had actually read.
She rarely saw Mikhail. She knew that he was off running a business most of the time, but then she would occasionally bump into him. He tried to talk to her, flirt with her, open her to conversation and get to know her, but Tori was adamant about ignoring him to the best of her ability. It did not seem to bother Mikhail as he just laughed it off and continued to play his little mind games.
She wondered when he would get tired of mind games and just take her, ravish her. He wanted to and she was not sure she could stop him. She could of course fight like hell, and maybe even win due to her training, but then Laila would be dead before Tori got halfway down the block.
Tori decided to try the basement again. Mikhail’s basement was like a man cave paradise with several large rooms, each with a different section of his personality. There was the lounge which had a huge home theatre with a projector, large couches, and a mini bar. The gym which she frequented regularly, and the billiard room which had a pool table, foosball tables, dart board, and a poker table.
And then there was a smaller room off to the side that she had been in once before. It looked like it was a room that had been undecided and he had just not done anything with it yet. But it was possible that Tori missed something when she checked it last. At least it made her feel like she was doing something.
As she checked the room she realized that it was just as empty as before. There were no secret doorways or compartments as she might have hoped.
“Did you really think I’d stash her here?” Mikhail’s booming voice greeted her as she exited the room.
She tried to ignore him, but he stood in her way blocking her path.
“Move,” Tori said, the anger rising within her, but as he loomed over her she felt her body getting hot. She wanted to think it was all from the rage she was feeling, but she could not deny the unbelievable attraction she was feeling right then to this man. He was beyond sexy. His handsome, chiseled face, his broad, muscular chest, and his arrogant attitude standing over her in a dominating fashion—it all created a beautiful image that she could not ignore no matter how much she hated herself for it.
“You have such a charming personality,” Mikhail said.
“I’ve spit on things more charming than you,” Tori said as she elbowed past him.
Mikhail suddenly grabbed her arm and jerked her back, close to him. Before she could do anything he grabbed her face in his huge hands and pulled her face to his.
His lips were now on hers, smothering her mouth. She tried to pull away, but realized it was futile. He was too strong; she just had to endure.
She wanted to resist him, but suddenl
y she realized that her body did not. Her mouth was responding to the kiss, moving across his broad lips, sucking up the pressure he was applying. His mouth was so warm and soft accompanied by his rugged stubble that pressed hard against her chin causing a bit of pain.
Tori’s body was responding. The tingling between her legs, the moistness starting to grow, her flesh growing hotter with every second—she was enjoying every second of this man’s kiss. Her head began to swim as her body surrendered into the kiss, her legs feeling wobbly as if she might fall if he was not holding her face.
And then the kiss was over.
Mikhail pulled back from Tori, triumph in his eyes and a smile on his handsome face.
“Don’t you know talking to me like that only turns me on?”
Mikhail walked away laughing.
Tori felt like hitting something. She felt frustrated, she felt controlled, and humiliated.
But she liked it. She could not stand to admit it to herself, but she liked the way he controlled her. No one had ever done that to her; no one ever would have dared and she wouldn’t have allowed it otherwise, but he did. Mikhail grabbed her, manhandled her, and took from her what he wanted. She should have felt completely violated, but she felt good. Her whole body felt like it was on some crazy high of a new drug, and she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to come down.
A smile was even forming across her face that she could not stop.
What was happening to her?
CHAPTER 4
The next few weeks continued on uneventfully. Tori felt the tedium and the boredom of each day bleeding into the next as she tried to scramble together some semblance of a daily routine and purpose. Most days she found herself reading in the library.
Sometimes she forced herself to watch the television just so she would know what was going on out there, but it depressed her so much that she had to shut it off after a few minutes. To know that the door to freedom was just a few feet away, unlocked, and unguarded was maddening. Nothing was actually keeping her there except for a threat.
Bad, Very Bad Shifters- The Complete Mega Bundle Page 86