We were in front of a door in no time, and James rang the bell. In an instant, it was drawn open widely, and I was greeted by one of the most intimidating men I’d ever met. James was intimidating, too, on first meeting, but at the same time, I felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I felt a type of an attraction to him that was difficult to break or explain.
This man standing before us, on the other hand, was just plain intimidating. He was tall and muscularly toned, with sandy-brown hair and steel-gray eyes. His aquiline features were darkly handsome, and I was pretty sure every female found him attractive. I guessed I wasn’t one of those females as I stared up at him, wide-eyed, like a child who had just met her first Santa Claus.
He smiled at James, and they shook hands. Suddenly, he turned his attention to me. I felt a little uneasy as his eyes roved over me. I didn’t utter a word as I stared up at him. Slowly, a hint of a smile played across his lips, and then he laughed.
“Fuck me!” Then he leaned his face closer to mine and said, “Yep. They’re siblings all right.” Then he grinned. He had quite a handsome smile. One that’d make every female’s knees weak. “Too bad you’re taken, sweetheart.”
A growl came from deep within James’ throat. “Hands off, Matt!” he snapped coldly.
This person is Matt? I thought in a mixture of awe, fright, and confusion. The Matt who I’d heard over the phone, the one who’d been torturing my brother? I could certainly imagine that. He looked the kind who would enjoy the vocation. And my poor brother Andy. My body shook at the thought.
Matt moved back and chuckled. “I got it. I got it,” he said in response to James’ threat as he held the door to let us in. “I’m not in the least bit interested in women. Don’t you worry over it.”
James snorted as he walked in. I filed in behind him, my eyes on the broadness of his shoulders as we came through. The moment I took a step to the side to take in the view of the place, I saw Andy, and my heart skipped a beat.
“Andy!” I cried out in both happiness and relief. “Oh, Andy!” I ran past the two men and threw myself into my brother’s arms.
“Mia,” Andy said, hugging me tight. “Oh, Mia, you came.”
I nodded as tears brewed in my eyes. My whole body was shaking. He’s fine, I told myself. He’s fine.
I clung to him, not wanting to let him go as he kept whispering, “I’m sorry, Mia. I’m so sorry. I should have never come here in the first place. I was in over my head. I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head and chuckled sadly. “No, it’s fine. It’s too late now. As long as you’re fine. As long as I get to see you again.”
I raised my eyes then and stared at him long and hard. Andy was a head taller than me, but he still wasn’t that tall nor was he that muscular. I guessed it ran in the family, our average height and slim build.
As I gazed at him, it was almost like I was staring at my own reflection. Our features were very similar, being siblings and all. Though his were more defined and angular. Everyone stated he was a gorgeous young man, and I agreed with them. He was too handsome for his own good and looked the type that people liked to take advantage of. And not so oddly, I knew I was put in that same category. The easy-to-take-advantage-of part, not the gorgeous part.
A while later Andy and I sat in the corner of the room, talking privately with each other. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to know everything from the beginning. About how he’d come to owe James Maxwell two million dollars.
“Tell me everything, Andy,” I said. “I want to know.”
Andy thought about it for a bit. I saw the dilemma in his eyes, but I wasn’t going to let him get away with it. We were siblings, after all, and I’d been taking care of him since our parents had passed away, since I’d been twelve and he was a mere ten-year-old boy. He owed me that much.
“Andy?” I urged.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noted the other two men, James and Matt, were in the open-plan kitchen, sipping coffee and having their own chitchat.
At this point, my mind also wondered why there was only one massive king-size bed in the room. It was a studio-like room. The place was just one big, open space, with the kitchen, living area, and bedroom all rolled into one. Apart from the bathroom on the other side that separated from this compartment, that was it.
I couldn’t help but wonder where Andy slept. Surely this flashy hotel room belonged to Matt. Since James did say the man partially owned and fully operated this hotel, resort, and casino, this studio was probably one of his homes.
“I was stupid, Mia,” Andy began. “I thought I was doing great. I really wanted to make a better life for us, for you. When I made heaps of money, I’d buy a house and you could quit that pathetic job at the restaurant where no one values you or likes you.”
I felt tears sting my eyes. He’d always cared and worried about me, this brother of mine. Hadn’t he flung himself on top of me to protect me when Uncle Herbert was whipping me with a belt because I was clumsy and spilled tea on him? Hadn’t he subjected himself and surrendered to Uncle Herbert’s sexual assault so the disgusting man would keep his hands off me? Yes, this brother of mine really cared about me, and in his own way, he’d thought moving here to Las Vegas and starting a business would give us a better life. Only things didn’t turn out the way he’d expected.
I nodded. “I know.”
“So we had this plan, doing a business contract and all.” He continued. “They told me to borrow money from…” He turned his gaze to James then. “Mr. Maxwell owns lots of buildings and businesses, and he even funds start-up businesses as well. So I went to him and asked. I did a presentation. I mean, our business plan was solid, Mia. It was very solid. It was going to work out. I knew it in my gut. Even Mr. Maxwell said it was a good business plan.”
“But?” I couldn’t stop the tremor in my voice because I knew there was a but somewhere in the story. The but that destroyed everything. The but that turned everything upside down, including my life.
“But everything fell apart. The guys hadn’t planned on doing business with me from the beginning. They took the two million I borrowed and gambled it all. They lost everything.”
“Oh my God,” I uttered in disbelief.
“When Mr. Maxwell found out, he was livid. He wanted the money back, or else he’d… I didn’t even think… They said they had nothing to do with it…” He sighed, depressed. “Because it was only my name on the loan contract. I shouldn’t have believed them. I shouldn’t have allowed them to manage the funds. I shouldn’t have even let them have access to the account. But I trusted them, and…”
I saw fire within his dark-brown eyes, and my anger rose as well. I thought then that life was always so full of cheating, wasn’t it? Life was always so unfair. Like it was unfair that our parents’ lives were snatched away from us. That we had to live with an aunt who didn’t give a shit about us and an uncle who had abused us.
“I wanted them to pay, so I followed them around. I had no choice, Mia. I was so pissed with them, and I wasn’t just going to let it slide. It was two million. I’d do anything to get back that money. Even if the business didn’t work out, I’d at least get to pay back Mr. Maxwell. So that one night, I found them in this underground trading place.” He laughed sadly.
“Turns out, they were doing some sort of drug trading and shit. I don’t know what happened, but I witnessed a whole lot of shit, Mia. I don’t know—the drugs, the guns, and the killing.” He raked his hands through his hair in frustration. His body was shaking as he continued.
“They all died. Those four bastards. They died in the shooting. The Albanian and the Mexican killed them. Then there was this other group as well. The leader is called William or something. I saw everything, and now they want me, the Albanian, the Mexican… They want me dead, Mia. Me! They want me dead just because I saw them, just because I was an eyewitness.”
MiaMy whole body started shaking uncontrollably. I could just imagine the chaos with the shooting and people dying in that dark underground parking lot. And what about the police? Why didn’t Andy go to the police in the first place?But James’ reaction on that first day back at the motel when I’d suggested the police made me pause. Were the police not to be trusted? I had no doubt those powerful underground groups had the police under their thumbs, working secretly for them. Any eyewitness such as Andy would be dead in an instant, with full explanation such as an accident or suicide.A shiver ran along my spine at that dark, disturbing thought.“What about Matt?” I asked. “How does he come into play?”Andy raised his eyes to mine and chuckled, a tint of a blush creeping across his cheeks. He licked his lips and said, “That casino those bastards lost the money in? That was this casino. It’s Mr. Maxwell’s and Matt’s place. They both own it, and Matt runs the place. When I found out tha
MiaWhen the elevator door dinged open, I slowly stepped in. James wasn’t far behind and stood close to me when it shut again. He pushed the button, and the lift ascended.My whole body was still tense from the meeting with Andy as my mind wandered off about the whole situation. Ever since our parents had passed away, neither of our lives had ever turned out the way we had expected. This whole story of him leaving our small town of Mystic Spring in New Hampshire to come all the way to the West Coast, first to Los Angeles and then to Las Vegas, to find fortune and freedom, to live the American dream, was nothing but that—a dream. Reality, it seemed, was a bitch, killing a young man’s dream of having a better future, both for himself and his sister.I suddenly felt the warmth of a body against me, and strong, powerful arms wrapped around my slender shoulders. Those inviting, dependable arms lured me into a comfortable embrace. I couldn’t resist and leaned against that hard, muscular wal
MiaJames Maxwell is a bastard! That was what I was thinking right now as I tried to make myself sleep. Even though I was completely tired, even though it was way past one in the morning, I couldn’t sleep. I still couldn’t move an inch in his arms since he’d come into bed twenty minutes ago. I just couldn’t relax.I sighed, giving in. Then he relaxed, easing his hold on me, and somehow I managed to shift back a little. I noted his breathing was even and knew he must be fully asleep. Hence, gaining some space between us would be no big deal. Besides, my sleeping so close to him wasn’t very nice. Every nerve in my body was excited, jumping around and sparking about.It had all started with that wild fantasy of mine, of course, conjuring up images of the hot billionaire naked and under the shower, beads of water glistening on his smooth skin.I sighed and slowly opened my eyes to confirm my suspicion that he was indeed asleep. I noted his resting face, which was breathtakingly handsome.
MiaAs I stood staring at the door, waiting for it to open, I prayed Matt wasn’t around. I wanted to spend time with my brother alone, without that overbearing man watching our every move. We were siblings, for God’s sake. Why he behaved as though Andy belonged to him was beyond me.Or did Andy really belong to him in some way?A dreadful thought struck me, and my heart raced. Oh God! What if Andy was in some sort of contract with Matt like I was with James? My body shook, and a fearful groan escaped my lips.The door opened, and once I saw Andy, I flew into his arms and hugged him tight.Andy gasped in surprise. Once he realized it was me, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around me.“I’m so glad you’re still here,” I said, my face snuggled against his shoulder.“Of course. I’m always here,” he said. “Why are you so freaked out?”I drew back. That was Andy all right. He always saw right through me.He led me into the room as I said, “I thought you might have gone out to work or somethi
MiaI was confused and looked down at myself. There was a dark bruise on my chest and lower, too, still covered by the shirt. Shit! I thought in dread. I knew this would happen. I knew Andy would react when he saw the bruises.Oh, when we had been living under Uncle Herbert’s reign, he’d seen enough bruises on me to last both our lives. That was why he’d vowed to protect me, whatever may come, even putting himself in the firing line. That was why he never wanted to see another bruise on me ever again.Andy undid the rest of the buttons and took the shirt off me. With only my bra on, he twisted me around to examine me closely. I was more than a little shocked by his aggressive treatment.“Andy! What the hell are you doing?”He growled. “How the hell did you get all these bruises?” he asked through gritted teeth.Well, what could I tell him? That I’d gotten those bite marks and bruises from James during our lovemaking sessions? No way!“Mia? Tell me who the fuck hurt you!” he demanded.
James“You know how hard it is to keep those bastards under control,” Matt said, rolling his eyes heavenward. “Fuck! The police are useless. Drugs and prostitution are booming in Las Vegas.”“All you need to do is keep our turf save,” James said. “Make them understand we’re not to be fucked with.”Matt laughed. “No need to worry.” He crossed one leg over the other. “It’s taken care of.”“How’s Andy going with the infiltration?” James asked, his eyes dark.“Good, I guess,” Matt said, shrugging. “Can’t we put him in another job? That boy’s too fucking tempting for most men.”James laughed. “Come on, Matt, you know how it works. We need someone like Andy. Someone with the good looks and the brain, who still looks innocent and gullible enough to be lured and fall into a trap. He’s smart enough to look after himself.”“James, I get it,” Matt muttered. “You don’t need to lecture me. He just worries me sometimes.”James wasn’t surprised by that. Matt was falling in love with Andy, and he did
James“Please, Mr. Maxwell. Sign a contract with me.”James raised a brow mockingly. “I did, remember? And look where that got us.”Andy’s face flamed red, but he wouldn’t give in. “Please, let my sister go. She’s been through enough.”James sighed in agitation. “Look, Andy, I understand you want to help your sister. But it’s too late. It was her decision.”Andy shook his head. “No, you don’t understand, Mr. Maxwell. You just don’t. Mia doesn’t deserve this. She—” He stopped short, frustrated.Matt watched with interest while James frowned in suspicion.“What?” James finally asked. “She doesn’t deserve this? Are you claiming I’m mistreating your sister?”Andy snapped, “Yes. That’s exactly what you’re doing, aren’t you? I saw the bruises.”James raised a brow. “It’s just sex play. You of all people should know that.”Andy looked sick. “I know it’s sex play,” he said quietly. “I’ve experienced it enough to know. But Mia… She can’t handle it. She’s been through enough. I can’t stand seei
MiaThere was definitely something wrong about James. I could feel it in my gut. Though his face was as stern and expressionless as ever, I could still sense something was amiss.Once again, I took a peek at him, and instantly my heart skipped a beat. Gazing at that handsome man and standing so close to him in the small space of the elevator did nothing to ease my fascination and craving for him. My foolishness of molesting him in his sleep last night did nothing to soothe the sudden urge of wanting him the moment I’d seen him at the door just moments ago. Even though I did vow to myself last night would be the very first and last time I’d do such an embarrassing and naughty thing.But it was quite nice to be naughty sometimes. The feelings of just letting go and doing whatever you desired most were wonderful. Apparently, making love to James while he was still deep in slumber was one of those things for me.Even right now, all I wanted to do was to kiss him and throw myself into his