10

She thought he sounded angry, which confused her. Were her questions irritating him?

“Because you told me yesterday it wasn’t what this was. I can’t go around telling people you are my boyfriend and then pretend to turn a blind eye when you pick up other women. Anyone that knows me know that isn’t what I would do,” Ava explained.

“Right,” he said. But he didn’t sound happy. Maybe he just wasn’t a morning person, Ava thought. They sat in silence for a while longer. They had both finished eating when the two men Ava vaguely remembered had driven them from the club last night entered the dining room.

“Ava, this is Tom and Ryder. They will take you shopping and anything else you need. Just let them know where you need to go and they will make sure you get there,” Zane told her. Ava looked up at the two giant men, both dressed in black jeans, black T-shirts, and black leather jackets. It was like they both had done their best to look like the classical bad boy.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hello, miss Cobler,” they both smiled.

“Call me Ava, please,” she told them. They looked at each other and then at Zane. Zane shrugged, and they nodded. “I need to make a phone call before we leave. Is there a phone I can use?” Ava asked Zane.

“Follow me,” he said, and stood up. Ava hurried to follow him as he walked out of the dining room. She found herself back in Zane’s office on the third floor. “I’ll be waiting outside,” he told her as he nodded towards the phone and then left the room. Ava didn’t want to sit in his office chair, it felt too personal. Instead, she turned the phone so she could lean against the edge of the desk.

“Hello?” Gabriel answered.

“Hi, Gabriel,” Ava said.

“Ava? Why are you calling from an unknown number?” her friend asked.
“I don’t have time to tell you everything. I need you to trust me and don’t ask too many questions, okay?” she said.

“Babe, have you met me? Of course, I trust you, but you know as well as I do that there will be questions,” he told her.

“Fine, you just have to live with me not answering them at the moment,” she sighed.

“Deal.”

“If I needed to buy a dress I could go clubbing in, where would I go?” she asked.

“Do you think just because I’m gay, I know where to shop?” he asked.

“No, Gabriel. But my options for information at the moment are you or me. I have already checked with me, and I don’t know,” she said, letting out a deep sigh.

“Is everything okay?” Gabriel asked. He sounded worried.

“No, yes, as good as they can be. Now, where do I find a dress?” she asked.

“On your budget? I would say the mall at Patterson and Green,” he told her.

“And if I had a slightly higher budget?”

“Like how high? Like Stacy from accounting or that bitch Jess with her sugar daddy?”

“Like Jess, possibly a smidge higher,” Ava admitted.

“Ava Rosa Cobler, where are you getting this money from, and why are you spending it on a party dress?”

“If you tell me where to get it and meet me there to help me pick it out, I promise to tell you,” she said.

“You got a deal. Meet me at the corner of Ford and Fifth in an hour,” Gabriel said cheerfully. They hung up, and Ava took a deep breath before she walked out of the office. Zane stood leaning against the wall, talking to another man in a suit.

“Ava, this is Spenser. He will go look for your phone and get the things you need. You can tell him what he should get,” Zane told her.

“Hello,” Ava smiled. There were a lot of new people to get to know. Most of them were handsome but intimidating men. She was so far out of her comfort zone it wasn’t even funny.

“Hello, miss Cobler. How can I help you?” Spenser asked. Ava described her phone and told him she thought it would be in the living room. It seemed most likely that’s where she dropped it. She asked him to check if her aunt and uncle had got free.

“I will need some things from my room. It’s the one furthest in the back. I would like my surf pad, which is on my desk. I need some jeans and sweaters,” she started listing.

“No clothes, I told you that you will go shopping today. You forgot this,” Zane interrupted, showing the white card.

“Oh, but that was just for the dress for tonight,” Ava said, surprised.

“No, I want you to buy a new wardrobe, think high-end and don’t think about the price,” he almost growled.

“Okay.” she nodded and took the card.

“I will need my bag as well. It should be in the hall or living room,” Ava told Spenser.

“Anything else?” he asked. Ava’s mind drew a blank. She guessed she could get the other things she would need later.

“No, I guess not,” she said.

“Then I’ll get going. Your things will be waiting for you when you get back, miss Cobler.”

“Call me Ava, please,” she told him.

“Tom and Ryder are waiting for you at the entrance. I have to get to work. Be ready by six,” Zane told her.

“I will. Thank you for all of this. Have a good day,” she told him. He looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. “What?” she asked.

“Never mind,” he said, striding past her and shutting himself in his office. Ava looked at the shut door for a moment and then headed downstairs. As Zane had told her, Tom and Ryder were waiting for her.

“Ready to go, miss A?” Tom asked. Ava smiled at the nickname, at least it was better than being called miss Cobler. Her last name connected her to her uncle, which at the moment left a sour taste in her mouth.

“Yes,” she said, nodding. They walked her outside to where a black SUV was waiting. The car gave her the chills, but she didn’t object when Ryder opened the back door for her.

“Where to?” Tom asked from the driver’s seat.

“The corner of Ford and Fifth,” Ava told him, and buckled up. Ava studied her surroundings as they drove back down the hill. Last night she had been to scarred and tired to notice things. But now she could see even though the forest surrounding the mansion looked to be untouched, men were patrolling it. They drove through the city, and Ava found herself in the middle of the upscale shopping district. They stopped and parked at the side of Ford, just close enough to the intersection to let Ava see Gabriel waiting for her. The dark tinted windows of the SUV made it impossible for him to see her. Ava was about to open the door and get out when Tom turned around.

“Please wait for Ryder to come around and open the door, miss A,” he said.

“Oh, okay,” she said and watched as Ryder came around and opened the door and helped her out. Ava started walking towards Gabriel when she noticed that Ryder and Tom followed her. She stopped and looked at them. “Why are you following me?” she asked.

“The boss said not to let you out of our sight, miss A,” Ryder told her. Ava remembered something in the contract saying that she would be provided with bodyguards. But now Ava wasn’t sure if they were there to protect her or to keep her from running.Either way, she didn’t see the point of arguing this with the two men. They were just doing their job; they were under orders. She needed to talk with Zane about it.

“Okay, you boys let me know if you get bored,” she said to them. Both of them smiled at her.

“Don’t worry about us, miss A. Just focus on doing what you need to do,” Tom told her. Ava nodded and turned around to walk to Gabriel.

“Gabriel.” Ava smiled and did a little wave when they got closer.

“Ava, you mysterious devil.” He smiled back. Then Ava saw his smile drop as his eyes focused on something behind her.

“Gabriel, this is Tom and Ryder. They will join us today,” Ava said and tried to keep her smile in place.

“Miss A, does the boss know about this?” Tom asked, sounding worried.

“It’s okay Tom, Zane knows about Gabriel,” Ava reassured the man. She took two quick steps forward and gave Gabriel a hug. It was nice to see him. He was a part of the normal world, not the alternate universe she had woken up in where she was the sex pet of a mafia boss. Just thinking about it felt unreal.

“Hey, hands off miss A,” Ryder huffed and took a step towards Ava and Gabriel.

“Easy there, big boy. You don’t have to worry about Ava’s virtue when it comes to me. If I start pawing at you, well then you have a reason to be worried,” Gabriel said, and the last part came out as a purr. Ava felt like giggling as she saw the big man look at Gabriel with big eyes and then turn a shade of pink.

“Don’t tease the boys,” Ava told her friend.

“Why not? He looks like a yummy treat,” Gabriel said, looking back at Ryder. “Ava, since when do you have bodyguards and money to shop in this place?” he then asked, looking at the boutique they were standing outside.