111

Life returned to its normal state after Luka left. Ava spent her days being spoiled by Zane and the staff. Her two weeks staying home would soon be up and she prepared to go back to the office. To be on the safe side, she called Gabriel to check if something major had happened she needed to be aware of.
“Nothing big. We have a new client that I was planning for the two of us to have lunch with when you get back and we are all leaving early on Friday for the renovation,” he told her.
“Renovation?” she asked.
“Hasn’t the boss told you? Jax called the other day to tell me Zane had ordered some extra security to be installed. I guess he is a little worried about you going back to work,” Gabriel explained.
“He didn’t tell me.”
“I, on the other side, am thrilled that you will be back. I miss you, and it’s so boooooring to eat lunch with the others,” he said. Ava laughed.
“I have missed our lunches as well. And it will be fun being back. Don’t tell Anna, but I think I’m going crazy just sitting around being pampered,” Ava told him. When Zane walked into their room an hour later, Ava was waiting for him.
“What have I done?” he asked.
“At least you know you have done something. Why have you installed extra security at the office?” she asked.
“You gave me two weeks to get used to the idea that I won’t get to lock you up at home during the pregnancy. This is me getting used to the idea,” he said with a shrug.
“And it’s not something crazy like booths maned by armed men, right?” she asked. He laughed.
“No, but I like how you think,” he told her, pulled her to him and kissed her. “I need to keep you and the baby safe. But I have kept it discreet. Nothing that will stand out.”
“Thank you. And thank you for protecting us. Should we talk about what I’m going to do when the baby is born?” she asked.
“I was thinking that was when I get to lock you two up inside our home,” Zane said. Ava gave him a look. “Fine, do you still want to work?” he asked.
“I think so. Maybe not as much and I definitely want to take some time off at first. I could work more from home and maybe we can hire a nanny?” she suggested.
“I would love to say that I could watch the little one when you couldn’t. But we both know I sometimes need to go with little or no notice. But I fucking hate the idea of hiring a stranger.”
“We are not using one of the men or women of the organisation,” Ava told him before he could even suggest it.
“Why not? We could pick someone we know we can trust, like Carlos. The baby will need a bodyguard regardless, so why not kill two birds with one stone?” he asked.
“Because I want someone who knows what they are doing. I want someone who is trained,” Ava told him.
“We have time, we can send them to get certifications,” Zane suggested.
“You want to send Carlos to school to become a nanny?” Ava asked. Then she burst out laughing as she imagined the tough man in a beige dress with white trimmings and a small hat on his head. “He would kill you for suggesting it,” she added. He gave her a smile.
“You might be right. But it would be an honour for any of the men to be the bodyguard of the baby.”
“Does this have something to do with the mysterious organisation that is moving in and your father?” Ava asked him. She knew Zane usually kept the seedier parts of the business away from her. But she also knew that he always answered truthfully if she asked a direct question. It was his way of letting her decide how involved she was.
“Partly,” he told her. He walked up to her and kissed her.
“Is it bad?” she asked.
“No, but it’s fucking annoying. They are getting bolder and it’s like trying to catch an irritating fly,” he told her. She knew he would have preferred to have a solid target that he could strike. “I can’t decide if they do it like this because they are a small organisation, and this is the only way they can attack us. Or if they are a larger one with someone brilliant at the helm. Someone that has realised that acting fast and anonymous is the better way of striking us,” he added.
“And your father? Do you think they have grabbed him to get information from him?” Ava asked as she led him over to the bed and made him sit down beside her.
“If they have, they are not getting what they want. He is a cruel bastard, but the loyalty to the family is absolute,” he said. Ava looked at him. There was something he wasn’t telling her.
“But?” He looked at her, took a grip on the pendant on her collar and pulled her closer. He kissed her again.
“You are getting too good at reading me, angel,” he told her. “I can’t get the idea out of my mind that my father disappeared on his own and that he is the one behind all of this.”
“Wait. What? You told me a second ago your father held his loyalty to the family as an absolute. Now you are telling me he is trying to take it down?” she asked.
“I never said he was sane. His mind is not what you would call healthy. But in his world, it wouldn’t be betraying the family if he overtook it. He’s family, so he would see it as culling the weak from the organisation,” Zane told Ava. Like always when he talked about his father, she could see how tense he became. She climbed up on the bed and got behind him. “What are you doing, angel?” he asked, sounding amused.
“Nothing. So, if it is your father, what can we do to stop him?” she asked as she loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt.
“If it is him, at least we will have a better understanding of what he wants and how he operates. Jax and I will get things under control,” he said. His sentence ended in a moan as Ava started massaging his shoulders.
“Why is he doing it? I thought he was retired, living life on an exotic island somewhere,” she asked as she did her best to work the knots out of his back.
“Fuck, angel. You have magical hands,” Zane sighed. “He was retired. But my theory is that he got bored with drinking and screwing anything with a pair of tits. Sorry.” Ava giggled.
“I’m used of being around Jax, you and the other men. I can hear the word tits without blushing,” Ava giggled.
“Since when?” he joked with her and looked over his shoulder.
“Shut up,” she said and hated the fact that she blushed. Zane laughed. “Bored?” she asked, hoping to get the conversation back on track.
“Yes. When he announced he was retiring I had my doubts. I had the men keep an eye on him at all times, I got daily reports of what he was doing. But everything pointed to that he was just living life. I should have trusted my gut feelings,” Zane told her.
“I trust that you and Jax will figure it out,” she said. Placing a kiss on his shoulder. She placed her arms around him and hugged him from behind.
“And you won’t object to the new security system at your office?” he asked.
“No, as long as it doesn’t scare clients away,” she told him.
“They won’t even notice it,” he promised. He turned around and pinned her to the bed. “I enjoyed your massage, angel. But if you really want me to relax, there are other things we should be doing.” Ava laughed.
“It’s almost time for dinner and Jax and Linda is joining us,” she reminded him.
“They can wait. I think they have figured out we are having sex on a regular basis,” he joked and kissed the slight bump on her stomach.
“You should talk to Jax, learn a thing or two about how to deal with the need to be protective. You don’t see him putting in alarm systems at the hospital,” Ava said. Zane snorted and then laughed.
“You do know he has a team of fifteen men staged around the hospital when Linda is working, right?” he asked.
“He has what?” Ava said, trying to sit up. Zane’s grip made it impossible, and he kissed her.
“Sure, he is as bad as me. But unlike you, she doesn’t work in a place where we can take control. That fucker James had to go, there was no way for me to let him keep breathing. But I don’t think we can kill every doctor in the place and replace them with one of ours,” he said, looking like he was thinking it over.
“I guess not. But you did an amazing job at replacing James with Bianca. Everyone says she is an amazing surgeon. The hospital was lucky James went for a walk in the marina to sober up, fell into the water and got shredded by the propellers of the boats. Tragic, but lucky,” Ava said with a giggle.
“Accidents happens to the most deserving of people,” Zane agreed with a wolfish grin. “Now, where were I?” he asked, looking down at Ava. “Right.” He changed position to let his knee come down between her legs, one of his hands holding the both of hers over her head and leaned down to kiss up her neck. Ava reacted like she always did to his advantages; her body was primed for sex, and she looked forward to what he had in mind. There was a knock on the door, they both stopped what they were doing and looked at it, hoping whoever was outside would change their mind. There was another knock. “What the fuck is it!?” Zane asked.
“We have a visitor that you need to see,” Jax called back.
“Can’t it wait for ten minutes?” Zane looked down at Ava. “Or thirty?” Ava could hear Jax laughter, and she felt like dying.
“Sorry, brother. It’s the manager of our clubs in L.A,” Jax told him.
“I’m sorry, angel. You go down and eat dinner with Linda and Jax and I will join you when we are done. And we will continue this later,” Zane told her and kissed her. Ava sighed but nodded.
“Fine. If you’re not down in an hour, I will ask Anna to put away some food for you,” she told him.
“Thank you, angel.” Zane got up, put his shirt and tie back on, grabbed his jacket and left.