63

Zane watched the sleeping Ava. She looked every bit an angel as she lay naked in his arms with her hair billowing in all directions and a serene look on her face. He loved these moments when he could relax and let go of all the masks he wore and all the pretence.

He was allowed to adore his angel without limitations. Zane tried not to indulge in moments like these too often. He found that for each time, the thought of letting her go was becoming more painful. But tonight, he needed it. He needed to know she was safe.

Zane played with the thought of keeping her with him forever. He could keep her safe, he could make sure she had everything she ever wanted. But she deserved more. She deserved to be with someone she loved, to be happy. If he was less of a bastard, he would have let her go already. But he wanted to keep her, for just a little longer, he thought and eased a strand of her hair from her face. His phone on the nightstand buzzed and he looked down at Ava.

She was still sound asleep. He reached for the phone and read the message. His masks fit snuggly into place as he slowly pulled his arms away from the sleeping angel. She must have been exhausted as she continued sleeping. Zane got up, threw on jeans and a t-shirt and headed to the basement.

“Evening, boss,” the man that stood in front of the door said.

“You got him?” Zane asked.

“We did. I know you said you wanted him unharmed, but he might have tripped and fallen into a tree or two along the way,” the man said.

“Tripped?” Zane asked.

“Yes, sir. Accidents happen.” Zane looked at the man. During all of his time working for Zane, there had never been accidents before. If Zane had cared what happened to the doctor, he would have questioned him about it.

“But nothing too severe?”

“No, boss. Just some scratches and bruises. He should be in perfect shape to have a talk to,” the man said, stepping aside to let Zane pass.

“Good, thank you,” Zane grunted as he walked into the small room. The room had bare walls painted bright white in a protective paint. The same was true for the floor and ceiling. In the middle of the white box, Dr James sat on a chair and Carlos stood beside him.

“Evening, boss,” Carlos said.

“So, what’s this business with our dear doctor being accident prone? Do I need to worry?” Zane asked as he studied the man’s bruised face.

“I don’t think so, boss. Some of the men heard the doctor had disrespected miss A. They took offence to it and so did the trees apparently,” Carlos said with a shrug.

“Right. The trees the doctor happened to stumble into face first?”

“Yes.” Zane couldn’t help but to grin. He took up the roll of tape he picked up in the gym on his way to the basement and wrapped his hands. He couldn’t care less if his knuckles would bruise or crack. But last time he had bloodied them, Ava had worried. So, Zane wrapped his hands in silence while watching the man on the chair. Dr James was almost squirming, and Zane revelled in it. He was just about to start when the door opened and Jax walked in. He was still wearing his formalwear, even if it was a lot messier than last time Zane had seen his friend.

“Don’t tell me you struck out for the second time in a row?” Zane asked.

“Fuck no. Remind me to thank Ava tomorrow. That woman…“ Jax trailed off and Zane was surprised to see the fleeting moment of contentment on his friend’s face. “But I couldn’t miss out on this, now, could I? Who do we have here?” Jax said, his mask slipping back in place.

“Jax, this is Dr James. Dr James, meet Jax,” Zane introduced them.

“Well, well. If I would have met you in other circumstances, I would have thanked you for abandoning your date and let me have a go with her. But I’m assuming he isn’t here because he did me that favour,” Jax said.

“No, he’s not,” Zane agreed. “Would you like to tell my friend why you are here?” he then said to James.

“How should I know? You are all insane! Release me and I won’t tell anyone about this,” James said.

“But you do know. Did you think Ava wouldn’t tell me what you tried to make her do?” As Zane said the words, James grew paler and looked at him in terror. “See, I told you, you know exactly why.”

“Now I’m curious,” Jax said, in his usual relaxed way.

“Tell him,” Zane said.

“I-I don’t know what you are talking about. Whatever Ava said, she must be lying. I haven’t done anything,” James told them desperately. Jax’s fist connected to James’ jaw before Zane had a chance to react.

“Sorry, I know he is yours.” Jax told Zane. “But you don’t go around bad-mouthing Ava. Do you hear me?” Jax said to James.

“Yes, sorry,” James told him as he rubbed his jaw. Zane knew the man didn’t know how much trouble he was in. He was scared, but not as scared as he would have been if he knew his life was over. That was going to change. The door opened again, and Ryder and Tom walked in.

“What do you think this is? A fucking party?” Zane growled.

“If it is, your party planning skills are pitiful,” Tom told him.

“Fuck off, you should be on sick leave,” Zane pointed out.

“I am. I’m just taking a stroll with my good friend Ryder. And when we have finished walking, I will go home and continue to be on sick leave,” Tom said.

“I may have mentioned we would pick up someone who had been disrespectful to miss A,” Ryder told them, not taking his eyes off James.

“Fucking perfect. Are we expecting someone else? A fucking mariachi band? A teenager delivering pizza?” Zane asked, only slightly as annoyed as he let on.

“No, I think it’s just us,” Ryder said.

“I could go for a pizza,” Jax told them, earning him a look from Zane which had him shut up.

“Miss A is our responsibility. We should be here to defend her,” Ryder said. James looked around the room at all the men who was now standing around him with him in their focus. Zane felt satisfied when he smelled urine and saw a dark stain on James’ pants.

“Fucking brilliant, now I will need to hose the room down when we are done,” Carlos exclaimed.

“That would always have been the case. I have no intentions of making this clean and quick. Our dear doctor will know exactly why he is here and why he won’t be leaving,” Zane said, walking up to James and letting his fist impact the man’s ribcage. As James doubled over with a grunt, Ryder took a hold of his hair and pulled him up in a sitting position again. “Now, you haven’t told us why you are in this chair yet,” Zane said, sounding calmer than he was.

“Okay, okay, I shouldn’t have done it. I get it. Please just let me go,” James wheezed. Zane’s fist connected to the other side of James’ chest, but Ryders grip on his hair made it impossible for James to double over.

“That’s nice, that you understand your mistake. But that wasn’t my question. Now tell me why the fuck you are in this mess!” Zane barked at James. James jumped and Zane saw his bottom lip began to tremble.

“For fuck’s sake,” Tom sighed and shook his head. They were all used to handle individuals from their own world, not soft doctors.

“I shouldn’t have done it, I shouldn’t have asked her to sleep with Mr. Cleaso,” James said in a trembling voice, the first tear rolling down his face. The other men swore at his confession.

“No, you shouldn’t. I had already shown you she was mine. Even if she wasn’t, some one like her should not be treated like an object that you can sell to someone just so you can get more funding. You think you are above me, above all of us, but let me fucking tell you. No one in this room, except for you, have made our name by keeping our hands clean while we sacrifice innocent women to get us ahead. Fucking pathetic,” Zane told him. “Know, do you remember what we talked about earlier? I think you were going to tell me the named of all the bones in your hand. I don’t think I will remember them all on the first go, but luckily you have two hands,” he said to James, who visibly paled. “Oh yes, I keep my promises, my word is sacred,” Zane told him with a cold smile.

Two hours later, Zane opened the door to his room and made sure Ava was still sleeping. He had showered in the gym and made sure all the evidence of the last couple of hours had been washed away. He undressed and got back into bed.

“Zane?” Ava’s voice was heavy from sleep.

“Shh, go back to sleep, angel,” Zane told her and wrapped his arms around her.

“What time is it?” she mumbled as she snuggled into him.

“It’s too early to be awake,” he said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“You’re cold,” she told him, and Zane could feel her waking up. He cursed himself. He should have let her sleep, but he had wanted to feel her close to him. Ava raised herself on one elbow and looked down at him. He watched her half-sleeping brain try to figure something out.

She then took his right hand and looked at it before placing a kiss on it. Still without saying a word, she sat up and leaned against the headboard and urged Zane to lay his head in her lap. Zane had never done something like that before, but as always, he did what she asked him. He wrapped his arm around her legs and got comfortable. He felt Ava running her fingers through his hair, and he had to stop himself from moaning. It felt like heaven and he could feel his body relaxing. “Thank you,” Ava said. In his relaxed state, it took Zane a moment to register that she had spoken. He turned his head so he could look at her.

“For what, angel?” he asked, as he revelled in the image of her sitting naked, the sheet only covering her lower half, her breasts barely covered by her hair.