70

Ava was soaking in the tub, as she always did before getting ready to go to the club with Zane. A relaxing bath set her in the right mood to spend the night with all the loud music and the crowd of people. She loved watching the city as dusk settled in over it and transformed it from a normal city to an amazing display of coloured lights. Her serene little bubble was punctured by Zane entering the bedroom. Ava didn’t need to see him to know it was Zane who had opened the door or that he was in a bad mood. The sound of the door hitting the armchair next to it with a loud thud was all she needed. No one else would dare open a door to his room without knocking or with so much force. And he knew she was in the tub relaxing; he would never have disturbed her if he wasn’t in enough of a bad mood for his irritation to make him forgetful. Ava wrapped herself in a towel and walked into the bedroom. Sure enough, Zane was walking back and forth, looking like a thundercloud. He looked up when he noticed her in the doorway. He took in her appearance and a look of guilt flashed over his face.

“I disturbed your bath. I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay, I was done,” Ava lied with a shrug. She walked over to him but stopped half a step away. She was still wet and didn’t want his suit to become ruined. “What has put you in such a foul mood?” Zane ran his hands through his hair, sat down on the bed, and pulled Ava with him until she straddled his lap. At that point, his suit was already ruined, so Ava wrapped her arm around his neck and made him lean against her chest. Zane wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. “Better?” she asked.

“No.” There was a pause, and he took a deep breath. “I have to ask you to do something I don’t like to ask you to do,” Zane then said. His voice was muffled by having his head buried between her breasts.

“Do you think you will find the answer there?” He looked up at her with a smirk.

“Probably not, but it doesn’t hurt to look.” Then he sighed and looked serious again.

“Are you going to ask me to kill someone?” Ava asked, only half joking, and sat down on his knee.

“No. But this might be as bad,” he said.

“Just ask me and we will take it from there.” He looked at her and placed a strand of her wet hair behind her ear.

“I have a meeting tonight with Mr. Johnson,” he said.

“That man you think was responsible for the shooting, the one who wanted to rent some of your property to do business from, and that is part of the drug trade?” she asked.

“You pick up a lot more than I think you do. Maybe I need to watch what I say around you.” Ava shrugged. She wasn’t consciously listening for information. But she was around Zane most of the time. It was hard not to keep some of all the information she overheard. “Yes, that’s the man. He is not a good man. I’m not a good man either, but I have some rules and some lines I don’t cross. This man has none. He does whatever he can to get what he wants. He also has some, let’s say twisted, hobbies.”

“You want me to be in this meeting?” Ava asked.

“No, I don’t want you to be there. I want you to be as far away as possible from him. But when we arranged this meeting, he thought it would assure we wouldn’t try to kill each other if we both brought our… pet along.” Zane had made a long pause before the word pet, as if he didn’t want to use it. Ava didn’t know why. That was what she was.

“But if he is as cruel as you say, will he really care what happens to his pet?” Zane sighed.

“No,” he answered without hesitation. “That is why he suggested it. He thinks it will give him the advantage if I bring someone who will stop me from using violence when he has no such concerns.”

“Oh, that is not a bad plan,” Ava said.

“Can you stop admiring our opponent, angel?” Zane said. There was amusement in his voice.

“Sorry.”

“I thought I could call for one of the girls working for us and use her as a stand in,” Zane continued. Ava felt herself stiffen and forced her muscles to relax. Except for her first week at the mansion, Ava had never suspected Zane was having sex with someone else. It surprised her how much the idea hurt.

“That is a way around it,” she agreed once she found her voice. She was happy it sounded almost normal. She had no right to demand him to be faithful to her. That was the reason he had her, so he wouldn’t have such demands placed on him.

“The problem is I don’t think it will work. Johnson might be a lunatic, but he knows how to read people. You have to if you want to be successful in our line of work. He will spot it if I don’t have any connection with the girl I’m with. The only one who might work is Jasmine, but that’s a can of fucking worms I don’t need right now.”

“That leaves me,” Ava said.

“I don’t like it,” Zane told her. Ava nodded. She didn’t know if she should be upset he thought anyone but her could do it, or moved he didn’t want her to get hurt. For her own sanity’s sake, she chose the latter.

“Is there another way?” Ava asked.

“No.”

“Then it’s settled. I trust you to keep me safe. And I’m guessing Jax will be there?”

“Yes. As well as Ryder and Carlos,” Zane nodded.

“I’m confident in all four of you.”

“Fuck, don’t be. Even if all four of us do everything in our power to keep you safe, things can go wrong. Especially around fucking Johnson,” Zane said, getting worked up again.

“I know, but the same can be said for walking down the street. Sure, the likelihood might go up somewhat if you walk into a meeting with mafia bosses. But I can handle it. When is this happening?” Zane shook his head and leaned it against her again.

“Tonight. These things are always planned last minute so no one will have too much time to plan for an ambush.”

“Well then, no club for us tonight?”

“We are meeting at the club.”

“He agreed to meet at your place? I thought he would be too cautious for that,” Ava said with a frown. She tried to work out if there was an angle to it she wasn’t seeing.

“He is still trying to convince me to let him use the area he has been nagging me about. The only way he could refuse to meet in my office is if he was to say he expected some retaliation for the shooting. But as he doesn’t want to admit it was him who was behind it, he had to agree to meet where I suggested.”

“Ahh, he’s not the only one that has a knack for strategizing. Good work,” Ava said.

“Thank you.” There was a long silence. Ava knew there was something Zane wasn’t telling her.

“There is more,” she said.

“Yes. We can’t let him believe there is any kind of friendship or something like it between us. No emotions. He will use it in a blink of an eye. That means you need to dress and act like an actual pet, and I need to treat you as one,” Zane said. He looked like the words tasted bad in his mouth.

“Tell me what to do,” she said. He looked her in the eyes and nodded.

Three hours later, they were in the car, going to the club. Anna had helped Ava get a suitable dress. Where she had found it, Ava didn’t want to know. It was a white halter neck dress in a flowy fabric. The neckline was so deep it showed her bellybutton. The skirt went halfway down her thighs, but it had two slits that split it all the way to her waist on either side. As it had become her signature, the back was bare. She had matched it with a pair of gold stilettos, as high as she dared them to be. Her hair was piled on top of her head, soft curls falling down to frame her face, her makeup was soft. The only jewellery was her collar.

“Tell me what you will do,” Zane said.

“I will walk half a step behind you. When you sit, I sit by your feet, when you tell me to do something I will do it, when you ask me a question, I will answer, if anyone else has a question I will look at you to see if I should answer it and when you move, I move.”

“Right. And what will you not do?” he asked.

“Look anyone in the eyes, speak unless spoken to, sit anywhere else but by your feet unless you tell me to.”

“Right. Fuck. Okay, if you feel unsafe or you can’t do it anymore, you will show me or the boys three fingers and we will get you out of the room.”

“I know, Zane. It will be okay,” she told him. Ryder and Carlos nodded in the front seat and Jax grunted an agreement from the other side of Ava. Zane leaned in and kissed her cheek.

“Don’t think for a second I haven’t seen how amazing you look in that handkerchief of a dress you are wearing, angel. If the night goes well, I will fuck you in it and then tear it off and fuck you without it,” he whispered in a growl. Ava swallowed hard and nodded.