76

Zane looked at the man sitting on the other side of his desk. Ava’s uncle had nothing in common with his niece. Not his looks, not his personality nor his manners. Zane wondered briefly how Ava had turned out the way she had when she had been raised by these people. Had her parents left such a strong imprint that not even these people could ruin it?

Zane was battling his urge to kill the both of them. If he did, they wouldn’t take his angel from him. But it was too late. They had already said the words which had shattered his world to pieces. Somehow, this slime of a human being had come up with enough money to pay off his debt.

Zane had hoped the transfer wouldn’t go through, that the money was just a bluff. But as he looked on his computer screen, he could clearly see the money the man had deposited. It had killed Zane to ask Ava to pack her things. He needed her out of his office in case he did something. If he lost his cool, she didn’t need to see that. Not now when she would be leaving. He had known this day would come. He had planned it. But it was too soon. He wasn’t ready to let go. He needed more time with her. Never the less, time had run out.

“It’s all there,” Zane grunted to Ava’s uncle.

“As I said, I wouldn’t try to trick you, Mr Velky,” the man said squirming slightly in his seat. Zane wondered where Ava had got her courage and resolve from. It sure as hell wasn’t from this worm.

“Fine, we are done here,” Zane said. He needed this to be over. He walked out of his office with Ryder and Ava’s aunt and uncle. Ava was standing with a packed bag, talking to Jax. Just seeing her with her bag in her hand hit Zane right in the gut. He tried to play it off and thanked her uncle for paying off the debt.

“Zane, what the fuck is going on?” Jax asked Zane. To most people, Jax seemed relaxed. But Zane could see the anger in his friend, and it surprised him.

“Ava is leaving to go home with her family,” Zane said, feeling a wave of nausea as he spoke the words.

“And you are fine with that?” Jax asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be? All is paid up, and the debt is settled,” Zane tried to keep up his mask.

“Fuck man,” Jax said, turning around and stormed down the stairs. Zane looked after him and knew Jax would be back with some questions Zane didn’t want to answer. As Zane said a cold goodbye to Ava, he thought he saw pain in her eyes, but she turned away too quickly for him to be sure. Ava and the others walked down the stairs as Zane stood rooted at the top. He couldn’t follow her. If he did, he would pull her to him and kiss her until they both ran out of air.

Zane had promised himself he would let her go. He would not be selfish. He therefor stood at the top of the stairs, holding on to the banister to tie him to the spot, and watched her say goodbye. Zane saw her glance up at him, but she didn’t linger. Before he knew it, she was out the door and he heard a car start and leave. Zane focused on breathing. It seemed to require all his focus at the moment. When had breathing become so hard? He turned and headed for his bedroom.

“Zane,” Jax’s voice called out.

“Not now,” Zane growled.

“Yes, now!” Jax shouted and Zane heard the angry footsteps coming up the stairs. Zane turned around and faced his friend.

“Back the fuck off, Jax. I’m not in the mood and it will not end well if you get in my way right now,” Zane said in a low voice. “Now fuck off and leave me alone for a goddamned minute.” Zane didn’t wait for a response. He marched to his bedroom.

He flung the door open and slammed it shut behind him. Then he just stood there and breathed. After calming down some, he looked around. The room was filled with traces of Ava. It was no longer his bedroom, it had become theirs. Zane had no idea how to turn it back to his again. He could just let Anna and her girls go through it and pack everything that was Ava’s and send it to her. He picked up the large penguin that was supposed to be a vampire.

Zane found he didn’t want her things to go. He just wanted things to be as they had been the last months. Zane wanted his angel back in this room. He wanted her there forever. He thought about the idea which had entered his head the night before, as they had been in the shower. A baby, creating a family. But he shook his head. He could never offer her what she deserved. He wanted to send his men to check on her. But he knew she would need space.

They both needed some time to adjust to the new reality. He would send his men to check on her in a couple of days. His look was drawn to the bed. He saw his t-shirt, the one he now considered being hers, folded. On top was her credit card and… Zane could feel his heart stop. Her collar. She had never taken it off since he had put it on her. Zane walked up to the bed and reached out his hand. He froze when he saw how badly his hand was trembling. He couldn’t remember when his hands had been trembling last. Zane sighed and took the necklace. He slid down to the floor and, for the first time since his mother died, he cried.

An hour later and Zane had collected himself, washed off any trace of the despair he felt, and had placed the necklace safely in his inner pocket. There was a banging on the bedroom door. Zane knew who it was. At least he had given Zane enough time to collect himself so he wouldn’t end up killing his best friend. Zane opened the door and faced a furious Jax.

“What the fuck, man!” Jax shouted after looking at Zane for a moment.

“What?” Zane was in no mood for this. He would have liked to shut himself in his bedroom to wallow in his grief, but he wouldn’t do it, so he would work instead. Jax was keeping him from his distraction.

“Why the fuck did you let those people take Ava away?” Jax asked.

“It’s not like I let total strangers take her. They are her family. She is just going back to where she belongs,” Zane said.

“Fuck that. We are her family. How far up your ass is your head if you can’t see that?” Jax told him. “You know what state she was in when she got here, the world on her shoulder, timid, no confidence. Who the fuck do you think made her like that? Have you seen her recently? She is radiant. And you want to send her back to that place? You think that is where she belongs? What happens the next time her uncle owes someone money? Will she be traded again? Sending her back where she belongs, fuck you.”

“I will not let that happen,” Zane said in a dark voice.

“Right, because you will keep an eye on her, watching from afar like some kind of perverted stalker. Is that the plan?” Jax asked. Zane just grunted. “Well, that is fucking amazing. Have you lost your mind?”

“It’s not like I forced her to go. She did it of her own free will. She was forced to be here, now she has a choice,” Zane said.

“Aha. And did you actually tell her that, or did you just point at the door?” Zane didn’t answer Jax’s question. “You are fucking unbelievable. Did you even try to tell her how you feel about her? Did you give her a chance at least?”

“What do you mean ‘how I feel about her’?” Zane asked.

“A fucking idiot. Delusional on top of it all. You love her, you fucking moron. Since the moment you saw her in that room, you have treated her like no other woman I have seen you with. When was the last time you kept to one woman for this long? I know I teased you about going out to pick up women with me. But I knew, from the day those two men cornered her in the break room, that you loved her. I just wanted you to fucking admit it. At least tell me you have admitted it to yourself?” Zane grunted again. “Well, thank the fuck for small favours. So how are we getting her back? I think with some grovelling from your side and a gift or two, she might be persuaded to overlook your idiotic behaviour,” Jax told him.

“I told you, she stays where she is. She belongs there, not in this world,” Zane said to his friend. There was a threat in his voice.

“Yeah, that has to be why she seamlessly fit in here. Why all the men adore her, most of the women look up to her and Anna treats her like the lady of the house. Wake the fuck up and see that your angel fits into this place,” Jax insisted.

“She deserves more. She deserves a peaceful life without all the fucked-up shit we live with,” Zane finally admitted.

“And that is up to you to decide? Did you ever think of asking Ava what she wanted? No! Because that would have meant you had to open up and be honest with her. It would have meant opening up to the possibility of you handing her your heart and she breaking it. You are a fucking coward and I stand by my earlier statement; Fuck you!” Jax told him, yanking the door to the room open and marching down the stairs. Zane followed him.

“Don’t you go near her. Leave her alone or I will end you,” Zane bellowed. “That goes for everyone. Anyone tries to go near Ava or speak to her without my permission will be at my mercy,” he added.