Criminal Affinity

Chapter 2

She doesn't know if it's the footsteps that wake her. Jolt upright, Ava throws herself off the grimy metal floor. The blistering pain in the back of her head pushes her to blink away the haze and focus. She's alive. She is whole. 

Little by little the white surrounding her vision fades to the silhouette of a room. Her fervent eyes eat up every detail of the room, in the middle of which she stands frozen. No grimy metal floor, not tied to a chair. 

She stands free in a room of dark marbled floors, tall windows, and dim comfortable lights. Her eyes linger on the enormous bed she just rolled out of. 

Ava's mouth opens as if to say something, but her stinging jaw halts her. A lash of pain she very much needed to come back to her senses. One thing at a time. For now, her chin is tender and caked with blood. 

"Disgusting," Ava mutters, eyeing the door. She attempts to scratch it off but the pain stops her again. f*****g hell. As if waking up in a hostile set-up wasn't enough, she has to deal with blood all over her face. 

Before she can finish her thought, she hears footsteps again. Goosebumps spread across her skin as she takes soundless retreating steps. They have taken away all her weapons, even the sweatshirt which had a knife pocket stitched into it. 

She becomes painfully aware of her bare skin when the door opens. 

The man who walks in is twice her height and just as broad. Hair cut in old-fashioned army way, some scars on his scalp are visible across even the room. He regards her with his evasive dark eyes before saying, "You're awake." 

The man's gravelly voice gives away his age. No younger than fifty. "Who are you?" 

He ignores her and draws a bottle of water from behind him and sets it at the nightstand, which already had a strip of ibuprofen on it that she missed. Ava's shoulders knot with tension. The man's presence echoes in the room. She can fight him, but not in such a tight space. He's too big. Her agility means nothing against his fist. 

"Take these and put on some clothes." He says evenly. She has no idea what he's thinking. "Boss is waiting for you." 

If he wanted to kill her, he would have tried by now. But his demeanor is not threatening. She can't take away one thing about him.  

"What boss?" She urges. "What are you talking about?" 

He gives her one last glance before heading to the door. "So you don't remember anything?" 

Ava’s mind races and reaches no conclusions or answers. Dale, window, Lilah, kidnapped. That's all that happened. Stepping closer with a face scrunched in frustration, she shouts, "What in the f**k are you talking about? You kidnapped me and brought me to this blood money mansion and now you're being shady and weird and you expect me to just-"

"Lower your tone." He says coldly. Ava dumbly stares at him. "No one wants to hear your yapping." 

Her yapping. "Do you know who I am?" 

An expression breaks onto his face and it's just as quickly gone. Then so is he. But she hears him speak through the door, "If you do, forget it." 

 *

She had woken up in the morning in the miserably beautiful room. The light stopped filtering through the large windows an hour ago, and she is losing her mind. The man had locked the door behind him, and she has nothing to pick the lock with. She contemplated smashing open the tall windows but one hit told her they were bulletproof. 

She is trapped. 

Her body screams in exhaustion but sleep is the last thing on her mind. She has to do something. Not knowing where she is and what’s out there didn’t bother her as much as the thundering silence that enveloped the house. Or whatever it is. 

And she is starving.

She didn’t even hear one whisper after that hunk left. 

Playing it safe would be best. If they want to get to her by isolating her, they will have to try harder. What if she makes a scene and they put her down again? Or worse, they decide she’s too much. 

So she picks up the heavy chair with a cream blanket and sharp wooden edges and rams it into the door until a small jagged hole forms. Then she begins the stream of profanity.

After not even a minute of screaming endlessly, a female voice says, “What’s happening?” 

Ava gives a ridiculous laugh, “Open the f*****g door.” 

The girl fumbles with the lock and as soon as it clicks Ava throws it open. The girl goes stumbling back and Ava rams into her, knocking her to the floor. Once she’s secure over the girl, she shoves her elbow under the girl’s chin and shouts demands in her face. 

The blonde girl’s cerulean eyes tear wide open in alarm. She is beautiful and Ava wants nothing more than to make her cry. But her fantasies are disrupted by a couple of shouting men and getting their big hands everywhere on her body. 

For a moment Ava contemplates fighting back, but soon slacks in those big threatening hands. Waste of energy, waste of time. The commotion falls silent and Ava keeps her eyes low—waiting for him.

“What is going on here?” A man breaks from the crowd and helps the blond girl up. In the dim lights of the hall, his face is shielded. Ava’s eyes eat him up. Tall, lean and painfully handsome—dressed in deep red silk pajamas. Sleeping clothes in the evening? 

His blonde curls fall over his eyes as he examines a small bruise forming on her throat. 

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” He asks gently. The girl nods back and turns her worried eyes over to Ava. She wants to spit at both of them. 

“Alec, take her to the nurse, won’t you?” He has a slight accent, almost British. He watches another man take the girl down a deep stairway. Even the way he stands pours grace all over the floor. In a pool full of men, he shines hot and bright like the sun. 

Ava frowns at her own thoughts and focuses her attention back on him, who’s now staring right at her. 

His gentle eyes turn distasteful at the hands gripping her body. He says with a wave of his hand, “Let the lady go.”

They release her instantly and she steps far away from both of the parties. But she refuses to believe this is their boss. He is too...nice. “What do you want from me?”

His groomed brows fly up at the harshness of her inquiry. But he’s amused. He’s entertained. She wants nothing more than to punch his perfect teeth. The man steps close enough that she can smell his cologne. 

Blood money just smells better. 

“I’m Lorenzo. Everyone calls me Ren. You must be…” He trails off as Ava keeps her mouth shut. He steps closer and dips his chin, those amber eyes many tones darker now. He regards her while not giving away anything. 

He’s beautiful, but he’s also a wolf. Ava scowls back at him. 

“You don’t need to be afraid.”

Ava stays silent. 

He c***s his head and steps even closer. The guards stay unfazed as his eyes openly roam her. 

“Take a picture.” She barks, unable to resist.

Ren’s eyes crinkle as he gives a wide smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I wasn’t aware you weren’t given proper clothes.”

It takes everything inside her to not roll her eyes. She knows what he is—the pleasantry. The revel. He’s the face behind which they all hide the darkness. 

“Where is your boss?” 

Curiosity flashes in his eyes. “How do you know I’m not the boss?”

Ava snorts. “They reek. Unless your boss is a ratty coward who likes to hide, I don’t see why he won’t reveal himself.”

The guards visibly tense at her words, but Ren’s smile only widens. If that’s even possible. “You are very cute.” 

She puts a step forward, practically in his face, “I will be cuter when I—”

“Boss wants to see her.” The blonde-haired girl is back, hands tied behind her back. She’s taller and much prettier than Ava accounted for. How did no one see or hear her coming up? "Now."

“Finally,” Ava looks at Ren over her shoulder before turning back to the girl. “Let’s go.”

“Lily,” He smiles. “Does she have clothes to wear?”

“I’m wearing clothes, thank you very much.” She passes him a sticky sweet smile and walks towards Lily. He’s on her before she hears him. Ren whips her back and pulls her in with no smile this time. 

“You are in a bra and shorts.” He says, mouth pulling down from the sides. “If I were you, I wouldn’t walk around like a price around here.”

His words hold no humor, but no malice either. Amber eyes flash behind her once with a nod, then they turn back to her once again.

“Go on, then.” He says, dismissing her. 

Lily brings a white lump of fabric from behind her. “I brought this.”

Lorenzo and the men disband and file out of the corridor cautiously. Being in a bra is uncomfortable, and she's starting to feel cold. 

“You don’t have to pretend to like me, I don’t really care,” Ava says, though mostly to herself.

“I’m not pretending anything. Boss has told me what you would be like in the beginning. And I’m in charge of taking care of you.” Lily turns and walks towards a grand stairway leading up further. “I’m only doing my job.”

Ava scoffs and snatches the t-shirt, “Whatever.” 

And then she follows into the den.