Good Girl(20)

Her shoulders relax slightly and her eyes soften as she replies, “Yes, Kane.” My heart warms at her words. It shouldn’t, but it does. I like that she trusts me and that she’s associating me with safety. My heart twists in my chest. I won’t be able to give her safety for long. But as long as she’s mine, I will.





Kane





“Stay. I’ll come around and get you.” I give her the order then quickly shut the door. I don’t turn around to face the Valettis, but instead I immediately walk around the car to get her. I had her slightly relaxed, so I want to make sure I keep her that way.

When I open the door, she stands gracefully. My hand rests on the small of her back to steady her, but also to give her guidance. I rub my hand in small soothing circles as we walk around the car to face Tommy and his brother. I fucking wish I had her in Kevlar, too. It’s standard attire for me now, after all that shit that happened. It’s the only reason I lived.

I clench my jaw and try to settle the churning in my gut. She’ll stand behind me if anything happens. It’ll be alright.

“This is Ava.” I introduce her and give them a hard stare. I know they saw her before back at the hangar. Back when she was in that dirty dress, bowing on the ground in shackles. But this is different.

Anthony gives her a tight smile and a nod. Tommy’s eyes stare at her collar, at the little bit of bandage peeking out from underneath as he gives a curt hello. I fucking hate them for it. She shifts slightly as she swallows and quietly, yet confidently responds, “It’s nice to meet you.”

I pull her waist closer to me and put my lips to her ear to whisper, “Good girl.”

Tommy and Anthony walk ahead of me, with their backs to us and it gives me a little security. Ava’s walking with her hands clasped in front of her and I know it’s because she’s used to the chains around her wrists. My arm slips off the small of her waist and I take her left hand in my right. Her footsteps falter slightly, and Tommy must hear it because he turns to look back at us and I watch as his eyes steady on our hands.

A jolt of anger races through my blood. He doesn’t fucking know anything, yet he’s judging me. I can see all the shitty emotions on his face. He’s judging us. I don’t have a fucking choice in this, and neither does she. What the fuck does he expect from me? At least she’s not in chains and crawling on the ground like Abram would want.

A quick panic washes through me. If they told Abram about this, I don’t know what he’d say. I push that shit down. I don’t fucking care. I’m doing this my way and he gave her to me. He’ll have to get over it if he doesn’t like it.

We get to the front of the building and Anthony pulls open the large glass door and holds it for us. I press my lips into a slight smile and nod.

“Thank you,” Ava says, stepping in front of me to walk through the door, but not letting go of my hand. It’s such a natural move. It makes my smile turn more sincere. As she steps into the large waiting area she seems to realize something and stops in her tracks. She looks back at me with a flash of fear on her face. Her wide eyes stare at mine as she waits for a reaction from me.

“Good girl.” I’m quick to give her praise. A look of relief washes over her, but my eyes travel to Tommy who continues to walk in front of her, but shoots me daggers. My nostrils flare with anger and I grip her hand a little tighter. Her eyes fall to the floor as we walk behind Tommy and I wish I could take it back.

That’s strike two as far as I’m concerned. One more shitty look like that and that fucker is getting what he has coming to him. I stare at the back of his head as we walk down a narrow hall, trying to will my anger down but doing a shit job of it.

He opens the door to an office on the right and waits for us to enter. He braces the door fully open with his foot, and I want to push it open farther to crush his foot with it and punch his fucking face in. She may be a sex slave and I may have to watch over her, but she doesn’t need those fucking looks from him. Every look is a reminder and I don’t fucking want that for her.

“Ava.” Vince gets up from his desk with a wary smile, looking at me and then back to her. He holds out a hand for her in welcome. That’s better. That’s the greeting I want for her. She quickly but unsteadily places her hand in his, and looks up to me quickly. Her constant need for reassurance makes me sick, but I give her a small nod.

“Hello,” she greets Vince as she visibly swallows, and looks back up to me as she takes her hand away.

Vince looks at me although he speaks to Ava when he says, “Women don’t usually come to these meetings.” He gives her another smile and looks at her face, and then her neck. His eyes focus on the bandage like Tommy’s did. “I wasn’t anticipating you being here.”