Chapter 30

30

There was a surprised silence in the room as they all looked at Ava. Ava looked at Zane. She saw a mild surprise in his eyes, but mostly he seemed amused.

“Please tell me more,” he said.

“I’m living in your house, eating your food and sleeping in your bed,” she reminded him.

“True, but only because I asked you to,” he said.

“But you didn’t ask me to take advantage of you last night,” Ava whispered, just loud enough to make sure everyone heard her. She was not comfortable doing this, she felt like she was exposing herself to Zane and to the others. But if she was to play this game, she would play to win. Zane looked at her for a second, as if he couldn’t believe what she had said. Then he laughed and kissed her.

“You got a point. You did take advantage of me last night,” he agreed. Ava could hear a chuckle coming from Jax. “But I forgive you and give you permission to do so in the future as well. It was enjoyable,” Zane added. Ava blushed even though she tried her best not to. As Zane turned toward Olivia, his eyes became cold again and Ava gave a sideways glance to Olivia and Ryder, that was standing behind her. Ryder looked like he wanted to laugh but was doing his best to hide it. Olivia had a deep frown on her forehead and her eyes looked scared. “I know you think you should take Ava’s place,” Zane told Olivia. “But that’s never going to happen. I would have never chosen you as my personal companion. You have no loyalty; you are only loyal to yourself. I wouldn’t have an issue with that, if it weren’t for the fact that you can’t follow a fucking order. That just shows me you have zero self–preservation,” he told her.

“T–that’s not true. I’m loyal to you, to the family,” Olivia said.

“No, you pretend to be. Don’t think I buy that bullshit for a fucking second. If you were worried about me, about Ava taking advantage of me, you should have let me, or my men know. But you just like bullying others when you don’t get what you want.”

“Mr. Velky, please, don’t kill me,” Olivia said with a sob.

“Oh, grow up. You have been around long enough to know that we don’t harm women. Not even women who disobey my orders. But you are banned. You may never again set foot inside this mansion, or in any of the businesses the family runs,” Zane told her as she sobbed, making good on the promise he had given Ava. “But you better listen to me, Olivia. If you don’t do as I say, I will

1/6

rgency calls Only

30

make sure you get what is coming to you. We may not harm women, but if I let the other families know they would do me a favour by ending you. You can be sure they all would climb over themselves to be the ones who do it. Am I making myself clear?”

“Please, don’t do this, Mr. Velky. This is my life. I don’t know what to do if you ban me,” Olivia

sobbed.

“Not my fucking issue, you should have thought about that before going against my wishes.

“Ava, please, Ava, I beg you to make him reconsider,” Olivia then tried.

“You do not speak to her. Ever. Again,” Zane roared, and the room became dead silent. “Take her away, and make sure everyone knows my decision,” he then said to Ryder.

“Sure thing, boss,” Ryder said with a nod. He grabbed the sobbing Olivia by the arm and escorted her out of the office.

“Nothing beats a good scolding to get your blood pumping in the morning.” Jax suddenly told them. Both Ava and Zane looked over at him. He looked like a cat that just had his fill of milk.

“Glad you found it amusing.” Zane said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“I can always count on you to keep me entertained. But I must say, Ava, you surprised me. That is some acting talent.”

“Thank you, Jax, I think,” Ava said, unsure if it was a compliment or not.

“A hidden gem. Well, I should get started with my day. Don’t forget the meeting downtown at eleven,” Jax told Zane as he got up.

“I know.” The door closed behind Jax, and Ava looked up at Zane. He was smiling at her.

“Jax is right. You did good, angel,” he said.

“Thank you.”

“Are you okay? I didn’t scare you?”

“No, Zane. I’m okay,” she told him.

Emergency calls only!

30

“Good. I’ll try to minimise your exposure to these types of conversations. But I want you to be safe, and sometimes the only way I can keep you safe is to let others know how strong you are,” he explained to her.

“I don’t mind. But I’m not strong. You saw me last night. That is not someone who is strong,” Ava

objected.

“Ava,” Zane said in a voice she hadn’t heard before. He took hold of her and lifted her to sit on the edge of his desk in front of him. “You have been kidnapped, threatened, beaten, assaulted, insulted, been forced into a contract you didn’t want, had your life turned upside down, threatened again and had your belongings trashed in one week. I think you are allowed to have a minor melt down. I would have expected something worse than a few moments of shocked silence.”

“When you put it like that, it sounds terrible,” Ava admitted. It sounded really bad when he lined it all up like that.

“Yeah, it does. You are strong. Anyone who wasn’t would crumble apart by now. Instead, you walked in here and gave a performance that almost left me speechless, angel.”

“You told me I had to act strong,” she told him.

“I did, and as usual you listened and ran with it. Exceeding my expectations. I wonder what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it,” he said with a smile.

“Maybe I’ll start my own organization when my contract is up. I may just use you for insider information. Olivia may have been right all along.” Zane laughed.

“I would be screwed in a month if you decided to do that,” he said and gave her a kiss.

“Are you going out for business today?” Ava asked.

“I am. Why?”

“I was going to ask if I could go into town and meet up with Gabriel. But I can reschedule,” Ava said.

“No, you could use some fun. I’ll tell Ryder and Tom to take you.”

“No, you need them when you go out,” Ava objected.

Emergency

30

“It’s not that kind of business, angel. I will be fine. But thank you for being worried. Now I think we need to have some breakfast before we both need to head out,” he said.

“Yes, and I need to change.” Zane frowned.

‘Why? I like this dress.” He sounded whiny, and Ava had to smile.

“Because I’m meeting Gabriel in our usual cafe. It will be strange enough that I arrive with two bodyguards. I can’t arrive looking like this. I need to blend in,” she explained.

“I guess you have a point. I still really like this dress,” he told her and let his hand run up

and over her knee.

her calf

“I will wear it another day,” she told him.

“Good enough, I guess,” Zane said, standing up and leaning in closer. He kissed her and kept her pinned for a moment. Ava’s heart did a little flutter, and she tried to ignore it. Ava changed into jeans and a blouse before joining Zane for breakfast. They spent it eating in silence, as usual. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable; it was just nice and relaxing. As they stood up and Zane put his hand on Ava’s lower back to escort her, he frowned.

“What?” she asked.

“The back is covered,” he said with disappointment clear in his voice.

“Yes, not all my clothes are bare backed. As I will be spending time out in public, I chose a covered

back.”

“Good choice,” he told her, and kissed her cheek. Ryder, Tom and Jax all stood waiting for them as they walked outside.

“Have fun, and listen to Ryder and Tom,” Zane told her.

“I will. I hope your business goes well,” she told him. They got into separate cars and Ava’s car headed for her old part of the city.

“Are you meeting your friend again, Miss A?” Ryder asked.

“Yes, and I don’t want to see any upset looks when I hug him. He is just a friend,” Ava reminded the

Emergency calls only

30

both of them.

100% 08:43

“Yes, Miss A,” they both said.

“I haven’t asked you two anything about yourself,” Ava then said, feeling rude.

“It’s okay, Miss A,” Ryder reassured her.

“No, it’s not. You risk your life to be my protection. I should make an effort. Tell me, are you two seeing someone? Each other?” Ava asked. There was a surprised silence and then the two men chuckled.

“No, Miss A. I’m a married man, and not to this idiot. I have a wife and a daughter,” Tom told her.

“You do? But you don’t have a wedding ring.”

“It’s safer that way. My wife knows what I do, and she accepts it,” Tom explained.

“I’m sorry, Tom. That was a really personal question.”

r had

“Don’t worry, Miss A. I’m old enough to object if I don’t want to answer,” Tom said. Ryder 1 remained quiet. Ava guessed he didn’t feel comfortable sharing. She couldn’t blame him for wanting a private life. As the cafe came into view, Ava saw Gabriel standing outside. He saw the car and started waving like a lunatic.

“Looks like someone has been missing you,” Tom said.