The very words send a chill to my spine.
How can my father possibly be in trouble with the Xavier brothers?
What I have learned only but an hour ago from Slater is that they own this pub. But my father is not a drinker and even less is my mother. The possibility of them causing trouble here is more like slim to nothing. So how has my father gotten himself mixed up with the brothers?
Do I even want to know?
Guess I will have to find out.
So very reluctantly and shit scared to learn the truth, I push Olivia for the answers, "How is dad mixed up with the Xavier brothers?
She only but stares at me, and from the terrified look on her face, she is not willing to go into detail. Judging from her reluctance, it must be bad.
But still…
How is the Xavier brother involved in this?
I need to know what the fuck is going on here.
"Olivia, if this is the reason you dragged my ass back home, then at least give me a fucking explanation."
"It… was…" I watch as she hesitates. Something has her spooked, and she is not willing to play along with my twenty questions. But as she sees the anger continue to grow on my face, she continues. "Kage and his brothers have a lot more pull in this town than you think, Avyanna."
"What do you mean? I know they have always been a bunch of shit stirrers."
"Shit stirrers do not begin to cover it," she pauses for a second and looks over her shoulder at the door behind her. Then, as she goes to lock it behind us, she practically whispers, "For starters, they own this pub."
"Ya, that I sort of found out from Slater."
"Then I guess he must have told you about everything else?"
"Well, no. He was too busy trying to get me out of my clothes."
I watch as Olivia sighs in frustration. It seems that she would have much preferred one of the brothers telling me what the fuck was going on here. And I would have preferred if she told me this shit over the phone before I hauled my ass down here.
Looking over her shoulder again like she is expecting one of them to come through bursting in here, she speaks in a hushed voice, "They own a couple of other pubs, then there are a few nightclubs, hotels, and even two or three damn casinos. They practically own Jackson, Avyanna. Nobody does anything without them giving the okay around here."
"That explains the sign coming into town. But what is the big deal?"
"They tend to take the law into their own hands, especially handing out their own vigilante justice."
"Still, how does this involve dad?"
"The Xavier brothers are known to do favors. They do things that normal people and even businesses around here are not willing to do."
And this right here is where I am not liking where this is going, yet I let Olivia continue.
"Dad needed money for mom's Doctors and Hospital bills and the banks were not willing to help him."
"Please don't tell me."
I watch as Olivia bows her head in shame, "He went to the brothers for help."
"And let me guess…"
She does not even allow me to finish, "Yes, he borrowed money from them, but now he cannot pay it back because he had lost his job."
"And now they are looking for payment?"
I listen as Olivia is near close to bursting into tears. There is something about this story that she is not telling me. There is more to this, and she better start talking.
"Avyanna," I hear her voice trembling as she keeps her eyes focused on the mirror in front of her. Not being able to look me in the eye, she slowly grinds onto her teeth and looks down at her hands that are now shaking, "Kage is the reason why you are here. He said he would be willing to negotiate dad's debt if I get you to come back home."
There is a wave of anger that washes over my entire body. The fury is burning hot on my skin, causing my eyes to haze over. With every fiber, I try to hold on to the restraint that is slowly dwindling and threatening to rip me right apart at the seams.
After trying to catch my breath, yet utterly failing, I feel that last string that is holding my control together, snap, "What the fuck did you just say?"
"Kage…"
"Yes, Kage," my voice grows louder with every tick of a second. With nothing but blind rage consuming me, my words tremble as I demand her to repeat what I think I might have misunderstood, but yet, "What the fuck did Kage do?"
Still keeping her eyes as far away from my gaze as possible, she repeats the very words again, "Kage asked me to get you to come home."
Feeling as if I can barely breathe, the rage within me continues to grow, "And you fucking lied to me about mom being sick?"
She immediately snaps back at me, "Mom is sick, but dad is in bigger trouble."
"And how exactly am I supposed to help him out of it?"
"I don't know, Avyanna. Kage did not say."
Not wanting to hear another word that she says, I push past her to unlock the door, and as it clicks open, I glance over my shoulder at her. Standing with utter horror written all over her face, I can see her eyes begging me, for she knows exactly what I am about to do.
Not bothering to give her a simple explanation, I swing the door open and make my way down that corridor. As I turn the corner, I see him still sitting in the corner. When his eyes lock with mine, I see that fucking smirk that I love so much appear at the corner of his lips.
Oh no, he is not!
He is not going to distract me from what I need to do.
So it is with long strides I saunter my way over to his table. And as I do, I try my goddamn best to control the rapid breaths that are threatening to set me spiraling into a complete mess. I cannot let this man see he is affecting me, and least of all, I cannot allow him to get the upper hand. He cannot see that his actions are getting the very reaction I know he is hoping for.
I am pretty sure he knows that I have been told everything.
Well, everything apart from the bit where it is what he wants.
As I finally come to stand in front of him, my first instinct is to give fucking slap that smirk right off his face. But instead, I place my hands to rest on my hips, then as I take a deep breath, my senses are attacked by the very scent of him. The mere smell of his cologne sends a very familiar tingling all over my skin. If I still have my goddamn panties on, then they would be soaked right now.
Oh no, he is not!
He is already distracting me and I have not said a word.
So as I take a rather uncomfortable swallow, trying to stop my body from reacting to him, my words come out far too unsteady than I hoped they would, "What do you want from my dad?"
Much to my annoyance, I listen as he dares to chuckle, "Guess Olivia has told you. Pity, I was hoping I could be the one to do that."
"You have your chance. Outside and in the bathroom, but I guess you like playing games instead."
"Sort of like you? Can you remember the way you played us all?"
"And I guess this is payback?"
I watch as he rubs his hand over the stubble of his jaw, and then, as if he is recalling all that years ago, his face turns into an angry frown, "This is nothing to do with the way you broke my heart."
"Then what is this about, Kage?"
"Simple, Avyanna," pausing for a second, he looks over at Slater and Niko. "I don't think this is a conversation we should have here."
"Do you think I am fucking stupid? Do you really think I am going to go somewhere you can try to get that grabby paws all over me again?"
I listen as he bursts out in a rumble of laughter, then as he leans forward, he softly whispers, "If I wanted my grabby paws on you, I would not wait until we were somewhere private. But if you want everyone to hear about daddy's problems, then let us talk here."
He is fucking playing games.
He knows I would not talk about my dad like this in the open, especially when it is about him owing money to these fuckers. Slater and Niko might be sitting there all silent, but I know they have as much part to play in this as Kage.
But the last thing I want is to be cornered by all three of them. So I stare down at Kage, and with the utmost confidence that my betraying body can offer, I only nod my head in the direction of his office, "Can we talk in your office then?" And as I see Slater and Niko rise, I abruptly add, "Only Kage."
Giving a quick glance over at our table, I am relieved to see that Olivia has not returned and Liam has not noticed me at Kage's table. So I wait for him to pass me and lead the way to the office.
Yes, perhaps I wanted to see his fucking tight ass that he is so deliciously swaying. His black skinny jeans are hugging him to utter perfection. I am only guessing, but something tells me that Kage is going solo. If I have to slide my hand down the front of his jeans, I would find nothing standing in the way of my hand wrapping around that erection I know he has straining.
I mean, what the fuck, Avyanna?
Shaking my head clear from imagining this man in front of me naked, he opens the door of his office for me to enter. And I cannot help myself staring at his very cock that is most certainly grown since he stood from the table.
With a smirk on his face, knowing that I have been staring, he shows for me to take a seat on the couch in the far side corner. As I sit, clenching my thighs together, he comes to take a sit down right next to me.
Then, as I clear my throat rather loudly, I find the depths of those dark blue eyes, and as they captivate and consume me, I struggle to find my own voice, "Why am I here, Kage? How am I supposed to help my dad?"
He studies my eyes for the fraction of a breath, and as his gaze falls down to my lips, I hear him slightly tremble, "I have a proposition for you?"