If there were words to explain what Isabella felt for Rafael after she caught a shadow of Salvador entering his office half an hour ago, it would be contempt. He was trying to get information from her to deliver to Salvador, or probably he knew that the demon was after her since the auction and was planning to take as much advantage of it as possible. Whatever his reason, Salvador was in that damn office. She couldn't let him see her. Her scent already filled the room, and he must've picked up on it. "Let's go get something to eat." She said to the redhead next to her. 'I think her name was Valery,' she tried to remember.
Rafael could smell her dazzling scent through the corridors. It took a lot of strength for him not to leave the office at that moment to pin her against the nearest wall. He imagined how she looked in the red dress she had worn the day they first met. How perfect she looked in it, and how he would have loved to rip it off her body. "And that leads us to the chick you bought a few days ago." His concentration fetched back to the two pricks in my office as Salvador brought up Isabella. "She could give us the first clues to finding him."
'Wait.. what the hell is he talking about?' he thought to himself as he pulled a cigarette to his lips. He took his time to give them a chance to give more details. "Mr. Mendez would never have sold her for such an insignificant price if he only knew her value. She is the only daughter of Javier Jones-"
Salvador clasped his palms. An aura of darkness surrounded Oliver's neck as he gasped for breath. Salvador didn't turn his face away, though he watched Rafael out of the corner of his right eye, trying to read his expression. Oliver had just uncovered a piece of the puzzle. Salvador was indeed a demon, but Raf had a more devilish mind than him. Years of haunted nights had taught him what real torment looked like. Now it was up to him to turn the tables and teach the demon a new art of manipulation. "I think I've what you need, Salvador. How about we make a deal?" Rafael took a deep drag and looked at the painting behind his desk.
"I'm all ears, Valdez." Salvador leaned toward him, grinning.
Valery didn't waste a second as she led Bella to her chamber for dinner before dressing her in a glamorous black silk gown with a pair of crimson high heels. The way they dressed as if they were attending a party made Bella wonder. "Now that everything is settled, let's go downstairs, I'm sure the guys would love to meet the new member." Valery said cheerfully.
The sound of 'new member' made Bella nauseous. "You may think I'm nice because I signed that damn contract, redhead." Valery stopped on her way to the door as she heard Bella talked behind her. "It just means the earlier I slaughter your alpha the better."
A giggle escaped Valery's lips as she turned to the slayer in her room, "Rafael is the only person keeping Salvador from taking you down, Isabella. If I were you, I wouldn't kill my savior. Instead, I'd do everything I could to ensure that nothing happens to him before that demon gets burned to the core."
Isabella gritted her teeth. Her eyes darted to Valery, who didn't seem to be paying any attention to her stares. She pulled her by the elbow and led her across the room toward the downstairs hall where the rest of the pack was gathering.
As Bella followed Valery, a deep, frightening voice whispered to her. It was the same voice she avoided sleeping because of, the same voice that haunted her at night. "I'm coming back for you, snow."
His devilish laughter kept echoing in her head. She wanted to stop it, but she couldn't. Her body reacted of its own accord, causing her to run away immediately. Suddenly, she stopped when she heard a conversation. It was inaudible to human abilities, but it was clear enough to her enhanced senses. "He offered a high payment for her." It was Rafael's voice.
"Isn't that a breach of the contract you have with her?" the voice of the man who had treated her wounds replied. Valentino's voice seemed a little worried.
"I wasn't going to keep my word from the beginning anyway..." He was interrupted by Valery's voice.
She was panting loudly, as if she wanted him to hear her addressing that she and Isabella were near them. "Why did you run away all of a sudden? Are you okay?" She looked at Bella, her gaze filled with concern.
Bella shook her head, "I thought we could get over with this quickly. I'm not in the mood for partying."
The elevator opened the door to the underground level where the rest of the pack was partying. The hall had quite a club atmosphere. The dim light was on the dance floor where a crowd danced in couples. On the sides were pool billiard tables. Bella's eyes scanned the place in awe until they fell on the bar at the end of the hall. A shadow of the sexy Mexican stranger from the Black Era Club leaned against the bar, holding a glass of beer. She wondered how he had gotten there before her. He seemed pretty close to her from the second floor. As she took a second look at the view, she began to take in every feature of him, fascinated by how hot he looked in ripped jeans and leather jacket. The jacket exposed a perfect line of built abs. The corners of his lips twisted into a devilish smirk she recognized very well from their first meeting. He caught her staring.
"What is she trying to prove tonight in that black dress?" He said to Valentino, who was standing next to him, scrolling through his phone.
Valery spotted Diego in the crowd and waved at him. He nodded to her and went to the bar to get them some drinks. "You have not met Ivan and Luciano yet." She said as she checked something on her phone. "I thought it would be better to meet them here than on the jet."
Bella rolled her eyes, "The hacker and the dealer? It would be my pleasure to meet the wrag criminals before I slaughter them."
Valery merely laughed in response as they made their way to the bar joining the guys. Ivan was a bit taller than Bella. He had the vibe of a school nerd with sharp features. His sky-blue eyes reflected in the light of his laptop screen. He kept running his fingers through his messy black hair and taking deep breaths when he seemed to face a struggle, which fueled her curiosity about him.
She wondered what made an innocent-looking, smart boy join the mafia. His attention drew to Isabella as he caught a glimpse of her presence. "You must be Ms. Jones.." He said as he searched in his pockets for something, "Here, I'm Ivan." He held out his hand, which held her phone. The way he flashed her a soft smile as he introduced himself made it hard for her to hate him.
She took the phone and averted her eyes from him, "Please call me Bella."
A blond guy with hazel eyes whispered something to Rafael, who nodded at him. He made his way past Bella and Valery without even giving them a glance. A smirk formed on Bella's lips as she realized how similar their personalities were. Valery broke the ice wall he tried to build as soon as she spotted him. Bella could swear he cursed Valery in his mind, "Luciano, this is the new member, Isabella." He paid her no attention as he was more interested in his cell phone. "Why don't you try being a normal person for once and say something to her?"
Valery huffed at him, then turned her attention back to Bella, "Don't mind him. He can be an asshole when he's in a bad mood."
Bella took a sip of her drink, "The look in his eyes gives me a victorious impression. I'm guessing he got a good deal with a good-paying client tonight." She set her glass back on the bar and ran her fingertip along the rim in a circling motion, "Word of advice, big guy. The Adams tend to end business when they're satisfied with the amount. And you know what I mean by 'end business' right?".
For the first time, his eyes met hers, and there was a hint of concern in his vacant eyes, "You'd better deliver less than they order and promise the rest for next month." She finished her glass in one gulp, then added, "Keep an eye on who they're working with. They'll try to cover the shortfall with another deal. They plan to take over the business in the area."
He looked at his phone again as if what Isabella had said was the final piece of the puzzle he had been trying to solve for so long."
"She not only has a pretty body, but also an intelligent head," Rafael told Valentino. He finished his drink in one go, and before he could refill it, Isabella came up to him while the alcohol was doing its work in her body.
"We need to talk." She gave him a scowl. He smirked at her attitude and motioned for her to lead the way to his office.
His office was unlike any other room in this mansion. It was much more extensive and luxurious, expressing what a dangerous, wealthy man Rafael Valdez was. He lit the golden chandelier in the center of the room, leaving everything else in darkness. This drew the eye to the tiny woman standing in the center of the room with her it all, arms crossed and foot tapping on the floor. A red flush covered her cheeks, her lips pursed into a stiff line as he studied her in that dress head to toe. The perfect fit hourglass shape of her body made his erection twitch with excitement. She made his jeans feels like a torment for him.
He knew he should probably focus on her obvious displeasure, but his gaze was stolen by the pulled down dress cup and the hint of her lace bra and creamy breast exposure. he would've never pegged her as the lacy type, but she is and it's a fucking turn-on.
"Do you have anything to tell me?" she asked in a tone as rigid as her posture.
"I love the view."
She followed his gaze and bunched her hand in her dress cup, then jerkily adjust it up. "You're such a pervert."
"Let me turn off the lights and I'll show you how much of a pervert I actually am."
"Like hell you will." She stomped toward him, the force in her steps were rattling her small body. "Didn't you say you hate liars?"
"I did."
"Then why are you one yourself?"
"Me?"
"Oh, don't give me that tone. I heard the conversation you had with Valentino after Salvador had left." Her index finger hit his chest several times with her silver painted nails. "I thought we had a contract," she continued.
"We do."
"No, we don't. You already promised him to resell me when that's against what we've signed."
"You need to convince me so I don't break the rules."
"You can't do that."
"Believe me, I can." He won't, but Isabella doesn't need to know that. No one had to know that he held a soft spot for her. He refused to admit it even to himself.
"You're an asshole."
"Glad we agree. Now, are you done?"
"I'm not done." She's glaring, and he could feel the heat of it through her sharp ice-blue eyes. "I don't like liars either."
"Even when you're one yourself?"
"I have my reasons."
"And what makes you think I don't?"
"What are they then?"
He reached a hand out and grabbed her by the throat. He didn't do it suddenly, but she was startled, her body going still in his hold, and the anger slowly dissipated from her features. "Continuing to touch you, until you let me make you squirm and have that fuck-me look. Or maybe I just want to play with you, bonita."
"W-what if I do?"
"What if you what? Have a problem with it or don't like me touching you?"
"Both?"
"Then I'll stop."
Her breath stuttered and he smiled, tightening his hold on her throat. "For now. But I'll still come back for more. I'll still find you in every corner and every fucking nook. I will haunt the fuck out of you, Isabella, until you have no way out but back to me."