Chapter One
Blood was supposed to be thicker than water. Right now, Leah hated her brother’s guts more than anything in the world.
The dark room reeked of cigarette smoke, stale beer, and sex. Larry licked his lips as he studied his cards. Sweat coated the back of his thin shirt. The big brother Leah used to worship and follow around when she was a kid had been reduced to this trembling coward.
Right now, she had zero respect for him. To him, Leah was just collateral damage.
Leah clasped her hands together and stayed seated behind Larry like a good and obedient little doll. It was all a front. Most people assumed a five-foot-four girl was harmless. They’d soon find out she had sharp teeth. She was just biding her time.
The men Larry owed money to smirked at him and nudged each other in the ribs, silent laughter in their eyes. Everyone at the table knew the outcome of this game. Shane, the bald one with the ugly facial tattoo, blew smoke rings at Larry’s face, making him cough.
“Don’t worry, Larry. We’ll treat your little sister real good,” Shane’s partner, Guy, said. Guy gave Leah a sweeping look and snorted. “She’s a little too round for my tastes but she’ll provide our crew with some entertainment. We never had a virgin to break in before.”
She glowered at Shane. That only made him laugh. In her head, she imagined driving her fist into his thick skull and hearing it crack. They knew she was a virgin, no surprise there. Larry probably let it slip, intentionally or accidentally, Leah didn’t care.
Larry’s betrayal was an unforgivable act, but she doubted she’d live long enough to enact her vengeance against him.
A loud groan from the next table made her head turn. Seeing a red-haired woman being taken on the table by a heavily inked man made Leah swallowed. Whistles of appreciation broke out from the other men in the room. Some stopped gambling to watch.
They were all savages here. Here, the rules of the normal world didn’t seem to apply. Cops would never touch this territory. They were paid to look away.
The woman looked into it, but Leah didn’t know all the details. She looked away, only to find Guy grinning at her.
“You like an audience, bitch?” Guy asked her.
The repulsive stare he fixed on her made all the hairs on her arm rise up.
Underneath the rage and the frustration, Leah was terrified. The security here was tight. The suits guarding the doors didn’t bother hiding their guns. If Leah bolted out of her seat, she wouldn’t make it out of those doors in one piece.
Leah had come here out of her own violation. Larry didn’t force her. Worse, he had gone on his knees and begged her to come. He had told her he wanted his little sister, his remaining family member there for emotional support.
Emotional support her ass. The conniving bastard knew she’d come, knew she’d walk into the very bowels of hell itself for him. They were family. She and Larry had been on their own since they were teenagers. The big brother who fought the authorities, who insisted they had to stay together—that Larry was gone. He was replaced by this yellow-bellied coward who would gamble his own sister for a chance to win all his money back.
“Enough horsing around,” Shane grumbled. “We have other debts to settle. What will it be, Larry?”
Leah returned her attention to her brother’s lousy hand of cards. Guy and Shane were cheating, there was no doubt about it. Too bad no one was going to call them out on it.
She had always possessed a vivid imagination. Right now, her mind took her to foul places. Once Guy and Shane were done with her, would they leave her body in a dumpster or would they drive her corpse out of the city? Would they bury her in the middle of the woods in a nameless grave?
In the slums, it wasn’t unheard of for young women to vanish without a single trace. She and Larry had grown up in the streets. He should know better than borrow money from lowlifes who worked for Knox Carter.
Leah dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands until they bled. She wanted to scream in frustration until her throat was hoarse.
“What’s this?” a deep male voice asked, dragging Leah back to reality.
Both Guy and Shane sat ramrod straight in their chairs. They definitely looked more alert and cautious. Less cocky and smug. This newcomer, this man, was different from every other scum in the room.
An indescribable commanding presence emanated from him, telling her this was one man no one in their right mind would want to screw with. Guy and Shane looked like small fry compared to him. Insignificant. Standing, this man must be at least six-foot-six. He was built like a house and every inch of him was padded with muscle. All of it was hidden under a suit of midnight blue that looked perfectly tailored to his body. The suit matched his eyes.
Only one word came to mind.
Predator.
He was one beautiful monster. No doubt about it. Women probably fell at his feet with a snap of his fingers, but beautiful monsters shouldn’t distract her.
Eyes the color of an angry storm met her gaze, held it. Leah sat rigid in her uncomfortable chair, unable to look away. He silently assessed her from head to toe. The look of open hunger on his face took her slightly aback because it was so unapologetic. So raw. She shivered involuntarily and wondered why his stare didn’t repulse her the way Guy’s and Shane’s did.
It should. This man would chew her up and spit her back out. He’d leave her empty. Leah knew that from a single searing glance. He’d leave her a wreck. A ruin.