The next morning, I awoke to Nate’s head between my legs. After wringing two orgasms from me, he pulled me to my feet and hustled me downstairs for breakfast.

“Can’t we spend a little more time in your room?” I took the steps haltingly. The memory of him inside me wasn’t enough. I wanted to feel him again.

“Be patient.” He goosed my ass. “If I don’t talk to Peter this morning, he may beat the door down when I’m inside you. The next time you’re beneath me, I’m going to take it slow.”

“When?” I couldn’t stop the pout in my voice.

“If you’re a good girl, tonight.”

I cut him a look over my shoulder as we walked into the dining room. “What if I’m a bad girl?”

He gripped my shoulder and whipped me around. “Sooner.” Pressing his lips to mine, he backed me into the wall next to the door. His hands roved my body, cupping my breasts as his tongue slid against mine.

Breaking the kiss, he pressed his lips to my ear. “I will bend you over this goddamn table.”

“Promise?” I ran my hand along his erection.

He groaned and sank his hand down my shorts, past my panties, and eased a finger inside me. “Fuck.”

“I’m ready for more.” I dropped a kiss on his neck. “Though you might not be able to handle it since you’re, what, forty?”

“You know good and damn well I’m not forty.” He added another finger, pushing deeper inside me as I panted. “Sassy brat.”

“I should probably start calling you Daddy.”

He hissed and gripped my ass hard with his free hand. “I’m going to shove my fat cock so far inside this hot cunt that you’ll—”

“Nate?” Peter walked into the room, the door hiding us for a moment.

Nate yanked his hand from my panties, then pressed his fingers into my mouth. “Just you wait.” His whisper sent pin-pricks up and down my spine as I licked my own taste from his fingers.

Pulling away, he walked toward Peter. “What is it?”

Peter whirled and did a pretty good job of pretending he hadn’t known we were getting frisky behind the door. “Oh, I didn’t see you there.” The bandage around his head was gone, but the top of his ear seemed to be held together with some rough stitches.

Nate straightened his slate gray suit jacket. “We were just…”

Peter gave Nate a bored look. “Right. We need to talk about the Irish, the next shipment, the books, and a few discipline issues in the lower ranks.”

Nate pulled my chair out for me. I walked to it, my cheeks burning as I sat, and I was grateful that Peter continued on with business without giving me a second glance. Morning light streamed in from the high windows banked with deep emerald curtains.

“We also need to discuss our new guest.”

“Guest?” Nate sat and draped his napkin across his lap as Opal bustled in with coffee.

“Angus.” Peter sat across from me.

“Shit. Yeah. That guy.”

“Who’s Angus?” I thanked Opal for the coffee.

“Our new exchange student from the Irish.” Peter glowered and piled his plate with eggs, sausage, and a couple of pancakes.

“We’ll just keep him out of the way. I’m not too worried. Did you have a chance to chat with Tony before we sent him off to his new Irish digs?”

“He’ll report back regularly.”

“Good.”

“Why the Irish?” I crunched a piece of salty bacon.

“What do you mean?”

“Why ally with them? Seems like if you unseat Dmitri, the Bratva would be open to new management, and that management might want to deal with you. Don’t they have a bigger operation?”

“See?” Nate forked a big piece of scrambled egg. “She’s smart, like I told you.”

“I never doubted it. The only dumb thing she’s done is hang out with you.” He gave me a sly smile.

“Dick,” Nate grumbled into his coffee.

Peter continued, “The reason is that the Irish are already entrenched in the same business areas where we’d like to expand. They’re smaller, but they are ripe for growth right along with us. Bratva aren’t quite as forward-thinking. They still deal in the harder drugs, women, and even information—espionage against the U.S. government. We don’t want to partner with a group like that.”

“Women?” I cringed at the thoughts that brought to the surface. I didn’t know much about my mother, other than that she was a mistress for several of the Bratva captains, but that she’d come from a small town in Chechnya. Her sad eyes haunted my dreams, but I couldn’t remember her face. Not really. Had she been trafficked into serving the Bratva and then killed? My father had always told me she was with the angels.

“Not just running hookers either.” Nate scowled. “They sell girls—many of them younger than you—mostly runaways or victims of the foster system. When I destroy Dmitri, I’m going to crush that side of his business and take the rest.”

Peter and Nate’s shared disgust of human trafficking warmed me. For being such “bad men” as they painted themselves, they certainly set out to do a lot of good.

“I’m glad.” I didn’t need to say more.

“Now, about the delivery.”

“Is there a problem already?” Nate sighed.

“No, I’m just letting you know the score. I’ve arranged it all. The shipment will be at the airport, and I’ve hired another trawler to ride to the dock as our decoy. I’ve kept it close to the vest, hiring only people I know we can trust. It won’t leak.”

“Finally some good news.” Nate held up his coffee cup in a mock toast as Opal refilled the decanter. “Now, what was this about discipline problems in—”

“Morning.” A young, copper-haired man strode into the dining room. I’d glimpsed him briefly in the hallway the day before but hadn’t actually met him. He was fit with sharp blue eyes. Whereas Nate and Peter always wore suits, he wore a light blue Polo and khaki pants.

David followed him into the room and took a seat at the table. He shot Angus some not-so-subtle looks that verged on threatening, but perhaps were intended to be more stern. Like a warning not to fuck with any of the people in this room.

“How’d you sleep?” Nate waved him to a chair next to Peter.

“Great, thank you.” Angus shook Nate’s hand before sitting. “Thanks for having me.” He shot me a sidelong glance.

Nate’s forehead wrinkled, then mischief twinkled in his eyes. “David, I’d like for you to give our new friend here a tour of the grounds this morning.”

David took a sip of his scorching black coffee. “The grounds?”

“Yeah.” Nate sat back, the epitome of relaxed. “Show him the pool, the kitchen, all that. Then take him downstairs.”

David, the tank of a man, stopped mid-chew. “The basement?”

“That’s what I said.” Nate grinned. “Give him an idea of how our operation works, especially when it comes to our enemies. That’s important, Angus. You need to know how your friends will treat the people that wrong you.”

Angus nodded. “Yes, sir.”

David pinned me with a hard look. “We’ll still need to train afterward.”

“Okay.” I’d already dressed in a t-shirt and athletic shorts. Maybe I’d be able to defend myself instead of getting put into a submission hold every time David came near me.

“Great, so that’s all settled.” Nate picked up his fork.

“Can I go too? On the tour?” My voice sounded soft compared to the low, gruff voices of the men in the room.

“You already know where the pool is.” Nate stared daggers at me.

“I know.” I took a careful sip of orange juice. “But I want to see the basement.”

“Why?”

“Why not?” I couldn’t voice my real reason, not in mixed company. I didn’t want him to hide the ugly parts of his world from me. To know all of him, I’d need to see what he kept hidden, no matter how bad it got.

Nate drummed his fingers on the table, then gave an amenable—if fake—smile. “Sure.”

I wished I could explain it to him, but a storm brewed in his eyes as we finished our breakfast.

“Peter, let’s get to work.” Nate tossed down his napkin and strode from the dining room, not giving me so much as a glance.

I fidgeted and wondered if I’d made the wrong choice.

“Maybe we can start with the basement, then?” Angus rose and gave me a warm smile. He didn’t have the swagger of Nate’s crew, but he was handsome all the same.

“Yes.” David finished his coffee and stood, buttoning his coat as he led us from the dining room and into the hallway at the back of the house.

A few turns later, and we stopped in front of a heavy door. David swung it open to reveal a dark staircase with steps made from roughly-hewn stone. Flicking on a light switch, he gestured to me. “Ladies first.”

I could have sworn I saw a spark of amusement in his eyes, but that couldn’t be right. David never cracked his cold exterior, much less laughed.

Stepping forward, I halted as cool, dank air hit me. It smelled like earth and rust and something I couldn’t name, but felt deep in my bones. Death. My instincts screamed at me to go back, but I wasn’t going to look away. I had to see it all for myself.

My foot wobbled on the uneven stair, but Angus grabbed my elbow. “Looks like that first step is a doozy.”

“These stairs were built a hundred years ago right along with the rest of the house.” David followed us down, closing the thick door with a resounding clang.

The air seemed to grow colder as we descended, though I wasn’t sure if that was real or my imagination. Once I hit the packed dirt floor, David flicked on another light that illuminated a large area ahead of us. Rows of shelves held paint cans, tools, and all manner of household odds and ends.

The light didn’t radiate far enough to show what lay beyond the shelves, and there were no windows to help with sunlight.

“Yep.” Angus hovered at my elbow. “Looks like a basement.”

David grunted and walked away from the stairs and the shelving, disappearing into the stuffy black interior.

“Something tells me that I should be glad I’m down here of my own free will.” Angus peered into the darkness where David had gone.

I nodded. “I’m right there with you.”

“I’m Angus, by the way. I don’t think we’ve had a chance to officially meet.”

I turned to meet his gaze. His youthful face reminded me of the boys I went to school with. “Sabrina.”

“Nice to meet you.” He smiled. I bet most girls melted for him at that point. Not me. I’d much prefer to get glowered at and spanked by my brooding mob boss upstairs. The thought had my cheeks heating.

Angus’s smile broadened. Maybe he thought my blush was for him?

“Come.” David’s harsh voice cut through the gloom, and a light flicked on in the back of the basement.

My feet didn’t want to move.

Angus went first. “I’ll check it out.”

“No, I’ll come too.” I straightened my spine and followed him into a separate chamber off the main storage area of the basement.

A tremor shook me inside and out as I peered around. The floor in here was far darker than the rest of the packed earth, especially in the center where a single metal chair sat beneath a bare lightbulb. The copper smell of what I’d thought was rust surrounded me, but it wasn’t rust. Not at all. I stepped back, not wanting to tread on the blood that had soaked into the floor—now dried.

Tools were laid out on two wide tables at the back of the room. They were clean, but I knew they weren’t always that way. The saw, the screwdrivers, the multiple sets of wire cutters—all of them were coated with blood. I just couldn’t see it. I glanced at my hands, then crossed them over my chest and stuffed them under my arms.

“This is where we handle business.” David seemed to expand with pride. His own private torture chamber filling him with a sense of accomplishment.

I kept my mouth shut. Part of me wanted to run, while the other part wanted to ask what got people a ticket to this room. I already knew one way—try to take me from Nate.

“Is this where Dmitri’s man…” My voice failed, but I started again, “The one who tried to kidnap me. Is this where Nate…”

“Yes.” David looked at the gunmetal-gray chair.

I leaned against the door frame, my knees going wobbly.

“Good.” Angus, unafraid, strode around the room. “We would have done the same if anyone dared to take one of ours.”

David’s face gave nothing away, though he seemed to give a small tip of his head in agreement.

“We have something similar, though we can’t lay claim to the Butcher’s expertise.”

Did he just refer to David as the Butcher?

Angus bent over and examined the blow torch. “But these days, thank god, we rarely ever have to use it. Keeping our guys happy is key. And we’ve come up with new ways to do it.”

“Oh, and what are those?” Nate’s voice wrapped around me, and I turned to find him at my back.

He pulled me into his arms. “You look pale.”

“I’m okay.” But I sagged against him. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

He whispered into my ear, “I couldn’t stay away.”

Angus looked everywhere but at Nate and me. “We’ve actually started a new online gaming operation.”

“What about the justice department?” Nate asked, still holding me close.

“They shut our first operation down in the big fiasco a few years ago—”

“Black Friday.” Nate’s words rang a bell. I’d read a news headline about online poker games going dark when the justice department pulled the plug.

“Right. But they can’t stop the games on the dark web. Bitcoin has made those games more and more profitable as time goes along, especially given that the currency has no official government oversight. Not to mention, we’re revamping our website with an eye toward a favorable Supreme Court ruling coming in the summer term this year. They’re taking up the case. We’ve hired the best intellectual property lawyers in New York to file amicus briefs and get the whole thing overturned.”

“So you’ll be the first ones out of the gate if the ruling goes your way.” Nate let out a low whistle. “Smart, kid.”

“Thanks.” Angus didn’t object to being called a kid, but something told me he wasn’t particularly fond of it.

Nate smoothed his hands down my arms, then rubbed my skin. “You’re cold. Let’s go upstairs.”

“I think I’ve seen enough.” I shot one more glance to the torture implements, then turned and let him lead me back to the staircase.

Once the morning sun hit me, the heavy mood of the basement lifted. I made a mental note to never, no matter how long I stayed in this house, go through that door again. Knowing what Nate had to do for his business—hell, to stay alive—was necessary, but I hoped that no one else, other than Dmitri, ever got shown to the dungeon.

“Angus, there’s the pool.” David pointed outside. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to train Sabrina.”

“I can help.” Angus strode up to the wide glass windows looking out onto the backyard. “I’ve been practicing with some MMA trainers. Nothing bigtime, of course. Just some basics with striking and grappling, but I have a few moves.”

Nate made a low noise in his throat, almost a growl, but then coughed into his palm to hide it. “I’d like you to help me go over some numbers, if you don’t mind. With that business degree, I’m sure you can assist me with untangling a particular accounting knot that Peter’s discovered.”

Angus glanced at me, then smiled reluctantly. “I’d be happy to help.”

“Great.” Nate clapped him on the back and steered him toward the office. “Oh, almost forgot.” Nate returned to me, slid his palms along my cheeks, and kissed the ever-loving stuffing out of me. Surprised at first, I melted into his kiss, giving him free rein of my mouth as his hands roved to my waist and pulled me against him, lifting me off the floor. After a few breathless moments, he set me down, his eyes smoldering.

“What was that?” I held onto him.

“Just so everyone knows who you belong to.” He didn’t look at Angus, but the intent was obvious. Leaning closer, he pressed a kiss to my ear. “And you’re going to get it later.”

“Promises, promises.”

He stepped back, his cocky grin firmly in place. “We’ll see what you say after tonight.”