Surrender To Me

BANE

“LITTLE BIRD? ARE YOU THERE?” I checked my phone to make sure the connection hadn’t cut off.

“I’m here,” she said with an irritated sigh.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of a phone call?”

“I need a favor.”

My eyes slid shut as the four sweetest words were uttered on the other end of the phone. “I’m listening.”

“My asshole brother owes a bookie twenty grand after betting on a horse race. If he’d won, he was going to pay you back with that money.” “Let me guess, his horse didn’t win.”

“Not even fucking close,” she replied. “Are you able to loan me the money to pay the bookie?”

I wanted to laugh out loud. This was all too fucking perfect. Wren’s desperation was the thing to made her come running to me, looking for help. I leaned back in my office chair and placed my feet on the desk. “Hawk would owe me seventy thousand, then,” I mused.

“I’m aware.” Her words were curt like she was biting her tongue. She hated every minute of this.

But me? I was fucking enjoying the hell out of it.

“I get it if you don’t want to get in any deeper with-”

“Deal.” When she said nothing in reply, I made sure the call was still connected. “Wren?”

There was the sound of a door closing. Then, “I’m here.”

“Good. I’m coming over to discuss the terms.” I hung up without waiting for her reply. She was in no position to argue with me, anyway. I had her just where I wanted her. Standing from my desk, I looked down at the club, seeing it all running as it should.

Dagger had half a dozen stitches in his thigh after Syn’s attack, but he’d insisted on still working tonight. For that, I was grateful because I was about to do something I hadn’t done since I opened The Dollhouse.

I was leaving early on a Saturday night.

Plucking my suit jacket off the back of my chair, I patted my pockets for my keys, then picked up my phone, dialing my driver.

“Be there in five,” he replied and hung up.

Sliding the device into the breast pocket of my jacket, I left the office. When I walked past the bar, Rachel gave me a small smile. The bruising was getting worse, but that was a good sign. It meant she was healing.

“Have you moved out yet?” I demanded, taking her situation very fucking personally.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

She bobbed her head as she focused on pouring a drink. “I’m staying with Kandy for a while.”

“Thank fuck. Let me know if you need help finding a new place. I own a couple of apartment buildings downtown.” She stared at me like I was speaking in tongues. “You good?”

Clearing her throat, she croaked, “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks, boss.”

I lifted my chin in Dagger’s direction as I passed her, slowing when he paused his conversation with one of the dancers. “How’s the leg?”

“Fine,” he replied, raising his brows in question.

“Heading out for the night. Make sure everything runs smoothly. Call me if shit gets hectic.” “Will do.”

I clapped him on the shoulder as I passed, then stepped out onto the street. My town car was right where it was supposed to be, and I gave Andy Wren’s address.

She lived in a shitty part of town, and I would talk to her about setting her up elsewhere that had a lot more security. Knowing my Little Bird, she wouldn’t fucking like it, but I took care of what was mine. Just thinking about how she’d fight me on it made my dick hard.

By the time we pulled up at the curb, I was aching for her cunt. That little taste I’d had at the club hadn’t been enough. I wanted the whole damn meal this time. But before I could satisfy the darker side of me, we had a little business to take care of.

I took the stairs to her apartment, knocking on the door when I got there. A moment later, Wren pulled it open, and my brain kind of fritzed out. She was dressed in those fucking Daisy Dukes again, her lean tanned legs on display, and a loose white T-shirt that hung off one of her shoulders. Stepping away from the door, she let me in, her eyes on me the entire time.

I was glad to see the place was empty. I turned when she shut the door behind her, and she wrapped her arms around herself for a moment before letting them go loose at her sides.

“Drink?” she mumbled, already walking into the kitchen. I followed her in there, seeing a bottle of whisky on the counter beside a shot glass. “Sorry, I don’t have any of that expensive shit you have at

The Dollhouse,” she said, gesturing to the whisky. “If I did, I wouldn’t be shooting this fucking swill.” I watched as she poured herself a shot and threw it back.

“How much have you had to drink?” I asked, wrapping my hands around the bottle and placing the opening to my mouth. I kept my eyes on her as I took a large swallow, then lowered it.

“Not enough.”

“Regretting your decision to call me?” I asked. I had to know where her head was at. I wasn’t into coercing women. They had to want to do something, but I knew Wren’s submission would be sweet.

“No. I’m fucking pissed off with Hawk for being so fucking thoughtless.” She stared at me, and her gaze seemed to strip away everything I showed to the world. “Do you ever wonder why you fucking bother with family sometimes?”

“Never. Family is everything.”

She huffed a laugh and took the bottle from my hand, pouring herself another drink. “What if the family you have is so fucking self-centered that they can’t see that everything you do is for them?”

I thought about that for a moment, then replied, “Then maybe they don’t deserve you.”

She saluted me with a sardonic smile, then slammed back the shot. Leaving the glass on the counter, she weaved past me on the way to the couch. Her living room was sparsely decorated, but there were a few personal touches here and there in the form of photographs of her and Hawk growing up.

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” I drawled.

“Don’t be an asshole,” she snarled, jabbing her finger in my direction. “You’re the one who invited himself over.”

My dick twitched at her tone.