Page 3 of Broken

I smile sweetly towards Ava and tell her she looks beautiful today, but all I get is a small smile in response. I need to start a conversation with her to make her feel more comfortable, but it’s difficult when I already know everything I need to know about her. She is a means to an end, nothing more. But she has the look of a scared animal about to bolt and I can’t have that, so I turn on my best sociable personality.

"What job do you currently do, Ava? It is obviously important for me to know some of your work history if I am to be your employer," I say despite the fact I already know the answer, but this is just the first step to getting inside her head.

"Oh, yes, of course. Well, erm, I currently work at a diner in the city called Regina's. I’m a waitress and have been since I was sixteen. I’m sure my boss would be more than happy to give you a reference, if you need one," Ava fumbles over her words as though she is nervous. Good.

"That won't be necessary. I’m sure you are fantastic at your job and that the customers love you," I say and I can see her blush slightly at the compliment.

"I hope this doesn't come across as rude, Ava, but you seem like such a smart girl, what are you doing working in a diner?" I ask and watch as her back straightens like she is offended but then her shoulders slump and her head dips down. She doesn’t seem too happy with my line of questioning, not that I care.

"You have no idea how smart I am. You know nothing about my life," she snaps at me with venom in her voice and I am not happy with her snarky attitude. Normally, I would make her pay for speaking to me with that level of disrespect, but I need to win her over first and so I take some deep breaths and remind myself I am supposed to be charming.

"That is true, Ava, but that doesn't mean I don't wanna know. Not just because you will be working for me but because I am genuinely curious. So, please believe me when I say I didn't mean to offend you," I state as sweetly as I can manage while throwing in a charming smile at the same time. I can see Ryder looking at me in the vanity mirror on the sun visor and he has a slight smirk on his face, I don’t think he has ever seen me apologise before. He thinks I’m doing it because I want in her pants. I give him a cocky wink without Ava seeing and let him think that, for now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I was going to the local college and studying to be a teacher but we struggled with the payments for my tuition. Then Papa lost his job after he hurt his back and I needed to go to work full-time so we could afford the rent. That was almost a year ago and I haven’t been able to go back yet, instead I have been picking up more shifts," she sighs, looking out of the car window wistfully as she answers me. Clearly, my question hit too close to home. She had to give up her dream because of that low life sack of shit Manny. Obviously, I already knew all of this, but it doesn’t hurt to hit home about how shit her father is.

"Why would you do that?" I ask incredulously. With that, she swings around to face me with a look of fire in her chocolate eyes.

"Do what?" she spits, clearly on edge as she feels like I am attacking her and her father. I’m not, I just don’t understand.

"Why would you give up your dream for Manny? You could have used the money you earn at your job to pay for your tuition, just worked less and carried on with school. But you gave it all up for him, why?" I ask, genuinely confused as to why she would do something like that. Manny is clearly a dead weight that is bringing her down and she should have cut him loose a long time ago but for some reason she hasn't.

"Are you serious?" she asks me with the same genuine confusion in her voice that I have in mine.

"Of course, I am. Why would I be joking?" I ask her. We have both turned in the car to face each other now. Clearly, we both have something to learn from the other.

"I would do anything for him, he is my papa," says Ava, like it is the most obvious answer in the world. I am not stupid, I know that factually he is her father and that you should support family, but he is doing nothing to support her. It seems to be a one way relationship where she gives and he takes. That shit is unhealthy and needs to be cut off, I know because I have a similar situation myself.

"But he is using you. He is taking all the money you worked hard for and pissing it up the wall with stupid bets. How can you not be angry at him?" I say and she may not have any anger towards Manny, but she sure as hell has some towards me right now.

"He has an addiction and he needs my help, so I help him. I would never abandon him. If you and your fucking father stopped letting him place bets then he would never have got into this situation," Ava shouts and now I am fucking fuming. Her father is a degenerate gambler who makes her give up her dream, work all hours of the day, then takes all her money and I am the fucking bad guy. I think it's time to teach her smart mouth to show me a bit of respect. Before I am able to, we turn off the small country road that we had been driving down, past a large growth of trees and then make a slight turn down an almost hidden gravel road that is actually a long driveway.

"Sorry to interrupt, but just letting you know that we have arrived," Ryder says with a cocky smirk aimed directly at me. Damn, that observant asshole really does not miss anything. He knew I was planning on teaching her a lesson and this is his way of stopping me from messing it up by acting in anger. I should have known the animosity I feel towards this girl would affect my ability to act rational. I need to keep a check on it, but times like this, I'm glad I have Ryder. This is why I keep him around!

Ava turns to look out of the window as Victor drives the car down the long bumpy road that leads to the main house. Just visible in the distance is a big set of intricately carved wooden gates that sit in between matching rows of beautiful green conifer trees. To the outside world, this appears to be a beautiful countryside estate, but on closer inspection, there is so much more than the eye can see.

Behind the immaculately manicured trees that act as a perimeter for the property, is a live electric fence that is ten feet high. The other side of the gates are fully lined with metal that makes them impenetrable and bullet proof. What looks to be a perfectly normal yet old fashioned gate house actually houses a state of the art computer system that runs a license plate check through the police database on any car that turns onto the road. We know who the car belongs to before it even hits the gates. There are over fifty hidden security cameras placed all around the outside of the property, not to mention how many are inside, and they are manned by security guards at all times. Finally, every security guard that can be seen, or more importantly that cannot, is carrying at least two guns and a hidden blade. This place is built like a fortress. Nobody can get in but more importantly right now, nobody can get out either.

Chapter Three

Grant

Ava's face has been a mixture of both shock and awe since we pulled up to the gates of the house. Her eyes are wide as saucers as she climbs out of the car and walks towards the house. It’s like she can’t believe where we are. I can imagine that compared to the shitty little house I just rescued her from, this looks like a palace, but for me, I have lived in places that outshine this by miles. Yet, I am a big believer in the age old saying, ‘there’s no place like home’ and for me, this is my sanctuary and there is no place better.

My country estate is a two story, old mansion made of white stone and has two big pillars on either side of the door. Ryder always says it looks like a smaller version of the house from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and I can see that. I didn't buy it for how it looks, I bought it because it is in the middle of nowhere. The nearest neighbour is a twenty minute drive away. We are surrounded by acres and acres of fields, that I have made sure I now own. I grew up surrounded by people, in the heart of London and I hated every minute of it. Silence is bliss.

Ava turns towards me with a look of pure wonderment on her face and I swear that for just one second, I saw reflected on her face all the joy I get out of this place and it makes me feel a weird kind of connection with her. She has been raised in less than ideal surroundings because of her father and his choices, we have that in common, and yet, I'm not looking to find anything in common with her. In fact, I don’t care about who Ava was at all. All I care about is who I am going to make her.

"Wow. This place is phenomenal. I can't believe you actually live here!" she screeches and you can hear her excitement buzzing. This is exactly what I want. I need her to be comfortable and happy here. It is her home now, after all.

"Well, technically, I don't live here all the time. Sometimes I live in the big house in the city centre, with my father, but I am trying to do that less and less," I explain.

"Oh, ok. So if you aren't here, who lives here then?" she asks suspiciously.

"Well, at the moment, nobody technically lives here full time, but as I said,I plan on changing that. I plan on being here at least three or four nights a week, if not more. I also have a cleaning team who comes in daily to ensure it is well looked after. A chef, who lives close by, is on stand-by for when I need her. I have one live-in house maid who oversees everything and does the majority of the face to face work with me. There's a building out on the land that houses the majority of my security staff, only Ryder sleeps in the main house. That's it really," I explain, trying my hardest to read her facial expressions and determine what she's thinking.

"So, if you have all that set up, then why do you need someone like me to live in it?" she asks, with confusion in her voice. I try my best to look sheepish so she will believe I am giving her an honest answer. I can tell she is beginning to think my reason for getting her here is bullshit, and really, it doesn’t matter now that we are here, but I don’t want to shatter her illusion just yet.

"Honestly, I don't need anyone to be here full time. But your father owes a lot of money and given the way he is gambling, that debt will only get bigger. I didn't want you to get sucked into his hole. So I said you could come here to work off his debt, which I stick by, but at the same time, I want you to complete online classes to get the qualifications you need to go to college. By agreeing to live here, not only do you pay off the debt for your father quicker, but you also have somewhere to live whilst you study. I am sorry I wasn't honest with you before, but you were so angry at me, I didn't think you would have listened. The debt belongs to my father and I cannot wipe it completely, but I can do this so you have the means to pay it. This is the only way I could think of to keep you safe, Ava," I declare with so much passion, I almost start to believe my own bullshit.

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