Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Patrick

Jesus Christ.

What the fuck did I just do?

This wasn't part of the plan. I basically just bought a woman. A tiny, malnourished, terrified woman with the softest baby-blue eyes I've ever seen. She's been shaking since her piece-of-shit father shoved her in here.

And when he hit her, I nearly pulled the trigger. He deserves to die. A slow, painful death. I have no doubt that isn't the first time he's struck her. The only reason he's still alive is because I don't want her to see something so horrific. But he will pay for his sins. I'll make sure of it.

Declan is going to flip. We don't buy women. Dealing skins is one of the few things we aren't willing to do. We may be men with few morals, but we treat women well. We take care of them when we can. We protect them as much as possible. It might have been the dumbest thing I've ever done, but I couldn't leave her here with him. I'll pay the half a mil to the mafia. The money means nothing to me.

"Find her some shoes then take her to the car," I command Ian.

He pauses for just a second. Only long enough for me to notice, but no one else does. I'm sure he thinks I've lost my mind. I may have. None of us can claim to be sane anyway.

Slowly, he holsters his gun and reaches for the woman. I don't know her name or anything about her. Is she of age? Fuck. What am I going to do with her? I should have thought this through. Because as it seems right now, I just became responsible for a woman who is scared out of her mind.

Ian reaches for her, but she shies away, her bottom lip trembling.

"Hey," I bark. She looks up at me, her eyes wide with fear. I stare at her, hoping she can see I'm not as angry as I sound. "Go with him."

Thankfully, she obeys and lets Ian lead her from the room. Charlie has his gun pointed at the two other men, who are both now zip-tied and sitting in chairs side by side.

I move closer to Joseph, my mouth turned down in disgust. "You are a piece of shit who deserves to die."

He shakes his head, his gaze shifting nervously. "You can't kill me. You made a deal. You got her."

Huffing out a breath, I glare at him. "You're right. I made a deal. I have her. And if you ever try to find her, touch her, talk to her, or even think about her, I will kill you with my bare hands. She's mine now. Do you understand?"

His cheeks wobble as he opens his mouth to speak. Before anything comes out, I bring my gun to his lips.

"The only thing I want to hear from you is that you understand," I growl.

"Yes," he mumbles as he takes a step back. "I understand."

I finally smile and holster my gun. "Good. This is for hitting her."

Confusion fills his face, but my fist collides with his nose before he has time to understand. He immediately brings his hands up, screaming in pain as he stumbles away from me.

After turning on my heel, I stride out of the office with Charlie following. Ian is already in the driver's seat with the car running.

I climb into the front passenger seat and glance back at her. She's crying and shaking, and I debate going back into that house to put a bullet in her father's head. His days are numbered. I may have made a deal not to kill him today over the money, but his daughter just became mine, and I have a feeling once I uncover what he's done to her in her lifetime, I'll be back to finish him. Because no one hurts what belongs to me. Even if she is a stranger.

"Buckle up," I murmur.

When Charlie climbs in next to her, she startles, reaches for the seatbelt, and secures it with trembling fingers.

Ian takes off, and we ride in complete silence to the end of the driveway.

"I wish I could be a fly on the wall when you explain this to Declan," Ian finally says.

I glance back at the girl. She's still crying, and I decide it doesn't matter what Declan says. I did the right thing.

"Shut the fuck up," I grit through my teeth. "Find the closest drive-through. She needs to eat. Then, go to my house."

"Aye," Ian replies. "Whatever you say, boss ."

Sarcastic asshole. Now I see why Declan hates being called that.

* * *

Ian and Charlie ride the elevator up to my penthouse with us. I've got to go see Declan and tell him about this before he catches wind of it. For all I know, her father could have called the cops on me and claimed I kidnapped her. I wouldn't put it past the guy.

She hasn't said a word to any of us. Even when I handed her the takeout bag, she didn't speak. She also didn't eat. I'm hoping when I leave her alone, she will. Otherwise, I'm going to have to force-feed her because she's severely underweight.

"Wait out here," I tell my men when we approach my door on the top floor.

They nod and stand guard outside as I lead her into the apartment. I've owned this place since I was eighteen, but I'm not overly attached to it. Work has been my priority over the years, so I've spent more time on the estate than I have here. I haven't had much time to think about it, but I'm excited at the thought of having a home there. Maybe it will mean more to me than this place.

"Follow me." I walk her through the large open living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows let in enough light to make it feel airy in here, despite the cloudy, overcast day we're having. "Kitchen is over there. There's plenty of food and drinks. Help yourself to anything you want."

She doesn't say anything, and it's frustrating. I want to hear her voice again.

"You can stay in this room. There's a bathroom that's fully stocked. Use anything in there. If there's something else you need, let me know, and I'll get it."

She looks around the enormous room and then up at me, her gaze worried as she tugs on the threadbare sweater she's wearing. It can't possibly be keeping her warm. Her shiver confirms my thought, so I quickly pull out my phone to remotely turn the temperature up.

Again, she doesn't speak, only nods.

"Fuck. I didn't let you grab anything from your house before we left. I can go back there and get what you want."

Before I can pull out my phone to have her type a list, she quickly shakes her head.

"You don't want anything?"

She shakes her head harder, her message loud and clear. I suspect she didn't have a lot to begin with, and none of it she was attached to. Probably because of him.

"Fine. I'll get you some clothes. I need to handle some work stuff, but I'll be back in a few hours. Charlie and Ian will be outside the front door if you need anything. They won't come in unless, for some reason, you need them to. Make yourself at home."

When she doesn't reply, I reach out and hook a finger under her chin. She startles, letting out a gasp, and I hate myself for scaring her.

"What's your name?"

Her blue eyes search my face for a second before her lips part. "Ana. Anastasia," she whispers.

Anastasia. Fuck. So beautiful.

My heart beats faster. Her voice is soft and feminine.

"How old are you?" I need to know. For whatever reason, this feels important. I need to know if she's a child. She's definitely younger than me.

"Twenty."

My shoulders relax as relief floods me. I don't know why that makes me feel better. Though she's still more than ten years younger than me, she's legally an adult.

I sigh. "I know you're scared, and you probably won't believe me, but you're safe now. I'm not going to hurt you."

Her tongue slips out to wet her lips, and my gaze falls to the plump cushions.

I need to get the hell out of here.

"I'm going to leave a phone on the kitchen counter. My phone number will be programmed into it. My name is Patrick."

She nods, and I let my hand fall from her chin. I pause briefly, not wanting to leave her. Will she try to escape? She might, but there are only two ways out of here. The front door and the balcony, which is thirty floors up.

As I turn to leave, I pause and look back at her. "Welcome home, Anastasia."