Criminal Affinity [18+]

Chapter 3

I will not be tamed by the dark.
Every little sin made a mark.

| Alchemy - Tala |

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Ava gets the opposite of what she expects. She peers down the grand staircase to see pretty, veiled women perched on senselessly drunk men. A set of dancers moving and pole-dancing to the sort of music that reeks of sex. But the house only holds a gentle silence.

If one can even call it that. The only lighting is pouring through the stained glass windows. Something about it is almost archaic, artful. Prettier than any cathedrals Ava deigned to set foot in. Tall white pillars and twin sets of stairs-middle of which is a wide fountain with a faint glimmer.

She didn't expect the house of sin to wear the face of a church.

"Where is everyone?" Ava asks.

"Asleep." Lily leads Ava up a flight of stairs, and then another. "The house sleeps at dawn. Don't get any ideas, we're guarded at all times."

Ava would have snapped if the girl's tone was hard, but she sounds amused. Good natured. She ignores it. Ava plays these games, so does everyone else. "Never stopped me before."

Lily speaks through a smile, "I know. But if you get out, no one will be there to protect you."

What a way to be patronizing. "What's his name?"

A break before she speaks. "William Chevalier. People know him better as the Underlord."

Fancy mansion and fancier name. Do these prideful bastards never get tired of the sound of their own voices? "What does he want with me?"

"Believe it or not, he brought you here to protect you. But he wants something in return, which he would like to discuss with you."

Ava frowns. "I don't even know who he is, and he wants to protect me? Is this some sort of a joke? I was kidnapped, not offered aid. Try a better lie next time."

Lily looks over her shoulder, "Keep your voice down, everyone is sleeping. And no, it's not a joke. I hope you know you have a target on your back after what happened to Pandora. We all know who you are."

Something crumbles inside Ava. She never conversed with the enemies, and they never saw her true face. If they found out who she was, it was moments before their death. Now Ava is trapped in a mansion full of people and everyone knows who she is, what she's done and what she looks like.

Before Ava can reply they reach black French windows leading into a room. Ava's stomach drops further. She has had to meet many of these Heads. Old, fat and with scorching colognes. They always expect her to drop on her knees and worship their shriveled cocks because the latter means a bullet in the head.

Ava has seen many girls go down that road right before her eyes. Too many times.

"He isn't going to hurt you." Lily says and after a pause she leaves. Could she see the look in Ava's eyes? Even if she did, why would she care?

Why should she believe Lily?

Ava swallows hard and throws open the doors. At first there is silence and darkness, then as her eyes adjust she sees two figures half drenched in the light streaming through a window identical to what she saw in the hall. She steps in soundlessly, leaving the door ajar behind her.

She has no defense, no weapons. A faded scent of Arabian oils clings to the cool air inside. She dares another step and instantly freezes.

A woman is sprawled upon a desk before a window, fully clothed but looking at a figure out of her view. The man slowly walks towards the woman, drinking in the sight of her to the point where Ava's cheeks begin to burn.