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SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE can be read as a stand alone series even though it is a continuation of THE SPECTER SERIES stories and takes place in the same 'universe'..
If you are interested in reading more of my works, please check the following series order:

THE SPECTER SERIES
1. Hunting for Honey
2. Feilds of Clover
3. Broken Hearts & Coup D'etats
4. Secrets of Summer
5. Lace & Leather
6. The Colt & The Cobra

THE BRAVO BOYS
1. Killerwolf
2. Tigerlilly
3. Snake Eater

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE
1. Red Reaper
2. Purple Heart

SPECTER SHORT STORIES
1. Alfa
2. Bravo
4. Delta
18. Romeo

SPECTER SPECIALS
• Halloween Specials - ANGELMAKER The Southside Slayer & ANGELMAKER II The Southside Slaughter
• Christmas Specials - Dasher & The Dancer - Christmas In Aspen, Vixen & The Viper
• Valenines Day Special - Hellfire
• The Little Blook Of Love - A collection of romantic one shots

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⚠️WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS CHILD ABUSE/GROOMING THEMES, EXPLICIT BDSM CONTENT, A 15 YEAR AGE GAP DYNAMIC, DRUG & ALCOHOL USE, VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT THEMES THAT MAY BE DISTRESSING TO SOME

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CAST; from top left
Maksimilian Angeloff/Sunday Santos/Javier Navarro/Stori Petrovich/Verity Angeloff/Luka Angeloff

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...Prelude...

Her hopeful honey gaze slowly lifts to meet my eye and the air punches out of my chest at the sight of her, so sweet and gentle.. Sunny with her caring temperance and soft nature, calms the blazing rage within my chest.. Around her, I forget what it was I had even been angry about..

All I can think of is her..
What I wouldn't give to kiss her..
The dog in me howls with dominance, but she deserves so much more than that..
Sunday Santos should be loved, tenderly and with reckless abandon and I am far too broken to give the girl what she needs..

"Max? What's wrong?" She squeaks in a frightful pitch, clutching at the fuzzy blanket that she holds tightly around her naked body.. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Go to your room, Zakya.." Pulling at the windsor knot around my neck, I take a side step, trying to avoid her intense stare and sugary scent.. "I've had one hell of a shitty day.."

She doesn't know how she tempts and teases me.. How could she?
She doesn't even realise how beautiful she is, because if she did, she never would have agreed to marry me..

Following me around to the bedside where I remove my watch and cufflinks, Sunny persists.. "Well maybe I could make it better.."

Exasperated, I turn on her in frustration.. "What could you possibly do to-"

"You could talk to me, for once.. Or, not talk.." Swathes of soft grey wool slip across silky smooth skin as she releases the blanket to bare her flawless figure.. "I'm your wife, Max.. But you can't seem to stand being in the same room as me.." Brunette curls swish and hypnotic double D's bounce as she takes a swaying step closer, causing my resistance to crumble to ashes in the wake of her seduction.. "Do you really hate me that much?"

"I could never hate you, Sunday." My hands slide around her waist to find comfort at the small of her back where my thumbs press into the feminine dimples there.. I pull her towards me until she is pressed so tightly to my chest I can feel her radiating heat.. "I fucking crave you."

★★★

Sunday 'Sunny' Santos

Rivulets of cold, winter rainwater trail in haphazard pathways down the windscreen of the upmarket range rover, tricking across the glass in hypnotic perpetuity.. Inside, protected from the chill by the warming AC vents, I quietly hum along to the jaunty pop hit that trills through the radio speakers.. I can barely contain my high spirits as I wait in the cosy leather passenger seat for my boyfriend to reappear.. Any minute now, Javier Navarro, is going to return, and in an uncharacteristic display of kindness, he has agreed to take me out for a special Anniversary dinner..

In the six years we have been together, never once had he made such an effort to romance me.. I have no idea what changed his mind, since he always claimed displays of affection to be for Simps and Pussies.. But when he made the offer and told me to dress up sexy for him, I wasn't about to question it.. It's not like I could say no.. And after all, it's what I had wanted, in a way.. For him to demonstrate that he cares about me, even just a little bit..

Maybe he really is changing?
Maybe there is a chance he has seen the light?

-THUD-THUD-THUD-

A loud thumping on the passenger window has me jumping in my seat and I turn to see Javier scowling through the dewy glass, with a flame of fury in his eyes..

My heart sinks at the terrifying sight..
Oh no.. He is angry.. Again..

Tonight is going to be just like every other night, with him yelling and screaming at me.. Threatening me.. Belittling and most likely beating me once we get home..

It doesn't matter that I have done nothing wrong.. It doesn't matter that I am less than half his size and timid as a dormouse.. It wouldn't even help if I were to entirely submit..
Nothing I do or say will make a difference..
When Javier gets mad, all I can do is close my eyes and wait for the cruelty to end..

Sure, tomorrow he will apologise and promise that it will never happen again..
But it won't mean anything..

It never does..

"Are you retarded?" He yanks the door open, agitated and impatient.. "Get out of the fucking car, Sunny!"

His disparaging insult stings, but not as much as the slap I would receive if I were to defy him.. So, I obey..

"Si, I'm coming.. Um.. What's going on?" I ask, fumbling for the buckle of my seatbelt, barely managing to get it unclipped before an unforgiving grip captures my wrist to drag me from the car.. "Ow, Javi! You're hurting me!"

The downpour soaks my clothes through in a manner of seconds, leaving my hair a tangled dripping mess and sends my mascara running..

"Shut up!" He spits, shoving me towards the front doors of the downtown casino.. "I just need you to help me out with something real quick.. You owe me at least that, don't you think, Cariño?"

"Oh.. You know I'd do anything for you, Javi.." I stumble in my stilettos as I take a few steps to escape the rain.. "But I don't understand- What are we doing here?"

With an exasperated groan of irritation, he links his arm through mine to keep me from getting too far ahead.. Lowering his lips to my ear, a warning growl vibrates through me to instil fear.. "You've been nagging me all week to take you out! Well, here we are and you're already acting like an ungrateful little bitch.."

"Lo siento!" (I'm sorry.) I shiver from the cold, my saturated dress clinging to my voluptuous feminine curves.. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't say your fuckin' sorry!" He snarks.. "Just say thank you and shut the fuck up!"

"Thank you.." I mumble quietly as he leads me through a large set of double doors and onto the dim casino floor..

The air is thick with the scent of vodka and cigarette smoke, immediately causing my nose to twitch and tickle with the threat of a sneeze.. Weaving through tables and poker machines, we cross paths with the dozens of burly tattooed beasts sat at them gambling.. Javier guides me determinedly to the back of the casino where, in the darkest corner, sit four intimidating men gathered at a leather dining booth.. Each Eastern-European thug is covered in inky markings, from throats to fingertips.. Even their scowling faces are tattooed with small familiar symbols, such as teardrops, dice and roses..

Truly terrifying omens..

Three of the men keep their focus laser locked upon their playing cards, ignoring our approach.. But one of them, the biggest, meanest looking of them all, with a tiny crucifix inked at the lower corner of his left eye, lifts his penetrative crystalline gaze to make direct, lingering contact with me..

Oh hell..

These men are not the sort to be trifled with..
It's clear me that we have entered criminal territory once again and my palms begin to sweat at Javi's repeating pattern of risk and consequences..

I am afraid that this time he is going to get us killed..

Or maybe it isn't fear at all, but something else..
Something even more dangerous..

Desire..

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I yearn for something more.. For the unknown.. For freedom.. Maybe I actually want to die?

Beautiful electric blue daggers, ice cold and sharp, pierce straight through to my soul and I stumble a little, caught off guard by the brilliance and intensity of his unashamed stare..

I've never seen eyes so hauntingly sapphire..

Stunning..

And I've never seen shoulders quite so muscular..

Strapping..

This man is immaculate masculinity, perfectly defined in casual dark denim bootleg jeans and a rustic-worn winter fleece..

Whoa..

Catching me mid-mistep, my sadistic boyfriend pushes me forward to the tableside, looking like a wet and dishevelled mess.. "Hey Max, this is my girl, Sunday.. Say hello to my friend, Sunny."

When the gaze of the most chiseled man I've ever laid eyes on sweeps over me, I feel the chill of their arctic assessment.. A shiver runs down my spine and a sensual spiral tightens between my thighs..

Who is he and how can he make my knees tremble with just one look?

He commands power and exudes strength..
And he is impossible to ignore..

"Hi.." I squeak nervously, unsure of what is happening or why Javier has brought me to such a scary place to surround me with such intimidating men..

This is not at all what I had in mind for our date..

Actually, just about anything would've been better than this..

I feel as though I am navigating a minefield with no map.. Each man is more unpredictable than the next, Javier included!

"Hmm- Thisss- is your collateral?" Ignoring me, the adonis Max, shakes his head in disapproval.. A slight, yet syrupy Russian tint rolls off his displeased tongue, along with a humourless hum.. "Cyka mmm-mudak.." (Fucking asshole.)

The blue-eyed brute speaks very slowly.. Careful and measured, it is if each word is considered and intentional, yet drawn out by some kind of delay..

The remnants of a childhood stammer, perhaps?

Not that anybody else seems to notice or acknowledge it..

The others at the table begin to chuckle among themselves, chattering in their foreign tongue in what can only be described as mockery as I look around in confusion..

Their indecipherable banter feels pointed and directed right at me, so I self consciously tug at the hem of my clingy dress to pull it down over my thick thighs, assuming they are making fun of my appearance.. But there is no modesty in my outfit to protect me.. Javier chose it after all, and he never did care how I felt about exposing so much skin, I was always more of a trophy to him than anything else.. He told me as much on multiple occasions, usually after one too many beers.. "Javier, what is going on-"

-SMACK-

Whip fast and forceful, unclenched knuckles collide with my unsuspecting profile.. "Owh!" A yelp escapes me when the blinding backhand knocks me to the ground.. My breath is torn from me as the shock turns to embarrassment..

I clutch my burning cheek and crumple forward on my knees... Cowardly folding inward and quivering in fear..

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP, BITCH!" Javier barks from above as I cower at his feet, lifting my hands to shield my face from a second blow that never comes..

"STOP!" A deep, authoritative boom breaks the attention away from me as the blue-eyed brute launches to his feet.. As swiftly as Max reacts, his offsider is even quicker, acting in his defence..

The younger of the two men moves smooth as fluid and takes command of the chaos.. Securing one hand around Javier's wrist, he twists and jerks hard.. Within a matter of seconds, my boyfriend's arm is twisted up behind his back and he is bent over the table in a most vulnerable position..

With butane burning in his azure irises, Max leans down to whisper something inaudible in Javier's ear.. Something that has the colour draining from his face in terror that leaves Javier scrambling to justify himself..

"Whoa- Max! It's not like that man, I swear!" Javi pleads and excuses in a whimpering surrender.. "You don't got no idea what I gotta do to keep her in line.. She's trouble!"

Max doesn't speak another word as he glares down at Javier in disgust, but his offsider spits some harsh Russian words I can only assume to be hatred.. "Brat, my dolzhny ubit' etogo dolbanogo neudachnika!" (Brother, we should kill this fucking loser.)

"Nyet, Luka.." Max dismisses, bushing past the blubbering buffoon, to crouch down and offer me one of his mammoth mitts.. "Are you- alright, Zayka?" The softest and sweetest stammer affects his inflection and I blink up at the towering hulk of a man, bewildered by his unmistakable tenderness..

"I'm fine, thank you, Sir.." I whimper, unwilling to take his hand for fear of future retribution, but also afraid of causing offence..
Choosing instead to right myself aided by the edge of the table, rather than risk enraging Javi's inevitable wrath, I haul myself up to my feet with a wobble.. Small spots of white warp my vision, but I blink them away and attempt to smile..

Not that Max seems to believe my act one little bit..

"See? She's fine!" Javier reasons with his face pressed to the dirty casino table.. "C'mon! Let me go, man!"

Taking a sure step closer, Max lifts his frosty highball of liquor and gently presses the icy glass to my burning cheek.. The effectiveness of the treatment is immediate in cooling the raging burn and I can't help but sigh in relief.. He cocks his head curiously to one side in quiet inspection of my body, looking me over from head to toe, as if scanning for any evidence that I am lying..

Of course I am lying!

But it is predominantly my pride that has been wounded and so my cheeks flush even redder.. Still, I force myself to speak, to save the words that may later save my life.. "Please, Mr- um- Max? You're hurting him- Please- let my boyfriend go.."

With one final sweep, he gingerly pulls the drink away from my face before he nods to his offside and Javier is once again a free-range man.. But his ego has been damaged and much of his cockiness has vanished to be replaced by begrudging submission..

Incredible...
It's like watching a nature documentary in which a troop of gorillas defer to their alpha.. Max holds all the power and right now he certainly knows it..

"Look man, you said you wanted something valuable and I delivered.. Sunny is worth a hundred of your downtown girls- she cooks, she cleans.. She fucks like a pornstar-" Javi rubs at his violated shoulder, now meeker than a mouse.. "Are we good or what?"

I wince in physical pain all while enduring a strange kind of outer body experience.. The way Javier speaks about me is disgusting and for the first time the denial I had blinded myself with begins to dehaze.. I work hard to keep a brave face as Max stands there, staring down at me as if daring me to react in outrage..

But I don't move, not even as the tears that prickle in my eyes overflow to roll down my cheeks..

Suddenly satisfied, Max turns away from me for the first time in what must be the longest minute of my life and as our eye contact is broken, something swells with disappointment deep down inside me.. "Da, Luka.. Get the man his mm-money.." He straightens his spine with the snap of his fingers and his offsider, the scrappier, younger carbon copy Max himself, jumps into action.. With dark locks and a tiny rose tattoo on his cheek, Luka flicks open a lockbox of casino chips to begin counting out four small piles of black and red pucks..

It is then I realise what this is all about..

Money..

This man, Max- whoever he is, is a loan shark..
And if I know Javier, he has absolutely no intention of repaying the kind of cash he is about to 'borrow'.. My boyfriend is a financial deviant, always running some kind of scam to keep ahead of the ever looming meat-grinder that haunts him as a result of his enormous debt..

In fact, we had only moved to Darkport just two months ago, on the run from the last illegal lender Javi had struck a deal with..

In the past year alone he has already moved us a total of four times..

We started out in Florida, but the heat got to be too much after a brick of cocaine went missing from his dealer's shipment..
Then, there was Arizona, where he defrauded the treasury of a local motorcycle club..
Next, we up and ran in the middle of the night to land in Nevada.. That is where Javier would attempt to run games on sunset strip pimps and their working women..
Finally, we found refuge here, in my hometown of Darkport City..
And now it seems the Bratva Vory has taken Javi's interest as a potential mark..

But none of it feels right to me..

I had been trying to warn Javi for months that his luck would eventually run out if he were to keep making enemies at such a breakneck speed.. Not that my opinion holds any credence..

"The vig is-sss now thirty percent, Comrade.." Max brushes his fingers through his neat raven fade, a smiling tomcat tattoo gracing that back of his hand along with several letter markings that make little sense to me.. The loan shark returns to his seat and settles in comfortably, though the tension never leaves his broad shoulders and his expression never softens.. Except for when he glances over at me..

That is when I see the glimmer of something intangible and intriguing..

Something humanising and raw..

Pain..

"Thirty! What?!" Javier exclaims in frustration, his hands balling into fists at his side.. "Last week you said fifteen!"

Max shrugs, unwavering in his lack of compassion as he scoops up his cards and begins sorting them into an expert order.. "If you don't want it? Then fff-fuck off.."

"No no, Jefe! I want it.." Javi shakes his head, stepping forward with a greedy hand outstretched towards the chips, ready to collect his fraudulent bounty.. "It's just - a little more than I was expecting s'all.."

Before Javier can take possession of the casino chips, Max grabs him by the forearm with a menacing steely stare and a ruthless grip.. "Thirty percent... And I keep the girl.."

Wait.. What?

The girl?

Does he mean me?

"Keep her- like, for good? Fuck, man, that's my bottom bitch your taking about.." Javi hesitates as he glances over towards me, his hazel eyes widened with apprehension and storming with contemplation..

He is actually thinking about this?!
No way!

I can plainly see that nothing is going according to plan.. But there is no stopping this crazy-train now that it is in motion..

There is nothing I can do..

"I keep her.. Or I kill you.." Max states bluntly, unbuttoning the final button of his fleece coat and allowing it to drape open to reveal a shiny black pistol holstered at his side..

Javi swallows an audible, guilty gulp.. "Yeah- Yeah okay.. She's all yours."

"Good.. Now, take it and get the fff-fuck out.." Max steps aside, allowing Javier to collect his blood money..

"What?!" My mouth falls open in disbelief as anger and betrayal turn into a tsunami of turmoil in my aching chest.. "Javi!"
None of the men look at me.. None of them even flinch when wailing sobs wrack my shoulders.. "You can't do this! Please!"

The man who had brought me here, who had been my entire word since I was sixteen and he found me sleeping on the streets, now turns back to me with an unapologetic grimace.. "Sorry, Sunny.. Business is business, Cariño.."

"Wait! Javier, please!" I try to chase him with a following footstep, but a soft squeeze at my shoulder quickly fixes me in place..

"No.. You stay." Max growls a firm order that I am powerless to resist.. My fight or flight malfunctions and all I am left with is to freeze..

My heart races with terror and my stomach turns with sickness..
This can't be happening..
It can't be real!

Id always read about grim stories of human trafficking and see it on the news.. But it is so very different when it is happening to me.. Time seems to move in slow motion and every second drags on for infinity..
I can hardly believe any of it is real and if I close my eyes I can almost convince myself this is all some terrible fever dream.. One that I will wake up from any minute now..

"Let him go, Sunday.." My eyes snap open again as Max shirks off his outer layer of fleece and denim, to expose a rope and anchor tattoo branded on the inside of his bulging bicep.. Chivalrously, the man wraps his jacket around my shoulders as I stand there dumbstruck, shivering in paralysing shock.. The warmth of his body heat still clings to the fibres and penetrates my icy skin.. An oddly comforting sensation.. The scent of his luxurious cologne is rich with alluring notes of vetiver and velvet, ingrained within the fabric of his coat..

"But-but-" Choking on my words and unable to articulate a single thought, I blink up at the stern-faced man who it would seem now owns me..

Max had just brought me..
As if I were a trading commodity.. A pawn.. A pet..

If I weren't so heartbroken, I'd be infuriated..
But instead, all I feel is exhaustion and sorrow as I am forced to realise that I never meant a thing to Javier and all my loyalty had been a waste..

"Sss-sit.." Max nods rigidly towards the booth opposite him with a dramatic hiss, as the other men clear a space for me to sit.. They don't exactly leave, but distance themselves enough that they melt into the background, leaving Max and I alone..

"What are you gonna with me?" I swallow the lump in my throat with a sniffle.. But the loan shark easily evades the question as if it were of no importance..

"I haven't decided yet, Zayka."

My pulse pounds so loudly in my ears it is almost deafening.. "What are you going to do to Javier if he doesn't come back with your money?"

"I'll kill him." He asserts with cold finality, sliding a carved crystal highball towards me which he fills almost halfway with top shelf vodka.. "Now, drink.."

★★★

A note from the author

Hey besties, if you read this far I'd love for you to leave me a little feedback!
Let me know if you'd like to see this book continued, as I am on the fence about leaving it up or starting something else entirely!
I need y'all to help me choose my next WIP!

Love,
Leela xx