Virtue & Vengeance

  EMPIRE SEVENS #2

  VIRTUE AND VENGEANCE

  Copyright © 2018 by Tabatha Vargo & Melissa Andrea

  All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events or real people are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  VIRTUE AND VENGEANCE/ Tabatha Vargo & Melissa Andrea

  Cover Art by Melissa Andrea

  Book Design by Melissa Andrea

  Virtue and Vengeance

  A recovering sex addict should never be faced with such temptation. But there she was, working in my casino and teasing me to the edge of insanity.

  Thanks to her, I did the one thing I swore I wouldn’t do.

  I relapsed.

  Falling off the wagon and so deeply into her I thought I might never find my way back to reason. Everything is different with Eden, and I’ll do anything to keep her. Even if it means risking everything I’ve worked my entire life for.

  For the readers.

  Thank you for six amazing years.

  1

  ZANDER

  I TOOK EDEN’S VIRGINITY, and it was the best fucking thing I ever did in my life. Yet, I was a mess. I was sick and twisted up inside, feeling disgusted with myself for giving in so easily.

  I relapsed.

  Jumped off of the fucking wagon and right into an angel.

  I stood outside Dr. Dempson’s office feeling more broken than I ever had.

  Not even after I woke up next to a dead woman did I feel so terrible. I guessed in a lot of ways I’d murdered Eden, too. Closing my eyes, I could still see the heartbreak on her face when I left her.

  I’d fucked her.

  I broke through her barriers, snatching her virginity like it was nothing.

  The sex was completely normal.

  Totally vanilla.

  No blindfolds.

  No handcuffs.

  Nothing out of the ordinary.

  Yet it had been the best sex I’d ever had.

  Then I fired her. Crushing any ideas she may have had about anything more with me. The fact was, I had nothing more to give.

  Sure, I had money.

  I could buy Eden anything she wanted and more.

  I could offer her protection and anything else she might need, but that was it.

  I wasn’t the emotional type. I didn’t feel anything for women. Hell, I didn’t feel anything for anyone. I’d been that way ever since my parents abandoned my kid sister and me.

  I had nothing else to give.

  I was nothing, and she deserved something. She deserved the fucking world and so much more.

  When Dr. Dempson opened the door, I saw the shock on her face since I hadn’t called to set an appointment beforehand. But then she smiled at me as if she knew I was having a seriously bad time and turned to the side, giving me space to slide past her and into her office.

  “You’re lucky you caught me, Zander. I was just on my way out," she announced as I brushed past her. “I'm assuming something happened for you to show up like this?”

  “I slept with her,” I blurted.

  That was far from what we did, but I didn’t think Dr. Dempson would handle it to well if I told her I fucked Eden so hard she squirted all over the bed. Just thinking about the night before had me hard in my expensive designer jeans.

  “Okay.” She moved across the room, grabbing her trusty notebook and pen before sitting in her usual chair. “With the new girl? Eden, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  But Eden was far from a girl.

  A girl wouldn’t have been so brazen with the things I wanted from her.

  A girl wouldn’t have begged me to make her come or left vicious scratches down my back.

  No.

  Eden was no girl.

  I could still taste her sweetness on my tongue.

  I could still feel her body drenching mine when she came all over me.

  “How did that happen?”

  I stood, staring out the window and watching all the people who walked along the sidewalk. I wondered if any of them were sick in the head like me.

  Did any of them get off imagining an innocent woman choking on cock?

  Did they think of taking an innocent woman’s virginity?

  Claiming her in one minute and then destroying her in the next?

  “It happened because I wanted it to. I wish I could say I had no self-control, but I wanted Eden, and I didn’t care about the consequences. What does that mean, Doctor?”

  She sighed, pulled the glasses from her face, and leaned forward. “It means your human, Zander. Despite what happened, you’ve come a long way in the past six months. You’re not the same man who walked into my office the day after that night.”

  That night.

  The night that haunted me.

  I tensed when she spoke of the incident. I’d paid her good money to keep my secret, and even better money to never mention it again, yet she was there looking back at me and talking about the one thing that could crush me.

  As it was, I had to force myself every day not to think of her or the way her dead eyes stared up at me.

  I had to force myself to forget about the night I couldn’t remember.

  I didn’t know her.

  I’d just met her when I was out that night.

  We danced.

  We drank.

  And that was it.

  I had only one memory past that point, and it was of her telling me no. The next thing I knew, I was waking up next to a dead woman.

  I walked the world every day unsure if I was a sex-addicted murderer. Uncertain of what I’d done to her.

  I only knew she was bloody and her eyes and mouth were open wide in shock.

  She was dead.

  And she had refused me the one thing I couldn’t seem to get enough of.

  Sex.

  It was too much.

  “I thought we agreed never to speak of it,” I said, my jaw tight with anger.

  “That’s my job, Zander. It’s my job to dig deeper—to know what makes you tick—to figure out how to help you.”

  I shook my head, locking my arms behind my back as I gazed out at Sin City.

  “No one can help me.”

  Of that I was sure.

  “How did you leave it with Eden? How will this affect your progress?”

  I scoffed. “It won’t.”

  And it wouldn’t.

  Not after the way I’d left.

  Fuck!

  The things I’d said were spiteful.

  I couldn’t help my reaction after getting up and seeing her virginal blood on the bed and knowing I’d done that to her. The memories of the night when I’d seen another woman bleed had been like a ton of bricks, crushing the high of what had just happened with Eden.

  But Eden hadn’t said no.

  She wanted me.

  And she was everything and more than I could have ever hoped for.

  Just thinking about it, I ached to feel the warmth of Eden's pussy around my hard flesh, and at that moment, I knew. I’d been wrong. I couldn’t just have her one time and be done with her.

  I couldn’t walk away that easily.

  I kept trying to tell myself it was only because it had been so long since I’d been with a woman, but I was lying to myself. Something was different about Eden.

  What she
did to me.

  The way she reacted.

  I wanted her, and I didn’t even care that I wasted the past six months trying to get clean.

  And that was why I’d been so cruel before I left her.

  She needed to hate me.

  She needed a reason to stay the hell away from me, and that was exactly what I’d given her.

  “ANY MESSAGES?” I asked Amos, the front desk clerk, as I passed him.

  I’d hoped after leaving Dempson’s office, I’d feel some closure, but I didn’t. If anything, I felt more agitated than when I’d walked into her office.

  “Actually, Mr. Hale, you have a message this time.”

  I paused.

  That never happened.

  It was a game Amos and I played routinely.

  I asked if there were messages, his answer was always no, and then I’d go to my office and work and check my cell, which was where anyone worth mentioning would leave me a message if they needed to reach me.

  “Really?” I asked, turning toward the front desk.

  He reached over and picked up a piece of paper from the desktop. “A Mr. Williams from the security department left you a message. Something about our new systems. I’m not sure, but he left his number for you.”

  I took the paper from his fingers and read over the scribble.

  “Thanks, Amos,” I said as I started to leave.

  But just as I turned, my eyes landed on a man talking to one of the other front desk clerks.

  Usually, guests didn’t catch my attention, but this man did. He wasn’t one of our typical clientele, and he stood out like a thorn. From his dirty, tattered clothes and the fact that he looked like he hadn’t bathed probably in weeks. He was balding, and when he smiled at the receptionist, he was missing teeth.

  He gave me an awful feeling in my gut, and I was famous for following my gut feelings when I was on the streets. It was one of the main reasons I’d survived growing up.

  He chatted a bit before pulling away from the counter and starting toward the exit. I watched as his eyes shifted around the room as if he were checking to see if anybody had taken notice of him, but he overlooked me and the way I was watching him like a hawk.

  As he walked through the door, his eyes flittered around the room one last time, but this time was different. It was like he was looking for something or someone, nervous energy radiating from him.

  Then he was gone.

  I walked over to the clerk he was speaking to. A small girl I hadn’t gotten to know. Kennedy had hired her, and she was part-time, which meant I rarely saw her. I didn’t even know her name, which was rare for me. I made it a point to get to know my employees.

  “Can I help you, Mr. Hale?” she asked when I approached the counter.

  “That man you were just talking to … what did he want?”

  “Oh. He was looking for Eden Vaughn, sir. She’s a waitress in the casino bar.” She rattled on as if she were giving me new information. “But I told him it was her day off.”

  Eden?

  Why was someone like that looking for my Eden?

  He looked shady—like someone Eden should never be around—like someone who could be dangerous for her to be around.

  “If he comes back, you be sure to tell him Eden Vaughn no longer works at Empire Sevens. You understand?” I snapped, making the little clerk jump.

  “Yes, Mr. Hale. I understand.” She nodded vigorously.

  I turned on my heels, ready to get to my office and away from the bullshit memories of Eden and the sounds she made when she came, but the urge to find out more about the shady fuck looking for her was too powerful.

  Instead of going to my office, I started toward the exit of Empire.

  “Car,” I said to Jerome as I passed him.

  Stepping into the Vegas heat, I turned my head from right to left, hoping to see one more glimpse of the strange man. People walked the strip, laughter and conversation reached my ears.

  There was no way I would find this fucker in so much chaos. At least that was what I thought as I shook my head and turned around.

  That’s when I saw him again.

  He was climbing into a rusted, old car. The back bumper was barely hanging on, the windshield was cracked, and the passenger’s side view mirror was missing. He cranked it, the loud engine whining with regret, and black smoke sifted from its muffler.

  It was a piece of shit.

  It reminded me of Eden’s piece of shit car.

  Just then, the valet pulled up with my car, and the engine of my Aston Martin One-77 purred, blocking out the screaming sounds of his rust bucket.

  I followed the old car across town, watching from behind him as he held a cell to his ear and narrowly missed hitting a family as they crossed the road.

  Ten minutes later, and he was pulling into the Magic Eight motel, one of the shittiest places in Vegas. Parking a few spots down from him, I watched as he climbed from the car, flicked his cigarette onto the broken asphalt of the parking lot, and disappeared into room one-sixty-two.

  The pit of my stomach burned with curiosity and contempt. I didn’t know this man, but I knew he was dangerous and stupid. That fact that he was looking for Eden made me feel sickness and rage.

  Whoever he was, he needed to stay far away from her.

  Pulling my cell from my pocket, I checked my contacts for Vinny.

  He answered on the second ring. “Zander, long time, man. What can I do for you?”

  “I have a job for you,” I said, keeping my eyes on the target’s door.

  “Name it.”

  “There’s a new man in town. He’s been snooping around my establishment and asking about one of my waitresses. He’s bad news. He’s staying at the Magic Eight. Room one-sixty-two. Find out everything you can about him.”

  “Got it. I’ll report back.”

  I didn’t say goodbye.

  Instead, I ended the call, cleared my screen, and returned to Empire with a vile feeling in the center of my gut.

  2

  EDEN

  LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR, I hardly recognized the person staring back at me. My eyes were puffy and rimmed in red, and my nose was swollen for some reason. My blond strands were twisted into a knotted mess, and my lips still looked stung from his kisses.

  I’d spent most of the night crying into my pillow like a teenager with a broken heart. All while hating myself for giving him such a personal part of me. I’d saved my virginity for so long only to let the first beautifully dangerous man I met snatch it from me.

  Then again, I’d been more than willing.

  The things he did to me.

  The way he made my body respond to his trained touches.

  All of it left me feeling uneven and confused.

  By the time the sun peeked over the horizon and began to fill my room with its glorious light, I was all cried out. I had no tears left for Zander, and I finally managed to fall asleep.

  I didn’t understand any of it.

  I had no idea what I’d done to deserve Zander’s wrath, but I knew I never wanted to see his gorgeous face again.

  Had this been his plan all along?

  To get me to sleep with him so he could fire me?

  I had no idea what Zander’s intentions had been, but I knew if he hadn’t fired me after last night, there was no way I could continue to work there.

  I would have quit.

  I woke around three in the afternoon to the sound of the rain beating on the large bay window in my room. The water slid sadly down the glass, reminding me of how upset I was.

  The bed kept me, holding me in its soft embrace. It didn’t matter. I’d already slept most of the day away, and honestly, I could have rolled over and gone back to sleep, but I needed to get up and move around.

  I stretched, expecting my muscles to feel cramped after being with Zander, but there was no discomfort if I didn’t count the tiny touch of soreness between my thighs.

  Crawling from my bed, I pulled th
e sheets off and rolled them up. They were spotted with blood, so instead of washing them, I tossed them in the trash.

  I had no idea what I would tell Aunt Kennedy when she got home, but I knew she would want explanations.

  My stomach sank with the thought of Aunt Kennedy.

  I hadn’t thought about her at all through this.

  How would I explain her ruined sheets?

  She was also going to want to know why Zander fired me, and there was no way I could tell her about the night we spent together. She would think I was nothing, and honestly, I felt like even less than nothing.

  Turning away from the mirror, I opened the shower door and turned the water on as hot as I could. Then I stepped back into my bedroom to get myself a fresh set of clothes.

  Stopping at the foot of the bed, I closed my eyes and thought about the things that had occurred the night before.

  The way his body felt.

  The things he did to me.

  The things he said.

  His sounds.

  Dark.

  Deep.

  Satisfied.

  The sounds of our bodies coming together.

  First slow and even.

  Then frantic and sloppy.

  My body heated once again, and I shook my head, reminding myself of his final words and the heartbreak I’d felt. Nothing had ever hurt me so badly.

  Not when my mother quit caring.

  Not when Allen had laid hands on me.

  Nothing burned like the internal ache Zander had delivered.

  After showering, I dressed in the bathroom and took my time blow drying my hair. Afterward, I went downstairs and ate something. My stomach was beginning to feel queasy, and I knew it was because I hadn’t eaten.

  Sitting at the kitchen counter, I stared out at Vegas as I slowly chewed on my sandwich. No matter what I put inside my stomach, I still felt hollow inside. Nothing seemed to be filling, and I knew it was due to the massive void Zander had left behind.

  I didn’t know what had happened in those minutes after we had sex, but something set Zander off. As much as I didn’t want to see him again, I had to know what his problem was. I felt like I deserved that much from him. I needed closure, and I was going to demand he give me that.