It's only noon, but fatigue leaches my bones. My head is fuzzy, too, from the rollercoaster of emotions I've gone through since Ted woke me up, banging on my door.

Devon has driven me back to Stay Gold and we are in his office—my new home, according to him. A gilded cage by anyone else's standards.

It already feels like a prison to me.

The office is filling up. One by one, they come in—those boys I used to spy on as a little kid, now men, each more imposing and alluring than the last. The only I didn't know from before is Ty, all the others I recognize. He, along with Devon and Conner wait while the others walk through the door.

Devon's younger brother, the closest to my age at twenty-seven, but still a world's difference between us when we were young, arrives. Jacob. He gives me a sweet smile that warms me like a summer sun. I remember watching him from the window during vacations when the older boys stayed outside, but I had to go to bed.

Then, a string of three bad boys from the wrong neighborhood stroll in.

Noah, all wiry muscle and stylized, closely trimmed hair and beard, an anthracite fedora cocked on the side of his head. He's in suit pants and satin vest, but has set aside his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt to show his forearms. He has only one tattoo that I can see—several lines of text. His hands spin and silver flashes. He's playing with a butterfly knife, and I remember how his hands are never still. They called him the Magician back then.

Giovanni, olive skin, very dark, gleaming hair, born right after his parents emigrated from Italy. The tight jeans over his slim frame manage to make him look more masculine than some body builders I've seen. His Italian sense of fashion is evident, but I can't pinpoint why. The black button up shirt that's slightly open at the collar, showing off a fine, gold necklace? His dark hair flipped to the side? His sexy swagger? Criminy. He must be ambushed every time he walks into the club—by women and men. He goes by Van for short, I remember after a moment.

Finally, Sebastian, or Bastian as the others called him, comes in, lit cigar wedged in his mouth, and marches straight up to me. I sit taller, at attention and nervous.

He's on par with Ty with his rough, scarred skin, tattoos and face hair.

I don't remember much about him except that he was into cars—tuning and driving them too fast.

He gets right into my face and pulls his cigar from his lips. Careful not to get it too close, he holds it to the side.

"Avery. You might not remember me, but I remember you. And what's more, I have five younger sisters from sixteen to twenty-six. I'm telling you what I tell them. Don't let any man in this room touch you, bother you, or get in your head. If they do, I'll kill them. And don't let any other man, if it's men you like, in this world disrespect you. If they do, you tell me, and I'll make sure they understand that's not right. From now on, I'm your big brother, since you don't have your own anymore. Understand?"

I can't speak.

It's been so long since I've had a brother in my life. I don't even know what to say. Thank you is entirely inadequate. Tears well up in my eyes and I hate myself for being weak.

"None of that, none of that," he murmurs and his arms go around my shoulders instantly. I'm nodding in agreement into his shirt, not even sure what I'm agreeing to—not to cry? To consider him as my big brother? To not let any of the other men in the room into my head.

It's too late for that.

They've been in my head for over a decade and aren't likely to leave or pay rent any time soon.

Bastian rocks me a moment until my sniffles stop, then steps back to take a long look at me. "Six little sisters. All right."

Devon clears his throat. "If everyone is ready, we have to talk."

They settle—some leaning against the wall, others on chairs or the sofa next to me.

Devon eyes them a moment. "But before we talk, for fuck's sake, Bastian, put the cigar out. It stinks the place up for days."

Bastian glares at him and takes a puff. He's standing next to me still, so I touch his arm. "I'm really sensitive to smoke—it makes my throat scratchy instantly, which is bad for my line of work."

This gets him to put it out, thankfully.

"You all know Avery," he says. "She'll be signing a contract today as a Stay Gold employee, she'll be singing at the club, starting tomorrow night."

The room erupts, including me. "I can't start tomorrow night, I have no repertoire for your nightclub."

"Learn a couple of songs, and fast. We'll call it a teaser, a taste of what's to come. But I need you on that stage as fast as possible."

"Why?" I ask, but my question is drowned out by other voices.

"You don't need her on the stage," Conner argues. "You want her there."

Others say similar things, but then Bastian says something that makes me freeze. "You put her up there and you're putting a target on her face."

"Because of the kidnapper?" I ask him.

Devon shakes his head. "She's already been targeted by the kidnapper. This will keep her safe. If she works at Stay Gold, no one will come for her—too risky."

"Bullshit," Ty says at the same time as Bastian.

"She doesn't have to sign your contract and she doesn't have to be on stage to work for Stay Gold. You know that," Conner says.

"We made a promise, Devon," Van says, tone low and dangerous. "We don't go back on our word."

"This isn't the time for that conversation," Devon says.

My head spins. It seems like something is going on that I don't know about. I feel like I'm on the top of a frozen lake, trying to look through the ice and understand what's going on in the murky depths below me.

"She's safest on the stage under our protection. She's just another employee, a singer, one of many women who entertain here," Devon continues. "No one will see anything else when they see her."

I wonder if he's forgotten I'm in the room and can hear him say I'm a disposable nobody. Rage sparks in my heart, thawing that cold sensation that has gripped me.

*** ONC 1120 words. What kind of target is Bastian talking about, I wonder... Hit the star and thanks for reading! ***