Page 7 of Bought By Three Men

“Hello! Help me!” Ethan waved his hand in my face.

“I’ll look over everything. Not that it will do any good.” I glanced over the paper again.

“What do you mean?” He scrunched up his face as if I had just shit on his foot.

“I mean, if you want your inheritance, you better get married.” I leaned back and interlaced my fingers behind my head.

“Fine, I want that pink girl!” He slammed his glass on the table.

“Pink girl? You mean the fighter?”

He nodded.

My stomach sank.

I wasn’t jealous or anything. It was just something about Ava that drew me in. I had planned to return to the club, but I had the funeral.

None of that even mattered. Ava would never be with an elite. I could tell by the way she looked at us. She hated us for having everything and her having nothing.

“She’s perfect. Hey, we could both marry her. She would fulfill my gramps stupid clause and be a mother figure for Joseph. Don’t look at me like that. I’m not talking about replacing Ash. Come on.” Ethan was practically begging.

I shook my head. How was I considering his idea? Joseph did need a mom figure. Not that anyone could replace my wife, Ashley. It would be nice to have a woman around again. I had servants, but I meant someone to really talk to. Discuss life with. Be a friend. Ethan’s idea did kind of make sense. If we both married her, we could split the time. I wouldn’t have to be a husband to her, I could leave that to Ethan. If we managed to do this, I would have to establish some ground rules with her.

There was one major problem. “Even if I agreed, she would never go for it.”

“So, we make her.” Ethan grinned.

CHAPTER5

Ava

The door flewopen as Felix rushed into my apartment. My best friend was more like a brother than a friend. We grew up together on the streets. His tent was right next to ours. He had no family. His parents died when he was little from some terrible accident. He doesn’t talk about it.

He was there the night my dad died. I pushed the thought aside. No sorrow. Tears would ruin my mascara, and I just applied it.

I didn’t need to look behind Felix to know his girlfriend was there. The ying to his yang, or was he the ying? I wasn’t sure. Sandy always wore dark colors, never smiled, barely spoke, and was the kindest person I knew. Since Felix never stopped talking, it was the perfect match.

Plus, it was adorable that they were both short. Dottie measured them once. They were both five-three.

Felix grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the kitchen. I would have protested, but he looked scared. Dottie followed, but Sandy stopped her and pointed to our mother. Whatever they had to say, they didn't want my mom to hear. This was bad. Like no nail polish, runny makeup bad.

“You should sit. Wanna sit?” Felix asked. “Maybe we could go pilfer some makeup for you. Sandy said you could do her nails. As long as you remove the polish right after.”

“Slow down. What’s going on?” Obviously, I would love to toss some raspberry red polish on her chipped nails. If whatever they had to tell me wasn’t that bad, I was totally gonna take advantage of the offer. Who was I kidding? I was taking advantage of the offer, no matter what.

“I’m just gonna do this fast, like a bandaid. Rip it off. Right. That’s the best way.” Felix rambled. Sandy grabbed his hand to comfort him.

“Spit it out,” I demanded.

“Okay. They closed down all the fighting clubs, like all of them. Don’t know why. Sandy and I went to Mastro’s for my fight, and there was a sign on the door. Closed. So we stopped by Von’s, same thing.” Felix ran his hand across his face.

Fighting was how we made a living. Once I realized I was good at it, I got Felix into it. I looked down at my outfit: bubblegum shorts and a too-tight pink top. No, I wasn’t hoping to see those two elite men again. I just wanted to look my best tonight. Nothing wrong with that. Now it was for nothing.

Closed. Fuck! How could they be closed? How? It could only be for a week. There was no way it would be for longer. How would I get my mom’s meds? Or food? Or makeup? I had been planning on one day opening up a little shop. I knew fighting wouldn’t last forever, but I never expected this. No, it couldn’t last.

“Well, maybe it’s for a week.” I paced. “It can’t be for longer.”

“We checked. It’s permanent.” Felix dropped his head. “There’s more.”

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