Dax wasn’t going to Europe, work still needed to be done here. So at the moment, he was seated in Maurice Stark’s office in the mansion with others in the Stark’s squad, awaiting instructions. Maurice was Trystan’s father. He had two living sons, Trystan and Brad. Brad, the eldest, followed in daddy’s footsteps and was a chip off the old block when it came to the family business. All Trystan wanted to do was spend the money his father and brother made, he was spoiled, but they seemed ok with that – as long as he stayed out of trouble and didn’t draw attention to them.

Dax had been raised in the Stark family since he was thirteen years old when he had been caught stealing from the old man. He’d been forgiven the slight on the proviso that Dax started working for the Stark’s. Twenty years later and he was still part of Mauri’s crew.

As was usual at the start of the month he and the other dozen privileged guys were seated around in Maurice’s office waiting for updates and instructions. Bruno was Maurice’s right hand man, he was in his late fifties and had worked with Maurice since his grandfather ran the operation. He dispensed with half a dozen of the guys and then Brad came in to update everyone on the next shipment and handed out assignments until Dax was the only one left with Bruno and Brad.

‘What’s going on?’ Dax asked, remaining seated in the high back chair near the double doors of Maurice’s office.

‘We’ve got a special assignment for you, Dax,’ Bruno said, finishing up something at the desk.

Being the unofficial third son, Dax had done everything the old man had ever asked of him and knew more family secrets than Trystan did. So whatever was about to be asked of him, he had no doubts that he would go along with it

‘What is it?’

‘We’re going away together,’ Bruno said. ‘Alone.’

He never worked alone with Bruno, this had to be big. ‘Keep going,’ Dax said.

‘It’s Tryst,’ Brad said, coming over and pulling up a chair opposite him. ‘Dad wants him married and straightened out, he’s getting himself into too many scrapes.’

‘I know that, Trystan told me but do you think there’s a woman alive who can do that? Or that would put up with him? I heard his demands.’

‘We came to a compromise,’ Brad said. ‘He’ll get married if we make sure his pick won’t give him an earache.’

‘He wants to party, sleep around, and carry on as usual,’ Dax said, recalling what had been said in his suite.

‘My father thinks that having kids will show him responsibility,’ Brad said, his tone conveying that he wasn’t as convinced.

‘Where will you find a woman to do that? Put up with a cheater who’ll abuse her? Have his kids and toe the family line by not complaining? You’ll have to pay her a lot.’

‘Not pay, train,’ Bruno said, leaving the desk. He came over and rested a hand on the back of Brad’s chair. ‘Trystan said that you put the idea into his head. He talked to Mauri about it, he’ll get married like Mauri wants him to, if the wife will do what she’s told and when.’

‘If Mauri can’t promise that the girl will do that then Trystan gets out of the marriage?’

‘It’s win-win for Trystan,’ Brad said. ‘I guarantee that’s what my brother is thinking. He thinks that dad will never be able to pull it off.’

‘He wants to humiliate Mauri?’ Dax asked, Mauri didn’t take being made a fool of lightly so Trystan would be on shaky ground if he set the old man up.

‘No,’ Brad said. ‘He just doesn’t want to settle down. If the girl does what she’s told then he gets to order her around and give her grief. If she doesn’t, then he doesn’t have to marry her.’

‘Win-win,’ Dax muttered. ‘So if Trystan is so sure he won’t have to change his ways, why is Mauri pushing for it?’

‘Dad is sure that having kids will change Trystan’s outlook.’

‘So each is sure of their own position,’ Dax said, both father and son were as arrogant as each other.

‘Trystan’s been pissed off for a couple of weeks, you know why,’ Bruno said.

‘Because Vegas didn’t end how he wanted it to,’ Dax said.

‘My father once again had to make calls to our associates in the area to pull Trystan out of a sticky situation. If that girl had gone to the cops—‘

‘I spoke to her,’ Dax said. ‘She wasn’t going to the cops.’

‘Maybe not. But dad likes the reputation he has at GoldSpring and he likes the treatment we get there, it’s why he insists on all of us using the place whenever we’re in Vegas.’

That and Mauri had done some business with the owner in years gone by. ‘It’s a decent place.’

‘Yeah, but Tryst once again drew attention to the family and dad is sick of it.’

‘He told Trystan if it happens again then he’s out, that Mauri will cut him off,’ Bruno said. Mauri was renowned for never making hollow threats and it was one of the first things that Dax had been taught by the old man. Never bluff in life. If you’re playing a hand then you’re either in or out. He would never say anything he didn’t mean.

‘Trystan wouldn’t go quietly,’ Dax said.

‘Dad obviously doesn’t want to do that, which is why they came to the agreement. Trystan will get married.’

‘It was that or start to work for a living, and we knew he would never do that,’ Bruno said, he was privy to all of the family’s comings and goings. There wasn’t a person alive that Mauri trusted, or valued, more than Bruno.

‘The world can see him as something other than the shallow playboy, and maybe we can go a day without having to divert cops or pay off witnesses.’

More often than not it was the other way around, Dax was used to scaring his share of witnesses into amnesia where Trystan was concerned.

‘So he gets married, makes a good show, and the world thinks he’s a decent guy… who doesn’t need to do a hard day’s graft—‘

‘Because he’s so busy providing the family with heirs.’

So not only was he expected to marry, but he was expected to reproduce. ‘And you think you can find a woman to train into putting up with Trystan?’ Dax asked, wanting to end the statement with the phrase, “good luck with that.”

‘We’ve already found her. Trystan picked her out himself, it was another of his terms,’ Bruno said, going to a side door to open it and haul out a blindfolded, gagged, and bound woman. ‘Meet the newest member of the Stark family.’

The dirty, shaking woman wasn’t a stranger to him, and now that he was faced with her he wasn’t wholly surprised. This must have been the scenario that Trystan had cooked up when they were seated in his drawing room, which meant that this was partially his idea. Typical that Trystan should make his demands and then fuck off to another country to have fun while everyone else did the hard work. If he and Bruno were going away, then this woman had to be coming with them, because someone had to make sure she was taught how to stay in line.

He’d recognised her as soon as she was brought out. Trystan had been told to pick a woman and he’d picked her. Dax should have considered this as an option, because Trystan hated to be disrespected more than anything. By refusing Trystan and causing him embarrassment she’d disrespected him in the worst way. Their altercation left him having to make excuses to his father, thus causing him more embarrassment. Now this woman would pay by dedicating the rest of her life to Trystan willingly.

Dax drove the car and Bruno rode in the passenger seat. Their packed bags were in the back of the car because the female was in the trunk. She’d been silent for most of the journey but when she started kicking and moaning Bruno turned up the music on the radio.

Conversation hadn’t been flowing but Bruno was happy to talk to himself, he didn’t really care what Dax said in return, so he didn’t say much. Being away might be good for him, but Dax wasn’t used to doing nothing and he didn’t know how he would enjoy spending his days at the beach house with no possible end in sight. His days were usually filled with checking up on operations and following up leads that Mauri pointed him to about those who needed some extra special persuasion. On his rare night off he did what he enjoyed most. Though his favourite hobby was something that few people understood, it made perfect sense to him.