Sweet Agony (Angels Halo MC Next Gen Book 2)

  Copyright © Terri Anne Browning/Anna Henson 2019

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Terri Anne Browning, except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.

  Sweet Agony

  Angels Halo MC Next Gen

  Book 2

  Written by Terri Anne Browning

  All Rights Reserved ©Terri Anne Browning 2019

  Cover Design Sara Eirew Photography

  Edited by Lisa Hollett of Silently Correcting Your Grammar

  Formatting by M.L. Pahl of IndieVention Designs

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  Sweet Agony is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book can be reproduced in any form by electronic or mechanical means, including storage or retrieval systems, without the express permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Table of Content

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Next from Terri Anne Browning

  Prologue

  Tavia

  Shyly tucking my long, thick hair back behind my ear, I glanced at Theo out of the corner of my eye. The sun had just set, but twilight hadn’t turned the sky completely black, casting his profile in shadow as he drove through the busy New York City traffic.

  When his mother had offered me a ride, I’d readily accepted, thankful for a way home that didn’t include public transportation. I was already so tired from not only my own classes earlier in the day, but two other tutoring jobs before I arrived at the Volkov home to tutor Sofia.

  Mrs. Volkov always offered me a ride to my next tutoring client’s house or back home, but normally it was one of her security guards who drove me. When I walked down the front steps of their mansion to find Theo leaning against the side of his sleek car, I’d nearly stumbled down to the driveway.

  “Careful,” he’d called. Moving forward with the speed and grace of a panther, he’d offered me his hand to steady myself. The moment his fingers touched my wrist, I felt an electrical zap to my heart, and it started pounding against my rib cage.

  Instead of releasing me, he kept his hand wrapped firmly around mine and walked me to the front passenger side of his car. Opening the door, he assisted me in and bent down. Taking the seat belt in hand, he leaned across me, snapping it into place.

  The scent of his cologne hit my senses, and I had to bite my lip to keep from whimpering at how good he smelled. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, wanting to hold a part of him inside me for a moment.

  Theo had to know I had the biggest crush on him. Only, it was more than that for me. So, so much more. As soon as I met him, I’d been attracted. There was something about him that drew me to him. Not just his looks but him.

  He’d been kind to me over the years, even taking the time to stop and have conversations with me, making me think I mattered to him for a moment. During those occasions, we would laugh together, even flirt, and it made me think he felt something too. The way he would look at me, like he was starving and desperate to memorize every feature on my face…

  Yet he never once made a move, which confused the hell out of me. He would teach me a new word in Russian every time, sometimes an entire phrase. His dark eyes would light up with pride and something I couldn’t put a name to when I got it correct right away.

  He pulled back from fastening my seat belt, his hand grazing my lower stomach, setting my entire body aflame. I couldn’t hide a shiver as he winked down at me before straightening and closing the door.

  Now, as he drove through the city, I saw him glance my way. I felt my cheeks heat with a mixture of embarrassment at being caught checking him out and need so intense, it gnawed low in my belly. At the next red light, Theo stopped and, reaching over, took my left hand in his right.

  Lifting it, he kissed my knuckles, his thumb stroking my flesh and making me shiver yet again. “So beautiful,” he murmured, his voice thick with the same hunger I was feeling. “Let’s get you home, krasotka.”

  Fifteen minutes later, he parked outside my dorm. Before I could get my seat belt off, he was out and around the car, opening the door for me. When he offered his hand, I readily placed mine in his and stepped out.

  “Are you allowed visitors?” he asked, keeping my hand tightly ensnared in his.

  “It’s not a convent, Theo,” I told him with a laugh. “Of course I’m allowed to bring people to my dorm.”

  He pulled his brows together, his entire face turning to stone. “And do you have guests often, krasotka?” he gritted out between clenched teeth. For a moment, I actually wondered if he was jealous.

  “So far, I’ve only had Sofia visit me. And once, your father came up.”

  His brow instantly smoothed out, and he lifted my hand to his mouth. “Show me your dorm room, Tavia.”

  Chapter 1

  Tavia

  Gathering my books, I placed them neatly into my backpack and grinned at the girl who was quite possibly my best friend—as well as my favorite tutoring client. “Great job on that test last week. I knew you would blow that Trig exam right out of the water.”

  Sofia Volkov gave me a smug grin, amusement shining out of her clear blue eyes. She was two years younger than me and my complete opposite in most ways, but we did share a few things in common. Like the fact that we were both orphans. Only, Sofia had been adopted by one of the most powerful families in New York from the orphanage back in Russia where she had lived for the first few months of her life.

  Me, on the other hand, I’d lived in the same home for children who belonged to the state because their parents didn’t want them from the time I was two until I graduated from high school the previous year. There was no family to take me in, no one to adopt me, and no one to care if I made it safely to bed each night. I had been on my own except for the nuns who ran the orphanage and the other kids who lived there.

  But I was okay with that. I didn’t want to answer to anyone. Didn’t like having someone breathing down my neck, asking questions about every little thing I did. And I sure as hell wasn’t looking for someone to take care of me.

  I could do all of that on my own with no help from anyone. I’d worked my ass off to get good grades so I could win scholarships, first to the most prestigious private academy in the city, and then to the best universities in the state. I’d chosen Columbia because they’d given me the most money, paying for everything, including my books and even the single dorm room where I didn’t have to deal with annoying roommates. Being so close to Sofia and my other tutoring clients was a plus. It allowed me to keep working while still going to classes and not having to build up a new client list somewhere else.<
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  The fact that it kept me close to Sofia’s older brother, Theo, wasn’t even a small bonus.

  Of course that was the lie I fed myself every day. And one I intended to continue repeating over and over again.

  “Tavia,” Victoria Volkov, Sofia’s mother, greeted me cheerfully as she walked into the library where we always studied together. I was already standing, and she embraced me, giving me a light kiss on the cheek before stepping back. “How are your classes? Are you eating enough?”

  I felt a small pang at having her motherly questions tossed at me. No one had ever cared if I got enough to eat until I’d met Sofia’s mother three years before, when I’d started tutoring her. From the first time I’d shown up on their doorstep, looking like a drowned rat because I’d had to run in the pouring rain from the front gate at the bottom of the Volkov estate’s long driveway to their gigantic home, Victoria had fussed over me.

  Was I eating enough, sleeping enough?

  Did I need anything?

  I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes the first few times she’d asked, thinking she was just being polite—and maybe even a little condescending. But then I realized she was genuinely concerned for me, and I’d grown to like and appreciate her affection.

  “I’m good, Mrs. Volkov. Classes are going smoothly as always. And yes, I promise, I’m getting three meals a day.”

  “Good. Would you like to stay for dinner?” She tossed her long auburn hair back from her face, her alabaster skin glowing in the overhead light. She was gorgeous, and there were actually two of her since she had an identical twin sister, someone I’d met only a handful of times over the years.

  I gave her a regretful smile as I tossed my backpack over one shoulder. “I wish I could, but I have one more stop to make before I can get back to the dorms. Rain check?”

  “Of course. Anytime, sweetheart.” She put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. Everyone knew Sofia was adopted, but she and her mom had a stronger relationship than some of the biological mother-daughters I’d seen together. “I’ve already sent your payment through your app. Thank you again for all you’ve done for our Sofia. I honestly don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t helped her so much over the years.”

  Sofia rolled her eyes at me, making me have to fight a grin. It was true that I’d helped her focus on her studies more, but Sofia was smarter than anyone gave her credit for. She just didn’t want to apply herself most of the time. It wasn’t that she was lazy, just…bored. And a bored Sofia was a mischievous Sofia. Not that she got into a lot of trouble. She was so carefully guarded and watched twenty-four seven, she couldn’t do much that would actually get her into trouble. But there were times when she tried her hardest.

  I checked one last time to make sure I had everything I needed and gave them both a wave as I left. Outside, there was a car waiting on me. Ever since that first day, Mrs. Volkov always made sure I had a safe ride home.

  As I walked down the stairs, the sun rapidly setting and turning the sky a burnished orange, the driver stepped out and opened the back door for me. It didn’t surprise me that it wasn’t Theo, but I still felt an acute pang of disappointment that I quickly had to hide when the driver’s eyes turned to me.

  “Miss Zima,” Yerik said quietly as he stood there looking like some carved-from-stone statue. He was my usual driver, but the truth was, I couldn’t stand him. Still, I wasn’t going to hurt Mrs. Volkov’s feelings by turning down her generous offer of a free ride all the way back to my dorm—no matter how uncomfortable the man made me. Plus, I could go over my notes for the upcoming client on the ride.

  Once I was seated, Yerik got behind the wheel. I told him the address of where I needed to go as I pulled out my notebook and pen, using the light on my phone to see by.

  For the next twenty minutes, my focus was solely on what I needed to cover so my upcoming client could pass his French exam the next day. It wasn’t until I closed the notebook that I lifted my head.

  Only to realize we were definitely not almost there.

  My eyes darted around, unease sitting hard in my gut as I tried to make sense of where Yerik had taken me in so short a time. It was completely dark out now, not even a single shard of orange coloring the sky, and I didn’t recognize anything outside the car’s window.

  There were no streetlights, no passing cars, no buildings. Nothing to give me even a hint of where we were. I felt my hands begin to sweat as I turned my gaze to Yerik, who was now gazing back at me every few seconds in the rearview mirror. Fear tightened my throat, but I quickly swallowed it down and glared at the driver.

  “Mrs. Volkov will be upset you didn’t take me to my next appointment, Yerik,” I gritted out, making sure my voice didn’t shake and give away just how scared I was.

  From the moment I had set eyes on him, Yerik had made me uneasy. Sofia knew I didn’t like him, but she couldn’t understand why I never wanted to be left alone with the man. Everyone who worked for her parents would give their lives to protect her, so she couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that one of them made me feel like he was thinking of doing very, very bad things to me every time he looked my way. She made me feel it was all in my head, but lately, he had made me more and more uncomfortable.

  A hard laugh left Yerik, the sound making me shiver with dread. “I don’t answer to her, sweet Tavia,” was all he said as he continued to drive.

  I hated the way his eyes darkened when he said my name. Hated the way he licked his lips as his gaze dropped from my face to my chest. I crossed my arms, trying to hide my breasts from him, only to hear him laugh again.

  Fighting panic, I lifted my phone. My fingers trembled over my contact list, unsure who to call for help. If I texted Sofia and told her what was going on, she would just laugh at me. I loved that girl, but she had no real clue how things were outside the bubble her father had put her in.

  I should have already been calling 9-1-1, but there was only one person I truly wanted to save me. The problem was, I wasn’t sure if he would even answer if my name popped up on his phone.

  Theo had gotten his one taste and, just as quickly, tossed me aside. It was my own fault that I continued to hope he would open his eyes, see that he loved me, and want to be together. Forget the bullshit excuse that I was his sister’s best friend or that I was too young—too innocent for his world. Whatever the hell that meant. If we loved each other, the rest shouldn’t matter, damn it.

  I tightened my hold on my phone and swiped my thumb over his name. Only to be sent to voice mail after two rings.

  Heart breaking a little more even as my growing fear tried to choke me, I forced my numb fingers to dial 9-1-1.

  And then Yerik stopped, snatching my phone before the call could connect, and my world was quickly turned upside down.

  Chapter 2

  Theo

  Keeping my face impassive, I stood in the warehouse with two of my best men. Ivan and Yury had accompanied me when my pops gave me my own territory. I trusted them with my life, which was saying a hell of a lot because I didn’t trust many. Outside of my family, I trusted maybe a handful of people.

  The man standing in front of me, two of his own men on either side of him, was definitely not on my list.

  My control was already attempting to slip, to show my true feelings for the motherfucker who sneered at me as he waited for me to step forward and start our meeting. It felt like I’d been waiting a lifetime for this moment, to stare into the eyes of the monster who had given the order to have my biological father murdered.

  I’d been deprived of the satisfaction of taking out the one who had actually killed Taras Volkov, but I’d be damned if I didn’t get to be the one to end the man who had given the order.

  Viktor Petrov adjusted his suit jacket, a sign I’d come to learn meant he was growing impatient. I knew everything there was to know about this man, had made it my mission in life to uncover every single secret he wanted buried. I kne
w everything—from what he had for breakfast every morning, all the way down to what detergent his housekeeper used to wash his clothes. There wasn’t anything he did that I didn’t know about.

  His impatience was what I’d been waiting for. Petrov made mistakes when he was impatient. Which was exactly what I wanted.

  “Stay here,” I told Ivan and Yury. I felt them tense and knew they wanted to protest, but a single look from me had them both complying as I stepped forward.

  Petrov did the same, leaving his two men behind as the two of us met in the middle.

  I could have taken out this piece of shit multiple times already if that was what I’d really wanted. From the time I was ten, my aunt Anya had been teaching me how to shoot. With her as my instructor, I never missed. Whether I was a mile or a foot away, I always hit my mark.

  But simply pulling a trigger and ending Petrov’s existence wasn’t enough for me. I wanted him to know why I was the one taking his life. Wanted to see his eyes as the life seeped from his body. I wanted to feel the heat of his blood as it poured from the hole I put in him.

  “Thank you, young wolf, for taking the time to meet with me tonight,” Petrov said once mere feet were separating us.

  “I think I’m the one who should be thanking you, Viktor,” I said in a bored voice. “You made it so easy for me to take your stock from you after all.”

  He clenched his jaw for a moment, before his eyes scrunched at the corners in a full-on grin. “I did, didn’t I?”

  To get his attention, I’d had my men steal his inventory over the last two months. Everything from guns to drugs, we’d taken it all, leaving him with nothing to sell on the streets. Petrov had been raising hell, trying desperately to find out who was stealing from him.

  After the last shipment my men had intercepted, I’d had them leave a message for Petrov to meet me here.

  “If all you want is to take over my territory, you could have had your father negotiate.” I refused to react to the way he smirked when he said “father.” “I’m sure we could have come to a mutual agreement.”