Twelve.

We enter the mansion through the large iron gates, looking exactly how we feel: sore, tired, and in desperate need of a hot shower.

My kneecaps are grazed, the soles of my feet are cut up and my clothes look like I've been attacked by a grizzly bear.

All while, Ace doesn't have a strand of hair out of place or a spec of dirt staining his clothes.

Trent comes into our line of vision as the front door yanks open, his arms crossed against his broad chest, preventing us from entering.

"How did you two get so fucked up?" He spits out with a scowl on his face and his words are heavily coated with interest.

"We were targeted on our way home from the hospital, which resulted in a shootout with the Irishmen." He draws me in closer to his body, pressing mine flush against his. "And this beauty right here eliminated the majority of them." His voice is brimming with pride.

My eyes meet Trent's and I catch him looking me up and down with a smirk on his face and his tongue running along the top of his teeth. "And yet, you believed that you could not kill a man?" He snickers and takes a step forward, his hand drifting down the centre of my chest, in between my breasts. "You belong to us, Mila; you ARE one of us, and you will now train alongside the men because I have a special job lined up for you after you give birth." He declares adamantly.

I slap his hand away, "I'm pregnant, and a deal has already been struck for me to abstain from any involvement with the mob until after I give birth." I gaze at his pansy-ass and beg for the ground to rupture and devour his filthy ass.

"Deals are crafted to be broken, and last time I checked, princess, I was the one setting the rules around here." He looks at me with a sneer.

Between us, the air is repulsively thick with tension, the pungent fragrance of his cigar breath lingers, and I cough, fanning my face with my hand.

A chuckle leaves my lips as my eyes narrow into thin slits and my mouth forms into a smirk. "Sure, the more skills I acquire, the easier it will be for me to take you down."

I stand there watching as his eyes darken, raising his hand in the air and he strikes me across the face. The slapping sound echoes off the walls in the entryway, I wince as an explosion of pain spreads across my cheek, my hand rests on my stinging skin, and I snap my head back to face him.

"Did that make your dick hard, asshole?" The words escape my lips before I have a chance to compress them shut.

My mind is immediately clouded with wrath, causing my temper to become erratic and my actions to become unpredictable. I tilt my head to the side, silently challenging him to do it again.

Instead,

His hand snakes around my wrist and he drags me inside; pushing my body against the panel near the door, my back collides with the wall forging a loud thud, and once again, I find myself unable to control the smirk on my face.

I hiss at him, like a cat with her claws out, ready to strike her opponent..

But,

In this mansion, I've discovered that the goons aren't very clever when it comes to utilising words and that my tongue is my most effective weapon, which they are completely unaware of.

"I'd keep a close eye on that pretty little mouth of yours, Mila," he murmurs raspily against my ear. "Or, I'll stuff something in there to silence you,"

He nips at the sensitive skin on my ear lobe with his teeth, sending a sickening chill up my spine. I cling to his shirt with both hands against his chest.

"You will not harm me, because I am carrying something that is most likely to be yours in my womb. Do the math.." With my eyes fixed on Aces, I whisper and push against his chest with all my strength.

He stumbles backwards, his face contorted in surprise, and I scoff at his speechless reaction. "What did the cat suddenly get your tongue, Boss...?" I make a point of emphasising the word boss, knowing how much he despises it when I address him as such.

If he had his way, I would refer to him exclusively as big daddy, which makes me sick as fuck.

I brush past him, storming up the stairs with a hot shower on my mind and a much-deserved nap straight after.

"Mila!!"

I can hear Trent howling after me to return, I know he will have questions and I also know he will not hurt me if he truly believes the baby could be his.

So,

I ignore him and carry on to my most desired destination. I walk into the room that I share with Ace, heading straight towards the ensuite where the luxurious shower awaits me and I turn the water on to the hottest setting.

While I'm waiting for the water to heat up I walk back into the room with my head bowed admiring the size of my growing belly.

"Are you trying to get us killed, Mila?"

I yelp, covering my mouth with my hands in an attempt to mask my frightened screams. "Jesus Christ, Ace!" I say as I exhale loudly, sliding the hand that covers my mouth and place it over my racing heart.

"Well?" He asks me forcefully, and the expression on his face matches the tone of his speech perfectly.

"Do you even have to ask? I mean, you already know how much I loathe being here, Ace." I stare at him with my eyes full of contempt.

"I'm a prisoner in this God-forsaken place, and you both treat me as if I'm a piece of property. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't weaken you to stand up to him once in a while, at least as far as we're concerned." I rub my belly, indicating to the little human forming in my womb.

With a low growl that vibrates from his chest as his eyes watch me, he mumbles, "If you didn't fucking run your mouth, I wouldn't have to step in and defend you."

I giggle at his obscene remark,

"Where Trent is concerned, you shrivel up like a prune and quite frankly, it's embarrassing to watch," I utter with a bored sigh, removing the filthy garments from my body.

He takes a step closer to me and my body quickly flinches as he reaches out and grasps my pebbled nipple between his fingertips, eliciting a faint groan from my lips.

I swallow, trying to maintain as still as possible as his fingers glide down my torso, between the soft mould between my thighs. His lips plant feather-light kisses along my warm skin, drawing closer to my trapezius muscle, his teeth nip at the curve of my shoulder.

He pushes a finger into my core, finger fucking me, and my body begins to liquefy in response to his touch. My hormones are messed up, and every time he sexually touches me, he brings my treacherous body to life for him.

"You're fucking soaking wet for me, tesoro." He murmurs. "However, as you know, when you misbehave, both of us suffer the consequences." He withdraws his fingers, sticking them in his mouth as he greedily cleans the tips of them coated in my arousal with his tongue.

He proceeds to step away from me with a painful expression on his face, and my body suddenly turns chilly with a grimace.

"No," I shake my head at him.

"Si, I am compelled to sit and watch as he fucks you."

The sound of the door opening fills the room; I turn to face it and watch as Trent enters, his face contorted with a sickening smile. "We struck a deal! You said you wouldn't touch me." I say loudly enough for him to notice my voice cracking.

He sighs and his face twists with boredom. "Remember that deals are designed to be broken and I'll take what I want from you whenever I fucking please." He sneers as he slowly begins to undress.

I stand there with a repulsive expression on my face, visualizing a thousand various ways to murder the son of a bitch and silently promise to my inner Goddess that we will have his head on a stake one day soon.