“She may not warm to you,” I admitted.
“I know she won’t. Especially now.”
“Still, you want to guard her?”
“I do.”
“Fine. Be at her side. She’ll eventually understand.” I headed forward and stopped in front of the third cell.
My men had the Devil hanging from a set of chains in the center of the cell. Chains dangled from his wrists and ankles. He’d been forced to balance on his toes. When the Devil saw me, he winced and whispered a prayer, muttering about Jesus in French.
They’d taken his mask from him. Now only scarred tissue and chewed flesh served as his face.
I walked closer to the bars. “How long have you known Jean-Pierre?”
The Devil’s jagged mouth quivered. “I. . .I’ve known him since I was a boy.”
“You know his family?”
The Devil bobbed his head.
“Is his mother and father still alive?” I asked.
When the Devil shook his head, the chains clanked. “No. Both parents are dead.”
“Too bad. What about his siblings?”
“None. His cousins are his brothers.”
“Hmmm.” I placed my hands into my pockets. “They were already going to die. I want him to hurt more.”
The Devil spoke in rushed words. Spit dripped from the corner of his mouth. “He has aunts that are like mothers. They live at his house in Nice. That’s where he usually is. That’s probably where he will go now. It’s his safe haven.”
Not anymore.
I glared at him. “You know the address?”
“I have a good idea of the location. It’s been years since I’ve gone.”
“Are there other cousins besides the four?”
“Yes. His mother’s family isn’t part of the Corsican. They’re regulars—”
“Then, they’ll die in front of him first.”
The Devil widened what should have been his eyes, but were more like slits in his face. “You want revenge?”
“I do.”
“I can help you. I can tell you anything I know about Jean-Pierre. All of them. I. . .I even know a little about the woman.”
“The one you cut?”
“Yes. Eden. I can tell you about the other one too. The dead one. Shalimar. The one in the chair was messing with Rafael. And Eden, she has an aunt—Celina. That’s who stole the nuclear codes.”
Her family would die too. All of them.
The Devil spoke with urgency. “I-I can tell you anything you need.”
“That would be the only thing to keep you breathing.”
“L-louis has a brother.”
“Where is he?”
“Not sure, but I could guess.”
“For your sake, they better be good guesses.” I glanced over my shoulder at Zahkar. “Get some men and take the Devil up to my office.”
Zahkar cleared his throat. “You want me to take him up to your office?”
“Yes.” I walked off and headed upstairs. “I want some vodka too.”
Zahkar pulled out his phone and made the order.
First I would start with Jean-Pierre’s city, slowly creating chaos there.
The Parisians thought they saw true terror this week.
They had no idea.
I might have e let France survive, if my child was safe. She’s not. She’s. . .
I shut the thought out of my mind and marched to my office.
I had no idea when I arrived, just that I was instantly at the bar with a bottle of vodka in my hand.
Maxwell sat in my office with Pavel, and Boris. None of the men had changed, but at least they looked like they’d gotten some sleep.
I scowled. “What do you three want?”
Maxwell spoke up. “How’s Emily? I heard people scream for a doctor, and then he ran up there, but no one said anything else. So I came down here for answers.”
“She’s fine.”
“I’m going to see her.” Maxwell rose and walked off.
“No.”
Maxwell stopped and turned around. “Did she get shot or something?”
“No.” I let out a long breath. “She was pregnant. Four weeks. She had a miscarriage.”
Maxwell widened his eyes. “Pregnant?”
“Yes,” I grumbled.
Pavel and David exchanged worried glances.
Maxwell shook his head. “How did that happen?”
“I’m not going to explain the birds and bees with you today. She was pregnant and now she’s not.” I left the bar, twisted the top off, and took a swig of vodka. “Get out of my office.”
“This shit is out of hand.” Maxwell walked back to the couch. “What are you going to do about the French now that the baby is gone? Did Emily even know she was pregnant?”
“I told you to leave.”
Maxwell leaned back. “Boris told me something about some racist shit going on while I was gone—”
“It’s being handled.”
I sat up like he was close to shooting me. “Is it? The motherfucker said something about cut off monkey heads.”
I swallowed down some more vodka. The liquid burned. My stomach twisted in disgust.
No. I can’t drink this.
Pissed, I put the bottle down on my deck and paced.
Maxwell didn’t get the hint to leave. “I need to see the tapes—”
I ran my fingers through my hair.
Maxwell softened his voice. “You need help.”
“Do I?”
“This is my thing.”
“Have you figured out what happened to Oleysa?” I’d given him my ex-fuck toy’s murder to solve, sure Valentina had done it, but I wasn’t sure why.
Maxwell sighed. “Yeah. I solved it.”
“Who did it?”
“Valentina.”
I paused. “Why?”
“Ask her.”
I marched over to him. “That wasn’t our deal.”
He rose from the couch. “I don’t remember that.”
David and Pavel stood too.
I stared at him. My fingers itched to choke his thick neck. “Why did Valentina kill Oleysa?”
“I fuck with Valentina, and she asked me not to tell you. It’s her story to tell.”
I frowned. “So, you’re more loyal to Valentina than me?”
“Yes.” Maxwell shrugged. “Sorry about that.”
I was mad, but not with Maxwell. If anything, his loyalty to Valentina was nothing new. My friend Oleg had fallen into the same devotion. He came to Moscow to help me, saw her, and became her lap dog immediately. Of course Maxwell would suddenly have Valentina’s back.
David and Pavel remained standing as they watched us talk.
What are you two going to do? Jump in the middle and stop me from killing him?
I walked off. “Fine. I’ll get it from Valentina.”
“Doubt it,” Maxwell muttered.
I glanced over my shoulder. “What does that mean?”
Maxwell shook his head. “Maybe we should focus on. . .” The man stopped talking, shook his head, and then looked at me in confusion. “Emily was Pregnant?”
I clenched my jaw. “Not anymore.”
“Did the. . .did the whole kidnapping situation make her lose it?”
“The doctor wasn’t sure. He said that sometimes these things happen in stressful situations.”
“Emily has definitely been in stressful situations all month. We had the war with Sasha and Darryl. Shit has happened.”
“Yeah.” I leaned on the edge of my desk.
Maxwell studied me. “You need a hug or something?”
“Get the fuck out of my office!”
Maxwell held his ground. “I’m not going anywhere right now. Not with Emily upstairs and in pain. She just lost Kennedy and Xavier. She doesn’t need to lose a baby while some motherfucker is cutting monkey heads off around her.”
David chose that moment to speak, “I’ll help too. Tell me who I
need to talk to. I’ll catch up.”
“I’ll go check on Emily for now.” Maxwell finally left the office.
I called after him. “Emily is asleep.”
“I’ll wait outside her room, until she wakes up.”
“Just sit your ass back down.”
Maxwell returned, but didn’t sit down.
Pavel tilted his head to the side. “What are you about to do?”
“Nothing.” I placed my hands back in my pockets , wanting to get a sip of vodka, but knowing I needed to keep my head clear.
Pavel sighed. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Four men dragged the Devil into my office. He was still dirty and blood-stained. His chains clanked along his ankles and wrists.
Boris entered and stood by the door.
I glared at him. “Go stand by Emily’s door. If she needs something, take care of it. Except if she asks for a gun or knife, then get me.”
Boris nodded and headed off.
Maxwell sat back down.
I ignored the idiot and gave my attention to my men. “Get a big board. Several of them. In fact, let’s go to the war room. This all needs to be on a bigger scale.”
I headed off.
The four men dragged the Devil behind me.
David followed too. Maxwell rushed over and kept my pace. “You’ve got a war room?”
“Why are you following me around?”
“Em told me to watch you.”
“When did she say that?”
He tapped his pocket. “Long ago, but it still stands true.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the Devil. “Maybe you should go back in the room with her.”
“I’ll go where I want.”
“At the bare minimum, you should stay home.”
“As if you could stop me from leaving my house, if I wanted to.”
“I could try.”
“How would you?”
He pointed down. “Shoot you in your leg.”
“Maxwell, if you even think about shooting me in the leg again, stab yourself in the brain, and before the blood drops, pray to God”
“Why would I do that? I like my brain.” Maxwell checked the Devil again. “So. . .what are you going to do with him?”
“Anything I fucking want.”
“Hey.” Maxwell raised his hands. “I’m not the enemy.”
“Stop following me. Go back to sleep.”
“Too much shit has gotten out of hand, since I’ve been gone.”
I groaned.
“I’m here to keep everything right.”
He blabbered on. Ignoring him, I took us past the ball room and kitchen. My staff scurried past us. Tension had saturated the house. Not everyone knew what had happened, but they must have felt our pain.
Once I got to my massive war room, my men opened the door.
We all barreled in.
The space was empty, except for the massive globe in the center of the floor. Men carried large tables into the room. Two others brought in maps.
David scanned the space. “What are we doing?”
I walked around the globe. “Planning a war.”
“Against the Corsican?”
“Yes.”
“Sounds good.” David scratched his head. “I just need some coffee.”
“Get it. We have places to bomb.”
Maxwell cursed under his mouth.
David’s face went serious. “And how is your mouse again?”
My heart ached. She would need time to heal. What did I know about healing, when I spent my life causing pain?
“She’s asleep.”
David looked nervous about asking the next question. “And when Emily wakes up?”
“I’ll be by her side.”
“Until then—”
“We bomb Paris.”
David shook his head. “Then, I’ll definitely need two cups of coffee.”
“You may want to call your family and friends who are there too.”
David widened his eyes. “What should I tell them?”
“Run.” I studied the globe. “Tell all your family to run.”
Maxwell stretched his arms out. “So. . .you’re going to bomb Paris?”
I looked up at him. “Yes. Will you need coffee too?”
“Naw, but I may need that vodka from the desk.”
“Get it, Maxwell. And then we’ll have some fun.”
Maxwell rushed off along with David.
Zahkar remained out in the hall muttering low to Pavel. All four of the men appeared worried. Surely, they knew I was serious. There was no way the French would live, and now with my daughter. . .gone.
Now, I’ll never let any of them survive.
War would come to the Corsican’s doorsteps. Blood would rain down on their heads. And right as they sucked in their last breath, my name would be in their screams.
About the Author
http://kenyawrightbooks.com/
Kenya Wright wrote her first novel during her third year at UM Law school. She dropped out a month after the release and never looked back. Words are power, and Kenya wants to be the greatest wizard that ever lived.
“It's an audacity to inspire and teach the healing of love through arousal. It's this crazy idea that love can not only help a reader escape, but the story can also teach the person about being human, while making them laugh, cry, and hot for more sex.”
Also by Kenya Wright
The Lion and The Mouse
Dirty Kisses - Book 1
Dirty Love - Book 2
Dirty Hearts - Book 3
Dirty Desires - Book 3.5
The Butcher and the Violinist
Rhapsody - Book One
Sonata - Book Two
The Masque of Red Death
The Masque of Red Death: An African-American Murder Mystery
More from Kenya
Gio: An Erotic Romance
Heartbreak Hotel: An Erotic Romance
I Want You: An Erotic Short
No Ordinary Love: An Interracial Erotic Romance
Filthy Lies: An Interracial Erotic Romance
Power: Interracial Gangster Romance with Twists
When the Smoke Clears
Hungry
Dirty Minds: The Lion and The Mouse (Book 4) Page 20
