by Lexi Blake
Bile rose in his throat but his fingers worked hard, and he could feel the knife in his boot with his foot. They’d taken his gun and another knife, but the stiletto was still there.
“No!” Avery started to fight. Her fists came out, but it was an ineffectual thing against Rory’s strength. She hit his chest, but he just laughed and held her away from him.
“Maybe I will, brother,” Rory replied. Shrewd eyes slid his way. “I was listening the whole time, you know.”
A slippery slope. Another piece of the knot fell free. He had a little room to work now, but he had to be careful. It was also easier to move his arms, and that would give away the whole game. “I was acting the whole time. You’ve been out of the game for a long time if you think I have a real emotional attachment to her. She was the mark, mate. You remember how that is. I do admit that she was a rather dull lay.”
Avery gasped, her face turning to him. Tears fell from her eyes. She was never going to forgive him. He wouldn’t be able to explain why he’d turned away from her when she was at her most vulnerable. She would hate him. She would loathe and despise him, and he couldn’t take it back. He kept his face cold, blank. Like he didn’t love her. Like she wasn’t the best part of his soul.
“I wonder,” Rory said, twisting his fist in her hair and forcing her face to his. The gown she was wearing slipped off one shoulder, the top of her breast rounding over the material. “She sounded really hot on those tapes. She loved when you spanked her.”
“No,” Avery said, her voice tortured as she struggled against him.
“Some subs just say they like it. They’re just desperate for a cock. They can’t get one so they go along with anything that will get them a man. And when you look like me, well, I can get a girl to do just about anything.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. His heart was breaking, but he had to save her even if it meant he lost her. He would watch over her for the rest of her life, but he meant to make sure that was a long time. He wouldn’t take another woman. He belonged to her. If she never touched him again, he would be alone. He would still love her.
Another piece of the rope came loose. Fuck. There was still so much rope between him and Avery’s life. He was getting close to losing it. How much damage could he do while tied to a chair? He could head butt the fucker, maybe give Avery a chance to run, but how many thugs were out there waiting?
Rory had a gun in his shoulder holster. He could shoot Avery in the back. Liam had to be patient. He had to make sure he could protect her. The pain she endured in the meantime would mean she might live through this.
“Are you desperate for some cock, girl?” Rory’s vicious laugh filled the room. “I have some cock for you. Do you know why I hired you, bitch?”
She whimpered, her chest heaving.
“I hired you because you were so dumb and so innocent. You’re the stupid bitch who forgave the woman who killed your baby. Do you know how wrong that is?” Rory was looking down at her, his hand pushing her back to the floor. She fell to her knees. “What the fuck kind of woman are you?”
Avery cried out, trying to get away, but he held her fast.
“They’re right to hate you, your in-laws,” Rory whispered. “You don’t deserve to have a family.”
And he did? Rory had fucked everyone who ever cared about him. He wasn’t even in Avery’s league. He couldn’t understand what she’d done. She’d chosen something good over revenge. She’d put grace and love back into the world when most people would have chosen their hate.
Rory kept his eyes on Avery as though trying to drink in her misery. Liam used those minutes to move more freely, working the knot as fast as he could.
“Leave me alone!” Avery put a fist out, proving she was stronger than Rory believed.
“That is not going to happen,” Rory growled back. His fist tightened, pulling her back off the ground. Liam hated the way her muscles bunched as she fought him. “I put a lot of work into you, bitch, and I don’t buy my brother’s little act. I listened in. I heard the way he fucked you. He sounded like a sad little girl telling you he loved you, telling you he needed you. It made me a little sick to tell you the truth. My brother used to be a real man.”
He used to be a sad man. He used to be a man who just took what was offered and gave nothing real back. He’d been a pathetic manwhore who slept his way through life not really understanding what he could have, what he could give. He slipped another part of the knot, but he was starting to panic. He still only had an inch of purchase between his hands. He wasn’t close yet. He was getting there, but how much would Avery have to endure before he got his act together?
“He’s a liar. He isn’t a man.” The words sounded choked from her throat.
They kicked him squarely in the gut, but he couldn’t show it. “Sorry, darlin’. It was me or Ian. We flipped a coin, and I lost.”
Rory’s eyes narrowed. “So you don’t mind at all if I do this?” His hand dug into her hair, pulling Avery’s body into his. Her limbs were shaking, but she still tried to get away. “Stop fighting me or I’ll gut you here and now.”
“He means it.” Her fighting would do nothing but piss Rory off. She was strong, but no match at all against Rory’s bulk. Rory would let her bleed a little, and then he would still do what he wanted.
“I hate you both.” Avery stilled, but he could see the distaste in her eyes as Rory cupped her breast.
And now he had the added problem of Avery being a shield.
Rory’s hand squeezed. “She’s awfully soft. You’re sure you didn’t want her? When we were growing up Liam always liked the fluffy ones.”
“I like ‘em skinny now.” Just a little more. His wrists were bleeding now, too. The friction had opened chafing wounds on his hands. All the better. More lubricant to make the bonds easier to slip.
And Rory was a bit preoccupied. Rory’s eyes were on Avery’s breast. He’d slipped the gown off one shoulder and stared down. “I like a fat girl. They can handle more than the skinny ones can.”
Avery stared directly at Liam with tearful eyes, but a stubborn jaw. She was enduring. She was taking it, but she had to hate him for every moment she stood there.
It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered until she was safe. One hand slipped free to the knuckles. All he really needed was one.
“I think I’m going to fuck your bitch on the desk. Get on all fours. Liam’s a pervert. He’ll like the show. It’s my final gift to you, brother. After all, you taught me so much. Liam’s the one who took me to my first club. He taught me how to tie up a woman and teach her who the boss really is.”
“Yeah, you were always a lazy ass when it came to lessons.” He moved as fast as he could, slipping one hand free and going for his knife.
Avery went wild, pulling away and punching out. It was perfect because Liam was slower than usual. He bit back against the pain of the circulation starting to flow into his hands again. He forced himself to move, pulling the knife free from his boot.
“Down, Avery!”
Rory slapped her just before she dropped to the ground. Rory reached for his gun, but it was far too late. Before he could even get close, the knife thudded into his chest, Liam’s aim utter perfection.
“Li?” Rory stared down at the knife and pulled it out as he started to drop to his knees. Blood bloomed across his shirt.
His brother. He’d been told to protect Rory, but there had been no protecting Rory from himself. Rory had turned bad somewhere along the way, and he’d chosen to remain so. His brother had died a long time ago, and Rory had killed himself with his own dark ambition. What Liam had put down was just another predator.
“Avery?” He got to one knee, a little afraid to touch her for fear that she would fight him. He had to handle her carefully. “Baby, we have to get out of here, and we have to do it quietly.”
She sat up, her whole body shaking. “I know. The window in this room leads to a garden and then out into an alley. We can get out that way.�
He helped her to her feet. “Avery, I didn’t mean a word of that.”
Her face tightened, a quizzical expression in her eyes. “I know that. You couldn’t exactly declare your love. Do you really think I’m that dumb? But you’re so paying for some of that. I get to be bratty at least twice a day with no fear of reprisals for a year or so.”
He pulled her into his arms, reveling in the feel of her. “I was so bloody scared. Fuck, love, I thought you would hate me, but I couldn’t let on how much I cared.”
“You could have told me I’d been working for your brother,” she groused, but her arms went around him. “Liam, you’re bleeding. We need to get those files and get you out of here.”
“Forget the files.” He kissed the top of her head. She was going to look interesting running around London in a silk nightie. He needed to call Ian, but they’d taken his cell along with his gun. Luckily, his brother had died and left him a very nice SIG Sauer. Liam reached down to pick it up. “Ian and MI6 can find the files love.”
His hand was almost on the gun when his whole body jerked back and pain fired through his shoulder. What the hell? He fell back, agony making him moan.
“I’m afraid I can’t allow that to happen, Mr. O’Donnell.”
Panic started to crowd out the pain as Liam realized that he’d been the distraction all along—he and Avery, not Ian. Eli Nelson walked through the door dressed all in black, a calm smile on his face.
“Now the real fun can begin,” Nelson said.
* * * *
Avery dropped to her knees. Liam had been shot. Again. This time it wasn’t a small singe. The bullet had gone into his left shoulder and blood was already staining his shirt. Tears blurred her vision. She looked around. She had to stop the bleeding.
“Avery, get out of here.” Liam looked up at the newcomer who bent over and picked up the gun on the floor. If he was bothered by the dead body, he didn’t show it. Liam struggled to sit up. “This is between you and me, Nelson.”
So this was the infamous Eli Nelson, the man who had been working with her boss.
“Oh, this has never been between you and me, Mr. O’Donnell. You give yourself far too much credit. You were a pawn, nothing more.” Nelson sighed as he looked down at her former boss. “Just like your brother was a pawn.”
“You saved me that day,” Liam said. Though he was bleeding profusely, she could see his eyes looking around, plotting his next move. She just had to be patient.
“I did.” Nelson pocketed the extra gun. She should have tried to get it, but she’d rushed to Liam instead, and she wouldn’t have been quick on the draw anyway. But maybe she could get the knife. It laid there on the floor, covered in blood. The thought of touching it was revolting, but she would do it if it meant she could save Liam.
“Because you knew I would be good leverage against Rory one day.” Liam seemed to be trying to get her behind him, but he was having trouble moving.
“I like to have a backup plan. Never underestimate what a bit of chaos can bring. Rory was proving difficult. I loaned him this business and he’d decided not to give me my fair cut, so now I’m taking it. I realized that your team could be useful to me. MI6 was struggling, you see. So I waved my magic wand, and Ian Taggart followed like I knew he would, and he brought along his team. Now, I couldn’t just let you all run around London looking for me, so I sent Weston the files on Ian. Again, chaos is the great equalizer. You didn’t like hearing about Ian’s past, did you? You shut down and that bought me the time I needed. I knew once Rory here figured out that you were alive, he would lose his concentration and I could take the prize. How’s Sean doing by the way? And Grace? I heard she made it out alive. Surprising.”
“No thanks to you.” Liam gripped her hand, trying to push her behind him. “Avery ain’t got nothing to do with this. If you want revenge on Ian, you best be dealing with me and letting her go.”
Avery wasn’t going anywhere. She looked around trying to find anything that would help.
Nelson’s face scrunched into a confused mask. “This isn’t about revenge, Liam. This is a fun game between rivals. Ian thinks he’s so much smarter, but I am far better at this than he is. I’ve been playing for years, and he didn’t even understand the game was going on. And I definitely am going to need Avery Charles. One of the things your brother did right was to encode everything. I don’t even know how to contact my new clients to let them know that management has changed. I made a deal with one of his men to get me the cipher, but I don’t have anything to decode. By the way, thanks for killing Malcolm. It saved me the trouble of having to do it myself. I never actually intended to pay him, of course. Miss Charles, if you would fetch the files.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know where they are.”
Nelson frowned. “That’s really too bad.”
He raised the gun, and Liam’s other shoulder jerked back, taking a bullet. Avery screamed. How many bullets could he take? Neither one of his arms seemed to work, but he was trying to struggle to his feet.
Nelson sighed as though bored with it all. “Don’t blame yourself, my dear. I was going to shoot him again anyway. I can’t have him getting to that knife. But now it really is up to you. The next shot I take will be lower. I’ll take out his right lung and then his left, so you really should find those files.”
Anger threatened to take over. Who the hell was this man to think he could just walk in here and take what he wanted? She couldn’t lose Liam, but she was utterly helpless. Nelson had the guns, and she doubted she would be allowed to get the knife.
“I’m giving you a chance, dear. If you find the files, I’ll walk away. All I care about are those files. Personally I think leaving O’Donnell alive might mean Ian Taggart stays off my ass for a couple of months.” He sounded so reasonable.
“Stop moving. You’re making it worse,” she told Liam, her love, her Master. He was still trying to protect her, but he’d done his job and now it was time to do hers. “Does he mean it?”
“He left Sean alive,” Liam admitted.
“Look, I could kill you both and find the files myself. It really would be easier.” Nelson looked at his watch.
Avery struggled to her feet. “He kept them on paper. They weren’t in his office at work, so they have to be here. I’ve only been here a couple of times.”
“I would check the desk. Hurry along, dear. Time is ticking by.” He kept his gun trained on Liam.
She opened the top drawer and rifled through it. Nothing. She checked the side drawers. Everything was neat, and there were no files to be found.
“Okay. I’m going to be merciful. I’ll go for a leg this time.” A little ping sounded through the room.
Avery screamed as Liam’s thigh started to bleed.
“Two more minutes and I’ll start on the lungs.”
She wanted to plead. She couldn’t lose him. Where would he hide the files?
He’d been leaving. He’d scheduled a flight for Dubai.
“It’s in his luggage. His briefcase. Where’s his briefcase?” Avery nearly shouted the question.
“Clever girl. I think you should look inside and make sure. I wouldn’t want to find out you were wrong.” He gestured behind her and sure enough, there it was, the designer case he’d carried with him when they traveled. He’d never checked it, always preferring to keep it close.
She got to her knees, her back to Nelson. There was something else he would have kept in here. His phone and his tablet. Nelson would take the whole thing, but she was going to make a play for the backup. She wasn’t about to allow this man to just walk away, and if he betrayed them, MI6 would find it and Simon would break the code.
The files were right there in the side pocket beside his tablet.
“Well? Do I shoot Mr. O’Donnell again?”
“Don’t give him anything, Avery,” Liam growled.
She slipped the tablet out and onto the floor. She grabbed the files and stood. “I have them. There are three here.”
“Excellent. I’ll take the whole bag.”
Deep breath. Stay calm. The tablet was black. If she was careful, he wouldn’t notice it. She slipped the files back inside and turned, her hands shaking. She couldn’t fight him physically, but she wasn’t going to let him win. She tried to walk a straight line so her body hid what she’d left behind.
Nelson took the bag with a wink. “A deal’s a deal. I’ll leave you two lovebirds here.” He started toward the door. “I took care of your brother’s goon. You’re all alone in the house. Oh, by the way, your brother was very good with explosives, and he never liked to leave anything behind. He wired this whole town house to blow in the event that he wasn’t coming back. I set the timer. I believe you’ll find you have less than three minutes to get out. I think it will be interesting to see if Miss Charles stays with her lover or runs. And if you do survive, let Ian Taggart know I’m not done with him yet.”
He turned and walked out, and Avery ran to Liam. She got to her knees. He was so pale. “Was he serious?”
He’d lost so much blood, but his eyes were open. “He was. Get the bloody hell out of here, Avery. That’s an order.”
She wasn’t losing him. She would rather get her ass blown up in this damn house than live without trying to save him. Death didn’t get to take someone else from her. Not one more person she loved. Not today. She would go down with him. She would pray there was something beyond this place because she wasn’t staying here without him.
“Come on. Can you walk?” Avery looked down at his leg. She couldn’t see his pants for all the blood soaking them. It spilled over onto the carpet. She bit back a cry. He looked so bad.
“I can’t walk, love. Get the hell out. I mean it. I’m going to spank you so bad if you don’t get the fuck out right this second.”
That was a Dom. “You’ll have to spank me in the afterlife if you don’t get a move on.”
His hand gripped hers. “I can’t, love. Baby, you have to run. I love you. You have to live. Please.”
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