by Stone, Piper
“I have no qualms about ruining you; however, my organization doesn’t want anything to do with your company, including seeing its demise. We simply want what doesn’t belong to you. In exchange, I am willing to provide your daughter to you completely unharmed.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, darting a look from right to left. “My daughter was at the party. She was at work.”
“Yes, she was quite impressive, very much enjoying showing off your wine cellar. I apologize for the broken scotch. Such a waste.”
His brow furrowed, his breath ragged. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” I took my time, swirling the glass of vodka as I sat back in my seat. Making him sweat was the least of my concerns. “Giliana is a lovely woman, feisty and highly intelligent. She has a subtle scar on the side of her neck.”
“If you hurt her I will...” He slammed his hands on the table with enough force the dishes clanged together.
“You will do what exactly?”
Groaning, he rubbed both his hands through his thinning hair, boosting his exaggeration. I was beginning to lose interest in his ridiculous act.
I leaned over the table. “My intention is not to hurt your daughter in any manner; however, that is entirely dependent on you. We will make a simple exchange. Your daughter for the item I was hired to retrieve.”
“You’re the hired thug, not the men I employ.”
Chuckling, I took another sip of my drink. “You might be surprised, Wyland.” I looked away on purpose, simply running the tip of my index finger around the rim of the glass.
“I don’t have it in my possession,” he continued, more in control. “You need to believe me.”
“Wyland, I couldn’t care less where you have it hidden. You will bring the diamond to me.”
“There’s nothing I can do!”
I studied my watch. This particular event had taken entirely too long. “Let’s not play games, Wyland. While I’m a man of my word, I have very little patience. You see, the person who hired me to perform this operation is... We’ll just say he’s extremely angry as you can imagine.”
“I don’t have it!” he repeated emphatically. The second the waiter brought him another drink, he gulped the majority.
“Then I suggest you obtain it for me and quickly.” I flicked a card onto the table, disgusted I’d bothered to talk with him.
“Don’t let my daughter be caught in the middle of this. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
Now I was intrigued. “That sounds very much like a threat, Wyland, and I’m not a man who takes threats easily. I want you to understand something very clearly. I now own your daughter. Her mind. Her soul. Her body. I can and will do to her what takes away the angst of dealing with a pompous son of a bitch like you. We will call it a down payment.”
“You’re a fucking bastard. She’s innocent.”
“Is she? Hmmm... It seemed she was very accommodating the night of the party.”
His expression was one of confusion. The diamond hadn’t been in his possession the night of the party. Red flags raised again. Whatever game was being played, I was finished with it.
“Hell, I had to beg her to be there at all. She and I are... estranged. Besides, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“I’m hopeful that your memory will become crystal clear over the next few days. I’m giving you forty-eight hours to call the number on the card. If I don’t hear from you, then you will never see your daughter again. Am I clear?” I asked, making certain I kept the smile plastered on my face.
“I can’t give you what no longer belongs to me.”
I eased to a standing position, tapping my fingers on the table. “Entirely your choice, but I assure you that I will find what I’m looking for one way or the other. This is simply your chance to do the right thing.”
As I walked out of the restaurant, my instinct kicked into overdrive.
I could trust no one. Not a single person.
Including myself.
“What happened, boss?” Sergei asked, studying me intently.
“Nothing. Not a damn thing,” I said, adjusting my jacket and glaring at the rain. “Make certain Mr. Worthington doesn’t make a single move without our knowledge. I want to know everything about his doings all hours of the day. I want to know where he goes, who he talks to and if he has a single visitor.” I was ready to crush the bastard. If he truly didn’t have the diamond, then what the fuck was actually going on?
“What do you think is going on?”
“That much I can’t tell you. Yet. But I am going to find out.”
“You know questions are going to continue.”
“Then let them. I have several of my own. We’re making a few stops on the way back to the house. Then we tighten security.”
As Sergei opened the door, he grinned. “Just tell me where you want to go.”
* * *
“Any news?” I asked as I walked into the house, dropping the various bags onto the foyer floor. For the first time in months, I’d gone shopping. Perhaps my desire to provide Giliana with finer things was ridiculous, but at this point, keeping her naked wasn’t practical. I had the distinct feeling that Wyland was going to make a set of choices that would require my immediate attention.
In a brutal fashion.
If that’s what became necessary, he would soon learn that he’d fucked with the wrong man.
“She was as good as gold, other than jiggling the lock a few times,” Bruno answered, his face more skeptical than I was used to.
I wouldn’t have expected anything else from her. Trust was an issue on both sides, but her behavior I was beginning to understand. Whatever had occurred with her father years before had changed her, forcing her to run away from his protection.
And his greed.
“You’re working with Tony tonight collecting information about a companion Mr. Worthington had lunch with as well as providing details about his other business associates. I want to know everything about Worthington Enterprises that isn’t in the news.”
“Ah, the dirty little secrets,” he mused, laughing softly.
I merely gave him a look before walking into the kitchen. I would alter my tactics in dealing with Giliana, if only for a single night. Perhaps I could gain her trust in some small way. I didn’t bother turning around, merely dismissing him to his duties for the night. “Anything you find, report to me, no matter how inconsequential. Mr. Worthington is hiding an alternative life.”
Much like I was. I snickered at the thought. The pot calling the kettle black.
What I couldn’t do was let my guard fall. The bastard had access to the diamond. While I’d seen fear in his eyes, as if he’d been forced to turn over the precious piece, I wasn’t going to be fooled by his dramatic act.
“Yes, boss. We won’t let the asshole out of our sight.”
“See that you don’t,” I said in passing, yanking open the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water. I moved closer to the window, my thoughts darkening. I was being set up, something that had only occurred once in my illustrious career.
And would never happen again.
While Viktor’s escape weighed heavily on my mind, the preciseness of the various steps that had been taken to lure me into this particular mission had started long before. Was it possible his connections with the Armenian mafia held any merit, let alone the concept they would go against an enemy they couldn’t defeat?
Or was the method of subterfuge based closer to home?
And heart?
There were too many questions that had no immediate answers. Alternative methods would be used, and I wasn’t certain the leaders of the Specialists would take kindly to what was going to transpire.
I chugged several gulps of water before crushing the thin plastic, reveling in the way the cold stream rushed over my heated hand. The fury encapsulating my bloodstream, twisting and turning every muscle into painful knots, created a
heady round of adrenaline. Even my throat continued to be constricted.
I smashed the remainder of the bottle against the counter, storming toward the basement door. By all rights, if the fairy princess had no intentions of telling me anything, I should deliver a gift to Mr. Worthington that he would never forget.
But I couldn’t.
I fucking had no desire to do the only job I’d been trained to do despite an indoctrination that meant life or death.
I wanted her by my side.
I needed her sultry body nuzzled against me on cold winter nights.
I longed for the taste of her filling my mouth, the heat of passion exploding as I fucked her tight little pussy.
Growling, I found it difficult to punch in the code, my vision clouded from the rage that would not be denied. Being out of control wasn’t acceptable, but the choices were intolerable.
My steps were heavier than normal, the hollow sound of the wood echoing in the dense space of the stairwell. For all the niceties that the team had managed to put together prior to my arrival, I couldn’t stand the place.
The rattling windows from the intensity of the storm.
The ugliness of landscaping that hadn’t been tended to in years.
The ridiculous overtures to make an acceptable prison cell.
Maybe that was my problem. She needed to have time in her cage, to learn that life was precious and her refusal to play by my rules something she would regret.
I could see her immediately, her body seeming so frail in the oversized bathrobe, her face even more haunted than before.
She backed away, her twisted mouth and clenched jaw the only aspect of her usual rebellious attitude remaining. She was weary and shaken, uncertain of anything that I might do.
I stood several feet away, scanning the perimeter of the room, easily able to tell she’d been searching for anything she could use as a weapon. I was riled more than I should have been. I knew exactly how prisoners reacted, their desperate need for escape, only this time, her actions cut through sinew and bone, jabbing into my gut.
“What the hell do you think you were doing?” I demanded, the deepness of my voice startling even to me.
“What does it matter?” she retorted, dragging the two edges of the robe tighter against her.
“Tell. Me.”
Giliana held her head high, her eyes darting down the length of me several times. “You’re such a monster, Kostya. I was trying to find something to protect myself.”
At least she’d actually told me the truth. I huffed as I closed the distance. “You are your father’s daughter.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
I fisted my hands, debating my next decision. I had to play this carefully.
“What the fuck does that mean?” she repeated, her voice quivering. “He didn’t give you what you wanted. Isn’t that the truth?” When I didn’t answer, she laughed.
Only further fueling my anger.
I took a deep breath, walking back toward the cage. “Remove your robe.”
“Why? Are you going to punish me again? You can’t keep me here. My father is now going to come for me.”
I unlocked the cage, exhaling as bile filled my throat. “He’s not going to rescue you, Giliana.” The words were difficult to say but I knew them to be true.
“You’re a liar. Now that he knows you abducted me, he’s coming to save me.”
I lifted my head, watching in silence as she removed her robe, allowing the soft material to float toward the floor. The same burning desire ignited every ember, fueling the fire to the point my entire body was tense. I wanted her.
“Come here,” I demanded, doing everything I could to keep the beast from breaching the surface.
She refused to take her eyes off me as she walked closer, yet I could tell the realization she would be locked in the cage was horrifying. The decision was a means to an end, breaking her down until I was able to tell she was giving me the truth.
“Turn around,” I commanded.
Her mouth twisted in frustration, but she did as she was told, taking her time to shift one hundred and eighty degrees.
“Bend over,” I continued, taking deep breaths.
I heard the slight whimper before she cut it off. As she bent over, her legs were shaking.
“Open your ass cheeks.” I could see the end of the plug still in place and my entire mind was pushed into thinking about all the abhorrent things I craved to do.
This time, her sound was one of revulsion, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she cursed under her breath. Every move exaggerated, she slapped one arm behind her before the other, finally opening up her luscious bottom.
“Excellent.” I took a single stride closer, pressing one hand on her back as I twisted the plug back and forth several times. Only when I patted her on the ass did she react, tossing her head in my direction.
She scuttled away, turning to face me, her face flushed. “I hate you.”
For all the times she’d issued the same statement, this time was the only that bothered me, the hint of anger mixed with a slight moment of despair.
They’d been the last words Katina had said to me, the last words she’d spoken before she’d lost her life.
And all because of me.
The monster...
Unable to cope with the memories, I simply pointed to the cage, backing away several feet.
Swallowing, she folded her arms over her chest, moving slowly toward the entrance. “I wish you would believe me. I don’t know where the diamond is. You just don’t seem to understand I have no idea who my father is any longer.”
She hesitated, as if I was going to change my mind, then crouched down, her lithe back heaving from the heaviness of her deep breaths. When she crawled inside, she immediately wrapped her hand around the metal bars.
I snapped the door shut, sliding the padlock into position. Hell, I’d never second guessed my actions or my intentions. On this ugly afternoon, I couldn’t stand the man I’d become. I turned away, closing my eyes and regretting my decisions, the majority that I’d made in my life. Sadly, it was too late to make any changes. My destiny had been etched in stone, blood pouring out of every line and curve.
“Just please, don’t turn off the light,” she asked in such a small voice.
Fuck. Fuck!
What the hell kind of monster had I turned into? “I will come for you later.” I darted another look in her direction, finding it difficult to leave her alone.
I was nothing more than a savage, barely able to fend off the vicious demons living in the cracks and crevices of a soul blackened from the reality of life.
I walked up the stairs, my hand moving to the light switch automatically. Shaking my head, I moved past, the light still shining. This time I cringed as I closed and locked the door. I was determined to find the traitor one way or the other.
Only I knew Giliana wasn’t on the list.
She hadn’t made a sound, not a single whimper or even another request. She’d simply stared at me with her gorgeous, engaging eyes that hadn’t lost their shimmer even through the things I’d done to her.
After tearing off my jacket and tossing it over the back of the couch, I walked to the bar, catching sight of the broken glass I hadn’t bothered to clean. The sight of the shards was cathartic, driving a sharp pain into my temple. The headache from the night before had remained, the lump on the back of my head deserved. As I reached for a glass, my hand faltered, my fingers shaking. What the hell was happening to me?
This wasn’t about business any longer.
This was about revenge, only I would be the one enacting it.
I’d once been the master of my own destiny. Now I was some fucking puppet for an unknown bastard.
That would change.
Money meant nothing to me. Power and influence? I couldn’t give a shit. What I’d longed to achieve was staring its snake eyes back at me.
Happiness.
I
’d achieved profound success, but I felt like a failure. Maybe the betraying pig had learned of my true weakness after all.
Another round of intense anger snaked its vindictive tentacles around my throat, clawing at my neck until I was challenged for air. As stars floated in front of my eyes, reflecting on my actions over the past few days thwarted my rational thinking.
As if I’d had any the last few days.
I lifted my arm, prepared to toss everything off the bar in my fury. A sudden sensation of standing outside my own body, watching a brutal and merciless man acting like a fool was enough to curtail my ridiculous actions.
Stupid.
“Tupoy mudak,” I muttered. I was a stupid asshole, one with only a limited ability to change. Did I really want to? Did I want to consider shifting away from the Godfather and his dangerous reach?
Maybe.
I lowered my arm, instead curling and flexing my fingers as I concentrated on controlling my breathing.
The ring of my phone only seconds later sounded distant, muted. Snarling, I yanked the jacket, fumbling to grab my phone, my breathing even more debilitating. “Mikhail. Two times in one week. What do I owe this honor?”
“I called to warn you, my friend.”
“What now?”
“This was confirmed. Viktor left Kazakhstan.”
“His destination?”
“The United States.”
Chapter Eleven
Giliana
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
The numbers no longer meant anything. They hadn’t been able to comfort me or even provide me with the ability to breathe easier. When he’d shoved me into the cage like some animal, I hadn’t winced or even cried out. I’d kept my resolve, refusing to scream and beg for him not to carry through with his decision.
This wasn’t my life. This wasn’t my future.
Breathe, just breathe.
As if the little voice had control over my sanity any longer. And still, I took several deep gulps as my fingers became numb from their hold on the bars. He wasn’t coming back. He wasn’t going to save me.
Monster.
Monster.
Monster.
They why did I still continue to pray he would become my hero? I was insane. A strangled moan gave away my emotions, the sound lingering. I was being tested, Kostya attempting to break me in every manner. He would force me to surrender to him in ways that would be vile and filthy.
