“Since when do I ever mess around?” Alain gave Adie a cruel little smile and flicked his fingers towards the door, indicating that he should go. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll send Lois over to you when we’ve finished. You can take out your ill humour on her later.”
Adie didn’t say another word, he simply turned around and grabbed the door handle, yanking it so hard the thing nearly flew off its hinges. It slammed behind him, and the noise echoed loudly in my head. When the sound of his footsteps receded into the distance, Alain sat on top of the desk and cleared his throat.
“Morning boy and girls.” We both glared at him.
James spoke first. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you now?” I could see he was seething with barely controlled anger, most of which I was responsible for. He was holding it together - but just barely.
“No one around you will get out of this place alive if you do, and I have instructions for Lois to be executed on my death, exactly as she would if you slept with her again.” Alain looked bored. This wasn’t what he wanted to talk about, so he tried to move swiftly on to his next subject. “I’m here…”
“What makes you think I give a shit about Lois, now that I know she’s working for you?” The comment made me wince, but I schooled my features to show nothing.
Alain looked at me, then looked at James, before returning his gaze back to me. Running his index finger along his bottom lip, he sucked in a breath.
“You told him?” Moving towards James, he blinked, and I could see the cogs turning.
I nodded curtly. “I told him. Adie had already suspected as much.”
Alain nodded. “Well, that’s excellent news. It will make things a little more interesting around these parts, but at least we all know where we stand now, don’t we?”
“So, are you going to do as you’re told, James? Or do I need to tie you down again? While you might not care much for Lois at the moment, I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be responsible for her long and drawn out death. Besides, you know I’d kill Adie, too. Might even do it the same way, just to see if there is a heart inside that body.” Alain jabbed his finger into James’s chest and James grabbed it, twisting the man’s wrist over backwards until he gasped.
“If you could kill your own brother like that, you’re a special kind of asshole,” James hissed.
“You already know that, and we’re going off topic,” Alain said. “Release my fucking wrist before I put a couple of bullet holes in Adie, somewhere really unpleasant, while you and Lois watch.”
James reluctantly did as he was told, pushing Alain away from him.
Moving back to his original spot on the desk, Alain clapped his hands to refocus our attention. “Right, where was I? Ah yes. James, I believe Adie has already told you we’ll be getting you back to full fitness this week. You’ll want to be on top form for what I have planned for you next.”
“And pray tell, what is that?” Looking up, I saw that James had his hands on either thigh, and he was doing his best to try and remain calm. He was much better at it than I was. I had to keep telling myself not to wring my hands in front of my body. I desperately wanted to fidget, to ease some of the tension surrounding us, but I wouldn’t look very convincing as the bad guy if I looked nervous this early in the game.
Alain pulled his gun out of the back of his pants and sat it on his leg, holding it loosely. “You will love this, James. It’s right up your street,” he said, looking at us both. I sincerely doubted that. If that gun was out, Alain expected James to go for him, so it was guaranteed to be something unpleasant.
“One of my shipments of coke has gone missing, and I need you two to go get it back for me.”
“I remember you saying I’d never work for you ever again, Alain. What’s changed?” James voice was soft and deadly. The viper was back.
“Nothing. You’ll be working for Lois, not me. You’ll obey her every order, Leveritt. Anything she says goes. Got it?” James didn’t reply.
“For this assignment, you’ll have to pose as husband and wife.” Choking on a breath, I exhaled it as quietly as I could. While I had expected something like this, hearing it in the flesh made it no easier to bear. “I have a contact in one of Italy’s more upmarket sex clubs, and he’ll know how to get it back. You two will pose as a happy couple who enjoy a bit of kinky naughtiness on the side. Meanwhile, you need to do your homework and figure out who took my shit. You’ll have seventy-two hours to get the job done. If it’s not completed in that time, Adie will get a bullet in his head and I’ll send my goons out looking for you. There’s nowhere you can go where I won’t find you, James. You know that. I have you under constant surveillance.”
“Will we have to…?” James couldn’t finish the sentence, but I knew what he meant, and the thought made me go cold. He wanted to know if we’ll have to perform. It’s clear the thought is abhorrent to him, which is just as it should be. We needed to maintain our distance and it won’t be easy if we’re posing as a married couple - which is exactly why Alain’s thrown us together. He wants to test James to the limit. Scrap that. He wants to watch him crack open and bleed, before he twists the knife. Nothing else will do.
“Of course,” Alain says blithely. “I trust you’ll be able to get over your differences and perform with adequate enthusiasm. You are aware there is no room for failure, Leveritt. Your death won’t get you out of this, as well you know.” Standing up, Alain brushed himself down, as if just being in the same room with us made him feel dirty. Giving us both a cursory glance, and a nod of his head, he then said, “You need to get acquainted with your cover story and spend as much time as possible around each other this week. I trust that won’t be a problem?” My heart thuds from the top of my chest all the way down to the bottom of my toes. I’ve only known Alain a short time, but the itch to kill him is so bad, I can’t think straight. I have no idea what James must be feeling - but I know it’s worse - so much worse. There is nothing we can do, though. We won’t be able to kill him here. He has guards and cameras everywhere. We will have to lure him out of his comfort zone, and we’ll need a lot of help if we want to have a cat in hell’s chance of doing so.
I shook my head briskly. I worked for Alain, and I needed to keep up appearances. From my brief spell with Adie in Carte Blanche, I knew that Alain had microphones everywhere, and he’d be watching us closely. He wants a good show and I’m more than prepared to give him that. I’ll get what I want, eventually. I’ll make sure of it.
“When will this all end?” Poor James can’t look at me. He’s staring at the wall as if it’s suddenly sprouted wings - black ones. His question isn’t for Alain, it’s for someone much higher up on the grand scale of things, but Alain answered anyway.
“It ends when I say it ends, and not a moment before.” I wondered how far Alain was prepared to go to make James’s life a living hell. I didn’t want to speculate, but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t stop at my death. He’ll keep going until there’s nothing left to prod and poke - nothing human, anyway. “Right, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to have a chat. Some guys will arrive with your schedules shortly, until then, have fun.” He gave us a cheery wave and walked out the door. We let him. We had no choice.
Walking in the same direction as Alain, I ran my fingers through my tangled hair and sighed. I couldn’t stay here any longer. The air was so thick I found it difficult to breathe. When my hand reached for the door handle, James’s voice suddenly made me jump.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I didn’t turn my head around to look at him. It would be too painful. There was a lump in my throat a mile wide, and it took a great deal of effort to swallow it down.
“I’m going to find a headache tablet,” I murmured. “The biggest one I can find.”
James pressed himself into my back tightly, and his arms went around either side of my body, preventing my escape.
“Oh, I don’t think so. I believe Adie wants to see you,” he whispered in m
y ear. The feel of his warm breath sent shivers down my spine, but I didn’t move a muscle.
“Adie wants to smack the shit out of me.” As far as statements go, a truer one has never been uttered.
“Maybe that will knock some sense into you. If you don’t want to see Adie, I’m happy to do it for you.” James’s teeth were now on my neck and they bit down sharply. My gasp was a mixture of arousal and pain, and the flood of liquid between my legs was instant.
“I think I’d rather see Adie, if it’s all the same to you.” I knew those words would hurt him, but this was the way it had to be.
James pulled away from me sharply.
“Was last night all an act Lois? Was this all for money?” The ragged sound of his voice unravels me, but I can’t back down now.
“Yes. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Panic is rising in my chest. If I don’t get out of this room in the next thirty seconds, I will end up pressing myself into his body and offering up my neck for nibbles and licks. That can’t happen.
“Are you in love with Adie?” Those words are tormented. This isn’t the first time Adie and James have been in love with the same girl. I don’t know how I know that, but I do.
“Yes,” I whisper, knowing the answer is both the truth, and yet a lie. My feelings for Adie aren’t as clear-cut as they are for James.
He backed away from me immediately, and I didn’t hang around. I ran out of the room as if I was being chased by a dozen demons - and most of them were in my head.
Chapter Fifteen - Lois
I eventually find my headache tablet in a massive kitchen, hidden away in a first aid kit on the side of a cupboard. Finding a glass tumbler, that sparkles so brightly I find it hard to believe it’s ever been used, I walk over to the ceramic sink which also gleams with a brightness I can barely tolerate. The sound of the faucet, as I pour myself a glass of water, sounds unpleasantly loud in my ears. Wincing, I settle myself down into one of many white plastic chairs that surround a long metal table in the middle of the room. I’m guessing this place should have chefs inside it, but it’s probably too early for anyone to be about.
I confess I’m slightly astonished to find I am not a prisoner here. I mean, I am a prisoner, in that I can’t go outside without getting through several armed guards, but I didn’t expect to be allowed free rein while inside the complex. Perhaps that’s just because no one has found me yet. With the number of cameras in this place, that’s sure to change. There will be no privacy here, I am sure of it.
I know I should seek Adie out and get the nastiness over with. He will not forget, and the longer I leave it, the worse it will be for me. Adie is not a patient man. The headache needs to go before I tackle him, though. At the moment, it feels like someone is banging a brick into my skull. Placing my head on the cool metal table, I lay like that for what might be five minutes or two hours because time is meaningless to me at the moment. I just want to be the cold, heartless bitch I set out to be, without any pesky emotions getting in the way. This has always been my problem - I feel too much.
“Ahh, there you are, Thirty-Eight. Are you hiding from me by any chance?” My eyes blink, and there is Adie, towering above me. He looks so much like his brother, and yet so different. Although they are identical twins, I would have no trouble telling them apart.
“We’re back to that, are we?” I smile weakly as I lift my head up to face him. My time is up. Strangely, I don’t fear Adie, although perhaps I should. He’s proven he can be pretty damn scary when you’re on the wrong side of him, and I know he enjoys inflicting pain, however much the thought horrifies him. It’s as if he’s realised he’s damaged, but can’t help himself. He knows that pain turns him on, but he’s conflicted. His brother has almost conditioned him to enjoy this shit, and I’d bet money that regular sex doesn’t do a lot for him. He can go through the motions, but it isn’t what turns him on.
“Are you coming, or do I have to carry you?” He grabs a fistful of my hair before I can even think about running, not that I was going to. “Now, now, Thirty-Eight. Go ahead and tell me you haven’t earned this little punishment.” Little? I know whatever happens under Adie’s hand will not be ‘little,’ but I make no comment on the fact.
“I’m coming,” I say tiredly.
“You fucking aren’t,” is the ominous reply.
The walk to the basement isn’t far. It’s down several flights of worn, linoleum covered stairs, and the flickering amber lights above torment me. My earlier tablet has done nothing to take the edge of my headache, and I can feel a migraine coming. Stumbling along behind Adie, my hand searches for the handrail, so I don’t fall down the steps head-first.
When we get to the bottom, Adie takes a key card out of his pocket and waves it at the black panel by the door. There is a bleep, and the door opens inward. The room is pitch black and all I can see is darkness. Standing aside, he motions for me to go in first. I do as I’m told. The door then clicks shut behind us, and he switches the lights on.
As much as I try not to look around the room, I can’t help myself. This place holds more equipment than your average dungeon. There are things down here that make my knees go wobbly, and that’s no exaggeration. Cages, boxes, leather benches, and steel contraptions of all kinds decorate the floor and walls. I note, with trepidation, that it’s a huge room, and it would take some time to work through everything in here. I’m not sure I can take another two or three hours of torture on top of everything else I’ve suffered lately. All I want to do is cry, but I can’t. I’ll let my tears fall when I’m in pain. At the moment my throat feels like a bottleneck of emotion, and I daren’t open my mouth in case it all spills out. I’m millimetres away from hysteria as it is.
“Strip naked.” The command is cold and calculated. He wants to get me back into slave mode and dehumanise me. I have news for him - it’s working. Stepping out of my jeans and top mechanically, I fold them up and leave them on the floor. I place my bra and panties on top. With my back ramrod straight, I stand there and await further instructions. Oddly, I am still not scared. I need to forget everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. Adie’s beautiful body and utterly sadistic mind will almost certainly achieve that.
When my monster sees that I have done as he’s asked, he points to a black metal T-bar on the floor that features both collar and cuffs. There are thick and heavy chains attached to it, which go up into the ceiling. It’s rather obvious that I’m about to be immobilised and spread open wide, but what happens after that is less certain.
“Put the collar on and I’ll fasten you in.” I look up to find Adie watching me. He’s wondering whether I’ll baulk and go crazy. The idea has crossed my mind, but I know there is no point to it. The room is locked. I’m going nowhere. He’ll do what he wants to me one way or another, so I might as well get on with it.
Kneeling down on the floor, I pick up the heavy collar and fasten the ends around my neck. It is cold, thick steel, and it chills me through to my bones. I don’t dislike the heavy weight around my neck, though. It helps the numbness spread through me. That’s not the only thing that sends shards of ice through me. There is a long metal pole that protrudes from the collar, going into a capital ‘T’ shape at the end. That’s where the rest of the restraints are - the upper edges of the ‘T.’
“Where’s all this newfound obedience coming from, Thirty-Eight? Aren’t you even going to put up a fight?” I didn’t have the energy to fight. When Adie stepped in front of my body and looked down at me dispassionately, I could tell I was spoiling his fun, but I didn’t care. Grabbing the wide end of the T-bar, he quickly fastened my wrists and ankles to the cuffs provided. I was now spread wide and left completely vulnerable for anything he might wish to do to me.
“What would be the point?” I say numbly. “You own this place along with your brother. You make the rules. I’m just an expendable pawn in this game.” Adie’s gaze is drawn between my legs, zooming in to the glistening wetness residi
ng there. I can’t help my arousal. It’s a combination of Adie and cold, hard restraints - and they do funny things to my libido.
“That’s the problem, Thirty-Eight. I can’t figure out why you would sell your life so cheaply. Something doesn’t add up here, and I intend to figure it out. You could save me a lot of trouble by spilling the beans, now.”
I laugh. “I’m looking forward to this session, Adie. Don’t disappoint me by trying to wriggle your way out of it. Hurt me already.” My eyes flash at him, and it’s the first bit of emotion I’ve allowed to cross my face in a while. It feels good, but nowhere near as good as it will feel when he starts lashing out at me.
“You want me to spank you, don’t you?” Adie has a frown upon his face. It mars his masculine beauty, and I don’t want to see it there. I want evil Adie. The man I knew in Carte Blanche. I need to find a way to draw him out.
“I don’t care what you do to me, Adie, I just want you to get on with it. Alain has a ten-mile run planned for me this evening. He wants me to suffer alongside James, apparently.”
Adie sneers. “By the time I’m finished with you, all of that will seem like a walk in the park.” Turning his head to the side, he rolls it around his shoulders. It’s as if he’s limbering himself up for something.
“I have no doubt.” It wouldn’t, though. I’d be expected to complete my work out after Adie had toyed with me, and I knew from experience that he usually left scars.
“Was it all about the money? Why do you need it, anyway?” Adie is trying to connect the dots together and coming up with a picture that makes little sense. I don’t need the money, I never did, but I’m not telling him that. Remaining mute, I stare at the floor. He got nothing out of me last time in our little question-and-answer session, and he’s not getting anything this time, either.
He sighs. “Why do you always want to do things the hard way, Thirty-Eight?” Gripping the edge of the T-bar, he yanks it towards him, so my ass is fully on display. Giving me two vicious swats with his right hand, he watches as I take them silently.
Fire (A Special Agent Novel Book 4) Page 16
