A Bitch In Time (Marina: Part One: Naughty Nookie Series)
Page 9
Tears bead in the corners of my eyes as Petr’s gaze flickers to Nate’s limp form. I can only imagine the damage the bastards have done to him.
I damn the whiskey I imbibed for dulling my senses. I damn my pathetic alcohol tolerance. How could I have not heard him being beaten?
A sob wells in my throat, and I long to free it, but I can’t show any more weakness in front of these fuckers.
The man holding Nate upright doesn’t appear to be feeling the strain of supporting nearly two hundred pounds of muscled ranch foreman, so what damage have those fists done to Nate?
I literally feel the blood drain from my face and I have to suck in air as Petr deigns to speak. “It depends on your bargaining chip.”
“What do you mean?”
A warble of Russian escapes the bastard and I watch, in horror, as the goon lowers his weapon to Nate’s belly.
My voice rises to a pitch so high I think even dogs would find it difficult to hear it. “No! I’ll do anything, anything, just don’t hurt him.”
And I mean it. I would. I’d do, be, give anything to ensure Nate’s safety. I don’t care about this morning’s argument. I don’t care that he can’t accept the real me. I want him. I need him. Maybe more than I’ve ever needed anyone else.
“I want your little black book.”
My belly clenches at Petr’s soft words. Of course, he does. That I’m about to trade some of the country’s most important political players for a relative nobody makes me feel sick. But there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll do it.
Is it an act of treason?
I don’t know.
I try and reason it out by saying they shouldn’t have used Papillon if they didn’t want to have a dirty secret, but even so, I know what I’m about to do could cause many people a worse headache than the one Nate will experience upon awakening.
But I don’t give a shit. Because that’s all that matters to me. That Nate will wake up with a migraine to end all migraines.
“I don’t have a little black book,” I start and when Petr’s face clouds and the goon’s fingers clench about his gun, I hold up a hand in warning. “Wait! I don’t. I have a USB drive.”
“Where is it?” A silkiness has entered the Russian’s voice. He knows he’s going to get what he wants without having to pay a single cent for it.
“It’s in my bag. I-I can get it for you,” I whisper, hating the tremor in my voice but hell, I’m fucking terrified.
My hands are shaking; my body is trembling with fear. For Nate. I can’t lose him.
I won’t!
I wouldn’t survive it.
“Don’t try anything funny or lover boy will get it in the gut.” His warning comes with the removal of the knife from my throat. I cup a hand to my neck and my fingers return drenched with the copper fluid. Swallowing back nausea, I grab the sheet and curl it about me. I hate that I’m naked, hate that these men are seeing me like this but I try to retain my dignity.
The sheet is ample covering and once I stand and go to the wardrobe, I wish like fuck I had a gun in my bag. Or something I could use to even the odds of this sorry scene. But I don’t. I’m completely without any means of defense.
I should have used the last few days in Chicago more wisely. I could have bought myself a gun, used that on these bastards. Instead, Nate’s in danger and it’s all down to me.
Before I reach the door, I turn to Petr and ask, “How do I know you won’t come after me again?”
“Once I have your client list, you hold no more interest to me or my associates.”
“How can I trust your word?”
He sneers at me. “You can’t. But I have no need of anything from you aside from the list. You’re expendable once I have it.”
Now, why doesn’t his choice of words fill me with glee?
Knowing I’m screwed and that giving this bastard the USB pen drive won’t assure my or Nate’s safety, I open the doors and reach for my carry-on case. I grab it and lay it on the floor, opening it to Petr’s interested gaze. Rifling through the crap I always travel with and never use, I dig down to the pocket lining in the case and pull it open. The drive is as small as my thumbnail. It’s innocuous and looks unimportant, but the fate of at least two Senators, a Congressman and woman, as well as countless lawyers, doctors, businessmen lie within the documents saved on to the tiny bit of metal and plastic.
With no guilt, I hand it to Ivanov. He eyes it, turns it between his fingers and then, whispers, “Sdelayte eto!”
Do it.
My brain feels dulled, sluggish. I translate the bastard’s words a second after the sound of a shot explodes through the room.
I don’t even have time to scream.
It’s too late.
Read on for more information about the next part of Marina’s tale!
Coming Soon…
Just A Woman
Naughty Nookie
Marina: Part 2
Guilt is no stranger to Marina Denison, but that doesn’t mean it sits well on her shoulders.
Wherever she goes, whatever she does, death shadows her, tails her and those who surround her. She has to break the pattern, break free from the vicious cycle her life has become and the answers lie in the Blue Ridge Ranch back in Montana. Her home.
There, she must face her past, accept her present and all so that she can finally enjoy her future.
But is she strong enough to confront the years that formed her into the woman she is today?
Find out in Just a Woman…
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Other works by Serena Akeroyd…
MONA
Naughty Nookie Series
Simone: Part One: Fall Into Love
When Simone Barranquet meets Zane Matthews on a night out with her friends, little does she know that her life is about to change.
Crashing into Zane, her mundane existence is teetering on the edge. A whole new world of sexual exploration awaits her, if she's willing to take a leap of faith in a man she doesn't know who leads a life she can't understand.
US Kindle http://ow.ly/oEKje
UK Kindle http://ow.ly/oEKkC
Smashwords http://ow.ly/qtFFz
Simone: Part Two: Crazy Little Thing Called Lust
After the revelations that sprang forth after her one night stand, Simone feels both betrayed and guilty as hell in the aftermath. When Zane calls her, looking to take her out again, what can she say apart from, ‘Get real! And while you’re at it, get lost!’
But when Zane refuses to take her rejection and forces her to listen to his unorthodox tale, he sets Simone on to a path she never imagined impossible.
With her life changing about her, only her friends can keep her grounded.
But does she want to have her feet planted firmly on the ground?
Or is she ready for adventure?
Even if that adventure means her becoming something that goes against her every principle.
US Kindle http://ow.ly/oEKmm
UK Kindle http://ow.ly/oEKnn
Simone: Part Three: All That Glitters...
With Mona gradually realizing that life is a fickle mistress, she knows she has choices to make. Choices that will change her future forever. And regardless of the chaotic tangle of her affair with Zane, she still wants and needs him to be a part of her present.
But with news of their affair having hit the gossip columns, Mona knows there’s little to no chance of that happening. Where once the future was bright, now it’s bleak until the remarkable occurs. A stranger who’s not so strange turns up at her door and offers her an alternative path.
To Mona, being a kept woman was as unorthodox as could be, but what Zane’s husband, Jake Harris, suggests makes less sense than Martians taking over NYC. In fact, he might as well propose that she turn green.
But for Zane, is she willi
ng to do the unthinkable?
Is she willing to take on sex god no. 2 to retain no. 1?
US Kindle http://ow.ly/pXePq
UK Kindle http://ow.ly/pXfaj
Simone: Part Four: …Can Be Gold
The Simone of old no longer exists. She has transmogrified into a woman with whom she can’t reconcile but who she must eventually come to accept. This new Mona is stronger, sexier and with an innate power that she’s only just beginning to understand.
For Zane, she has put her very soul on the line. She has dragged herself to the outer limits of her principles and has entered uncharted territory. All for the man who helped form this new creature that calls herself Simone Barranquet.
But was it worth it? Is he worthy of her sacrifice?
And what of Jake? Is he manipulating her or does he really share the same aspirations? When two enemies unite and become allies, the man at the center of the battle is key.
But will Zane concur? Is he strong enough to accept them both, to have what he’s never known he’s always wanted?
US Kindle http://ow.ly/qS1Ze
US Kindle http://ow.ly/qS1MG