Tell Me No Lies: The Black Orchid, Book 1

by Magnolia Smith

  Gian-Carlo stepped between Asa and me. “Not so fast, analyst. How did you know I was Il Morte?”

  “At first I followed her.” He didn’t look at me when he said that, his eyes focused on Gian-Carlo. “I figured you’d find her eventually and then I’d have you. But something, call it intuition, told me to start tracking Agent Brady.”

  Gian-Carlo smiled. “You’re bright. I like that.”

  “I followed him tonight to your restaurant. When he went in and you left without him after turning off the lights and locking up, let’s just say I became suspicious.”

  I inhaled sharply. Where was Kael? What had happened to him? I struggled against my ropes but it was useless. They continued to ignore me, as if I wasn’t tied to a chair listening to their conversation.

  Gian-Carlo’s features relaxed and he rocked on the back of his heels. “We need to come to terms first.”

  Zelie scowled at me. “What type of terms? You can’t really believe she’ll keep quiet.”

  Gian-Carlo ignored her and smiled at Asa. “If I let her go, you have to promise to leave without your prize.”

  Asa took a deep breath, gazing at me.

  “Oh hell.” Zelie crossed her arms. “He’s got a thing for her too! Look at the way he’s looking at her.”

  Gian-Carlo and I both looked at Asa who seemed conflicted.

  But then he composed himself, directing his question at Gian-Carlo. “And what happens to you?”

  Zelie tossed her hair while Gian-Carlo looked surprised. “You’re not going to catch me. I’m the fucking gingerbread man.” His harsh laugh filled the room. “Nothing happens to me. I continue working for The Group until I can break free of them. In the meantime, I will continue taking assignments as Il Morte.”

  “And Agent Brady?”

  “He’ll be joining Zelie and I in our endeavors to cleanse the world of evil.”

  Asa rubbed his chin. “You’re saying he’s okay with all of this?”

  Gian-Carlo shrugged. “He’ll come around.”

  Asa gave Zelie a speculative glance. She blew him a kiss and then gave him her middle finger.

  “Join us,” Gian-Carlo suddenly said. “We could use an analyst type.”

  Asa’s fingers tightened around the grip of the gun. “I don’t plan on staying an analyst.”

  “Of course,” Gian-Carlo nodded. “Bring me in and you get a promotion, right?”

  Asa’s nostrils flared slightly and he quickly glanced my way.

  “Yeah, I know how that works. They always want their pound of flesh.” He took a step closer to Asa. “But that won’t be happening here.” He extended his hand and grinned, suddenly reminding me of a shark, showing both rows of teeth. “Do we have a deal? You take the girl and I walk.”

  Asa looked at me, a frown on his face. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Rain.”

  What? What! I tried to scream at him through my gag, but all I could do was make incoherent sounds as he refused to look my way.

  He turned to Gian-Carlo. “Sorry, we don’t have a deal. You’re coming with me.”

  Gian-Carlo laughed.

  * * * * *

  Asa fell to a crouching position, kicked his leg out and knocked Gian-Carlo’s legs out from under him. His gun flew out of his hands and clattered to the floor. He crashed down, immediately rolled off his back, went up on his knees and wrapped Asa in a bear hug before wrestling him to the ground.

  Zelie scrambled for the gun, and then tried to get a good shot at Asa who slammed his gun against Gian-Carlo’s head. Gian-Carlo stumbled backward but did not fall. He grabbed Asa by his jacket and yanked him to him, whipping him around and quickly placing his forearm over his windpipe in a headlock.

  “Kill him!” Zelie shrieked, her black hair flying around her.

  I turned my attention to the door. I could hear the sound of an approaching engine. No one else seemed to notice it, not with all the fighting going on. But I did. It had to be the police.

  Or at least a good Samaritan that would see what was going on and get help.

  Asa’s face turned pink and then red as Gian-Carlo squeezed tighter. He struggled against Gian-Carlo’s grip to no avail. “I can’t breathe,” he wheezed with his feet barely touching the floor.

  “You should’ve taken the deal, analyst.”

  “Let. Him. Go. Luke.”

  All eyes turned toward the entryway. I couldn’t stop staring.

  Dressed in jeans and a hospital gown sliding off one shoulder to reveal a tanned, muscular deltoid and shoulder muscle…

  Kael.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Three hours ago

  There was a stinging pain in my bicep that radiated up and down the right side of my body. I felt my chest surge forward and a guttural sound tore from my throat.

  “Wake up,” a voice hissed in my ear. “Or I’ll zap you again.”

  I blinked slowly, feeling as if I’d come out of a thick fog. My head ached and I couldn’t think clearly. Even with the room appearing to sway, I could make out a desk and bookshelves. I was in an office.

  A young man leaned over me, peering into my eyes. The analyst. I sat up with a start, trying to speak. “Where am I?” The words came out slow and distorted.

  “Gian-Carlo’s restaurant. He locked you in here.”

  “Then what are you doing here?” My tongue felt heavy in my mouth, and it was difficult to put it in proper position to speak.

  The room spun around and a wave of nausea crashed over me. I slid back into my chair.

  “I can pick a lock.” His eyes flickered over my body. “Any other injuries?”

  “I’m fine.” And then, after blinking several times to focus, I looked down at my chest. “Where’s my shirt?”

  He shrugged. “Cut if off. Had to make sure you were okay and then I needed to find the right spot.”

  “Right spot for what?”

  He gestured toward my arm. A butter knife had been duct taped to it. An electrical cord hacked in half and slit down to the coils hung from Asa’s hand.

  I jerked away. “What the fuck are you doing? Electrocuting me?”

  Sighing, he tossed the wire to the floor, unplugging it from an electrical outlet. “Saving your life is more like it. Don’t make me regret it, Agent Brady.”

  Fumbling with fingers that felt like large sausages, I ripped off the silverware and tape wrapped multiple times around my arm and tried to stand.

  The skin was pink and irritated. Nausea rocked my entire body, my knees buckling under me so I sat down.

  “What happened to me?”

  He ran a hand through his golden dreads. “You don’t remember?”

  I closed my eyes and thought back. I’d gone to meet Luke…

  Rain.

  I jumped up again, this time holding on to the desk for support. Nausea overtook me and I turned to a nearby trashcan to relieve myself.

  When I was done, I grabbed bar napkins on the desk and wiped my mouth and hands. I looked at Asa, his visage swimming into double images and then quadruples before returning to one. “Where is she?”

  “Slow down, cowboy. She’s with him…Agent Winters.”

  My throat burned as I looked around desperately, trying to figure things out. Why was Rain with Luke?

  And then it hit me like a brick building crashing onto my skull. Il Morte. Luke was trying to kill me, trying to kill Rain.

  Where was my weapon? I needed to get to her.

  Asa grabbed my good arm. “You’re not going anywhere. I’m bringing him in, remember?”

  Eyes narrowed, I stared at him. Yeah, I remembered. Chuckling, I shook my head. “You’re not stopping me from getting Rain.”

  “You’re also in no condition to play the hero right now. Do you remember what Agent Winters did to you?”
r />   I could only recall having a few drinks with Luke. “What did he do?”

  “He slipped you a mickey.”

  “Motherfucker.” I gazed around the room, trying to remember everything Luke had told me. Bits and pieces floated back, but nothing coherent.

  “Right now, you’re experiencing memory loss, nausea, headaches.” He frowned. “If you were drinking alcohol, you’ll need to have your heart rate and breathing monitored. You could still slip into a coma. There are also those burns. Sorry about that. Wasn’t sure how else to bring you to.” He pulled a phone from his jacket pocket. “I’m calling 9-1-1, you’ll need to go to a hospital.”

  “I’m not going to a hospital,” I spit out through clenched teeth. “I’m fine. Been through worse.”

  Asa raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure how much voltage went through you. I zapped you six times before you came to.”

  My right arm did hurt. It was on fire actually and difficult to move. But I could shoot a pistol or fight with my left hand if I had to.

  “You can’t take Luke by yourself, Asa.”

  “I have to try. I want this guy bad.” He shot me a worried look. “Just stay here. I’ll call for help.”

  I took a step forward. No. I had to get to Rain before he hurt her. “I’m coming with you.”

  Suddenly darkness surrounded me, followed quickly by waves of queasiness. I felt myself falling, unable to control my limbs. I crashed to the floor. Silence soon followed. I couldn’t move my arms or legs and I felt my breathing slow down. My heart beat loud in my ears and I realized my body was paralyzed. I couldn’t move, but I could hear. I could see.

  Asa was a hazy image, but his voice came through loud and clear. He was calling 9-1-1.

  And then he left, softly closing the door behind him.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Two hours ago

  The officer shifted his weight, chewed on his pen for a moment before scribbling on his notepad. “Let me get this straight, son. You’ve been drugged and electrocuted. You have no idea who did this to you. And you don’t want to file a complaint or make a statement?”

  We were in a partitioned room made of curtains near the emergency room. I sat up on the hospital bed, still feeling sick to my stomach but mentally clearer with the infusion of oxygen and a dose of activated charcoal to absorb the rest of the Rohypnol in my system.

  A glucose drip was attached to my left arm, and the mild burns on my right arm had been bandaged. I’d taken a couple of ibuprofen to take the edge off. I was still in a lot of pain, but I’d refused anything stronger. I needed a clear head to get to Rain.

  “That’s right, sir.”

  “They keeping you overnight? For observation?”

  I shook my head. “They want to but I have to go.”

  He squinted and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You from Bragg, son? On some secret exercise you’re not supposed to tell anybody about?”

  He was referring to the exercises Special Forces soldiers occasionally did off-base but with the cooperation of local communities.

  Those activities usually happened closer to the military base or in a specified area, but maybe he didn’t know that.

  “Yes, sir. Something like that. I was evading a homegrown terrorist cell when one of them got me and tortured me a bit before I could escape.”

  His stance relaxed and he smiled. “All right, then. Your secret is safe with me.” He snapped his notepad closed. “Anything you need to help you on your way?”

  I thought of Rain. If Luke had hurt her in any way…

  “If I give you a license plate number, can you use your traffic cameras to locate it?”

  “Sure, I’d love to help a Green Beret out.”

  “One more thing. I could use a ride, sir.”

  A wide grin split the policeman’s face. “We just impounded a Hummer. Local drug lord. You can use that.”

  * * * * *

  “Well, well, well, the gang’s all here.” Luke smiled at me as I entered the storage facility. “Feeling better?”

  I scanned the area, saw Asa still being held by Luke, though he’d loosened his grip on him. And Zelie pointed a gun at Asa’s head.

  Rain was tied to a chair with a gag over her mouth. Her wide reddened eyes tracked my movement as I walked to her.

  “Not so fast, loverboy,” Luke said to me. He tightened his grip on Asa and pointed a gun at Rain. “We need to talk first.” He laughed. “This guy,” he nodded toward Asa, “wants to take me in. Can you believe it?”

  I nodded, slowly taking a step backwards. “I know. I told him it was a bad idea.”

  “Good. Then you’re still on my side?” Frown lines crossed his forehead. “Because despite how this all looks, I still want you on my team.”

  “Right.” I glanced at Rain, willing her to be okay, to be calm, to just know that everything would work out. “Yeah, sure, I’ll work with you.” I took a step forward. “But first, what team are you referring to? You know my memory is a little fuzzy because of the drugs.”

  “Yeah, about that.” He shrugged apologetically. “I did all of this for you. It might not seem like it, but one day, we’re going to have a beer and laugh about this.” And then he laughed, as if to prove his point. “I want you to join Il Morte. You, me and Zelie can make a difference.”

  I looked at Zelie, who didn’t look the least bit on board with Luke’s plan. “Yeah, I want that too. You know how I feel about The Group.”

  Zelie looked at me, her eyes glinting with curiosity. “How do you feel about The Group, Kael?”

  An odd feeling snaked up my spine. “What’s it to you, Zelie?”

  “Just wondering.” She licked her lips, her gun still pointing at Asa. “Just wondering where your loyalties lie.”

  I looked around the room casually, trying to find a weapon. And then I realized what the room was—a sex dungeon. “Luke, why did you bring Rain here?”

  Zelie snickered but Luke only smiled. “I’d heard the news. Rain dumped you. So I thought I’d have a little fun with her—she was at The Crow after all. Dressed like a whore. An expensive whore but a whore nonetheless.”

  I took a look at her clothes and heels, confused by his words. She tried to speak to me through the gag but Luke shushed her.

  “You’ll be happy to know I decided not to kill her since she’s no longer in your life.”

  “Then let her go,” my voice deepened into a rasp. I could barely hide my emotion where she was concerned.

  He made a face. “There’s the problem of the analyst. He wants to bring me in. I was just getting ready to kill him when you interrupted us.”

  I looked at Asa who appeared angry even with his red face and watery eyes.

  “He refuses to just walk away or better yet, join Il Morte. What should I do, bro?”

  I took a deep breath and looked around the room. “Let Rain go and I’ll kill him for you.”

  Rain screamed through her gag and Asa glared at me.

  Nodding, Luke pushed Asa toward me. “Do it quick then.”

  I glanced at his gun but he shook his head. “Not sure whose side you’re really on, just yet. Kill him and then I’ll know. Just snap his neck.”

  I grabbed Asa by his arm and quickly whispered instructions into his ear. He barely nodded but I knew that he understood that his perfect execution of my commands would determine whether he lived or died.

  I positioned my palms on either side of his head.

  Rain looked on with her eyes stretched wide, while Zelie appeared bored.

  “One, two, three.”

  At three, Asa shot to the floor, lunging forward, grabbed Zelie by the ankles and yanked her down to the floor. At the same time, with head swimming and arm aching, I rushed Luke, wrestling the gun from his hand.

  He punched me in the jaw and I
slammed my left fist into his right temple.

  “Don’t fight me, Kael,” he said between punches. “I don’t want to fight you, bro.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Asa trying his best to subdue Zelie. She was like a tiger, scratching, pulling hair, trying to reach for her gun and knife that had both fallen to the floor nearby.

  Finally wrestling her arms behind her, he cuffed her with a pair of zip ties he had in his back pocket.

  But Luke wasn’t so easy to subdue. We traded and dodged punches until I reached for a nearby mallet that had fallen from his tool case and smashed it against his skull.

  He fell to the floor with a loud crash, blood dripping from a cut on his scalp. I fell to my knees, breathing heavily.

  I saw Rain in my periphery and rage roared through me anew. Turning back to Luke, I raised the mallet again. Rain screamed through her gag. I turned to look at her. She violently shook her head and I slowly lowered the hammer and threw it to the floor.

  She was right. I couldn’t, shouldn’t do it. Another slam to the head would finish him. And I wanted him to get some Group justice.

  I bound his wrists, then checked his breathing and pulse. He was fine, bloody but just unconscious.

  Asa looked at me. “You okay?”

  “Been better.” I rose to my feet and went to Rain.

  Nodding, he moved to the entrance. “I’m going to call this in. We need a cleanup crew.”

  I untied the ropes around her wrists and ankles then unwrapped the tape covering her mouth.

  Tears ran down her cheeks and she wrapped me in a tight hug. “What happened to you?” Her gaze fell to my arm. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. What happened here?”

  I looked around the room with its collection of sex toys and equipment. I knew what Luke did to girls he brought here. “Did he hurt you?”

  Her shoulders heaved though she didn’t speak at first. “Asa got here before anything really happened.”

  The tone in her voice betrayed her and I gently lifted her chin up and looked into her eyes. “The truth, Rain.”

  Her lips trembled as she spoke. “He made me strip, tied me up to that,” she looked at a structure of wood and metal that allowed a dominant to artfully train his sex slave, something I’d used before, though I preferred using my hands or rope to restrict my submissive’s movements.