by Jade Dean
“Guess again.” Abby shook her head, dashing his faint hope that she would have some squeamishness about using her knife on him. “Have you heard of the Black Squad?” she asked casually and he swallowed so hard that she heard a click in his throat.
Trevor’s eyes widened and he looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. It was obvious to anyone in their business that she was a highly trained operative, but he’d never suspected that she was an assassin. He should have known better after seeing her disable three of his men so quickly and easily when she’d rescued Ryan from the cell that was just down the hall from this one.
“I heard they were disbanded,” Aaron said hoarsely.
“They weren’t disbanded,” Abby denied. “They were eliminated.” She leaned in closer and held her weapon up so that he could see it clearly. “I took them all down with this very knife.” She smiled again and he saw something close to lunacy in her expression.
“If I tell you anything, Diego will have me killed,” he said. He was breathing so fast that he was close to hyperventilating. Passing out wouldn’t save him. She’d just wait for him to wake up before starting in on him.
“What do you think I’ll do to you if you don’t tell me everything I want to know?” Abby demanded. His eyes darted left and right as he fruitlessly sought for a way to escape. Unwilling to waste time, she decided to prod him into spilling his secrets.
Aaron’s scream was shrill and rebounded off the metal walls when the knife sliced off the pinky finger of his left hand. Blood spurted and Abby stepped back to avoid the spray. She’d shut her emotions down to do this job. It was one she’d done far too many times and she felt no joy at repeating it.
“You crazy bitch!” Swift spat and glared at her in pain mixed with hatred. Tears of agony stood in his eyes.
Trevor’s stomach revolted and he had to clamp down on the urge to vomit when a second digit fell to the floor. Aaron’s screams would haunt him to the grave, but he’d already resolved to allow Abby to continue with her interrogation until they knew the full truth. Aaron’s pain was small compared to the mental anguish that Elizabeth still suffered.
Swift passed out when his third finger was sliced off and Abby waited patiently until he came around. Seeing the bloodstained knife in front of his face, he turned away and vomited until bile stung his throat.
“Are you ready to answer my questions now?” Abby’s question was rhetorical. She knew a broken man when she saw one. Time was of the essence and she wasn’t about to drag this out any longer than she needed to. This would be a quick and dirty question and answer session and she’d have to leave delicacy and finesse aside for once.
Flicking a sickly glance at his sluggishly bleeding stumps, Aaron looked away and nodded. “Montoya instructed me to let Sheldon think that he was safe for a few weeks before sending some goons after him. He thought he’d be less on his guard if they didn’t come after him right away.”
Sadly, he’d been right. Ryan hadn’t been as wary as he should have been and she blamed herself for that. She’d been a distraction for him from the first moment that they’d met. “Why does he want Ryan so badly?” It would have cost him a lot of money to send a team to America to bring him in.
“Sheldon embarrassed him in front of his men,” Aaron said. Tears of pain were rolling down his face, but she felt no pity for him. She felt nothing at all and wouldn’t until she allowed herself to unlock her emotions again. “Diego couldn’t allow Sheldon to live after he’d infiltrated his organization and came so close to killing him,” Swift explained.
“Where did they take him?”
His gaze skittered away from hers. “I don’t know,” he said and she saw the lie as plainly as if it had been printed on his forehead.
This time, her knife aimed lower than his hand. She stabbed it into his left thigh and his eyes bulged. He clenched his hands and screamed as fresh pain roared through his mutilated hand. “I know when you aren’t telling me the truth,” Abby said and twisted the knife a little. “Every time you lie, I’ll carve another hole in you.”
“Alright! Alright! I won’t lie to you again!” He sobbed in relief when she pulled the knife out. His face was already pale, but it was rapidly losing color as his blood continued to pump from his wounds.
“Where is Ryan?”
Trevor felt chilled by Abby’s calm resolve. All emotion had drained out of her, leaving her with the ability to act with complete clarity and focus. It was a trait that he both admired and feared. Not even Ryan had managed to close himself down that completely when he was on a mission. Trevor could see why Abby had been chosen to be a member of the notorious Black Squad.
“He’s in Diego’s mansion near Rio. I can take you there,” Aaron said in desperation. They all knew he wouldn’t be breathing when he left the cell, but he scrambled for a reason for her to keep him alive anyway.
“How did you find us?”
The pain made thinking difficult and Swift blinked in confusion. Then he realized his answer would negate the need to personally show her where Diego’s secret mansion was located.
It was instantly obvious that she’d asked the right question that would lead her directly to Ryan. Abby held the knife over his other leg, ready to stab him again.
Cringing when the knife went up, Aaron tried to ward her off with his uninjured right hand. Like his other limbs, it was held down by a metal restraint. “He has a microchip embedded in his neck,” he blurted before the knife could descend.
“What are you talking about?” Trevor asked suspiciously. “I never ordered my agents to be tagged like common household pets.”
“I took the precaution of keeping track of Sheldon after he came so close to taking Montoya down two years ago,” Aaron admitted. “I had the chip implanted while he was being treated for the gunshot wound to his shoulder.”
Ryan had a medley of scars on his body. That particular one had been made the night he’d almost taken down his target. Miranda had been run down while he was being operated on in the hospital. He’d been left with the pain of a bullet wound in his shoulder and a broken heart from his wife’s murder all in one night.
“So, you’ve known exactly where he was for the past two years,” she said. “That means Montoya knew Ryan was at the compound near Rio all along.” If so, then why had he waited for a year to meet his enemy? Had he just enjoyed toying with him?
“No,” Swift shook his head in denial. “I didn’t tell him that I’d tagged Sheldon. No one knows about that, except for us three.”
“What about the doctor who implanted the chip?” Trevor asked. He already knew the answer, but hoped that he was wrong. It was galling to discover just how much of his deranged personality Aaron had managed to hide from him.
“He had an…unfortunate accident after the operation,” Aaron said with a weak attempt at humor. “I couldn’t take the chance that he’d tell anyone about it.”
“What computer have you been using to keep track of him?” Abby asked.
“My personal laptop. It’s locked in the top drawer of my desk,” Aaron said before she could torture him for the information.
Abby cocked her eyebrow at Trevor. He gave her a brisk nod and stepped over to the door. He opened it, gave the guard outside an order then closed the door again. They waited for several minutes until the guard returned with a sleek black laptop.
Trevor opened it and waited expectantly for the password. Aaron coughed it up after Abby lifted her knife threateningly again. After a quick search, Trevor found the program that contained the information that they needed. He and Abby peered at the screen and saw a red dot in the center of a large building. Watts manipulated the map, zooming out so they could see exactly where the property was. As Swift had told them, it was near Rio.
“Is anyone else in my agency working for Montoya?” Trevor asked his agent.
“No.” Swallowing down his pain, Aaron avoided his eyes. He wasn’t completely devoid of emotion and felt a certai
n amount of guilt. Trevor had always treated him well, even if Sheldon has been his favorite.
“Why did you betray me?” Watts asked.
“For the money,” Aaron replied simply. “Diego paid me millions to steer you away from his operations and towards his rivals instead.”
“How much did he pay you to have my daughter raped?” Trevor demanded. Swift’s gaze darted away, seeking escape and again not finding it. Something in his desperate eyes alerted Trevor to a possibility that he hadn’t thought of since learning that Swift was a traitor. “Elizabeth was blindfolded and never saw who abused her.” He handed the laptop to Abby and strode over until he was looming over his former employee. “Did you rape my daughter?”
Jerking his head from side to side in denial, sweat poured down Aaron’s brow and stung his eyes. “No! I swear to God I never touched her!”
Abby hadn’t taken her gaze off his face and she knew the truth. “He’s lying,” she said softly and rage swarmed across Watts’ face. She didn’t try to stop him from snatching the knife out of her hand. He drove it into Aaron’s chest then stepped back and watched his subordinate choke as blood filled his lungs. It bubbled up and spilled out through his speechless lips. They watched him die together, both expressionless and equally unpitying.
When Swift’s head sank down to his chest, Abby yanked the knife out and wiped it clean on his jacket. Splatters of blood and vomit stained the floor, but the majority of it had run into the drain. She was glad she didn’t have to clean up the mess for once, or to dispose of the body.
“I assume you’ll be heading to Brazil to extract Agent Sheldon?” Trevor asked. He’d mastered his fury, but grief for the abuse that his daughter had suffered had aged him. He looked seventy rather than sixty now.
“Yes. I’ll be leaving immediately.” Abby closed down the laptop to conserve the battery. She folded it neatly beneath her arm and it would take an army to pry it from her.
“You’ll need assistance infiltrating the grounds,” Trevor decided. “Take a team of my men with you.”
She sent him a look that was almost amused. “You’d trust me to lead your men into battle against Diego Montoya after learning that I eliminated my own team?”
“I do,” he said with utter certainty. “We both want to bring Ryan home.” Abigail didn’t seem to be mentally unhinged, just extremely dangerous. He didn’t know why she’d killed her own men, but assumed she had her reasons.
Calculating her chances of rescuing Ryan on her own, she conceded that she’d have far greater odds if she had backup. “Just as long as they know that I’m in charge and they agree to follow my orders.”
“Give me an hour to assemble a team. I promise you that they will do everything you tell them to or they’ll lose their jobs.”
There was a good chance that they’d lose a lot more than their jobs if they accompanied her to Brazil, but she wasn’t about to turn down their assistance. “One hour,” she agreed and headed for the door. The smell of blood and vomit was thick in the air and she suddenly felt the need to leave the room. The odor remained with her as she rode the elevator up to the first floor with a lone security guard. He led her to an empty waiting room where she took a seat and waited patiently for her new team to arrive.
It had been over a year since she’d been sent on a mission and it had ended in the deaths of her entire squad. She didn’t know the men that Watts would choose and she had nothing against them, but if any of them slowed her down, she’d cut them loose the quickest way she knew how, with her weapons. Her hand absently moved to check her knives as she tried to estimate how many hours or days it would be before she would see Ryan again. She refused to contemplate the thought that he might already be dead.
₪₪₪
Chapter Seven
Despite the discomfort of the sagging springs and lack of a mattress, Ryan eventually dozed off. He woke some time later when he heard the door open. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the light and saw three people enter. Two were male and the other was female.
“Do not move,” the woman ordered. Tall and statuesque, she had bleached blonde hair that made her ultra-white skin seem even paler. She held a pistol in one hand and several strips of material in the other. The pistol was pointed steadily at his face. Her eyes were an eerie yellow-green. They glittered at him as the two thugs looked to her for instructions.
“Tie him down,” she commanded and the men obediently took two strips of material each.
Ryan contemplated pulling his knife and fighting his way free. Not knowing the layout of his prison or how many adversaries were on the property, it would probably be a quick way to get him killed. He didn’t think the blonde was planning on killing him, yet. He decided to go along with whatever she had planned.
His hands were forced up over his head and then tied to the metal bedhead. He didn’t want to make it too easy for them, so he kicked one of the men in the stomach. The other thug punched him in the mouth in retaliation. Slightly dazed from the blow, his legs were pulled apart and his ankles were secured to foot of the bed.
“Leave us,” the female said and the lackeys obeyed her without a word. The one that he’d kicked scowled at him over his shoulder as he left, slamming the door shut.
Walking with sinuous and deliberate grace, the blonde crossed to the foot of the bed and perused him from his feet up to his face. “You are a very handsome man, Agent Sheldon.” She spoke very good English and her accent sounded familiar. She wasn’t Brazilian, but something else. Russian maybe. Her choice of outfit was tight black leather pants and matching sleeveless vest that dipped down low enough to almost expose her nipples. It was a couple of sizes too small and her breasts spilled over the top.
“Who are you?” he asked in a neutral tone as she put her gun in a holster at her waist and pulled a knife from a sheath that was tied to her right thigh.
“I am Tatiana.” With a name like that, she was definitely Russian. “We are about to become very closely acquainted with each other,” she smirked then put her hand on her left breast and squeezed it. Her erect nipple popped out of confinement. Clearly, she was turned on by seeing him helplessly tied down. He on the other hand, was feeling anything but aroused.
Unzipping her vest, she spread it open and her very large, very fake breasts were freed. Her pale eyes watched him study her then hardened when he showed no signs of interest. Turning her head, she saw the two men watching through the window. “Close the shutter!” she snarled. “I do not want you dogs watching me as I fuck this man!”
Hastily obeying her, the shutter was slid closed and they were given the privacy she wanted. Unzipping her pants, she worked them down her legs and kicked them free. She had a solid build, but it was muscle rather than excess fat. She stalked towards him and straddled his legs. She’d been naked beneath the leather pants and she’d been waxed bald. He wasn’t a fan of completely hairless women. It always seemed slightly weird to him.
“Does Montoya know you’re here?” Ryan asked her as she put a hand beneath his shirt and lightly brushed her fingertips over his abs. His skin crawled, but he hid his repulsion.
“Diego does not care who I fuck,” she said carelessly. “I am not one of his sluts and I am free to have sex with whoever I choose.”
Leaning down, she licked the blood off his split lip and ground her pelvis against his. “Do you not want me?” she purred when he didn’t stir below the waist.
“Not really,” he replied honestly.
Sitting up, she pouted down at him. The expression didn’t sit well on her hard face. It was difficult to determine her age. She could have been anywhere from twenty-five to forty. “Am I not beautiful enough for you?” Pushing her overly large boobs out, she unzipped him and slid her hand into his pants. The other hand still held the knife, which wasn’t exactly a mood enhancer.
Ryan gritted his teeth to keep in his foul curses at being fondled by a woman that he didn’t know. Tatiana probably thought it would be any ma
n’s fondest dream to be tied up and screwed by her. If he hadn’t met Abby, he might have gotten hard, but Abby was in his life now and he wasn’t about to cheat on her, not even by force.
Feeling a complete lack of reaction in Sheldon, Tatiana wasn’t about to give up that easily. She was tired of taking dark haired, dark eyed men to her bed. She wanted this blond, blue eyed man’s dick inside her. Withdrawing her hand, she took hold of the bottom of his shirt and cut it open. Her blade nicked his chin when it sliced through the band at his neck. Spreading his shirt open, she smiled at the sight of his chiseled chest and stomach.
Ryan closed his eyes when Tatiana leaned down and pressed her plastic tits against him. He didn’t have anything against plastic surgery, but she’d gone several cup sizes overboard, which he didn’t find to be particularly attractive. Her tongue lapped the blood from his chin then she started kissing her way down his chest. Her hand pulled his penis out of his briefs and stroked him.
Confident that the agent wouldn’t be able to resist her for long, Tatiana knelt on the ground, put his cock in her mouth and began to suck him. He remained soft and unresponsive, so she used her hand to work his shaft.
Any man would have found it difficult to resist getting hard when a woman was giving them a blowjob. Ryan concentrated on the most disgusting images that he could think of to stop himself from reacting. Pictures of maggoty corpses did a great job of quelling his desire.
After several minutes of gaining no response, Tatiana sat back on her heels and stared at him incredulously. “Are you gay?” She couldn’t believe he wasn’t hard after the marathon effort she’d just put in. His dick was soaked in her saliva and she was wet with the need to have him inside her.
“No.” Ryan could see that she was genuinely distressed by his lack of reaction. “I’m in love,” he explained. It was the first time that he’d admitted his feelings for Abby out loud. This wasn’t exactly the time or place he’d expected to say the words.
