Deadly Retaliation: A Dark Bully Harem Romance (A Twisted, Dark and Deadly Romance Book 1)

by C. P. Mandara

  I miss James. He was my one true friend in this world, and now even he’s gone. I miss not having someone to talk to and confide in. He was the only one that could talk me down from some of my more stupid ideas, and he was the yin to my fucking yang. I feel lost without him. I’m all at sea, in an raging storm, on a piece of driftwood that is slowly falling apart.

  That man is the only person that ever really knew me. All the rest think they know me, but they haven’t scratched the surface. Only James knows what I’ve been through. Why did he have to go and be such an asshole? I got out of my brother’s clutches at Lavande and escaped being blown up with only seconds to spare. James promised me he’d get me out, but he was nowhere to be found when crunch time arrived. The two of them left me for dead. Some fucking friend. I need to stop thinking about him and concentrate on getting Ione. This is the first step to getting my own back. I’ll feel a lot better about the world in general, once I’ve got James and Lois groveling at my feet.

  The trick to hospitals is to always look like you know where you’re going. This is easy enough as long as you study the plan beforehand. All I have to do is to punch the right number floor in the elevator and follow the signposts. When I get to the department I want, I casually saunter up to the reception desk and tell the nurse there’s a little girl who’s just been sick outside, and she’s wandering about in a hospital gown. It’s far too easy. The receptionist sprints off to deal with my imaginary problem, while I take a quick look at her computer and the charts by her desk. All I need is the name of a sick kid or two, and I can basically go anywhere I want. It doesn’t take me long to find what I need. When a stretcher comes bustling out of the locked doors in front of me, heading for the elevator, my chance presents itself. Sliding my hand out to prevent the door closing and locking behind them, I silently slip through. No one is looking my way. They have far more important things on their mind.

  That’s all it takes. The hard part is now over. All I have to do now is observe the doctors and figure out which one it is that I want. I’m not positive that James knows I’m alive. If he doesn’t, Ione will be working here under her own name. If James has discovered that I’m not buried six feet under, however, he will have started taking precautions. Lois will be the first person he tries to hide away, but Ione will be the second. It’s possible she’s not even here, but as this is the only lead I have, I’ll just have to see what I can find. I suspect one of the other doctors will know where she’s gone if I can’t find her, providing I give them enough of an incentive to tell me.

  Striding down the hallway, I glance into each ward I pass, trying to see who’s doing their rounds. There are a couple of young male doctors, who I walk straight past, and then an elderly female doctor who unfortunately turns her head to catch my stare as we walk past. Shit. I’m about to get collared.

  “Sir, can I help you?” she calls out as I try to walk by as quickly as possible. Placing the clipboard she’s just been making notes on back on the bed in front of her, she turns to give me her full attention.

  “Good afternoon,” I say, thinking quickly. What should I do now? Hmm. “I’m looking for my little girl’s doctor,” I say after a two second debate with myself. “I’m really sorry but I’ve forgotten her name. She has long blonde hair, usually plaited, likes to make lots of jokes, which my little girl loves, and I think her surname begins with a ‘W.’”

  The elderly doctor frowns. “What’s the name of your little girl?” Hmpf. She’s not giving anything away without a fight, it seems.

  “Calinda Lettering,” I say, remembering one of the first names off the computer. It’s worth a shot. If this goes south, I’m going to need to sprint really fast though, and I haven’t been to the gym in days.

  “Ah, yes.” The doctor in front of me smiles. “Calinda. Such a sweet girl. I didn’t think Dr Warrington was looking after her, though. I thought she was under Dr Goodley.”

  “She’s just been transferred,” I offer up helpfully, swearing beneath my breath. “Dr Goodley had a few new admissions today.” Please, just tell me where the hell she is, I pray. I’m not in the mood for sprinting.

  The doc nods, and she doesn’t look suspicious, so I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “She’s in ward twenty-four. The Wizard Ward. Hell knows who makes those names up, but there we have it. Just down the hall on your right. Have a good day, Mr Lettering.” She nods at me as I smile and quietly disappear. I have what I want, and I need to get moving.

  ‘The Wizard Ward,’ is indeed as magical as it sounds, and its walls are painted with blue cone-shaped hats that are decorated with bright yellow stars. There’s the odd magic wand here and there for effect, and even a staff with a glowing orb sat atop it. I approach the doorway slowly. She might not even be in there. This might be her day off. If she is around, I need to figure a way to get her out of the hospital and into my car. There are several ways to do that. I’m just trying to come up with the best one.

  Normally, I wouldn’t do something this risky in full view of the public. I’d nab her at home. I don’t think that will be an option, though. James will have seen to it that her security is tight. My best chance of success is probably kidnapping her at work, idiotic as that might sound. Add to that the fact that I’m an incredibly impatient person when it comes to revenge, and you probably have a disaster in the making. Still, if I get caught here, at least I won’t be killed by Leader in a few days’ time.

  It doesn’t take me long to spot her. The bright blonde hair is a dead giveaway and at the moment, it is tied up in her trademark plait with a bright pink hairband. She’s wearing a purple top with every children’s character known to man printed on it, and she’s humming away to herself as she looks at a chart. How are you going to handle this, Adrien? Hmm. That’s a good question. The old-fashioned way, I think.

  “Miss Warrington?”

  The bright blonde hair turns towards me, as does an amazingly attractive face. Trust James to have a hot sister. I’m then speared by two twin orbs of brilliant turquoise blue and the color is so blinding, it should be illegal. I almost take a step closer to check. They must be colored contacts. They must be.

  “Yes, that’s me. Who are you?” She looks up at me questioningly and blinks.

  “My name is Charles Docherty. Your brother works for me.” I then hold out my hand, and she shakes it, somewhat warily.

  “Charles. You’re the first person I’ve ever met that has had anything to do with my brother. He keeps himself to himself normally. What can I do for you? Is he okay?”

  Her bright smile turns to dust as soon as I don’t return it. She expects bad news, and that’s exactly what I’m about to deliver.

  “I’m afraid he’s been hurt in the field, Miss Warrington. He’s in one of our hospitals in the Middle East and he’s asking for you. I’m not sure how long he’s got, which is why I’m here. I’ve been instructed to fly you out to him.” If you bite. Let’s hope you bite. If you don’t, I have a syringe full of something nasty in my pocket and you’re going out on a stretcher with a sheet over your head. That option is problematic, though. My car isn’t parked near the front entrance. Unless I’m planning on stealing an ambulance (and I’m not), I really don’t want to go down that route. There is one more idea that’s floating about in my head, but it’s not neat and organized. I’ll use it if I have to, but I don’t want to.

  “Oh, my god. Is he seriously injured? What’s happened to him?” Ione puts her hand up to her mouth in shock as she takes in my vicious lies. Do I feel bad for scaring her half to death? Nah. I’m about to do a lot worse to her in a couple of hours’ time.

  “He’s stable, but he’s in a bad way. I don’t know the exact details, but I do know he’s taken some damage.” Less chit chat, more action woman. We need to go.

  “What did you say your name was again, and who do you work for?”

  Ione’s fingers are now tapping nervously against her cheek, and she’s looking me up and down as if the answer
s will come to her miraculously. Damn it. Why couldn’t she just go for option one?

  “I can’t tell you due to the nature of James’ job. You already know this. You’ll just have to trust me on that score. You can stay here, or you can come with me. That’s all I can tell you.” I smile gently, trying to look friendly and kind. Unfortunately, I’ve never been particularly good at that look and Ione knows it.

  “You could be anyone,” she says. “You could be one of the bad guys and you could be here to kidnap me. You’ll have to do better. Get James on the phone. If he okays this, then I’ll come with you.” She’s now looking at me with narrowed eyes. She doesn’t trust me. Fuck it. Did James manage to warn her? I can’t believe that. She wouldn’t be here if he had. Why do the Leveretts’ have to be so damn awkward? There was nothing wrong with option one. Everything I turn my hand to this week is turning to shit. Honestly, it’s starting to get me down.

  “I can’t do that. I won’t know where they’re holding them until I get into Kuwait. I know it’s difficult, but you’re just going to have to trust me.” I hold out my hand, inwardly urging her to take it. What is wrong with this woman? Normally after ten minutes with me, the average female’s panties are already wet and she’s practically begging to come with me – wherever I might want to take her. Trust me to get the difficult one.

  Looking at her pleadingly, I give her my most disarming look. It’s designed to reassure her that I’m not a madman (I’m not), I’m actually who I say I am (I’m not), and that I will take care of her (I’m not going to do that, either). In response, I can see her face warring between which path to choose. Come on, I silently urge. Trust this angelic face. You want to come away with me and be my little fuck toy for the next couple of days until your brother comes running. Hmm. Maybe that’s the wrong face to use.

  When she takes a step towards me, I figure the deed is done and I hold out my hand. It makes a change for something to go my way, but I’m not going to complain.

  “Get out,” she says, drawing her cell phone out of her pocket. “Get out, or I will call security. Either get James on the phone now or leave quickly.”

  Oh fuck. Here we go again. My life is a rip-roaring ride at the minute.

  “You don’t want to do that,” I say, shaking my head. It’s too late, of course. Her fingers are already tapping her passcode in and I have seconds to take control of this situation. For the record, this is not the way I wanted things to go down, but if she wants to play hardball and start the fun and games early, that’s her choice. I’d have preferred to take it slow.

  As Ione is busy tapping things into her cell, my fingers are closing around a vial of something unpleasant. Uncapping the syringe in my pocket, I make a sudden lunge toward her, bring my hand out at the last minute. Plunging the needle into her femoral artery, I unload the contents quickly, before I slap a hand over her mouth. The phone drops to the floor as she stands there in shock, wondering what the hell I’ve just done. I pick it up and pocket it. I’ll need it later.

  “That’s going to make you a little woozy in a few minutes,” I say, but it won’t kill you. “This one will, though.” I smile as I bring another syringe out of my pocket, watching her eyes go wide and white.

  “What is that?” she mumbles through my fingers. I forget that she’s a doctor. They’re always so bloody nosy. Still, there’s no harm in telling her, I guess.

  “It’s potassium chloride. It’ll hurt too, just so you know.” Ione’s hands start shaking as she looks at me in horror. It’s a look I am all too familiar with, so I don’t even bat an eyelid.

  “Are you going to be a good girl and do everything I say?” I ask.

  “Are you going to kill me if I don’t?” she retorts. The shock has gone, and it’s replaced with anger. Interesting. I have no idea how she’s managed to recover that quickly, but most people I kidnap tend to go to mush almost instantly. What’s her secret?

  “You catch on fast,” I say. I am already walking her out of the ward. There’s two little kids there that are looking at us as if we’re mad, but hopefully they’ll forget they ever saw us in a few minutes’ time.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to walk out of here with me nice and slow. Think you can do that? As an added incentive I have a gun in my back pocket, if the threat of lethal injection wasn’t enough for you.”

  Ione snorts. “You won’t use that in here. You’d never get out if you did.”

  I roll my eyes inwardly. Trust James’ sister to be just as smart as he is. This woman is going to give me a colossal headache before the day is out, I just know it.

  “That’s why I have the injection. It’s quieter and a lot less messy.” She doesn’t respond to that, and it’s just as well.

  We head towards the elevator with relatively few problems, and I hit the button for the ground floor with a little bit more force than necessary. I’ve got my arm around Ione’s waist just in case she’s got any funny ideas about running. If she has, she’ll save those for when we reach the reception desk. She’s already proved that she’s smart. Perhaps I had better rethink this. I don’t need any more hiccups. If I lose her, I lose my only link to Lois and that’s not going to happen.

  “What are you wearing underneath that uniform?” Yeah, it’s a creepy question, but at the moment, I’m creepy guy, so that works.

  “I’m naked,” she fires back immediately. Hmm. So much the better, but I think she’s lying. It’s time to find out.

  “Let’s check,” I say, hitting the alarm button on the elevator. Ione immediately tries to turn it off, but I’ve captured her arms in mine and I’m already pinning them behind her back.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she squeaks, in this cute little outraged voice that should make me feel guilty but doesn’t.

  “Making sure you’re telling me the truth,” I reply. That’s half of what I’m doing, anyway.

  When my fingers peel the waistband of her scrubs top downward, it’s to find that she’s wearing a pair of leggings beneath them. Excellent. Although I would personally prefer that she was naked, her not being naked works better for the next part of my plan. I don’t want her walking out of here as a doctor. The less people remember about our exit, the better.

  “Get away from me!” Jumping backwards, Ione tries to slap my hand away but misses her target by some degree. She then blinks and looks down at her hand as if it’s suddenly been overtaken by aliens.

  “What did you give me?” she barks, but the last word is slurred. She then slaps her hand over her mouth. Ione does not look happy. Poor baby.

  “A little something to relax you. It’s going to make you quite silly in a minute. Let’s hope you don’t do something stupid.” I’m counting on her doing something stupid, actually, which is how we’re going to get out of here.

  “What. Did. You. Give. Me?” Her face is pure thunder now, but her head is swaying incredulously and her words aren’t as articulate as they should be. Everything is going to plan. Well, plan B or C, whichever one we’re on now.

  “Take off your top, and I’ll tell you.” I raise my eyebrows and then give her a wink.

  In retaliation, she raises her hand up to slap me, but I catch it easily. Her co-ordination is all over the place. The good news is, it’s only going to get worse. “Take off your top,” I demand. “It’s not a request.”

  “And if I d…don’t?” Ione should be scared by now, but she isn’t. James’ sister is defiant, and she’s going to go down screaming, which ironically, is exactly what I want. I think we’re going to make beautiful movies together.

  “I’ll do it for you.” I back that statement up with a lascivious leer. Hopefully, that should get the girl moving.

  Strangely enough – it doesn’t.

  “Come on then, tough guy. If you want to kidnap me, the least you can do is… show me a good time.” She’s trying to distract me with those hypnotizing blue eyes, but it won’t work. I’ve played this game too m
any times. I can see her inching slowly towards the elevator button, but she’s not going to get a chance to press it.

  Slamming myself into her tight little body, I grab a wrist in each arm and place them above her head. She looks supremely pissed off by my antics, but she doesn’t bother shaking me off as I expect her to.

  We stand there, giving each other the eye for a few seconds, before she bangs her head backwards against the elevator wall.

  “Well, if you’re going to strip me, darling, h…hadn’t you better… get on with it?” She then lets out a hiss and I can probably guess why. The drug is seeping through her, slowing her reactions and speech. It’s also dragging her eyelids down, making her feel tired, lightheaded and drunk. The shot I’ve just given her is a great little cocktail. If she’s lucky, she’s got five minutes before she’s out cold on the floor. In fact, I can feel her sliding down the elevator walls beneath me, so I’d better do something quick to wake her up. Hmm. Removing a few items of clothing sounds like fun.

  When my hands reach for her top, my fingers brush her waist. I want to see if she reacts to me. This whole episode will be much more fun if she does. They linger there, lightly brushing over her skin, waiting for a response. I get one, but not the one I want.

  “Are you stripping me or looking at the washing label on my pants? I’m getting bored here.” Ione raises her eyebrow.

  My head snaps back. I’ve got nothing. Nada. She doesn’t move, whimper, moan, or wriggle beneath me. This has to be a world first. What am I doing wrong? Maybe the Sandra syndrome is catching. Shit. Maybe I’m losing it. Mind you, there’s always the possibility she’s playing hard to get – and I am trying to abduct her, which might have something to do with it.

  Leaning in closer to her, I raise my hands under her top, tracing the soft, smooth flesh of her stomach until I reach her bra. One of my hands reaches behind her to unfasten it, in a single, deft move.