Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
“Dimitry, are you going to let the little bitch take you down like that?” a deep voice asked.
“Hey,” another voice said. “We should move this along. The boss wants us all on the plane in less than an hour.”
She wasn’t getting on a damn plane.
She put her boot on “Dimitry’s” chest. “I would stay down if I was you, big guy.”
If she could reach into her bag, she could come up with the pepper spray she carried. Or the Taser her mom had no idea she slipped into her bag on nights like this. But it was sitting on the stupid bench.
Everything she needed was just out of reach.
“Ya ubyu tebya, suka,” he hissed as he grabbed her ankle and sent her flying back.
She hit the dirt and groaned because he’d thrown her hard. She landed face down, her hips hitting the edge of the sidewalk hard. An ache went through her, but she could handle it. She thought about running. There was a time and a place to run, and these guys, despite their beefy bodies, probably weren’t as fast as she was.
But that was the moment she realized she was surrounded.
And at least one of them was Russian since he’d told her he was going to kill her. And he’d called her a bitch. There was a lot of name calling going around tonight.
She flipped herself up and went into a defensive stance.
Five. She could handle five.
She could. She had to.
“Come on, kid,” the tallest of the guys said, pulling off his balaclava, too. Military cut. Fit. His face was all planes and harsh angles. “We don’t have a lot of time here. If you’re a good girl, I’ll let you have a snack on the plane. If you’re not, I’ll let Dimitry here give you a snack you weren’t expecting.”
Maybe darkness wasn’t the right word. Maybe her superpower was her rage.
“Fuck you.” She ran at the one she’d injured the first time. He was blocking her way. It was time to get the fuck out. She could make it back to Coop’s house. Or not. No. She couldn’t risk Vivi and Hunter. She would run for the street. She’d made the mistake of wanting to be alone. They wouldn’t have been able to corner her if she’d stuck to the streets.
She punched with all her might, trying to break the guy’s nose. If she did it right, she could force the cartilage up into his brain. At least in theory.
The man cursed and pulled back enough he didn’t take the full force. He slapped out, catching the side of her head and sending her banging into the bench she’d been sitting on. So close to the dead body. “Dimitry, fucking take her out. You’re the one with the sedative.”
One of the others chuckled. “She’s a hell cat. She’s a pretty thing, too.”
A meaty arm went around her waist, hauling her into the air.
A new kind of anger thrummed through her as she brought her head up and back, ignoring the pain in her skull. She thrashed as the big Russian held her.
And then she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder.
“Go get the car and bring it around the back. We need to take the PI with us,” a deep voice said as Kala felt her body start to slow.
Sedative. They’d given her a sedative.
Now there was nothing that could stop the panic.
Things were happening around her, but she couldn’t move. She slumped to the ground and felt something heavy on her chest.
She looked up and through the haze beginning in her eyes, saw the Russian, putting his boot on her chest. He spat blood on the ground next to her before kneeling down.
“I know who you are, little bitch,” he said, each word snaking through her with malicious intent. “I know your cousin.”
Her second cousin. Her mom’s. Dusan. He was the head of the Denisovitch syndicate. If they were friends, he might…
“Ya skazhu emu, kak zdorovo my razvlekaemsya s toboy.”
Not friends. She could feel the world slowing down. She wished she didn’t speak Russian. Didn’t know what he’d said.
I will let him know how much fun we have with you.
She didn’t think they were going to dress her up. No. She knew what the fucker was promising.
It was all starting to go dark.
Cooper. She was supposed to be with Cooper, and it was supposed to be a beautiful night. Not this. Please not this. Not when she couldn’t fight. Couldn’t defend herself.
But then had she ever really had a shot?
Dimitry’s scarred face was the last thing she saw before the world went dark and she entered Hell.
* * * *
Cooper was pretty sure he’d never seen his father as angry as he was in this moment. He watched as Kyle Hawthorne walked toward the office. He kind of wished he could go with him.