Embers: A Dark Romance Love Triangle (A Special Agent Novel Book 5)

by C. P. Mandara

  Pressing my nose into her hair, I inhale her scent. She smells so good. I want to bury myself in this woman and never come up for air. I have to keep reminding myself she’s in love with Adie, and that I can’t have her. I feel a physical pain in my gut at the thought that I’ll never be able to get my hands on her ever again. I’ve already taken far more than I should have, and she means more to me than anyone I’ve ever known. Perhaps this is God’s way of punishing me for all the wrongs I’ve done. If he’d told me in advance what he was going to do to me, I reckon I’d have opted for the path of righteousness. Oh well, too late for that now.

  I sigh. “Do you think you can get through the foursome? If you can’t, you need to speak up now. I’ll try to arrange something else with Ranieri. There’s always another way.” My voice tails off. I’m lying and we both know it.

  Lois nuzzles her head into my neck. “I can get through it. Everything’s a little fiery and hot right now, but it beats having steel pins hammered through your hands. Chiara’s in an even worse state than me, so if she can do it, I can.”

  Lois has a point. I have no idea how Chiara intends to get through the next session, but she won’t be happy lying on her back for a couple of days. I probably should feel bad about that, but I don’t. My hand was forced, I did what I had to, and I do it again in a heartbeat if it meant saving Adie’s life.

  We are then interrupted by Ranieri’s name being screamed across the room. Either his sub has climaxed, or the building is on fire. As no alarms accompany the shriek, I’m going with the former.

  Less than a minute later, Ranieri is standing in front of me. “You have a rare talent with a bullwhip, Leveritt. I was almost positive I had that in the bag.” There is admiration in his voice, and I can’t help but feel a bit queasy. I’ve taught Ranieri something new today and I’m positive he’s going to hone his skills until he’s nearly as good as I am. Poor Chiara isn’t going to know what hit her. Actually, she is – and it’s going to be a very nasty bullwhip.

  “Anyone who works for the Dumortiers is good at torture. That’s fairly tame by my standards,” I say, holding his gaze. It’s true, unfortunately.

  He looks grudgingly impressed. “So I hear. Is that why Lois is so good at dealing with pain? Have you been torturing her? Or are you training her up to sell?” Ranieri seems to have developed an infatuation with Lois. The disease is catching. Both Adie and I are similarly smitten. He can get in fucking line.

  “We torture her on occasion. I’m not entirely convinced she doesn’t enjoy it.” My tone is light, but I don’t want to think about what Adie did to her back in Carte Blanche. I still haven’t forgiven him for that one. I could barely talk to him for days after that. It was the first time our friendship had run into a stumbling block, but it wouldn’t be the last.

  “That explains a few things.” Ranieri then grabs a handful of Chiara’s hair and tips her face back so she has to look up at him. “Think you can still manage our foursome precious, or do I need to get a stand-in?” This man is all heart. I start to wonder what the hell we’ve let ourselves in for, but Chiara nods, doing her best to stifle her sobs as Ranieri begins to walk away from us. I’m not sure whether she’s devoted to him or scared of him, and I wouldn’t want to place a bet on either.

  Lois and I stand up as they leave the room, wondering what we should do next.

  Ranieri must sense our indecision. “Room three hundred and ninety-eight, Leveritt. You’re in a hurry, I believe?” Shit. This is happening. I haven’t recovered from the last scene yet, and I’m damn sure Lois hasn’t.

  “Yes. We’ll meet you there in a few minutes,” I say with a nod, and watch as he strides out of the room, leaving a crying Chiara trying her best to crawl after him. The man really is evil. I hope he gives her something for the pain before we continue.

  Lowering my gaze to Lois, I nuzzle the top of my chin into her head. “Are you sure you’re okay to continue?” My voice is low, but I want the truth. If she’s in pain, we need to discuss this. I have some stuff she can take for it if necessary.

  “Yes,” Lois rolls her eyes and gives me an exasperated look - one that says I’m fussing and being overprotective, but I don’t care. I’m worried about her. Even if she’s okay physically, she’ll be falling apart in other ways shortly. Adie and I have had practise at dealing with the crap Alain throws at us, she hasn’t.

  “Are you sure? Do you need something to take the edge of things? Ranieri is not going to go easy on you. You’ve seen what he’s capable of.”

  “I’m sure. Drugs will only dull my reflexes. Besides, dealing with pain is swiftly becoming my favourite hobby.” She winks at me. The woman winks. I want to strangle her and make love to her both at the same time. It’s an interesting combination. Maybe I’ll give it a go one day.

  “Fine. We’ll return to the room so I can at least put some cream on those whip marks, and then we’ll make head out. Let’s get this over with.”

  I, unlike Ranieri, do not make Lois crawl after me. She gets carried the whole way, even though she drives me insane moaning about how she’s perfectly able to make her own way back. Women. There is no pleasing them.

  When we get back to the room, I give Lois a couple of Ibuprofen as they are the only thing she will agree to take. The woman is infuriating, but there is no reasoning with her, so I decide to let the argument pass. I just hope she doesn’t regret her decision later. Gently painting some antiseptic cream over her numerous cuts and grazes, I begin to assess the damage. There are some ugly red lines snaking across her back, and her ass looks like a battlefield, but thankfully it’s nothing that won’t heal. When I’ve assured myself she’ll live, my hands smooth some Aloe Vera over her, which should help to take some of the sting away. She’s squirming and squawking a bit under my hands at the moment, but in a couple of days she’ll be right as rain. My face then darkens. Actually, she won’t. We’ll be back at Lavande, and by that time everything will have gone to shit. Don’t think about that now.

  “Are you confident Ranieri will give us what we need?” Lois sounds anxious. Funnily enough, she echoes what I am feeling at the moment.

  “Not really, but I don’t see what other choice we have. Why, do you know something I don’t?” It’s clear she’s not happy about our next arrangement, and to be fair, neither am I, which is why I’m packing a gun in the back of my pants yet again. It won’t do me any good, though. If I’ve got a gun, Ranieri and Chiara will have guns, and that just means a blood bath. Resorting to bullets is a last-ditch scenario.

  “No. Just a feeling. It’s probably nothing. All the men here are crooks. I don’t trust any of them.” Lois is telling me to proceed with caution, but it’s nothing I haven’t already told myself. I don’t trust anyone in this business. This is the first time I’ve seen her visibly nervous, though. Mind you, after what has just happened, it’s no surprise that she doesn’t think much of the man.

  This is confirmed when she pulls her ‘secret weapon’ out of the beside drawer and goes into the bathroom to secure it in place. I watch quietly, as she stands in front of the bathroom mirror and winds it up in her hair, forming a tight, French knot. Her fingers are deft and sure, and considering what she’s just been through, surprisingly efficient as she uses hairspray to keep the style in place. Lois hides her nerves well. It’s probably why she’s so good at what she does. She has an innate confidence and inner calm that most women would be envious of. Here is a woman who could take on the world if given half a chance, and I need her to have that chance.

  “Can you see it?” Lois steps out of the bathroom and turns around, letting me examine her hairdo. It’s perfect. The small blade is completely hidden.

  “No. Good work. You can’t see a thing.” If she has to resort to that flimsy weapon, we’ll both be in dire straits, but I guess anything is better than nothing. At least we’re both on board with how serious this situation is. We know we’re getting in bed with the devil, and we’re taking all the precautions we can
.

  “Shall we go enter the Lion’s den?” Lois lifts an eyebrow and gets down on all fours, impatient to begin. I wish I had her enthusiasm.

  “It’ll be fine,” I say. “He’ll want to watch you roll around with Chiara, everyone will get their fingers dirty, and we’ll be home in time for tea.” I refuse to look at my watch. If I do, I will begin counting down the hours Adie’s got left to live and I’m feeling suicidal enough as it is.

  “Let’s hope so. If, for any reason, I don’t make it – it’s been a pleasure working with you, James Leveritt.” I nearly choke on that. Working with me can be lots of things, but there aren’t many people who’d refer to it as a ‘pleasure.’ Lois is a very unusual girl, that’s for sure.

  “A pleasure, huh?” I give her a wry grin.

  Lois winks. “Well, you’re mostly a pain in the ass, but you have your moments.”

  I shake my head. How the woman can make jokes at a time like this is beyond me, but it’s better than crying and screaming, so I figure we’ll go with it.

  “Let’s do this,” I say.

  Less than ten minutes later, we arrive outside Ranieri’s room. Lois and I look at each other, but don’t say a word. We both know this is our last shot. It’s make or break time. We’ve got to nail this. There is no plan ‘B.’

  “Ready?” I ask. I’m currently listening for anything that might be amiss, but I know that the rooms are pretty much soundproofed, and so far, all is quiet. Lois nods.

  Banging on the door three times, I stand back and wait.

  Ranieri opens the door wide almost instantly, as if he’s been waiting for us, and we can both see that Chiara is already handcuffed to the bed. Her hair is pinned artfully on the top of her head, her lips are outlined in bright-red gloss and her eyes are heavily lined in kohl. The sultry smile she wears broadcasts her intentions loud and clear. Ranieri must have given her something for the pain because the woman looks far too cheerful. Her expression tells me she is anxious for this to begin, and she should be anything but. She’s not had a couple of ibuprofens, that’s for sure.

  “Welcome my friends. Come in, come in.” Ranieri holds a crystal glass in his hand that is filled with two fingers of what is probably whisky. He’s currently wearing a big smile upon his face, but his tone is too light, and too cheerful. Something is wrong. I almost take a step backwards, but by that time it is too late. When the door clicks shut behind us, everything goes to hell.

  Chiara is the first to pull a gun on us, which is when I see that her handcuffs haven’t been attached to anything. Clever trick, that. She trains her piece directly on Lois and though her hands wobble slightly, probably because of the pain meds, her aim is good. Before I have a chance to reach behind me and pull my own gun out, there’s the click of a safety behind me, and I know we’ve both been made.

  “Hands up, Leveritt, unless you want to scrape what’s left of your wife up off the floor.” I curse inwardly. Our worst suspicions have just been confirmed. We’ve made this too fucking easy for the bastard. Still, there’s nothing left to do but play along for the moment. Holding my hands up high, I wait as Ranieri pats me down and removes my gun. He then shoves me towards the bed.

  “Handcuff Lois, James. Make sure her hands are behind her back and don’t try any funny business.” I do as he says. I’m not arguing with two loaded guns.

  “I love you,” I murmur, as my hands encircle her wrists with two bands of tight, cold steel, snapping them closed. There’s a good chance I’m going to die before long, so I want her to know that. She might not want to hear it, but that’s too bad. I’m feeling royally fucked off and rather selfish at the moment.

  At my words, her eyes flare, almost as if she can’t believe what I’m saying. Believe it, baby. I would fucking die for you, and you need to know that. Unfortunately, Ranieri is now standing right behind me, so that last sentence goes unsaid, but at least she knows how I feel about her. I’m well aware she’s in love with Adie, but I can’t keep this to myself. If we’re about to die, I need her to know.

  Ranieri watches as I slowly fasten the two steel bands around Lois’s wrists. I can almost feel the bastard breathing down my neck before he says, “Now put her on the edge of the bed and spread her legs open wide. Chiara’s going to have some fun with her, while I have mine with you. There’s nothing I enjoy more than bringing a tough guy down to his knees.” Ranieri has no problem mixing business with pleasure, it seems. I wonder what he wants from us? Is there a point to this exercise, or is it a game of cat and mouse? He is a sadist, after all, so he’ll probably want to play with us before he kills us. I wonder if there’s any plastic sheeting underneath the bed. That would be a dead giveaway. I have a nasty feeling there is.

  Lois sits down on the crisp, white duvet, without my prompting, and does as she’s told. She then looks up at me, ignoring protocol, and whispers, “I love you, too.” I take a step backward in shock. Surely I misheard that? She’s in love with Adie, isn’t she? Was that a lie? I don’t allow myself to hope. In any case, I can’t have her, and for all intents and purposes, we’ll probably be dead shortly, so what does it really matter? My brain thinks differently, though. The heavy block of lead that’s been weighing down my body for days lifts, and if there hadn’t been a gun trained on my back, I might have picked Lois up and thrown her in the air. She loves me. The woman loves me.

  “Oh, so touching. If she’s in love with you, you haven’t trained her very well, Leveritt.” Au contraire, I think. I’ve trained her a hell of a lot better than your flaky mutt. If we’re lucky, he’ll find that out today. If Lois gets the chance to kill the asshole behind me, I’m really going to enjoy the bloodbath. The fucker will deserve all he gets, and I’ll make sure it hurts.

  “Who took the shipment of cocaine?” My voice is tight. If he’s intent on killing us, he won’t mind sharing the information. Dead men don’t tend to be very chatty.

  Ranieri finds my question amusing. “It’s funny you should ask.” He presses the gun to the back of my head, and barks, “On your knees.” I drop to the ground stiffly and wait. I have a feeling he’ll tell me what I want to know. People love boasting about their exploits, especially arrogant assholes like him. Sure enough, his next words tell me exactly what I want to hear.

  “I took the shipment. We intercepted it in Terracina. Alain only had a couple of people guarding it, and they’re now buried six feet under. I would tell you to give him my regards, but unfortunately you’re not making it out of here alive.” Ranieri sounds mightily pleased with himself, as well he might. I hate to think what the retail value of that cocaine must have been, but it certainly lined his pockets with a few million Euros. I wonder if Giovanni knew. I bet the bastard did. This was his way of getting rid of me. How very convenient.

  “You have no idea who you’re up against. Alain will find you. He knows where we are, and he won’t stop sending men until all the idiots in this place are dead.” He’ll do all of that and more, but that’s not my problem. “It won’t be a quick death, either,” I add. “If he thinks he’s been played, you’ll wish you’d never been born.” Take my word for it.

  “Who says yours is going to be quick?” Ranieri gives me a cunning little smile, and I resist the urge to look at my watch, knowing full well we haven’t got time for this shit.

  I bite my tongue to stop myself from answering that question. At the moment, Ranieri thinks we’re hired thugs. If he knew what we really are, he wouldn’t be feeling quite so smug right about now. He’s not got this in the bag yet, but I’m prepared to let him think he has until I can get Lois out of those cuffs. Those fuckers are a major stumbling block and I’m not leaving her behind.

  “Tell you what,” Ranieri says, when the silence drags out so long he’s given up hope that I’ll reply, “I’ll give you both a quick and painless death, if you play nicely.” Geez, the man’s a sweetheart. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

  “And what are you going to do if we don’t?” I feel the need to ask th
at question, just to yank his chain. I can see Lois give me a dark look, but I don’t fucking care. Ranieri isn’t long for this world if I have anything to say about it.

  “Start putting holes in you. I’ll also make sure Lois gets fucked over by every man in this place, while you watch. Your choice.” He shrugs his shoulders, but my attention is not on him, it’s on Lois. Her face has now lost all its colour. Shit. Way to go, James. I wish I hadn’t asked.

  Leaning forward towards her slowly, I murmur, “That isn’t going to happen. Hang in there. We’ll be out of here before you know it.”

  Ranieri can hear everything I say, unfortunately.

  Patting me on the shoulder, he says, “I don’t think so, Leveritt, but if you want to make this as painless as possible, I suggest you start doing exactly what I tell you.”

  The urge to break off his fingers, one by one is strong, but I daren’t make a move just yet. “Well, now that we’re here, right where you want us, what are you going to do with us?” The sarcasm in my voice is unmistakable, and I get a cuff around the ear because of it.

  “Good question. I’m glad you asked.” Ranieri then puts a hand on my shoulder as he says, “We’re going to watch Chiara make love to Lois. Then I’m going to fuck you, and finally we’re going to allow you a little ‘goodbye’ fuck of your own because we’re nice like that. I think the rest is self-explanatory, Leveritt. If you’re lucky I might kill you just as you come inside her.”

  I shake my head slowly. No, no, no. I think my face has just gone as white as Lois’s. We need to form an escape plan before we get to the third item on his list, else all our hard work here will be for naught. Jesus Christ. Ranieri wants to watch Lois and I have sex, and that is a complete clusterfuck of a disaster. It means that even if we get out of here alive, I will then be delivering Lois to her death. This can’t happen.