Think, Leveritt, think.
Thinking gets me nowhere.
I’m pretty sure we’ve been right all along. There is something Ranieri is not telling us. Either he’s working for Alain or he’s in his pocket. I’m not sure which, but I’m pretty confident we’ve been played. If this was a game of chess, Alain had just taken my queen, leaving me floundering on the board with a couple of pawns. Whichever way we look at it, we’re fucked – in every single sense of the word. There is no wriggling out of this shit. It’s do or die. If we go ahead and do as we’re told, we’d delay death, but it would come snapping and biting at our heels in a few hours’ time. Maybe it would be better to die here and now? A quick death is far superior to a slow and ugly one. Was that my call to make though? Maybe I should stop thinking about people dying and start fighting for a change. It seemed to work for Lois.
“What’s the matter, James? You look like you’re half-dead already. There are worse ways to go, I assure you. Is it because you can’t bear the thought of your beautiful wife fucking mine? Surely not. That’s got to be every man’s fantasy, no?” I try my best to block out the sound of his voice. I need to stay calm and I need to keep my wits about me.
“Or is it because this is your first time under a man?” Ranieri walks around me, basking in the glow of victory, while making my skin crawl. “I would say I’d be gentle, James, but that would be a lie. I’m going to be fucking rough and rip you to pieces. Still, some people enjoy that shit. Maybe you’ll be one of them. Maybe you won’t mind being my little fuck toy, whimpering as I leave you broken and bleeding…”
Ranieri might as well save his breath. If he expects me to beg and plead for my life, he’s in for a long wait. I don’t give a shit about watching Lois with Chiara. I also don’t care if he wants to make me his bitch. He can slam into me as hard as he likes, he won’t get so much as a whimper out of me. What I do care about is the one thing he hasn’t mentioned. Lois and I cannot have sex together. I would rather he killed us, than put us through that. If Alain finds out, all that’s happening here will look like child’s play. I won’t let Alain kill Lois. No one is touching the woman I love. No one.
You won’t be able to protect her, though. Once you’re back behind his walls, you’re as helpless as a three-day-old baby. You need to get Lois out, by whatever means necessary.
I also need a fucking fairy godmother because shit just got real, and I have no clue how to wriggle my way out of this mess.
The End
ASHES is due to be released in the next few weeks. It has already been written, so it will be with you soon! Sign up to my newsletter here to be notified the instant it goes live: http://bit.ly/1MVubkR.
(And yes, ASHES will be the end of this series! Hurrah! Or should that be Boo Hoo?)
ASHES
All hope is lost. James has slept with me twice. When we arrive back at Lavande, Alain takes a great deal of pleasure in telling me I have two weeks to live. Two miserable weeks where he will torture me with his hands and knives until I am screaming for mercy. The worst part is that James will be forced to watch every second of it.
Why didn’t we run when we had the chance? It’s a question I’m going to ask myself again and again over the upcoming days because Alain is rather inventive with his torture methods. At first, I thought we might stand a chance, but then he brings out the drugs. There’s a reason his nickname is ‘The Chemist.’ The man is truly evil in every way that counts.
This is a war we cannot win, fought against an adversary who is at the top of his game. He’s always one step ahead of everything that we do.
We need to find a way to turn his dark and twisted games against him. There is always a way – I hope.
Other Books in the Special Agent Series:
Sparks
Smoke
Flames
Fire
Please Help A Starving Author By Leaving A Review
Ok, so I lied about the starving part, but books need reviews on Amazon in order to sell. Without them, they wither and die, and so do the authors. Honest.
You don’t have to say much, and you can stay anonymous – just set your Amazon reviewer name to something like ‘Amazon Reviewer 3982.’ Anyway, here are a few examples of what you could write if you were a truly wonderful person who didn’t mind doing a good deed every now and again:
This book was so awesome I forgot to feed my kids. Thankfully they reminded me, over and over again, so I haven’t managed to kill them yet. Phew.
This book sucked. It was even worse than a certain president’s infamous hairdo, and that is saying something.
James and Alain Dumortier are so hot, I want a threesome with both of them. As long as I’m allowed a safe word – because Alain is a little bit on the seriously freaky crazy side.
I would rather read War and Peace than this ridiculous smutty drivel and nonsense. Seriously – all Mandara talks about is orgasms, sex, and hot blokes. Who wants to read about that?
Ms. Mandara does not write quickly enough. I need her to release a book every month at the very least and she keeps me waiting for months, and worse – ends everything on a horrendous cliff hanger. I have a love/hate relationship with this author. She should probably be spanked.
This is not a good book to read on the train. Especially when the hot guy sitting next to me kept trying to read it over my shoulder.
Don’t ever read this book to your wife. She will demand sex for days on end and will suddenly become insatiable in bed. Seriously, I have been considering divorce…
Any of these will do (I’m more partial to the nice ones…) and it will give you extra karma points that will be returned to you in due course in the form of cookies, money, hugs, and wine. Honest.
THANK YOU!
A big thank you to all my wonderful beta readers who always step up to the rather tricky task of reading my books before they’ve had a good edit. Without you my books would probably be unreadable as you manage to figure out that my heroine can’t see things when she’s wearing a blindfold, and that it’s really difficult for her to talk if she’s gagged. You also help me to correct my numerous errors and give me your truthful opinions, which are more valuable than pixie dust. (The stuff that makes you fly without wings). (That is what pixie dust does, right?)
So, for everyone who’s helped me along the way, thank you, thank you, and thank you! I don’t like to name names, given the dark nature of my books, but I am sending virtual hugs instead. They are valid for the next twenty-four hours only, though. So grab ‘em quick ;)
Love ‘n hugs to all xxx
Bio
Christina Mandara was born in the UK, but has spent most of her life travelling the world. She speaks three languages and has been chiefly employed in the fields of finance and travel. Her favourite city is Sydney, and her favourite holiday destination is the south of France.
She loves keeping fit and enjoys running, cycling, and water sports. Think surfing or sailing. She's a big fan of BDSM in all of its glorious forms, and her favourite item in the toy closet (a box simply isn't big enough) is her riding crop.
In her spare time, she's usually cuddled up with a good book, exploring the countryside, or baking in the kitchen. In fact, she loves her kitchen so much she's one of few women who wouldn't mind being tied to it! Her first and foremost love is writing, however, and more often than not you'll find her on a laptop spinning tales of romance, erotica, or dark, paranormal fantasies.
Christina’s Social Media Hangouts:
C.P. Mandara’s Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1MVubkR
C.P. Mandara’s Facebook Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1021736604577782
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/CPMandara
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/c-p-mandara
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cpmandara
Website: http://christinamandara.com
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7113521.C_P_Mandara
Amazon Au
thor Page: http://author.to/CPMandara
Embers: A Dark Romance Love Triangle (A Special Agent Novel Book 5) Page 23