The Sinner's Bargain (Contracts & Deceptions #2)

by Claire Contreras

  “What is going on Vladimir?” Samuel asked.

  “Did you find Philip?”

  Samuel shook his head. “He’ll turn up.”

  “Somebody needs to give me some answers!” the sultan said in a rattling shout, but Amara was too busy looking at Courtney to acknowledge him.

  “I already told you everything I know,” Courtney said, bowing her head to him. “And I brought her to you, just as you asked.”

  “You brought her?” Samuel asked, confused.

  “What do you mean you brought me?” Amara asked at the same time, their voices overlapping one another’s.

  “What difference does it make?” her grandfather spat. “Who else wants the contents in my safe?”

  “Why does it matter who wants it? Nobody can get in!” Amara said.

  Vladimir’s glare cut to her. “Don’t speak unless you’re asked to! It matters because I need to know who’s trying to get what’s mine.” She kept her eyes on his as he spoke. “There are very important things in that safe. Things that can take away all of the power I have.” He looked at Samuel. “If I find out the United States government is trying to fuck me out of what I do best, I will bury them.” His grip tightened over the papers he held on his lap and laughed. “I’m glad I took those papers out of the safe months ago. I’ve been carrying them with me ever since word got back to me that people were sniffing around for them.”

  “I have enough evidence to know that it’s not them trying to get it,” Samuel said.

  “You’re sure about this?”

  Amara was glad it wasn’t her he’d asked, because the chilling look he gave Samuel made her hold her breath.

  “I’m sure.”

  “And you! You double-crossed me,” the sultan said, looking at Courtney again. She shook her head rapidly, her ponytail swaying.

  “I didn’t.”

  “You did!” He growled, standing. “You were informing Amir about what was going on the whole time, you stupid whore! Do you know what the punishment is for betrayal?”

  “Vladimir, I’m sure—” Samuel started, moving to stand between Courtney and the sultan.

  “Do. Not. Speak!” This time, they all shook with the rumble of his voice. He sneered at Courtney as he stood and stomped forward, leaning toward her face. “What did you tell Amir?”

  Courtney didn’t answer right away, and when she did it was a mumble that Amara couldn’t make out.

  “Speak up!” The words came from Samuel, who was standing off to the side.

  “I didn’t tell him anything important!” she said.

  A sudden sense of unease struck Amara. She clutched on to the armrest until her hands started to hurt. “You’ve been talking to my father this whole time?” Her unwelcome words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

  “I’m sorry, Amara,” Courtney said in a small cry. “I really am.”

  “What did you do?” Amara growled, standing so quickly the chair squeaked against the marble.

  “He said nobody would get hurt. He said he only wanted information about you, where you were, who you were talking to, what you had said. He said nobody would get hurt,” Courtney repeated in a whimper as her shoulders shook.

  “Who? Who said this? Amir?” Samuel asked sharply.

  “Yes. He said he didn’t want anybody getting hurt. That he just wanted the money.”

  The sound of the sultan’s slap on Courtney’s face echoed through the room, her face turning with a loud cry, her head whipping to the side as if it had been unhinged from her neck. Amara gasped as Samuel took a step forward, and Courtney held her face as her shoulders shuddered with her sobbing.

  “You’ve been informing him on Amara’s whereabouts while I’ve been paying you to get her here?” he shouted, his amber eyes wide with rage. “Do you think this is a game? I can lose everything! I will have you both killed!”

  “You can’t kill me! I have copies of the papers inside that safe.” Courtney said as she spit blood beside his feet. “You’ve been supplying your army with the United States’ weapons. You’ve been aiding terrorist attacks for over ten years, you’ve been—”Her statement was cut by another slap, this one much harder than the last. Amara screwed her eyes shut with a cringe. She wanted it to stop. She wanted all of this to stop. In that moment she didn’t care if Courtney had been telling her father what she had been up to—it just didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because Amir had no power to do anything, but men in this room did, and the power they had made her blood run cold.

  “What is she talking about?” The sultan’s question was posed for Samuel, who shook his head in dismissal.

  “This is the first I hear of this.”

  “Where did you get that information?” Vladimir asked in a dangerously low voice. He turned his glare from Courtney to Samuel, who was still rooted in place, though his eyes bounced around the room as if he was trying to figure out an escape route. Amara hoped he would think faster.

  “I told you—I have copies,” Courtney mumbled. When she spit this time, the bloody spittle included the dislodged teeth.

  Amara couldn’t see her face from where she stood, but tears formed in her eyes at what she must be going through. She knew Courtney had done terrible things, but knowing about them and witnessing the consequences were two completely different things. The idea that this was so normal to her that she was able to stand there and take the beating made Amara’s heart hurt. Such a beautiful girl—she could grace the cover of any magazine if she wanted to—and there she was, stuck in a dungeon being beaten and threatened. A loud gasp escaped Amara’s lips as Courtney turned to look at her. Her friend had a large bruise on her cheek and thick rivulet of blood dripping from her mouth.

  “Amir sent someone after Colin,” Courtney said, her voice strained as she spoke.

  “Colin has nothing to do with this!” Amara said, surprised she could even speak through the ball lodged in her throat.

  “He’s going to use him as bait. He knows you’ll do anything for him.”

  “How could you do this?” Amara cried, trembling as tears fell over her face. Why would you do this to me?” Her voice shook with anger as she cried.

  “I’m sorry,” Courtney said, as tears of her own dripped down her face, diluting the blood gathered near her lips.

  “Why? Why would you do this to me?” Amara repeated.

  “It was a job.”

  “A job? A job? This is my life!” she screeched, lurching forward and hitting what felt like an invisible wall when she was grabbed by her shoulders and restrained. Her eyes cut to Samuel, who seemed just as shocked as she was. He gave Amara a curt nod, which she understood as the international symbol for, “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Vladimir?” Samuel said.

  The sultan acknowledged Samuels question with a nod of his head “Amir needs to—”

  “That’s taken care of. Anything else?”

  “Find Philip.”

  “On it.”

  Samuel gave Amara one last meaningful look before he walked out. I’ll be back, it said. Hold on tight. If nothing else, Amara had faith that he would keep Colin safe, and in that moment, as scared as she felt, it was the only reassurance she needed.

  Amara buried her face in her hands to stifle her sobs. After everything she’d already been through, she couldn’t believe it had come to this. Was her father really that money-hungry that he would use Colin that way? The kid who used to spend countless hours teaching him how to use new programs on his computer? Colin could have wiped him out of business, but instead, gave him for a pension from his old company. Amara felt embarrassed to say that he was her father. She felt ashamed to have ever defended him.

  “Get her out of here!”

  Amara popped her head up and wiped her tears as a man’s hands grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her out of her chair.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked, startled.

  “I’ll call for you when I need to finish this c
onversation.” Just as Amara was led under the threshold of the room, he called to the guard to stop. “I changed my mind. Sit her over there,” he said, signaling to the pillows on the floor. “She should see what happens to people who betray me.”

  Amara’s eyes widened, her bottom lip trembling as she was led to where the two women had been sitting. She stood, still being restrained by the shoulders. He didn’t let her sit, but stood behind her so they were facing the sultan’s back. Courtney’s blue eyes were swollen half shut, but Amara could see that she was looking at her. She looked mournful, repentant, and even though Amara didn’t know if she could forgive her, she still didn’t want to see Courtney beat again.

  The sultan called out and a man walked in the room soon after. This one, unlike the rest, was young—no older than thirty—and wore a beige military uniform. He had a shotgun strapped over his shoulder, which he swung over his arm and placed between his feet as he made a salute signal with his hand. Amara’s eyes bounced between the men and Courtney. What were they going to do? Would they shoot her? Is that what happens when somebody betrays him? The sultan said something that Amara couldn’t make out and the guy nodded, responding in their native tongue. It made her wish she’d paid more attention when her mother had tried to teach her the language.

  In a quick series of movements, a group of men wheeled in a strange-looking table that had what looked like a guillotine-type blade suspended above it. Courtney was placed in a chair with her arms tied in front of her. As the scene unfolded, Amara was vaguely aware that what she was watching could be part of a horror film. Courtney thrashed her hands to try to get them out of the thick ropes, but it was a futile struggle. Amara lurched forward, only to be stopped by the man holding her shoulders.

  “Do not move,” he said near her ear. Amara bit her lip to keep from shouting. Her eyes burned with tears as she looked at the fear on Courtney’s face.

  “Please,” Courtney said. “I’ll tell you everything,” she screamed.

  Amara looked on in horror as the sultan and the man beside them chuckled in unison. The blade came down hard and fast over Courtney’s wrists. Screams filled the room as both Amara and Courtney shrieked in terror. Amara felt like she was being smothered, unable to draw a breath. Thick drops of blood dripped down the table as Courtney continued to scream, her voice dipping down to a crying rasp and picking back up to a shriek that made Amara’s eardrums throb.

  Amara wrenched her eyes from the bloody floor to the thin fingers attached to the detached hands of her friend. Her heart hammered as she glanced to the bloody stubs of Courtney’s wrists, the white of the bones colored pink, where blood still spurted from the wound. Amara’s stomach began to heave. She wrapped her arms around her midriff and crouched as far forward as she could, with the man’s hands still on her shoulders. Vomit spilled from her mouth and tears fell freely as her mind still tried to process what she’d seen.

  “Stop!” The pleading cry was Amara’s. “Please just stop!”

  Her long hair fell forward, curtaining her face as it swung to and fro with the swaying of her head. At the sound of three loud bangs in succession the other, the man’s grip loosened and Amara fell to the ground face first. She gasped, pushing up with her hands, cringing with realization that she’d landed in her vomit. Amara surveyed the room as the men shuffled around between shouts and began exiting the room. Another loud bang reverberated through the room, and Amara ran off of the stage and headed toward Courtney. Trying to ignore the stench of blood and the stumps of her arms tied to the table, Amara struggled as she tried to release Courtney.

  “Untie me, please!” Courtney wailed.

  “I’m trying!”

  “It hurts so bad. It hurts so fucking bad,” Courtney cried.

  “I’m trying!” Amara sobbed, tears blurring her line of vision.

  “Step back!” It was a command that came from the door. Amara stood rooted in place until the words were repeated, “Step back!”

  Amara dropped the ropes and took a shaky step back as Philip stomped toward her with a gun in his hand. He brought the gun up and aimed at Amara, her hands flying to her face as if they would shield her from the impending bullet. An icy shiver ran down her spine at the look on Philip’s face, and she shrieked loudly as the bullet shot out of the barrel with a click.

  HE KNEW HE should have gone with her. Even though he’d taken a flight to Paris the very next day, Colin should have listened to his instincts and gone with Amara. If he had, all of this could have been avoided, he was sure of it. The driver he’d hired kept giving him a wary look through the rearview mirror. Colin was sure the man thought he was crazy—not that he cared. He knew he was impatient. His eyes drifted from the driver to the screen of his phone, following the blinking red light that said they were going in the right direction. They were close. Finally. Wasting no time, he sent Samuel a text message telling him he was on his way. He pictured the look of disbelief on Samuel’s face as he read it, probably thinking, “Stupid fucking kid can’t follow directions.” He wasn’t wrong.

  He’d hired men to watch Colin—to keep him safe in his hotel room. Word was, Amir had tried to send somebody to take him hostage. Colin shook his head in disgust at the thought. Stupid fucking man thought he was going to get away with his plan. It wasn’t shocking that he’d try to play Amara the way he was, he had tricked her into taking the fall for him the first time, after all. Colin was sure Amir hadn’t worked out the details of the plan though, and that’s where he’d failed. Hiring Courtney was his first slip-up, especially since Colin had started paying close attention to everything that girl did and all the clients she took on. As detail oriented as Philip was, Colin was shocked he hadn’t caught on to her. In her defense, she did cover up her tracks, except for that one… where she’d emailed her “client” and spoken about Amara, or “Jasmine,”—a huge Méchant no-no. You didn’t pass your clients off to other women in the company without approval from Vivienne, who had been keeping a tight leash on Courtney’s client list as it was.

  Poor Amara. His wonderful girl with the selfless heart, who he wished he could shelter from all of the bullshit she’d been dealt. It was too late for that now though, and as the car pulled up to a house—which looked more like an old castle—Colin could only hope he’d be able to get her out without getting them both killed. He was banking on Samuel bringing her outside, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

  “Stay here. Whatever happens, do not leave this fucking spot. I’ll pay you triple your price, just… stay put,” Colin said to the driver before ducking out of the car. “And turn off the lights.”

  The back of his neck began to prickle as he walked toward the dimly lit castle. He didn’t know which direction to go—it seemed like the entire thing was one huge rock with only one door, but there had to be another entrance. Even old castles had to have more than one way in. Colin reached for his phone and pressed a button to flick on the flashlight app. He cursed when he saw that he still hadn’t gotten anything back from Samuel. He’d better not be double crossing him. Amara wasn’t the best judge of character, but even she felt off about Philip and Samuel. People who do anything for the highest bidder can’t be trusted, she’d said. It helped to know that he was aware of the location of Samuel’s kids. He was willing to bury each and every known family member he or Philip had. He wasn’t surprised to admit he felt nothing about doing it. They were fucking with what was his, so he had every right to return the favor—and he would.

  Colin stilled at the sound of running footfalls coming his way. He cursed himself for not thinking to bring a gun—not that he’d ever fired one before, but he would have figured it out.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Samuel asked, appearing from the side of the house.

  “I told you I would come if I didn’t hear back from you sooner.”

  “I called you two hours ago when I found her!”

  “I told you I needed to hear her voice.”

  “You’re goin
g to get yourself killed!”

  “Really? Then what the fuck am I paying you for?”

  “Colin, this is serious,” Samuel said, exasperated.

  “So I keep hearing. I want you to bring my girlfriend out here and continue your serious business without her.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Make it that fucking simple!” Colin growled as he glared at him. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and mentally counted back from five. Colin had always thought he was a simple man. He wanted simple things, but he did always expect to get those things when he asked for them. Maybe it was the curse of growing up well off, you always got what you wanted, when you wanted, because money talks. He was completely okay with that.

  “Follow me,” Samuel said, shaking his head as he turned and walked in the direction he’d come from.

  When they neared the back of the building, Samuel stopped walking suddenly and looked off in the distance as if he’d heard something.

  “What?” Colin asked.

  “I think they’re here.”

  “Who?” Colin asked in a whisper that matched Samuel’s. The entire place had an eerie feel that made his hands clam up as he looked around. Before he could register movement, two men in camouflage showed up in front of them. They were so unexpected, that both Samuel and Colin took a step back.

  “Them. I’ll leave the door open for you—you have to move fast. There are at least eight armed men in there,” Samuel explained quickly. He continued rattling off locations that he’d seen them in, and Colin listened attentively, slightly horrified. Amara was in there with all of those men. She’d been in there for at least a day, maybe two. The thought sent a chill down his spine.

  Colin followed Samuel through the large wooden door and found himself in a dark hallway. The inside of the castle was just like the outdoors—rocky, cold and dark. The walls along the corridor snaked in two different directions, making them look like they had a mind of their own.