by Alta Hensley
The guests only added to the energy. Each person was dressed in their finest. Women in gowns, jewels dripping from wrists, earlobes and necks, were sipping from their glasses as they stood near their men. Every man in the room wore suits of black and exuded mystery and danger to even the most innocent of eyes. If one word had to be used to describe the guest list, it would be the word power.
Juan Montez instantly was greeted by a swarm of people. Natalia felt as if she were being suffocated by the constant praise, the ridiculous amounts of ass kissing, and the undertones of fear these men and women had for this man. They all knew this fat fuck was ruthless, and it was better to be on Montez’s good side than his bad. Still, the groveling made her sick to her stomach.
Natalia stood by his side as she had done so many times. She never spoke. She never looked anyone in the eye, and she never gave Montez a reason to discipline her. He would. She knew he would, and wouldn’t hesitate doing it in front of all his men and business associates. This was a room full of people who would never question one thing the man did, even if it was beating his purchased sex slave. When there was finally a small break in the mass of birthday wishes, Natalia took advantage of it.
“Do you mind if I step out on the veranda for some fresh air?” she whispered to him in the most respectful tone she could muster. “I’m really hot, and I would hate to faint in front of all your guests.”
Montez looked down at her in disgust. Not an ounce of concern was present, only annoyance that she would even dare be so weak as to faint. “Go.” He turned away without saying another word and began talking to one of his men again.
She quickly walked to the open French doors before Montez could change his mind. There was only one other person on the veranda when she walked out, and he was just finishing up smoking, flicking his butt over the edge. He gave a quick glance in her direction, of course clearly taking in her obnoxiously displayed cleavage, and then returned to the party without so much as a nod or smile. Natalia knew that the entire Montez cartel were all too scared to even talk to her if they didn’t have to. Testing Montez’s raging jealousy was not something any one of them wanted to do, and she couldn’t really blame them. They didn’t want Montez for one second doubting their undying loyalty to him, and if he caught one of them paying too close of attention to Natalia, it was very likely he would feel threatened. Everything made the paranoid bastard feel threatened.
Once the man left her in peace, Natalia rested her arms on the railing that ran the perimeter of the veranda and stared out onto the hotel’s garden. It was too dark to make out the details of the flowers and trees, but she could smell the rich fragrance of them. The humidity in the warm air was high that night, but she still enjoyed the fresh air. The lovely string music of viola blending with cello coming from inside soothed her nerves and filled her soul. She had to take in the tiny moments like hearing the sounds of insects and songs of night birds, or the feel of the tiny breeze on her face, and truly appreciate that she was still alive. So many had suffered, and were still suffering, but she was still alive.
“Natalia,” a deep and hushed voice called from behind her.
She turned to see a shadowed figure in the far corner of the veranda that she hadn’t seen when she first walked out.
“Yes?” She squinted to see if she could make out who the man was.
“Shh,” the man said as he began to slowly walk toward her.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Warning bells were going off inside her head. Montez had a lot of enemies. Was this an assassin to kill his woman? She took a few steps back, but then realized she was stepping further away from the entrance to the ballroom. If she screamed, she was sure she would be heard, but would it be too late by the time someone ran out.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man said as he came into the light and stood closer. “My name is Anson, and I mean you no harm.”
With the light from inside casting on the man, she could now see his features. He was a gringo through and through. Blond hair, blue eyes, and tall with broad shoulders. He too was dressed in a black tux, and looked polished yet rugged. He was extremely handsome, but she would never admit to such a thing. Though he was clearly a stranger, and not one of Montez’s men, she couldn’t help feel as if she recognized him from somewhere. He had to be a bad man. Everyone but staff at this party was bad one way or another. Montez was only friends with shit heads. That much she had learned.
Taking another step back, she asked, “What do you want?”
Anson put out his hands in a gesture of peace. “I didn’t mean to scare you. My name is Anson Steele, and I am here to get you out of here.”
Glancing toward the doorway and then back at Anson, she asked, “Are you insane? I’m not going anywhere with you. If Montez catches you out here, he’ll kill you. I don’t know how you know my name, or who you are with, but go. Go now.” Natalia wasn’t going to be some pawn used by an opposing cartel to get at Montez. “I know you think I’m important to Montez, but I can assure you I am not. So whatever plan you have of kidnapping me is a foolish one.”
“I don’t think you understand,” Anson began. But then, like a bolt of lightning, Natalia realized where she recognized him from.
Son of a bitch!
“You!” she spat. Anson Steele was the sick asshole who had bid on her at the auction and had lost. “You tried to buy me that night. I remember you.” Bile built in the back of her throat as the memory of that awful night flooded in. Her head began to spin, and her knees felt weak.
“Natalia, let me explain.” He glanced at the door, to see if anyone was coming no doubt, and though she could see he was uneasy, he didn’t appear to be afraid.
Stepping back and putting her hands in front of her to block any advance, she said, “Get away from me. Are you here to steal me since you couldn’t win me?” Taking another step backwards, she was suddenly up against the far railing, so concealed in shadows that no one would be able to see her if they looked out onto the veranda. Her heart skipped when she realized this man now had the upper hand. “Get the fuck away from me or I’ll scream. I swear I will scream, and every single one of Montez’s goons will be out here in a second and kill you.”
“I’m here to rescue you!”
“Rescue me?”
“Yes! We don’t have time for me to go into it all now. We have this small window to get away. Come with me now, and I’ll explain later.”
Was the man crazy? She wasn’t going anywhere with him. What was he talking about? Rescue?
“You tried to buy me that night! You aren’t any better than Montez. I like that you think me becoming your sex slave is somehow being rescued, but I disagree. Now get the fuck away from me.” She glanced at the door in warning. “I’ll scream. I’m showing you mercy right now by not doing so, though why, I have no idea. But this is your last warning.”
“Stop and listen. I didn’t try to buy you.” He stopped and swallowed hard. “Well, I did, but not for the reasons you think.” It appeared that she was frustrating him, but she didn’t care.
“What reasons are there? You attended an illegal auction with men who all bid on women held captive and forced to sell their bodies and souls. You are disgusting. You lost, and now you want to steal me. Well, fuck you!”
“You have to believe me that I am here to rescue you. We need to get out of here so I can get you to safety. I don’t have time to go back and forth and explain all the details.” Anson reached for her hand but she pulled away, prepared to claw his eyes out. “Please, Natalia, you have to trust me.”
“Go to hell!” She bolted toward the right and made her way toward the doors. “I mean it. You stay away from me. You don’t want to mess with Montez, and if I see you again, I will tell him you are trying to take what is his. You’ll be a dead man.”
She heard the crazy gringo say her name one last time as she quickly entered the ballroom to find her owner, never looking back. She could have screamed. She could have
run in and told Montez that some man was on the veranda and almost kidnapped her. If she did, the man would be dead in minutes. Anson was just as vile as the rest of them. So why in the world was she protecting him?
Taking a deep breath, she struggled to calm her nerves. She didn’t want Montez to see she was on edge and clearly spooked. Not that he would want to protect her or anything of that nature, but he would instantly get suspicious that she was keeping something from him and get it out of her through whatever means necessary.
Seeing him across the room, she walked over and quietly stood by his side. She wasn’t close enough, however, because he reached out and grabbed her by the ass. Pulling her close, he whispered, “Better?”
She nodded and looked down at the ground, not wanting to stop the conversation that was occurring.
Luis, one of Montez’s leaders, leaned in and said, “The Ortez cartel attacked our lab outside of Ciudad Oculta last night. Took all the paco, killed the workers, and then burned it to the ground.”
“How do you know it was Ortez?” Montez asked calmly, though Natalia knew he was anything but calm.
“We got word that a whore in Ciudad Oculta leaked the location.”
“Did you kill the whore?” Montez asked, sipping from a glass of scotch on the rocks.
Luis shook his head. “It’s not clear which whore leaked the info.”
“Then kill them all,” Montez ordered. “Send a very clear message that betraying Montez means certain death.”
“And Ortez’s men?” Luis asked. “What do we do about them? Destroying one of our labs was a clear message. If we don’t retaliate, we will look weak.”
“The Ortez, and the Hernandez family for that matter, are getting far too cocky. If this is the way they care to repay my generosity, it’s time we string their bloody bodies up. No more mercy. No more. The Montez cartel will be the only cartel.” Montez paused and looked at his men who circled around one by one. “As of right now, on my birthday, I declare war. They will all die. Each and every one of them. No leniency.”
Natalia couldn’t help but wonder if Anson Steele was a member of the Ortez or Hernandez Cartel. Was his failed attempt for her to go without a fight just another attack on Montez? Should she tell Montez?
No.
Maybe she should have gone with Anson and given Montez’s enemies the information needed to destroy the man she hated with her entire soul. She knew a lot. She knew locations of labs, locations of drop shipments, names of dealers, names of government officials bought off by Montez; Natalia knew a lot. It was impossible to stand by the side of Montez for a half a year and not hear every single detail of his daily workings. Her knowledge could be gold for his enemies.
But then that wouldn’t explain why Anson had been in Moscow bidding on her.
No, he wasn’t a member of the drug cartel.
He was just an arrogant rich fuck who was pissed that he didn’t get what he wanted. All those men who had been in that room were used to getting exactly what they wanted. This was just a matter of a stupid fool not knowing who he was messing with, and just how powerful Montez was.
Looking at the open doors leading to the veranda, she wondered if Anson would still be there. Scanning the room, she could see he wasn’t inside. He was gone.
“Are you looking for someone?” Montez asked.
“No, sir.”
“Then focus on me,” he said in a deep and warning voice.
“Yes, sir.”
And she would. She would focus on Montez just as he ordered. She would stop thinking of Anson, stop thinking of Ortez and Hernandez, and focus on her mission.
To kill Montez.
Nothing, and no one would get in the way of that.
Chapter 5
What the fuck? Anson stared at the door through which Natalia, the woman who was his save, had just disappeared. Make that supposed to be his save. From her reaction, she had absolutely no desire to be rescued. In fact, she seemed shocked that the suggestion was even made.
Anson’s hands were balled into fists at his sides, his jaw clenched as well. Of any scenario he’d considered, he never in a million years had contemplated this one. Remembering how close he’d come to being snake-bit, he shook his head. Hell, he didn’t need some viper to take him out; a small Latin woman had done the job far more effectively.
I risked my life to talk to her; to get within feet of men who would have no compunction about killing me and for what? Hell, she did a perfectly good job of chopping me off at the knees. Well, if she wants to be Montez’s little fuck toy, who am I to judge her?
Mission status? Fucked up beyond all recognition.
About to retrace the path he’d taken to wait on the veranda, hoping against hope that Natalia would make an appearance, Anson swore silently. The sound of voices had him stepping into the deep shadows again. He should have left the moment Natalia turned down his offer. She’d made her choice to return to Montez, so why was he hanging around? With a couple walking out the doors, he had no choice but to remain silent and invisible. It quickly became obvious that the man who’d joined him had no such plans.
With a move that had his companion gasping, the man shoved the woman to the railing opposite Anson’s hiding place. Her sapphire blue gown was raked up and her legs kicked apart as the sound of a zipper told of the man’s intentions.
“Please, not here,” the woman begged. “We can go to your—”
“Shut up! I might not be able to touch Montez’s little pet, but I sure as hell can fuck you wherever I want.” The sound of ripping cloth came right before the man growled, “Push your cunt up!”
At the woman’s sharp cry and the asshole’s grunt, every fiber in Anson’s being made him want to jump from his hiding place and ram his fist down the man’s throat. What the hell was wrong with these people? What gave them the idea they could rape, maim, and murder anyone they wanted? He’d stood on that stage in Moscow six months earlier and watched women being sold and done nothing. Again, tonight, he was basically doing the same fucking thing. As the guttural sounds continued, he thought of his conversation with Natalia. There had been more than her surprise at being offered rescue… he’d heard an underlying note of longing in her voice—until she’d recognized him. Not from anything she might have heard from Montez in the months after the auction. No, despite the mask he’d worn, she’d placed him at that auction, and as one of the men who’d attempted to buy her.
Damn!
How could he blame her? Though he’d been thinking about her for months, Natalia didn’t know him from Adam. As far as she was concerned, he was no better than Montez or the asshole across the way who was grunting like some rutting animal. A bellow told of the man’s release, and it took him no more than a few seconds to zip up. Anson watched as he threw something at the woman and realized it was her ruined underwear.
“Clean yourself up and get your ass back inside,” the man ordered before he stepped through the door to return to the party.
“Pendejo!” the woman spat, bending to pick up her panties and swiping them between her legs before tossing them in a nearby planter. If he’d only seen her sliding her hands down her dress to smooth it, or just heard her taking a few deep breaths before she obeyed the asshole’s order and returned inside, Anson would have thought nothing of it. However, he’d seen her swipe her fingers over her cheeks and the glistening of tears. Those tears forced him to take a few deep breaths of his own and consider the past few minutes on a different level.
Anson forced himself to consider that, like this woman, Natalia would not only accept Montez’s sexual attentions, but wouldn’t fight back. Did she think she was worth nothing more than to be used? No matter how prepared he was to accept her willingness, he just couldn’t. She might have seen him that night, but he’d seen her as well. Not only during the actual bidding process, but later on the stage. As he’d held Zoya to keep her steady, he’d seen Natalia being mauled by Montez.
The woman he’d just witnes
sed being fucked hadn’t looked happy but she also hadn’t looked devastated despite her tears. He’d seen Natalia’s face and would never forget the expression in her eyes as she allowed the raw emotion to show. No, unless he was the biggest, most gullible, stupidest man on the planet, she’d hated Montez then and still hated him now. The question then was, why had she not taken even the smallest chance to get away? What exactly was her motive?
He replayed every expression that had run across her features, her body language from the moment he’d stepped from the shadows to speak to her. What he saw in his mind’s eye gave him pause.
Yes, she’d backed away. She’d held out her hands as if to ward him off. She’d told him to get away, to leave her alone. But there was one thing she hadn’t done.
She hadn’t screamed.
All it would have taken would be a single call from her and he’d have been running for his life. Instead, she’d warned him. Why? It was clear she despised him, that she put him in the same category as Montez… fuck, the same as Poplov, and yet, she hadn’t taken the opportunity to get even the smallest measure of pay-back.
There was nothing else he could do tonight, but he wasn’t about to give up. He was a man who trusted his gut, and it was telling him to fall back but not retreat fully. Natalia might hate him for what he’d been forced to do, but he was determined to continue his mission.