Fire (A Special Agent Novel Book 4)

by C. P. Mandara

  “Death would have been a fucking blessing. You’ve now given my brother an enormous present with which to play with, wrapped up in a glossy red bow. He’s going to have a fucking field day.” Lois sniffled and studied her shoes intently. The scent of her misery wasn’t enough, though. I wanted to see her face.

  “Lift your head up and look at me, woman.” Though it pained me to remain in this position, the sight of Lois’s tears would be worth it. When she didn’t immediately do as I ordered, I barked, “Now!”

  Dragging her head upwards, her eyelashes fluttered beneath the weight of water that rested upon them. The distressed stare she gave me was like manna from heaven for a nasty son-of-a-bitch like me, and I drank it in greedily.

  “You owe me,” I spat. “You owe me big time.” I meant it, too. I wasn’t sure how I was going to punish her for disobeying me, but I would. The anger and rage bubbling up inside my body demanded that someone pay, and it would be her. Disobedience always had a price around these parts.

  Tears were now dripping freely down her face and all the blood in my body suddenly rushed to my cock. I was going to put this woman through hell. Right now, I wanted to crush her windpipe in my fingers and watch all the life slowly drain from her body. That way, I wouldn’t have to watch my brother do the same thing in a few days’ time. Tearing my face away from her, I slammed it back into the pillow.

  “How long have I been out?” I growled, when I could finally talk again.

  “A week.” My head whipped round again, and I let out a groan of agony as my eyes found James. He was sitting on the other side of me. Jesus, we had enough damn drugs in this facility to supply half the western world, so where were my pain meds? My brother was holding out on me.

  “A week? I can’t have passed out for a week.” My voice sounded a little incredulous, as well it might.

  “You didn’t. They put you in a coma. You went into shock from the pain and they decided it was the kinder option. Do you need some pain meds, Adie? I don’t know where the doctor is but I’m happy to go look for them.”

  “You stay where you are,” Lois threatened. “I’ll go find somebody.” I could then hear chair legs scraping across the floor, before the door swung open and clicked quietly shut on its hinges.

  I waited until I was sure she was out of earshot. “Why is Lois running errands for you?”

  “I’m fine,” James said smoothly. “It’s you I’m worried about.”

  “Talk to me.” My voice was hard. Something had happened, and I wanted to know what.

  James pushed his hand through his hair and gave me a wry look. “Alain hasn’t fed me for a week. I’m a bit unstable on my feet at the moment.”

  “Motherfucker,” I spat. “Are you okay?” Taking a closer look at him, I realised he didn’t look well. His skin was sallow, and his cheekbones were a lot more pronounced. It was his eyes that had suffered the most, though. They looked as if they’d sunk back into his face. He looked like I probably looked - ill.

  “In a few days, I’ll be as good as new,” James assured me. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fucking furious,” I replied. “I want to nail my brother’s head on a pike and leave it to melt somewhere hot.”

  James laughed. “You and me both, but I meant your back. Is the pain bearable?”

  I nodded slowly. “It’s a lot better than it was a few days ago. I’ll live.” Although Alain hadn’t whipped me quite as bad as the last time he’d strung me up, this was the first time I’d gone into shock. It wasn’t a good sign. If he kept pulling these stunts, he was going to kill me one day. I still couldn’t decide if that would be a blessing or not. In a few hours’ time, there was a good chance I’d wish I were dead, so it probably was.

  “Good to know. For the record - I’m glad you’re still here. I don’t want to have to take on your brother by myself.” James shook his head, and I knew he was travelling down memory lane, lost in our past.

  “You won’t have to. You have Lois now.” I made the remark quietly, knowing James would have a comeback for it.

  “I don’t have anyone. Lois and I are already too close, and I’m putting as much distance between us as I can at the first opportunity,” James replied.

  If there is one. I didn’t say it out loud, but James knew what I was thinking, and there was something he wasn’t telling me. I could see it in his eyes. I didn’t press him on it, though. We’d been through enough. He’d tell me when he was good and ready.

  “You were a little hard on Lois back there,” James remarked casually. It's as if he’d sensed I knew something was wrong and was trying to change the subject.

  “Lois isn’t cut out for this. She shouldn’t be here,” I growled. “Alain’s about to pull a stunt on us, and he will use Lois as the catalyst. If he threatens to kill her, you’ll do anything he says,” I said sourly. I meant it, too.

  James didn’t disagree. “So will you.” He flung his reply straight back at me, and he was right. Alain had finally found something, or should I say someone that could be used to control me. The thought burned like acid in my veins.

  “We need to get her out of here.” It was easier said than done, though. The chances of anyone getting out of here alive with my brother watching all the exits were slim. Alain didn’t take chances.

  James then leant back in his chair and put his hands on either side of his head, rubbing his temples. If I wasn’t in so much pain myself, I might have felt sorry for him because if he hadn’t been fed in a week, I’d be willing to bet he has the mother of all headaches. At the moment, I can’t figure out why my brother would do that, but it will come to me. There’s usually a reason behind everything he does.

  The door then opened, and a whirlwind of oestrogen then surrounded us. There were not one, but two females in white coats, and Lois was with them.

  I twisted myself around to smile at them. “Do you do back rubs?” I remarked lazily, when both of them set their eyes on me. “I could really do with one of those about now.”

  Clearly, I still had it because both women laughed. Lois did not look amused, however.

  I spent the next hour undertaking a barrage of tests, which involved mini flashlights being stuck in my eyes and all sorts of things getting prodded into my body. The dressings were inspected and redone, and they then pronounced me as reasonably healthy. Normally, I would have told the lot of them to bugger off, but no one had upped my pain meds yet, and until they did that, I was going to behave.

  When one of them finally asked, “What’s your pain level on a scale of one to ten?” I immediately jumped in with the number nine. It wasn’t. It was more of a seven, but doctors tended to be a bit shy with the good stuff these days.

  “Well, we’ll see what we can do about getting that down to an acceptable level. Sit tight.” Yeah, like I’m running off anywhere, I thought.

  After they’d sorted my saline drip out with some meds and fussed around with my charts, they finally left me in peace. This was just as well because I’d been about to tell them to fuck off.

  James then thumped me on the shoulder. “So, all good news. You’re not irreparably damaged. Well, some parts of you at least.” The man sniggered. Great. Everybody was going to use this as an opportunity to take the piss out of me. Way to kick a guy when he was lying down, right?

  “You can talk.” I gave him a dark look. “Hand me some pants, dammit.” I’d had enough of being naked and my brother was due to come in at any moment, so I wanted to be dressed. I didn’t have much in my armoury that could be used against Alain, but clothes were a good start. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I waited for James to throw me something. Lois then averted her eyes, turning her back towards me, which was hilarious considering she’d seen me naked more than once or twice now.

  “Suddenly feeling squeamish, Lo?” I knew why she couldn’t look at me. I’d suddenly put my dominant hat on again, and that was the one she shied away from, and with good reason.

  “I didn’t t
hink you’d want me to look at you… after what has…” she left the words hanging.

  “After you fucked me over?” I finished for her. I found I didn’t much like talking to her back, nice though it was. “Turn around, Lois.” She did as she was told, albeit awkwardly. The look she wore was an embarrassed one. It intrigued me.

  “Do you feel guilty, Lois?” I wasn’t sure why I was asking. I already knew she did. I think I just wanted to know if she’d admit it.

  Her eyes narrowed, and the spitfire was back. “Do I feel guilty for saving your ass? No. I’d have done the same thing for anyone. It’s just a shame you’re too fucked up to appreciate it.” That put a smile on my face. At least she wasn’t backing down. That was how I liked them. Women like Lois didn’t break, they fucking exploded - and she’d certainly done it in style the other day.

  “You owe me,” I reminded her. The woman wisely kept silent.

  James then threw a pair of jeans at me and our discussion was over for the time being. Getting into them was a struggle, but by this time my meds had come through and moving wasn’t quite as evil as it had been a few minutes ago.

  “Go slowly, tough guy. There’s no way you want to bust any of your stitches open.” He was right. I’d need to take things easy for a few days. At the moment I was tense because I knew my brother was going to burst in at any moment and I needed to know what the score was. If he thought I was working for him again, the man needed a lobotomy. I’d rather die than be knee deep in this shit anymore. I was fucked up enough as it was.

  “Do you want a T-shirt?” James held up a black one and looked at me questioningly. Grudgingly, I nodded. Thankfully, my back was covered in a dressing, so the weight of it wouldn’t hurt, but it would be a bastard getting in and out of the thing. He tossed it over, and I stared at it long and hard.

  “Here, let me help you,” Lois offered, but I’d had enough of her help lately.

  “Just sit over there and keep quiet,” I barked, gingerly placing my arms into the appropriate holes before I dragged the thing slowly down my torso. It was bearable, but only just. I’d be going shirtless for the next few days, that was for certain.

  As if on cue, my brother then burst through the door, and he looked exceptionally pleased with himself. It was enough to plunge the room into silence.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” Alain then began loosening his tie before he undid the top button of his shirt. I found it interesting that he thought he could relax in here without his guards stationed around him, but I guessed James and I were out of action, and he figured he could handle a girl. Perhaps that’s why he hadn’t fed James. My lip curled up as I considered the idea.

  “And how are we all feeling today?” Three sets of eyes glared at him, and no one said a word. We were all waiting for the bomb to drop. Alain didn’t seem at all phased by our response and ploughed straight on.

  “James, before you get any ideas, I have three guards stationed outside this door. If they hear anything funny, they’ll be in here immediately.” Ah, so my brother didn’t feel quite as confident as he looked.

  James inclined his head at the comment. “If you think that’s going to stop me from trying to kill you, you’re deluded.” He gave Alain a feral smile and then winked at him.

  Alain returned his look and the wink. “No, but knowing that they’ll kill Adie and Lois next, might. Besides, you know what the consequences are if you decide to die.” There was a long pause.

  James finally straightened in his chair and narrowed his eyes. “That wouldn’t be taking my own life. Are you changing the goal posts again?” James’s voice had dropped to the deadly whisper that generally meant bodily harm was coming your way. In this instance, it wouldn’t. James was far too controlled to react to my brother’s threats, but if Alain kept heaping this kind of shit upon him the man would implode, eventually. Maybe that’s what Alain was aiming for. His little games of revenge got more twisted as each day passed.

  “I can change the goal posts whenever I like and there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s the beauty of being the guy on top.” Alain and James then stared at each other, long and hard, before Alain finally looked away. “Anyway, I came to see Adrien. I want you back to work inside of a week. We’ve just had a delivery of fifty girls, and they need training up. You’re the best guy I have, and if you do the honours, I’ll get a lot more money for them.”

  I immediately shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest, though pain lanced through me like lightning. “I am never working for you again. I made that very clear while you were trying to flay the skin off my back. You can whip me as many times as you like, but my answer won’t change.”

  My brother appeared completely nonplussed by my tirade, and that was when I knew he had something else up his sleeve. The question was: What?

  “I’m not going to whip you again. It’s a completely ineffective punishment where you’re concerned. You should thank me for that, by the way. There’s no man alive that can take pain like you can.”

  I didn’t bother answering that, and he was wrong. James could take pain. They could have burnt him at the stake and the man wouldn’t have let out a whimper. I had no idea how he did it, but I was going to ask him about it one day.

  “Great. Then it’s settled. I am not going to work for you. Now let us go before one of us does something we might later regret.” Returning Alain’s soulless stare with one of my own, I waited for his counter offer. What had my brother been plotting now?

  Alain fingered the soft silk of his tie before looking up at me, and the expression he wore was amused. “Oh no. You’re not leaving here until I get what I want. I have something else in mind, little brother. Are you sure you won’t play ball, Adie? I’ll give you one last chance to say ‘yes’ because you will not like what happens next if you continue to disobey me.”

  Blood was now pounding through my veins. What was going to happen next? Was he going to torture Lois or James? If that was the stunt he intended to pull, then they’d just have to man up to it. Dammit, who was I kidding? I didn’t have a problem watching James take some shit for me, but I wouldn’t last long if Lois went under his knives.

  Alain stared at me as if trying to read my thoughts. Once upon a time, he’d been able to, but not these days. Working for the other side had benefits, and the training they’d put me through had been rigorous.

  “Is that a yes or a no?” My brother was toying with me. He knew I’d say ‘no’ and then slam something down that was so abhorrent I could barely breathe. The trouble was, I couldn’t say ‘yes,’ either. If I went back to my old life, it would destroy me, and I was almost irredeemable as it was.

  “It’s a fucking no. You know it’s a no. Why bother asking me?” I barked.

  “Yes, I thought you’d say that, but I just wanted you to remember that I gave you the chance to do as you’re told before I laid down the law. What happens next is on you, little brother. You were given the chance to avoid it, and once again you underestimated me. Perhaps, after this, you’ll have more respect for our tenuous relationship because mark my words, you will do exactly as you’re told or suffer the consequences. You have been warned.”

  Alain then turned to James and I knew that something big was going down.

  “Guards get in here,” he yelled. The door then opened, and three massive blokes with semi-automatics walked inside. There was then a gun trained on each one of us. Uh, oh.

  “James, you are going to sleep with Lois.”

  James didn’t move. “I will not sleep with Lois. There is nothing you can do to me that will make that happen.” I could see by the look in his eye that James meant it, too, but Alain hadn’t finished.

  “James, you are going to sleep with Lois, one way or another, and Adie will watch. If my brother then decides he can’t do as he’s told, I’ll make you sleep with her again, and you’ll both watch while I kill her. If both of you can cope with me killing your partner, slowly, over the span of two wee
ks, then go ahead and continue to defy me.”

  And there it was - the bombshell, the one we’d been waiting for. He had dropped this one from a great height, and the blast zone was looking pretty catastrophic from where I was sitting.

  Somehow, James kept his cool, although all the blood had drained from Lois’s face. Facing a two-week death sentence with my brother’s knives would probably have that effect on me, too. My heart stuttered in my chest. James and I would never recover from this if my brother decided to go through with it.

  “There is no way in hell you’ll get me to sleep with Lois.” James had his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw was set in a hard line. “You can torture me all you like, it’ll never happen.” I didn’t doubt the conviction in James’s voice, but my brother had ways to make people do as they were told. James knew this as well I did.

  “Believe you me, there are ways of getting what I want. If I have to drug you up to your eyeballs or pump you full of alcohol to get what I want, then so be it. Maybe I’ll do both at the same time and have Lois parade around the room in tiny wisps of black lace. Think your willpower will see you through that? I don’t think so, Leveritt. I think you’ll crack, and I won’t have to lay a finger on you. Your dick will do all the talking for me. You don’t stand a fucking chance. That iron fisted control of yours will snap just like this.” My brother then clicked his fingers to ram his point home.

  James lost it then. I didn’t understand how he’d kept himself together this long, to be fair. With his face contorted into a tight mask of fury, he barrelled straight towards my brother, taking out one of the guards with a Muay Thai kick, before his fist crashed into the face of another. He wasn’t fast enough to get to the third, though. If James had been on form, he’d have annihilated all three men without breaking into a sweat, but the poor bloke hadn’t eaten in a week. I could see his limbs trembling and the effort it took to perform the moves was written all over his face. As he swivelled round to take out the third guard, he was too late, and the butt of a gun crashed into his face. The force of it was so great he crumpled to the floor instantly. Lois’s face then went whiter than the bleached sheet it already was, and she rushed towards him.