Fire (A Special Agent Novel Book 4)

by C. P. Mandara

  Alain stroked his chin. “Fine. I need your help.” He stopped about a meter away from my body, and I wondered if I could take him out. My damaged left hand was better, but I still couldn’t use it without pain. I didn’t mind suffering a little, though, if it meant I could achieve my objective.

  “I wouldn’t.” He looked at my wrist as if could read my mind and smiled. “If you take me out, my staff have orders to make sure Adie and James are killed immediately. If that isn’t enough of a deterrent, I have four guards waiting outside that door.” He pointed to a spot just past his couch, and sure enough there was an outline of a door there, cut into the wall. Someone has been very clever with this room. The walls are cream, and they have painted the doors the same colour to match. Even the handles are the same shade of magnolia. If I didn’t know where to look, I wouldn’t have seen it.

  “Why should I help you? You’ve not been especially friendly lately,” I said, holding my bandaged hand up and giving it a shake. I’m dragging the conversation out for the hell of it. I knew what he wanted, and I also knew how to give it to him. It just depended on whether the incentive was enough to deliver it.

  “I need you to sleep with James.” Alain’s finished beating about the bush. He doesn’t tell me anything I’m not expecting, but I’m entertained he’s picked me as his cohort in this little game, rather than James.

  “Why haven’t you got James out here? Why aren’t you talking to him?” I’m curious enough to want to know the reason. I think I know, but I want to make sure.

  “Because James won’t agree to any terms that might put you in danger, and I can’t threaten to kill him.” At least Alain is being honest with me. I’d figured as much.

  “And you think you have leverage with me because?” I stood up, so I was nose-to-nose with the bastard, and I sneered at him. He found this amusing, but I didn’t care.

  “Why don’t you tell me?” Alain was goading me, but there was no way I was touching that question.

  “You can go fuck yourself,” I spat. “I’m not doing your dirty work for you.” Walking straight past him, I headed for the hidden door.

  “You’re not going anywhere. If you don’t help me, I’ll take out the two men you care about.”

  It was my turn to narrow my eyes. “One of them is your brother, Alain. Your twin, by the looks of things. Are you really telling me you’d kill your own brother?” I wanted him to give me an affirmative to that question because I needed to know what kind of sick and twisted I was dealing with here.

  “In a heartbeat, if it will get me what I want. Geraud nearly killed him not so long ago back at Carte Blanche, so you already know that family loyalty only goes so far where we’re concerned.”

  “He’s your twin,” I hissed. Alain shrugged his shoulders.

  “I’ll kill both of them slowly and make you watch. If you think you can stomach that, I’ll bring both of them down to the wet room and we can get started. It’s a bit early for torture, but I’m game if you are.”

  “You’re bluffing,” I say, and I cover a yawn with my right hand. “If you kill them, you’ve got no one left to play with.” It’s a fair point.

  Alain followed me back across the room and he didn’t stop until his face was inches away from mine. “I’m not bluffing, and I’ll have you left to play with. I could pin you to my bedroom wall, like a fucking picture. Imagine the fun we could have together? And Adie tells me you have a thing for pain, and we all know I have a thing for pain, so it’s an idea.” His eyes gleam. I’m not buying it. He won’t kill them.

  “Go kill them then, see if I care. James will thank me, in any case.” I hope to hell Alain is bluffing, else I’m about to be in deep shit shortly.

  Alain doesn’t take my lack of co-operation lying down. “You know I killed Kiel, right? I’m fairly sure you’ve figured that out by now, but I just wanted to be clear on the point.”

  My hands flew for his throat as raw emotion flooded my face, but he was ready for me. His Glock was now pointed in the center of my stomach, and my hands paused in mid-air.

  “Put them down, Lois. If you need further incentive, we can do this the hard way. In fact, I prefer the hard way.” With his other hand, he pulled a remote control out of his pocket, and two screens appeared on the wall opposite us. After he pressed a button, I could see Adie lying face down in his hospital bed, and on the other screen, James was fast asleep in our hotel room. Unfortunately, that wasn’t all I could see. Adie has a nurse beside him and she’s holding a syringe in her hand. James has a guard standing alongside him, with a gun pointed at his head. At the moment, they were both comatose, but if Alain had his way, they wouldn’t be for long. I had reason to be thankful I hadn’t eaten recently, and even so, my stomach began churning in horror.

  “Relax. I like to start things slowly,” Alain murmured. I didn’t look at him because I couldn’t take my eyes away from the screens. “I’m not going to kill them just yet. First of all, I want you to watch them suffer.” There’s a chillingly cold smile playing at the corners of Alain’s lips and I knew that if I played this game, I would regret it. I couldn’t watch him kill James or Adie, and having him torture either of them wouldn’t be any more palatable.

  “So, let me guess, you have some wonderful hallucinogenic in that syringe that will have Adie going berserk and thrashing around everywhere, busting his stitches wide open, and you’re going to shoot James in various spots around his body until I cave in? Does that just about sum things up here?” My voice is even colder than Alain’s. In order to deal with a monster, I figure you have to sink down to their level, and I can do that. He needs to believe I’m not motivated by concern or feelings for these men, and to do that I have to be just as cold as he is. It’s what James and Adie previously told me to do, but it’s kind of hard when you’re watching someone as they’re whipped half to death.

  “My, my, Miss Reeves. You’re an astute little lady. I can see why you’re in this business.” He gestured to the couch by the door. “Shall we take a seat and watch the proceedings unfold?”

  I sighed and rubbed my hand over my right eye. A sharp stabbing pain has embedded itself there, and I have a feeling I’ll need medication to get rid of it. As there’s none available, I’ll just have to suffer for the time being.

  Sitting down on the couch, while doing my best not to wince when Alain sits down beside me and puts a hand on my leg, I wonder how I should play this? There must be a way to prevent both of the men I care about from getting hurt, but nothing immediately comes to mind that hasn’t got certain death written all over it.

  “Well, let’s get on with it then,” I bluffed, rubbing my hand together excitedly. I’m goading Alain into doing what he’s threatened. This will either massively backfire on me, or it will make the big dog pause for a second as he wonders what’s going on here.

  Turning towards me, Alain frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re not in love with these men, Lois. I saw what happened in the wet room. You nearly went wild when I took Adie down a peg or two.” He gave me a knowing look, as if he’d figured me all out, but I was about to change that.

  “I wouldn’t be a very good assassin, if I couldn’t act, would I now, Alain?” An idea then comes to me. Getting down on my knees in front of the monster, I yank his hands into my own and start pleading. Looking at him with tear-filled eyes, I say, “Please don’t hurt them, Alain. You have no idea what that does to me, how much pain it inflicts upon me. You’re so cruel, Alain. Please stop it. I’ll do anything.” I taught myself to cry to order a long time ago, and I did so now. All I have to do is bring Kiel’s death to mind these days, and the tears are always close by if I need them. Calling them up, it isn’t long before a river of emotion is pouring down my face. Alain looks at me incredulously.

  “You’re playing them against each other,” he says, his mouth agape. He looks amazed. In all the little scenarios that have played out in his head, it’s clear he never expected this.

  “I’m an assas
sin for hire. I do whatever needs to be done to complete my assignment. Keeping them both jealous of each other works in my favour, as you can imagine. They’ll both do anything for me, and they expose the best secrets during pillow talk. You know that, Alain. You helped me out there, by the way. I never thought I would get close to James.” I grin and brush my tears away as if nothing has happened.

  Turning my face back to the screen, I say, “Well, come on. Time’s a wasting. I’m looking forward to this.” Resisting the urge to rub my hands together again because that would be coming on a little too thick, I give him an expression that says I’m eager to begin.

  Alain still can’t believe I’m for real. The tears have thrown him, and they’re a neat trick of mine. He’s now beginning to wonder if my pleading and whimpering around Adie was all an act. I’ll have to convince him it was.

  “So, the other day, when you tore your hand through three nails to get to Adie, you were just…” Alain doesn’t finish. He needs me to.

  “Hey, you guys are brothers. I figure if I keep in with Adie, I might get you onside. I’m not so sure now, though. You don’t seem to like each other very much.”

  There’s a pause. “I’m not sure I believe you, Miss Reeves,” Alain says, and he’s wondering if he’s being played. He’s right to be cautious, but where there’s an element of doubt, there’s a chance I might succeed.

  “Yes, I’m aware of that. So, let’s get on with the torture part. I’ll even cry at appropriate intervals for you, if you like. Or we go straight to the killing part. Feel free, it will save time, but obviously you can’t kill James and still set your game in motion. So, inject, shoot, and make ‘em scream. I’m game.” I give Alain a smile of my own.

  Alain is not looking so cheerful now. “So, what motivates you, Miss Reeves? Call it idle curiosity, but you have me intrigued.”

  “Money,” I say flatly, and there it is. “I’m a fucking assassin for hire, Alain. What else is going to motivate me, except money or power? You think I fell for those jerks? I’d have to be insane. One tortured me half to death, and the other got me into this mess. You want them dead? Gimme a knife and I’ll do it myself, but there has to be some kind of monetary reward involved. No one works for free, Alain.” My voice is cold and nasty, and there’s conviction behind it. That was one of the reasons Sharkey employed me - I’m a good actress. The only person who has ever seen through me is James, and I’d love to know how he does it.

  Alain doesn’t take his gaze off me the whole time I’m speaking, as if trying to catch me out in a lie. His black eyes devour me, as if trying to work out whether I’m made of the same stuff he is. I wait patiently for his verdict, while trying my best to keep the fear coursing through my body under wraps. There is no place for failure here.

  Eventually, he smiles. “You’ve got them both wrapped around your little finger, haven’t you, Lois?”

  “It wasn’t hard.” I smirk. “At the moment, the pair of them will walk over water for me, and that’s the way I like it. In my business you don’t need any more enemies, trust me.” That much, at least, was true.

  “Ah, Lois, it seems I have you pegged all wrong. I think you and I can be friends.” I was pretty sure we couldn’t, but I waited to see where this would lead. “So, what’s it going to cost me to get you to sleep with James?”

  “Half a mill should just about do it,” I reply.

  That gave Alain pause. Spluttering, he choked, “How much?”

  I grab his hand and pat it gently. “Alain, if James sleeps with me, I’m only a stone’s throw away from death, right? So, the price is steep. I kind of enjoy being alive, if you catch my drift. If you want me sitting at death’s door, it will cost you. Your choice. I’m not doing it for any less.” I need to give him a believable figure - and something that will hurt. Alain has the money, he’s just playing hard to get. I want to see how badly he wants to screw James over.

  I can see the cogs turning within Alain’s head as he thinks my deal over. “Alternatively, I could just torture you until you agree to sleep with him. It would certainly be a lot cheaper,” Alain muses. Here is a man who does not like parting with his money.

  “You could,” I said nodding, “but torture didn’t work well the last time you tried it, and if I’m going to die anyway, the incentive to do your dirty work dies with it. If I drag out the session until I’m dead on my feet, I’ll then need a couple of days before I’m up for anything fun. However you go at your problem, that option will take time. How much do you have?” I had an inkling that there was something bigger going on here, and he needed us. I didn’t think the three of us had been brought together by accident. Call me cynical, but bigger forces were at play.

  Alain took his time answering me. He was lost in thought. “Hmm. Let’s say I pay you. How are you going to get James to sleep with you?”

  I laugh. “What, you think I’m going to reveal all of my secrets here and now? We’ll cross that bridge after the money is in my account, Mr Dumortier, and not before.” Giving Alain a cunning little look that I know he’ll appreciate, I then stand up and begin wandering around the room. Alain needs space to think, and so do I. If my suspicions are correct, I have some things to consider. Firstly, James will never forgive me. If I go down this route, we will be enemies from thereon in. The thought kills me. It doesn’t matter that there is already no chance of a relationship between us both because this will make sure of the fact. If I go through with this, it will destroy him. I have no doubt that Alain will taunt him with me after we’ve slept together because that’s all part of the plan, but if he already loathes me, there’ll be little chance we’ll get close. Mind you, by that time he might not care whether I live or die. I just have to remember to play my part. As for Adie, I wonder what he’ll make of my abrupt change of heart. Will he despise me, too? Probably. I’m in for a shit ride from both of them, that is for sure. Still, this will probably save both their hides - if I’m lucky. I can’t deal with any more death right now. There is no coming back from that. Alain’s voice then startles me, as he tells me the words I want to hear.

  “All right, Miss Reeves, if you think you can get the job done within the next four hours, we have a deal. I’ll wire you half the money now and half on completion. Do those terms sound fair?” Turning around to face him, I watch as his eyes carefully appraise my body. If I agree to this, I will be heaping a pile of shit onto my plate. Not only would I get rid of my closest allies, Adie and James, but I’ll be on Alain’s payroll, and by the looks of things, he likes what he sees. What the fuck am I doing? There were no other options, though - or at least none that I could think of at this moment in time. If we wanted a chance at getting out of here alive, all of us were going to have to sell our souls.

  Steeling my expression, I smile brightly at Alain and say, “Yes, they do.”

  Alain is as good as his word. He has the money wired into my account in less than thirty minutes, and the man obviously can’t wait to get started. I’m so keen but do my best not to show it.

  “I find it entertaining that you can remember your own bank account number, Lois.” Alain’s greedy black eyes are enjoying themselves somewhere around my fishnet body stocking, but I pretend not to notice.

  “First rule of becoming an assassin. If you’re going to do something for money, make damn sure you know where it is at all times.” I smile sweetly.

  “I like you more and more, Miss Reeves. Had I known you were so mercenary, we wouldn’t have had to go through all that nastiness at the beginning.” Alain’s lying, there’s the merest twitch of his left eyebrow, and I’ve seen it a couple of times now. It’s a tell.

  “What and have me miss out on all the fun? You know I like pain, darling.” Sashaying my ass back over to him, I return the cell phone he’s given me, once I’ve checked the transfer has gone through. If I ever get the chance to spend the money in my account, I could have a field day with what I’ve amassed over the years. I wonder if James is similarly loaded, and
then dismiss the thought. He is the last person I want to think about right now.

  “So, Miss Reeves, how are you going to get James to sleep with you? Now that you have your money, I must admit I’m very curious to know the answer. I’ve tried alcohol, drugs, malnutrition, and nakedness. What’s your secret? Do tell?”

  The look Alain gives me creeps me out, but I pretend to be just as excited as he is about the prospect of bringing another man to his knees.

  “Easy peasy,” I purr. “Do you have some handcuffs and rope?”

  Alain blinks as if he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “You’re going to try and tie him down?”

  “No, I am going to tie him down. There’s a difference.” I then place my hands on my hips and give him a wink. Trying my best not to notice the bulge in Alain’s pants, I then say, “I do hope you’re going to watch.”

  Alain barks out a laugh. “Oh, Miss Reeves. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  Chapter Eleven - Lois

  In less than thirty minutes, I was freshly showered, and kitted out with two pairs of steel, police-grade handcuffs. Alain also found some thin nylon rope for me, too. It was all I’d need to make sure James stayed where I wanted him to, but we encountered a snag. Where the hell was I going to hide them? In order for my plan to work I would need to come up on him unawares, and if I was waving cuffs in the air, he was going to get suspicious. Ahem.

  “Problem, Miss Reeves?” Alain had already figured out my dilemma and was wondering how I was going to dig myself out of this hole. Funnily enough, I was wondering the same thing. It would definitely require a wardrobe change.

  “Do you have a robe that I could wear?” At least that would provide me with pockets. I just needed a little space in which to conceal them.

  “Of course we do. Good plan, Miss Reeves.” A fluffy, black bathrobe was then procured, and I draped it over myself, placing the cuffs and rope in my pockets. If I was careful to move slowly, they wouldn’t make a sound. Touching up my make-up, before carefully re-applying some lipstick, I then ran a brush through my hair. When I could delay the inevitable no longer, I stood up and smiled.