He was back in his element now, instead of hiding in some dirty third-world country. Damn, the last three years have been hell. His last shipment before going into hiding was….interrupted….and the buyers were not happy. Good thing he had built a long relationship with them and convinced them he could help them in the future. In the meantime, he helped them build their own supply networks and stayed alive.
His buyers helped him get back in the States, because they learned of a new weapon being developed and they wanted it. Richard’s DoD job and all his contacts would help him get them. He would make enough money off this to retire to his own private island. He had some favors to pay back first, though.
It wouldn’t be long before Brianna showed up, and he could tie up all the loose ends. He arranged for his face to be plastered across every major newspaper, but he already knew where she was hiding. He had plans for Brianna and Noah.
Noah served his purpose. Too bad he started thinking with his dick over that stupid little bitch, Richard smugly mused.
Chapter 8
“I have a few questions to ask you. And you will answer them. You will give me all the information I want, or you will be sorry. We understand each other.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement and was not up for debate.
The lady in black just stared at him. She was not moving a muscle. He wasn’t even sure she was breathing.
Definitely scared. Definitely an amateur.
“You were at the banquet tonight.”
He wasn’t really asking a question, but she knew he expected confirmation.
The large men with him started moving towards her. She couldn’t turn her head to look, but she was certain the biggest one of them had moved directly behind her. She couldn’t see him, but she could feel the power emanating from him. She could only stare at Noah.
He narrowed his eyes slightly at her, probably pissed, due to her lack of response. He stopped walking, and the smile left his face completely. OK, now that look really scares me, Brianna thought.
“And then you were in my house.” This time he bit the words out, anger lacing each syllable.
“Now, I want to know why.”
He stood motionless, staring at her, taking all of her in. She knew he was reading her body language, reading her eyes, looking for information to use against her. She knew she was probably giving him more than he needed, because she definitely didn’t have a poker face.
She was considering her choices.
If I speak, he will recognize my voice.
If I don’t speak, I really don’t know what he will do with me.
If he calls the cops, then what do I do?
Is there any chance in hell I can run and get away from all these guys?
She knew these questions flew through her mind in all of about one second, but she felt like she had been standing there, tongue-tied, for hours. She realized she’d taken her eyes off of him and had looked at the exit, telling him exactly what she was thinking. Just as she looked back at him, she saw the slight nod of his head towards the giant standing behind her. Before she could move, the man grabbed her, and Noah moved in to her, now directly in her face.
Mmmm….he smells so good.
Stop that! Focus!
This inner dialogue was going to be the death of her.
Noah grabbed her wrists in his massive hands, dug his fingers in her flesh, and squeezed, as he pulled them down and put a pair of zip-tie cuffs on her.
“Ooowwww! Damn!” She scowled at the sudden pain in her wrists.
Noah stopped and looked at her, really looked at her, as if he was just seeing her for the first time.
“What the hell?” Now he was looking into her eyes, took a step back, as his hand flew to his face. He raked his hand across the stubble forming on his jaw, and then bent to look more closely at her face.
“Bri-“
“Brianna?”
Noah, Bull, and Rebel all looked as if they had seen a ghost. They were all standing still, simply staring at her, and finally seeing past her disguise. Noah’s normally unreadable face clearly displayed his wide variety of emotion. It ranged from complete surprise and shock, to elation, and then to anger. He was really, really angry.
Well, hell, here it comes, Brianna thought.
“Hmm…did you miss me, Bri? Crashing the party at the banquet…breaking into my house…” His voice trailed off, but the anger was there, and his words were dripping with sarcasm.
Brianna looked from Noah to Bull. His narrowed eyes and the blatant glare in his gaze told her any trust she had previously earned from him was completely gone. And that fact really hurt.
“No, on second thought, missing me couldn’t be why you’re here now. Because you let me believe you died three years ago. Clearly you’re not dead, so….no, you didn’t miss me,” Noah continued.
Brianna looked at Rebel and tried to get a read on him, but his face was expressionless and like stone. Except for the muscle twitching ever so slightly in his jaw, from where his teeth were clinched so hard. Not a good sign there, either.
Noah continued, “So, baby, what exactly did you steal from my house?”
Steal from him? He thinks I broke in to take his things? Brianna’s mind was racing.
Brianna was trying to comprehend his question, but could only shake her head. The man behind her still held onto her shoulders, so she couldn’t run, but at that moment, she knew he was probably the only thing keeping her knees from buckling under her.
One side of Noah’s mouth curved into a half-grin, but she knew he found nothing funny about this situation. He took a few steps closer to her, and she tried to back up, but found the man behind her was as hard as concrete and just as immovable. Noah took another step closer, so that they were standing toe to toe. Noah towered over her in front and the concrete mountain of a man towered over her from behind.
In a flash, Noah raised his hand to her cheek, and she winced, as though she was preparing for him to hit her. His hand froze beside her cheek, not having made contact yet, his eyes narrowed in obvious disgust and dislike of her response to him.
Like I would ever intentionally hurt her, Noah thought.
He rubbed his knuckles across her cheek and then cupped it in the palm of his hand. She instinctively leaned into it, savoring the feel of his hand on her. He ran his hand around to the back of her neck and pulled her face to his, covering her mouth with his, as his tongue pushed against her lips, asking for access.
She opened her mouth to him, and he kissed her passionately. His other hand came up to meet her neckline, softly caressing her collarbone and moving down across the skin of her chest, showing through her tank top. The other hand moved down her back and around to her side, gripping her hip.
Damn, you feel so good. I’ve missed you so much, Noah. Brianna’s thoughts betrayed her.
Lost in his kiss and her thoughts, she realized too late what he was doing, as he pulled her hotel key card out from under her bra strap. He pulled away from her and turned to Bull and Rebel, without so much as a single word to her.
“Interesting place to keep a hotel room key,” Noah said, as he handed the card to Bull. Brianna knew her face displayed the shock, then the anger at how easily he manipulated her. However, she was glad he had not felt any lower, or he would’ve found what else she was hiding in her bra.
“What do you want to do with her, boss? Want me to call the police?” The man behind her asked. She didn’t know him, and he obviously didn’t know her connection to Noah, Bull, and Rebel. She wondered where Shadow was, but didn’t dare ask.
Noah looked at Brianna, as he considered what to do with her. She didn’t realize she was shaking her head until he said, “No? Don’t want the police involved?” It was a rhetorical question. He stared at her for a few seconds longer.
Brianna finally spoke. “I really don’t think you want the police involved. Can we decide this somewhere other than here? I’m not sure it’s safe here.”
Noah�
��s anger was in full fury now, as he growled, “Put her in the car. Bull, Rebel, you two ride with us.”
Bull took Brianna’s arm and put her in the backseat of the SUV, behind the passenger seat. Bull walked around to slide in behind the wheel, Rebel climbed in the front passenger seat, and Noah sat in the backseat with her, his back against the door and turned in the seat to face her.
“Where to, boss?” Bull asked.
“My house,” Noah replied, as Bull put the SUV in gear. Brianna could feel Noah’s eyes on her, as Bull pulled out of the garage. She didn’t dare look at him, yet. Traffic was light, since it was just after 1 a.m., and Bull easily maneuvered into the right hand lane of the highway. She leaned her head to her left to look around the seat and saw a traffic light was a couple hundred yards away. Her eyes drifted up to the rearview mirror, where she saw Bull watching her.
The hatred in his eyes made her shrink back into her seat. She was glad she couldn’t see Rebel’s eyes, but she knew he wouldn’t feel any differently. She finally looked over her shoulder at Noah, saw the same look in his eyes, and felt the vice cinch around her heart a little tighter.
Swallowing hard, she said, “Look, I know this is…complicated….but it would really be best for everyone, if you just let me go.”
From the front seat, she heard Rebel’s sarcastic tone, “You must be joking.”
Trying her hardest to keep her voice even, Brianna answered. “No, I’m not. Let me go. I will leave, and you will never see me again. I won’t make any trouble. We were all friends once, weren’t we?”
No response, so she continued, “I really tried to not disrupt your lives. When you realized I was really alive, how did you feel at first? Honestly?” She had seen their faces when they realized who she was and knew they were shocked, but if they were glad to see her at all, she would use that to try to convince them to let her go.
Noah and Bull answered in unison, “Angry.”
Brianna’s eyes grew wide and her mouth gaped open. She had not expected that response at all. She felt as though all the air had been sucked out of her lungs, and the vice around her heart split it in two. Barely choking back the tears that stung the back of her eyes, she managed a response, her voice just above a whisper.
“Angry? You’re angry that I’m still alive? You don’t even care why?” Her eyes were darting back and forth between Noah and Bull, searching for any sliver of remorse. But she found none – only cold stares.
Softly, and with great difficulty, she choked out, “Rebel? You, too?”
No response.
Looking out the window, she pulled her feet up in the seat, and curled into her legs. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her face. She had expected Noah to be angry that she hadn’t called or come back in the last three years. Mad that he was fooled and that she had been living somewhere else. But being mad that she was alive was just cruel. Even though their relationship was strained before she disappeared, she never even considered that he didn’t care about her welfare at all.
The past three years had been pure hell on her. Noah, her friends, her family, they were always on her mind. The love she had for them was overwhelming, and each day away from them made it worse, not better. The loneliness was hard to deal with, but their safety kept her going.
Mostly to herself, she whispered, “I’ve lost everything.” She could see Noah’s face in the reflection of the glass, watching her, studying her, and figuring out his next move.
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” She knew damn well he heard her. He was just being an ass.
Shaking her head, she said, “Nothing,” but didn’t turn to look at him. She continued to stare out the window at nothing in particular. The tears continued to flow down her cheeks and down her neck, but she didn’t bother to wipe them away.
Bull pulled into the left lane to maneuver around a slow moving car. Just as they passed it, the car sped up and pulled alongside them. Brianna shifted her eyes to look at the driver and saw him point a pistol with a silencer out the driver’s window.
She screamed, “Gun! Get down!” She hurled her body to the left, landing with her back against Noah, and facing the gunman. She waited for the shattered glass and searing pain of the bullet. Holding her breath, Brianna didn’t move until Noah put his hands on her shoulders, picked her up, and sat her back in her seat. She opened her eyes and saw the glass still intact. Bewildered, she looked at him and he simply said, “Bullet proof glass.”
The man shot two rounds at the SUV before realizing his mistake, then turned and raced down a side street away from them. Rebel called one of the other men in the second SUV to pursue the shooter. Brianna was shaken to the core, as she realized that man was probably the one who found her in Colorado.
Looking to Noah, her voice watery and quivering, and unable to stop her body from shaking, she pleaded, “Please, Noah. Just stop and let me out here. I’ll find my way back on my own.”
He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “A man just shot at us, and you want me to stop and let you out? You want him to come back and shoot you point blank?”
She shot back, “What do you care? One less thing for y’all to be angry about.”
Richard and Brianna both show up alive within hours of each other? Noah knew better than to think that was a coincidence, but he hadn’t yet figured out the connection.
No time like the present to find out.
Noah leaned forward, closer to her. “No, I don’t think I will let you out here. Maybe I’ll just take you to Richard.”
Her head jerked to meet his eyes, and he saw complete terror in her eyes. That terror wasn’t there, even after the guy shot at her. This was definitely not the reaction he had expected from her. At one point, he had suspected something was up between the two of them. He never really believed she was cheating on him with Richard, but he wasn’t really sure what exactly was going on.
Noah remembered Brianna brought Richard up frequently in conversation, always asking questions about him. She asked about how they met and about their business dealings. She was always careful about the way she questioned him, but Noah was suspicious, nonetheless.
Brianna turned her head to look straight ahead, but he saw her eyes darting in all directions. He could see every muscle tense in her body, and her breathing and pulse rate had drastically increased. He knew she hit the flight-or-fight mode in an adrenalin dump, and she was definitely terrified of something.
She looked back at him and the pain in her voice was palpable, “You would really do that to me?” He let out a disgusted “humph” as his response.
The SUV slowed for a red light, as she looked back out the side window. Lightning fast, she grabbed the door lock and the handle, jumped from the vehicle, slamming the door behind her, as she ran as hard as she could. Bull had also been watching her, but he was a split second too late on hitting the automatic door locks. Just as she slammed the door shut, Noah slid across the back seat, but was locked in, giving her a good head start on him.
Noah chased her down the side street, as Bull honked the horn and finally got around the cars waiting at the red light. Brianna scanned the area ahead, looking for an escape route. She saw an abandoned house with a fenced back yard. Behind it were a few more houses and what looked like an apartment complex.
She jumped the chain link fence and kept going until she reached the apartment complex. Hiding in the shadows, staying close to the buildings, she spotted another main road a couple of blocks down. Fear was propelling her. Fear that Noah would really take her to Richard. Fear that she had misjudged him, and he was really part of everything she had uncovered.
Why else would he have said that?
Pushing off like an Olympic runner, she headed in the direction of the cars and witnesses when she was suddenly engulfed from behind. Big, muscular arms circled her, pinning her arms in front, and a long, muscular leg circled one of hers, making it impossible to move.
N
oah’s deep voice growled in her ear, “You’re not going anywhere.” The SUV slid into the parking lot in front of them. Bull and Rebel got out of the car and approached them, as Noah released his hold on her.
She was boxed in and there was no way out. She was close to hysterical by this time, shaking her head, and holding her hands out to keep them at bay. Through her tears, she kept repeating, “Just let me go.”
Noah didn’t know what was going on, but he sure as hell intended to find out. He tried to coax her. “Bri. Just get back in the car.”
“No! You’re not taking me to him!”
The three men gathered around her and led her back to the SUV. She climbed in the back, Noah sat on one side and Rebel sat on the other, sandwiching her in the middle. Pulling her feet up on the seat, she wrapped her arms around her legs, laid her chin on her knees, and a steady stream of tears flowed from her eyes.
Bull looked at her in the rearview mirror and saw the fear and defeat in her eyes. He was still mad that she had betrayed his trust. With his low, gruff voice, he started, “Sunny, look-“
She quickly cut him off. “Don’t. Call. Me. That. That was a nickname given to me by friends, who swore to always be my brothers!”
She could feel all three sets of eyes on her, but she refused to look at any of them. She didn’t want to see the hatred in their eyes, feel their icy stares, or sense their indifference towards her.
A few moments later, with no emotion left in her voice, she added, “Those men don’t even exist anymore.” Three of “those men” were in the SUV with her and had all turned on her.
She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. God, she was tired.
***************
“I hope you’re calling with good news.”
Wicked Games Page 6