The words were harsh and to the point. But her interviews with Adalina Morelli demonstrated a woman distraught with her work. The abductions could not have taken place without her turning a blind eye. The camp had been too strongly fortified for a group to simply just walk in and take the women. Antonia finished her article in The Oracle newspaper in England by suggesting that Adalina Morelli had agreed to the journalist going undercover in the camp because she wanted to be found out and caught. Guilt was getting the better of her.
The Mafia clearly had an objection to Morelli being caught and were now protecting her. When reading the brief and speaking to his supervisor at United Global Defence, Gabriel considered Morelli might have contacts in other camps around Europe who were allowing the Mafia to kidnap women and IS to operate. Morelli had knowingly facilitated the abductions and allowed the radicalization of young men to continue in the camp.
Morelli had family in London and when Antonia’s article was published Adalina had gone into hiding. But United Global Defence hadn’t been able to locate her in London and the belief now was that she was hiding out in Venice with an old boyfriend.
Due to the failure of the Italian police to take Antonia’s claim seriously, Morelli had escaped capture. An investigation by United Global Defence had concluded there was truth and relevance to Antonia’s claims and now she was a valuable witness with information. Antonia believed someone very well connected in the Italian government had allowed Morelli to carry on her criminal activity. But more importantly, Antonia was the only one who could identify the terrorist from the camp. Chasing the terrorist had to come first.
Gabriel’s job was simple. He was to protect this beautiful, reckless, feisty journalist and bring her in. She had to understand she couldn’t do this on her own anymore. She wasn’t going to bring down an IS plot, rescue the two girls she had vowed to protect and bring Adalina Morelli to justice on her own. He was calling the shots now and he was going to make sure she learnt this fast so he could keep her safe from harm.
After what seemed like an age, the wheel finally reached the ground. United Global Defence and the police stormed the capsule. Gabriel waved them away and lifted Antonia up into his arms with ease. She clung to him as he carried her out of the capsule and to the waiting air ambulance that was parked next to the black United Global Defence one. Before they reached it, Antonia’s head fell backwards over his arm as she lost consciousness. She would be kept sedated for the next day while she received treatment for injuries, malnutrition and exhaustion before being transported to Venice.
Chapter 6
Antonia drifted in and out of conscious as she lay in the bed. She had the very vague recollection of being in a plane. This had made her distressed but the calming handsome face of the man who had come to her rescue in the capsule on the wheel had leaned over her smiling and urged her in a whisper to be calm. Touching his fingers gently to her face he reassured her he would keep her safe. She had immediately relaxed and sunk back into the welcoming arms of sleep. But now she was beginning to stir again and voices were becoming more audible and she could see what was going on a bit more.
“They are going to put her out for another couple of hours and then they will bring her out of sedation,” Cristina Botelli the head of the Italian branch of United Global Defence was telling Gabriel as he sat next to Antonia’s bed in the safe house on Branzillo Island just outside of Venice, not far from Murano Island. “You have rarely left her side.”
“I take her protection and this assignment very seriously,” Antonia heard the Russian answer in a calm even tone.
Botelli’s dark eyes rolled over him. But there was no appreciation in her stare for his athletic physique. She didn’t look at him like most women and there was a good reason. Botelli was gay. He’d only met her three days ago but she treated him differently than other women in Global Defence and it was what made him trust her even more. There was no uncomfortable attraction to get in the way of his work.
“It was hard to keep her still despite the sedation and the feeding tube. She continuously fights it and keeps mentioning the girls she was protecting.”
“I know. I had to help the doctors hold her down while they injected her,” he confessed feeling a nasty twinge of guilt poke at him.
“She wants to find them. You will have to make her understand we need her co-operation with the name of the IS operative working in the Refugee camp. That must come first. Use it as a threat if you have to, to get the information from her. If she doesn’t give us what we want and quickly we will not help her find the girls. I am told you can be very persuasive in getting the truth from a woman when necessary,” she grinned. “I expect you to use your talents, Mr Malinov to get the information we need.”
Gabriel changed the subject and lowered his voice in case they woke Antonia. “There are marks on her arms and they look self-inflicted.”
Botelli nodded to confirm his suspicions.
“Yes. She appears to have been self-harming. There is also extensive bruising on the tops of her thighs and lower stomach. Lamberto, the head of the medical team believes she might have been raped in the camp. We will need to talk to her about it and get her to consent to an examination. I think she has gone through a lot and I don’t believe she has told the Italian police everything that happened inside the refugee camp.”
Her tone was heavy with disapproval when she spoke again. It made Malinov’s back straighten and his brow furrow into a defensive frown. He knew what was coming next.
“As I said, you haven’t left her side, have you? And you are very protective of her, more than your job demands?”
Gabriel felt uncomfortable again. He looked away and towards Antonia sleeping in the bed in the middle of the large room, in the Italian mansion on the island, thinking how beautiful and peaceful she looked. He decided keeping silent was the best option.
“Don’t get too close, Gabriel. It’s dangerous. She might be killed and leave you with a broken heart. Believe me I have been there too many times. Don’t get close to her. It isn’t good for the mission.”
Gabriel knew she was right. But there was something about Antonia King that was chiselling away at the fortress walls he had placed around his heart after the death of his girlfriend, another agent, two years ago when she was mowed down by a car when she was working on a mission. It unnerved him. He nodded at the woman giving himself a mental note to try harder to heed her warning even though he knew he would probably ignore it.
“Get some food and rest yourself while she’s out. I will have two men posted inside the room.”
“No. Thanks. I will stay here with her.”
She shook her head leaving Gabriel frustrated.
“I am not letting her out of my sight. She is a valuable witness. We can’t take any risks,” he said abruptly.
Botelli put her hand up to check if her dark chestnut hair was still confined in its neat pinned prison. “Fair enough. Have it your way. I’ll have some coffee and food sent in. Don’t forget what I said. I wouldn’t want to have to replace you on this mission.”
Malinov’s eyes narrowed but he said nothing as she turned and he watched her black Louboutin heels click across the marble floor and out of the room.
He pulled up a large white and gold gilt chair from the corner of the room. This part had been furnished as a living area with a long white sofa and dining table. He positioned it next to the hospital bed Antonia had been transferred to. Determined to keep guard he removed his jacket and draped it neatly around the back of the chair. Loosening his tie, he sat down and leaned back watching Antonia’s chest rise and fall with each breath just as she closed her eyes and drifted back into sleep.
Chapter 7
A soft female moan woke him from his sleep in the chair. Slowly Gabriel opened his eyes and allowed the room to come into view. Antonia was moving restlessly in the bed. She looked distressed and confused by her surroundings. He rubbed his eyes and got up to check on her. Putting his arm
over her body he leaned over.
The urge to soothe her pain and reassure her she was safe was all consuming. It was natural to touch her, caress her forehead and then her cheek with the tips of his fingers. He felt her skin warm against his fingers and gently smiled down at her.
“Shh. You are safe here. Rest. Are you in pain? Do you need me to fetch the doctor?” he made sure his voice was comforting when he spoke looking directly into her eyes.
Fear brimmed over the surface but when he looked deeper there was strength and determination. According to the report on Antonia she was one tough nut. An only child like himself, her parents had died in a boating accident when she was twelve and she had been reared by an aunt who took little interest in her life. The woman hadn’t even been concerned after her niece had gone missing for the summer and the police hadn’t been able to locate her whereabouts. She wrote a blog on the plight of refugees and was determined to make it as a journalist after ditching her career as a human rights lawyer, recording her experiences in the camp and posting them on her popular YouTube channel as well as writing freelance for the newspapers. She was very clever, a quick learner, and had learnt many languages on her own including Arabic. It made him feel relieved. She might appear fragile lying in this hospital bed but there was fire in those eyes and she wouldn’t be kept down for long. The agent barely knew the woman but already he found himself intoxicated by her. He had never met a woman like her before and he had no doubt he never would again. Antonia King was unique.
Gabriel closed the memory of seeing Daniella’s broken body hit the ground after being hit by the car before he could get to her and push her out of the way. Daniella had always gone the extra mile and it had finally gotten her killed. It was like it was yesterday the scene was so vivid in his mind.
“No. I don’t need the doctor,” her voice was hoarse. “Where am I?” she asked trying to sit up. He gently pushed her back down. “Lie still and relax,” he told her softly. “We are in Venice.”
“Venice? I have to get out of here. I can’t lie here when they are out there.”
Antonia’s movement was more determined this time. She lifted the covers off her body. She bent to swing her legs around clutching at her stomach. Gabriel reacted quickly. He caught her legs and put them back on the bed and holding her shoulders he firmly lowered her down back onto the pillows once more.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” he ordered. “You need to rest.”
“I have done enough resting. I can’t lie here. He took Nazila and Qaifa.”
Antonia was trying to test his strength and fight him to sit up again but the action was proving futile.
“Stay down,” he demanded deepening his voice.
Antonia growled with frustration making him raise one dark eyebrow in surprise. The woman needed to be taken in hand.
“Please let me go to them. You don’t understand you have to let me go.”
The journalist growled and gave one determined effort to push him away and he had no choice but to flatten her down on the bed. Antonia King was one stubborn woman.
“Let me go. You can’t keep me here against my will,” she shouted, her eyes darkening with fury.
“I can. Stay in bed. If you try to get up again so help me, I will throw you over my knee, bare that cute bottom of yours and spank it hard. Then I will tie you to the damn bed. Do I make myself clear?”
She stopped struggling, shocked at his words and stared at him for a moment, her eyes tightly narrowing.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she sneered with contempt.
“Why don’t you try it and see,” he warned her, leaning in close until his lips almost brushed her own.
Antonia narrowed her green eyes at him with determination forcing him to suppress a smile. He couldn’t help but look down and watch her pink lips tremble with anger. The need to kiss her came upon him unexpectedly. It made him tighten his frame and for a second slightly loosen his grip on her shoulders. Antonia was quick to take advantage feeling the weight from her shoulders lessen.
She sat up sharply and delivered a punch at his stomach. Surprised when the small fist hit his toned abs with some power behind it, his instinct was to automatically let go of her and reel back. She was up and out of the bed in the white pyjamas she had been placed in for travel and heading for the door. Gabriel caught up with her, placing his hand over hers on top of the door handle before she could open it. He lifted it away and swung her around as she struggled to free herself. He pressed her back against the door with a thud and moved closer so she was trapped between it and the solid wall of muscle lining his chest and abdomen. She wasn’t going anywhere except over his knee for the spanking of her life. It looked like Botelli was right. He was going to have to take a firm line with the feisty journalist until she realised he was in complete control and her job was to obey him without question.
Antonia felt fragile and delicate in his arms despite her strength and he couldn’t help revelling in being close to her. But it was time to teach her a lesson.
“Let me go.”
“No chance, kotyonok. You are going over my knee for that spanking I promised you.”
Gabriel bent his body slickly, winding his arm around her legs and lifting her with ease up and over his shoulder. She banged her fists on his back on top of the designer dark navy suit he wore.
“Put me down and don’t call me kitten in Russian,” she screamed at him.
“Ah, so you know Russian as well. Is there no end to your talents, Ms King nor any end to your stubbornness?” he said with amusement carrying her back to his chair by the bed.
Spreading his legs a small amount, he lowered Antonia’s struggling form down over his knees. She shrieked and put her hands out to try and support herself, her long blonde curls falling over her head to the floor.
“Don’t you dare do this to me. Don’t you dare!” she shouted.
With a sigh, Gabriel firmly steadied her with his hand on her back and using his free hand quickly yanked her pj trousers down over her bottom to expose it. Just as he had anticipated, it was just the right size, plump and round, pale peaches and cream. The urge to squeeze it was overwhelming but he managed to resist. Punishment first. He felt the tantalising brush of her breasts and nipples, unhampered by the confinement of a bra underneath her top, against his legs as he settled her trousers just past the backs of her thighs so he could move her spanking down to the tender skin when the time was right.
He smoothed his hand over one buttock and then the other to warm her flesh for the hot swipe of his hand.
“Good girl,” he cooed. “Try to calm down and accept what is happening. It will only hurt for a short time and then it will be all over. Maybe next time you will do as you are told.” There was still a hint of amusement in his soft, almost seductive, lowered voice.
“Let me go,” she squealed kicking her legs as he raised his hand and swatted the seat of her bottom with his large palm. His hand made firm contact with her delicate flesh searing it with heat; a fiery blush spread across it. Antonia cried out.
“Ow. That hurts,” she moaned catching her breath as he delivered a second smack, this time to the left buttock.
“It’s meant to.”
Gabriel got into his stride smacking each cheek in turn. Antonia began to howl and cry.
“Stop. I will do as you say. I will stay in bed.”
“Too late, kotyonok. You must be punished. Take some deep breaths for me. That’s a good girl.”
“Condescending male pig. Ow.”
He made sure the next slaps were harder.
“I am not a male pig. I am your protector and will be treated with respect. I am not here to make things harder for you or to disrupt you. I am here to help you. United Global Defence has put me in charge and I will have your obedience, otherwise I will take action and discipline you. I have a feeling you are going to be over my knee quite often before you understand that, kotyonok.”
Antonia began to sob.
“Enough, Antonia. I am not the enemy. That’s it, cry and get it all out.”
He diligently spanked her bottom increasing the tempo and the strength he used to swat her butt, suddenly conscious her tears had become heavier and her cries had turned into sobs. Every strike produced a new loud sob and then they came in a torrent. Gabriel felt relieved. She appeared to be releasing pent up frustration, pain and fear she had trapped inside herself for months while she was in the camp starving and exhausting herself to keep the girls going. She was brave, there was no doubt but too reckless. It was almost as though she didn’t care about her own life and placed no value upon it. He would make it part of his mission to force her to change her mind on that issue before she got herself killed.
Satisfied by the heat and deep pink colouring of her bare bottom, Gabriel turned his attention to the tender backs of her thighs producing a howl as he expertly spanked them to match the same distinctive colour. The fight had left her now and she hung obediently still over his knee as he disciplined her.
Gabriel brought her spanking to an end by returning to her bottom to impose four more strikes across the seat. He rested his hand over her flesh as though to centre her mind and body with a gentle comforting hold.
“There, there. All over, little one,” he whispered giving her bottom a rub, content he could feel enough heat permeating his hand signalling she would be feeling a sharp sting throbbing from her butt. To his surprise he couldn’t resist bending forward to brush his lips across her skin. He expected her to object as he chastised himself inwardly for losing his composure but she said nothing. Rubbing her butt once more to soothe it he pulled up her pj trousers and lifted her up to standing. Still holding her as she rubbed her beautiful tear stained face and eyes he found himself pulling her into his arms.
The Masterful Russian (The Masterful Series) Page 4