by S. M. Butler
He snapped out of his thoughts as Bridget left the room and came in where he was. She stopped in front of him as he faced her. “He said he’d do it.”
The frown on her beautiful face told him more than he wanted to hear. This was why he’d kept her from the operational side of his work. He hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to him. “He’ll be fine, you know.”
She took a breath and all the trepidation slid off her expression. She met his eyes and nodded. “He wants to see you.”
“I’m sure he does,” Nathan replied. She turned to go back but he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “I’m fine. Just… I want to get this over with.”
“Don’t lie to me, Miss Muldoon.”
“It’s just… what happens to Scott after this is over? After he does what we want?”
Was she asking if he was going to kill her brother? As much as he’d wanted to when he’d discovered Muldoon had made a deal with Lewis last year, he hadn’t, because it would have destroyed her. And that was before whatever was going on between them now.
He cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers, closing his eyes as he inhaled her scent, the pomegranate citrus of the body lotion she used. “It will be up to him. He can’t go back to his life before the Reapers and technically, he’s still under contract with me.”
“He’s not a bad guy,” she whispered.
“I know,” Nathan murmured. He cleared his throat and stepped away from her, as much as it pained him to do so. “Well, let’s see what he wants.”
She nodded and together they went back to where her brother sat. Scott’s body tensed as he entered, though the man was doing everything he could to not react. His face was completely void of emotion, but his eyes said it all. He was scared, but not of Nathan. For his sister. For Bridget.
Was this how people saw him? A monster that would kill just to spite another? He had killed, though. He had done it to further his mission to find his family’s killers, he’d done it to punish… Maybe Scott Muldoon had it right to see him as a monster.
“Nathan.”
“Mr. Muldoon.”
Muldoon’s eyes speared him straight through. “Bridget, would you let me and Nathan have a minute alone, please?”
Bridget’s eyes narrowed into accusing little daggers of knowledge. “Why?”
“Just… give me a minute, Bridget.”
Bridget looked at Nathan, like she expected him to overrule it, but he simply nodded. It was best to get this out of the way now, so both of the Muldoon siblings could concentrate without the personal feelings getting in the way. She huffed. “Fine.”
As she left the room, Nathan walked over to the control panel. With a couple of button presses, the observation window closed itself, a metal shutter unfolding over the glass.
“One minute, Mr. Muldoon.”
“What is it you want, Nathan?” Muldoon asked. “We had an agreement.”
“Yes. That hasn’t changed.”
“Does she know about it?”
“She will,” Nathan replied. He’d been wondering just how to broach the subject, honestly. Surely, she’d prefer her brother’s freedom to him rotting in a cell. Even so, what Muldoon had to do wasn’t easy. He kept no secrets about his work from Bridget. She was the one person in this world that knew almost as much about the Company as he did.
“So, this… container thing?” Muldoon asked. “What is that about?”
“We are trying to save Axel Martinez’s life.”
“Ah,” Muldoon said. “I see. That’s the someone she was talking about.”
“Yes. It’s a complicated matter.”
“Right.” Muldoon frowned. “So, once I do this thing Bridget wants me to do, what happens then? Do I disappear on this thing you want me to do? What will you tell her about where I’ve gone?”
“I’m not going to kill you, Mr. Muldoon. God knows, I nearly did… But you’re here because she wants you here.”
“Huh.” Muldoon stared at Nathan. “You’ve never been the type to care what others want, Nathan.”
That was true. He’d spent all of his time the last decade trying to catch killers and he’d been more than happy to become as low as those that murdered his family to find them. But all of that had changed. He still wanted his vengeance, still wanted to put those that took from him down violently. He was alright with going about it differently than he had. Shit, since he’d changed his tactics, it seemed like he was getting further now.
“Let me ask you something, Mr. Muldoon,” Nathan said, stepping closer to where Scott sat, the table between them. He leaned forward, placing his palms on the table. “Knowing that your sister works for me, knowing what she needs from you… Are you going to betray me again?”
Scott was silent for long moments as he considered his words carefully. At least, that’s what Nathan was hoping he was doing. Finally, he sighed. “I didn’t know my sister was with you before… when I did what I did. I made a lot of mistakes, letting Lewis influence me, letting him use me to trap the rest of the team. If what she wants from me is to help you, then that’s what I’ll do. But Nathan… make no mistake… I feel no loyalty to you. Or anyone.”
“Not even your sister?”
“She’s the only person in the world that cares if I’m alive or dead.”
“And what about our agreement?”
“I said I was in. I meant it.” Muldoon nodded along with his words. Then his gaze focused on Nathan, his eyes narrowing with the fire that ignited inside his dark orbs. “If you use my sister for your manipulation games or if you hurt her in any way, there won’t be a hole dark enough or deep enough that you can throw me into that I won’t climb out of to come after you.”
24
Bea’s hands had long gone numb from the awkward position they were in. Metal cuffs cut into her wrists, her body splayed out like a sacrificial virgin. But she wasn’t lying down, and that was why her fucking hands had lost feeling. Her arms were drawn out away from her body, so tightly that her feet barely touched the floor. Only the tips of her boots brushed the cold concrete.
She should have been grateful Genevieve hadn’t stripped her naked, she supposed. God knew, the woman knew Bea could make a weapon out of just about anything she had. But she had her jeans, her shirt, though her belt, her weapon belt, and her knives were gone. Maybe that was just as bad as being stripped naked.
This was the position you put prisoners you were going to torture in. Arms out, legs barely able to touch the floor… Chest, abdomen, and back open like an empty canvas. Her shoulder had stopped bleeding at some point, but her body had lost enough blood that really, it didn’t matter.
How many times had she put people in this position in her past? Questioned them about her marks, found out intel on them that helped her make early graves of them all. Wasn’t it just appropriate that she’d been put into the same position by her own mentor, a source of intel and leverage for the mark, Axel Martinez?
“Is there really just you to protect your charge?”
Genevieve’s light French lilt carried through the echo of the large expanse of the room. She couldn’t tell where she was, though the old stench of manure and hay filled her nostrils. She wasn’t even sure how long they’d driven for, as she hadn’t been able to find any identifying marks when Liam lifted her out of the trunk.
“No, maybe those other boys at your shop as well. The big ones with the muscles.”
Bea stared as the woman stepped into the dim lighting, her pale face half set in shadows. Her plump lips were naked as always. Genevieve was never one for makeup during the job, normally, unless the mark called for it. That picture she’d been so drawn to at the lair… That was why. Because it was so not what Genevieve was. She was all practicality, something she had instilled in Bea from a very young age. She balanced a dagger in her hands, a double-edged blade that reflected even the dim yellow light
ing in the space.
“Why did you kill yourself?” Genevieve asked. Her brow furrowed. “Did you not think I would mourn you? That I would miss you?”
“Last time we spoke, you told me you were going to kill me,” Bea bit out, but her voice was soft and weak. She hated the sound of it. She hated the weakness of it, but even lifting her head made her dizzy. Too much blood loss. Dehydration. Too many things that were trying to kill her. “Sorry I didn’t invite you to the funeral.”
“You stole from me. The only job I was never able to complete.”
“I kept you from killing a child.”
“She was not a child. She was a mark! My mark! Nothing but a royal pain in the ass her family wanted gone.” Genevieve’s shrill voice echoed in the silence of the room.
Not her entire family, Bea thought. The mother and child were safely hidden by Nathan somewhere in France now.
“She’s gone now,” Bea laughed, ignoring the sharp pain in her shoulder. “She will live to a nice, ripe old age. She’ll get married, have children, and you’ll never ever find her.”
Genevieve screamed and the dagger slashed along her ribs. Bea hissed, but the dagger didn’t penetrate deeply. It sliced, and blood started to trickle down her side. Genevieve stepped up close, sliding her hand from Bea’s armpit down her side to the gash she’d made. “I will have Axel Martinez, Beatrice.” She pressed into the cut she’d made, and Bea moaned, stars bursting into her vision with the pain. “Do you think I like this? Causing you pain?”
“Does it really matter? The marks always come first, don’t they,” Bea whispered, breathing hard through the pain as Genevieve dug her fingers into the soft, bloody flesh at her ribs.
“That is how it’s supposed to be,” Genevieve whispered. “Or have you forgotten your lessons?”
“You made sure I couldn’t forget,” Bea said. “Did you do it to Liam, too?”
“Oh, stop your blubbering, child, and tell me where your friends took Axel Martinez.”
Bea laughed, then cried out when Genevieve sliced along the other side of her rib cage. “I don’t know where he is. He quit and left town.”
“Liar,” Genevieve rumbled. She pressed her fingers against both sides of her ribs and Bea’s body jerked hard in response. “Where did they take him?”
“As soon as they discover I’m out of contact, they will change their plans. They’ll keep him sequestered and out of sight.”
“Right. That’s what I want them to do. But where, though?”
“I don’t know,” Bea whispered. She hung her head, which probably wasn’t her smartest idea in the world with the woman in front of her.
But Genevieve sighed and abruptly, her presence was gone. Bea lifted her head to see the woman a few feet away. She brought a chair into the light, one of those cheap plastic chairs she remembered seeing in school and daintily sat herself down. She ran her fingers along the blade in her hands, Bea’s blood red and thick on the silvery metal.
“I know how to break you, Beatrice. I know all of your weaknesses. I’d rather not have to, but your refusal to cooperate forces my hand.”
Bea smiled at her mentor. This wasn’t that much different than being stuck in that fucking basement room at the Lewis estate last year, though slightly more painful. She’d had a hysterical girl to keep from freaking out then. Now there was just her.
“You remember Liam, don’t you?” She waved her hand to the right as the huge bulk of a man stepped into view. Had he been standing there the whole time or was there an entrance she hadn’t seen or heard? “He’s very good at doling out pain for long periods of time. Better than me, I’d say.”
The man didn’t speak, his eyes dead as he walked into the center of the room. A bull whip was curled into a loose coil, ready to be unfurled at a moment’s notice. His blue eyes were probably bright and clear at one time in his life. Now… they were dull and lifeless. A scar ran from the corner of his right eye down to where his jaw met his neck, old and puckered, the scar tissue shiny from age.
Like the scars on her back. Bea’s heart raced, remembering the night they were put there. She hadn’t been in much of a different situation. She’d been tied down to a table then. She shuddered and glared at Genevieve.
“I’m not telling you shit,” Bea said in the silence of the room. Of course, she’d managed to break free that night because she’d had a knife up her sleeve that Genevieve hadn’t checked for. She’d cut through the ropes holding her after the first session, though it had been Genevieve that night, not Liam. It was that night she’d met Nathan on the roof.
Genevieve smiled. “Oh, I had hoped you wouldn’t. I will admit, this is going to be far more personal than business.”
“Then why don’t you do it yourself? End it now.”
Genevieve’s smile got broader. “No. Not until you get to watch me strip that curly hair off Axel Martinez’s head and gut him.” She leaned back and motioned to Liam, who unfurled the whip with a flick of his wrist. “You should have stayed dead, Beatrice.”
Bea looked at the dark-haired man as he walked around to the back of her. She watched him as the sound of each slow fall of his boot thudded against her heart. She shook her head and whispered, “You’re stronger than her.”
As he passed her, she met those intense blue eyes dulled by death, and something passed through them. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought it was regret. As the first sting of the whip hit her, Bea knew the regret she’d seen in Liam’s eyes had been safely tucked away, banished. Hot slices opened up her back, mutilating the previous scars that already dirtied her back. She balled her hands into tight fists, letting out breaths of pain as the whip landed on her. She’d survive this the same way she’d survived the first time.
She focused herself, banishing away thoughts of pain or sorrow, and concentrated on rage. Rage at Genevieve. Rage at Nathan. Rage at anyone she could think of that ever harmed her or tried to hurt her. She grabbed hold of that emotion and wrapped it around her tight.
Rage, she knew.
It was familiar. Easy.
Rage kept her safe. But unlike the first time through, a small corner of her remained raw and festering. But her heart was already in more pain than Genevieve could ever dole out.
~*~*~
The world didn’t even connect for Axel. It was in and out like a dream until he realized he’d been shuffled back to the garage. He sunk into the chair in his office and stared at his desk. He ran his hand over the surface, remembering that first night, like he could feel the warmth of Bea’s body from the contact.
So little time they’d had, and most of it pissed away by misunderstandings and personal issues. She didn’t think she was good enough for him. She had a shady past, but who didn’t these days? But hadn’t he pushed her away just as easily as she’d pushed him? He hadn’t realized that a nine-year-old emotional wound would make him want to hide himself away just as much as she wanted to hide herself from him.
Now, someone had attacked Bea, hurt her. Rage made him shudder. He fisted both his hands as Jordan and Jack came into the room. As soon as their eyes fell on him, they stopped cold. He was just about ready to flip this desk over and tear apart Jubilee until he could find her. Surely, they could see they wouldn’t be able to stop him when that happened.
But what if she wasn’t in Jubilee anymore?
Jordan stepped toward Chris with a tablet in his hands. Chris took it from him, frowning as he looked over it. “We narrowed the tracker down. They’re not far from here. Maybe ten minutes’ drive. Thing is… look at where it’s at.”
“Let’s go, then. Right now.” Axel said, standing up. The three of them stared at him like he’d grown an extra head.
Chris spoke first. “Hold on. We can’t do that.”
“She’s hurt. We have to go,” Axel said.
“You of all people should know going in without a plan is catastrophic. You run in there without backup, then you’ll give them exactly what they want. They w
ill kill you and then they will kill her because she will have lost her usefulness.”
“Fuck you all! If you tell me you’re just gonna leave her…”
“No one said that, mate,” Jordan replied. “She’s been in tight spots before. We’ll get her back, but we have to do it the right way and keep you safe as well. Nathan thinks you’re important. So does Bea. That makes you important in our eyes as well.”
Axel exhaled, but it came out in a frustrated grunt as he slumped back into his chair.
Chris frowned and looked at Axel. “How well do you know Mary Jo Parker?”
Axel blinked. “I really don’t think that’s important right now.”
Chris turned the tablet toward Axel so he could read it. “It is when Bea’s tracker goes straight to her ranch.”
“She wouldn’t… Mary’s not got a violent bone in her body.”
“What if she doesn’t know they’re there? Or maybe they knocked her out?” Jordan offered.
Jack’s eyes narrowed. “They’re killers. They wouldn’t leave witnesses.”
“So, we have potentially two hostages,” Chris said. “If she’s still alive. Or… the other option is that she’s working with Genevieve.”
“No, Mary wouldn’t. If they know anything about me, then they went after her like they went after Bea. I have to go,” Axel replied. “It’s me they want.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t go, Mr. Martinez.”
Axel’s head shot up as Nathan entered the room. But for the first time ever, he wasn’t alone this time. Next to him, a slender blonde walked in simultaneous steps with Nathan. “Now you show up?”
“I had something more pressing.”
“More pressing than Bea’s life?” Axel stood up and walked around the desk, but Jack put a large hand on his chest, his fingers splaying out. Axel stopped. “They want me. I can’t live with myself if anyone else dies, Nathan. You know that.”