Avenging Kiss (Savage Security Book 2)

by Karen Tjebben

  Aditya met his eyes, her courage and confidence surely annoying him, and started down the stairs. She slipped her hand into her coat pocket and fingered the switchblade. If he tried anything, he’d meet the same fate as other stupid men.

  She came to the bottom of the stairs and stopped. She recognized this man. His name was Adeel. She liked him no better than the one who welcomed her down the stairs. Adeel was a coward pretending to be courageous. She knew he could thump his chest like a dumb gorilla, but he’d cower and hide at the slightest threat.

  “Were you followed?” Adeel asked. He nervously rolled the ends of his splotchy gray and black beard between his fingers. He didn’t like working with women. They were bad luck, unreliable, and moody.

  She ignored his question for a moment and took in the room. There was no exit that she saw except the stairs. A chintzy card table was set up with four foldable chairs circling it. A bright light shone down from the ceiling and hung directly over the card table. She stifled a laugh at the looks of it. It reminded her of the played-out interrogation scene from every spy movie she’d ever seen.

  The walls were lined with shelves and boxes. Some boxes had locks on them. She assumed that guns and ammunition took up residence in most of those boxes. Ingredients also lined the shelves. Huge bags of flour sat on the floor in faint circles of white. She wanted to laugh at the stupidity of storing explosives with food. Some people just didn’t think things through. Perhaps she’d have to report them to The Health Department.

  “No,” she stared back at Adeel. “Were you?” she bit the words out. She needed to establish her position from the beginning. If he thought she would submit to him, she’d have a more difficult time working with him. She also needed to be careful not to insult him, or he’d become useless. He would stubbornly disagree and cause trouble out of spite. There was a fine line that she had to toe in order to be successful with these types of men.

  Aditya was brilliant. She knew it, but in the cultures she dealt with, women were regularly underappreciated and assumed intellectually inferior. This was a challenge that frustrated her, but she’d learned to use it to her advantage. She saw problems and solutions easily, while others around her seemed oblivious to issues or helpless to resolve them. Some may consider her arrogant, but she liked the descriptor ‘confident’ better. She did her best to look at things optimistically. It surprised her how men struggled to recognize the threat she posed. She seldom underestimated her enemy. That was how one ended up dead.

  Having a high IQ had its own challenges. Most of the time she literally was the smartest person in the room. But she’d enjoyed her time with Logan yesterday. He was her intellectual equal. That was not something that happened frequently. She often took on a persona that she knew would draw the man in; that was easy. Men’s brains seemed to shut down and focus on getting laid when a woman was around. But yesterday, with Logan, she’d actually shown him more of her true self than she’d ever shown to any other man.

  Adeel sputtered in shock at her question, “I wasn’t followed. Besides I’m supposed to be here. This is my brother’s restaurant.”

  “Then congratulations,” she said with a smile. “I heard many praises for the excellent food as I made my way through the restaurant.”

  Adeel pressed his lips together. He wasn’t sure if she was being sincere or mocking him. “We do things right in our family, or we don’t do them at all.”

  “That is good to hear,” Aditya said with a cool smile. She undid the buttons on her coat and slipped it free from her shoulders. Then she casually draped it over the back of one of the folding chairs. Glancing around the room, she took off her scarf and draped it over her coat. She typically didn’t wear scarves. Too dangerous. Scarves could easily be turned into a threat for the wearer. But she’d decided to bring one today. She could reach it easily if needed, and it could be useful if she needed to cut off someone’s airway or subdue someone.

  Adeel stared at her as she took off her coat. He liked her body. She was small, which meant she could be easily overpowered. Her breasts were on the small side, but they were big enough. He could easily wrap his hands around them and squeeze until her nipples hardened. Her shirt clung just enough that he could tell she had a flat stomach.

  She pulled out one of the folding chairs and sat. She crossed her legs, making the small gun hidden in her boot more accessible. She saw Adeel’s approval of her body in his eyes. Lust filled them. His brain had already shut down. So typical.

  Adeel sat across from her. He wanted direct line-of-sight to her. She was beautiful with her dark curls hanging over her shoulders and bronzed skin. Her lips were made to be tasted. He let his mind wander to all the things he wanted her lips to do to him.

  The minutes passed in silence as they waited. She glanced at her watch. Hazeem was late. Not a good sign. His lateness either showed his incompetence or was a pathetic attempt to usurp authority over them. She could do this without them, but that would be more dangerous. They made the perfect scapegoats. She could fulfill her goals and get away clear, letting them take the blame. No one would ever suspect her. They never did.

  Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Adeel got up from the chair and moved towards the stairs. “Welcome,” he said with a little bow to Hazeem. He respected the man and hoped they could work together again in the future.

  Hazeem stepped off the bottom stair and looked around. His eyes landed on her first. She was beautiful, just like her sister. He’d fuck her if he ever got the chance. “Hello,” he said. He smiled as he walked towards her. “It’s been a while.”

  Aditya rose from the chair in greeting. Just as she expected, he wore American clothes and kept his beard trimmed nicely. She noted Adeel hadn’t asked him if he’d been followed. That told her the dominance between the men was already established.

  “Please, sit,” Hazeem signaled to the chair. “And we can begin.” He could sweet talk her if needed. Her assistance in this operation would be useful.

  She sat, which she would have even if he hadn’t given her permission. She may be Riya’s sister, but she wasn’t Riya. She didn’t ‘obey’ men in order to feel closer to God. But the fact that he thought he’d given her permission said a lot about him. He also hadn’t apologized or given an excuse for his tardiness.

  Adeel said nothing as Hazeem took the seat across from Aditya. Apparently he wanted to look at her too. Adeel now sat on the side of the table between the two of them.

  Hazeem cleared his throat and set his satchel on the table. He methodically rummaged through the satchel and pulled out a file. Placing the file on the table, he closed the satchel and set it on the empty chair.

  Aditya watched his robotic movements with interest. He was orderly and precise. He conserved his movements to only the necessary actions. It was clear that he was doing his best to be professional.

  Hazeem folded his hands on top of the folder and looked Aditya in the eyes. “I’m sorry for your loss. I loved Riya. We wanted a family together.” The loss of Riya haunted him daily. He missed the way her laugh eased his stress and her hands worked out the kinks in his muscles. They made love daily, exploring each other’s bodies, always learning something new. But the night of the bombing changed everything. It ripped the only light from his life and left him wandering in darkness. The darkness haunted him in his dreams and turned him into a vengeful creature.

  Aditya set her hands on the table, mirroring his actions. “Thank you.” She didn’t want the image of him loving Riya in her head. He was the man who got Riya hooked on drugs and then took advantage of her body. As far as she was concerned, it was his fault that Riya was dead. He’d been nothing but a controlling drug pusher who manipulated her sister. “As I am sorry for your loss,” she replied meekly. She could play this game. He already saw her as his inferior, and she’d use that to her advantage.

  “Riya wrote and told me of the love you shared,” Aditya began. “Thank you for taking care of her for so long. You protected her
from the harsh realities of life that surrounded her.” The harsh realities of the life he’d sucked her into, a life living in a terrorist training camp surrounded by the opium that funded their wars.

  Hazeem had met Riya at college. He’d loved her carefree spirit and optimism, but her beauty had transfixed him. He would have done anything for her. “We were married. Did she tell you that?” He raised an eyebrow and looked for her reaction.

  “Yes.” Aditya cried the day she read the email from Riya proclaiming her marriage to Hazeem. She’d naively believed that Hazeem could love her as men did in fairy tales. That was the one thing about Riya she’d wished she could change, Riya’s naivety. Her innocence and optimism had left her vulnerable, and the wrong man had noticed her. “She loved you greatly.”

  Hazeem smiled and nodded his head. She had loved him. She’d supported and encouraged him through their trials. She’d encouraged him in her words and expressed her love through her body. “Then through unity we shall bring justice to the men who killed her.”

  “Justice,” Aditya said, the word sweet on her lips, “that is what I seek.” She pointed to the folder that lay on the table. “What information do you have?”

  Hazeem looked to Adeel and tapped the folder with his index finger. “Adeel laid the groundwork for us.” Hazeem gestured to Adeel. “He researched and followed the men over the course of months. They are none the wiser.”

  Adeel smiled at the praise. When he first started tailing the men, he’d been nervous, but he was always careful. He always stayed several cars back from them and switched vehicles regularly. He also never followed the same man more than twice in a week.

  Hazeem slid the folder across the table to her.

  She met his eyes and then opened the folder and flipped through the pages. Each page had a photo and brief biography on the men and noted some of their habits. This was good work, but she could do better. She’d always been able to worm her way into a man’s inner circle, win his trust, and then disappear when she was done. “This is a wonderful beginning.”

  “Beginning?” Hazeem interrupted. His eyebrows rose in anger. He leaned forward and pushed his finger into the table above the folder that she read. “You denigrate what we have accomplished when you’ve done nothing so far?”

  She tilted her head as she thought of her reply. Men like Hazeem and Adeel were so touchy. Any remark could be interpreted as an assault on their manhood. “It is excellent work if all we want is information that we could find on the internet. But we need more than that. We need to understand how they think, what they believe, and what’s important to them before we can use it against them.”

  Hazeem snorted. “We can go forward without you if you’d like.” The threat hung there between them. He wanted her to submit, but he didn’t think she was the submitting kind.

  Aditya gave a curt nod and smile. “Perhaps we are not destined to be partners.”

  He wasn’t going to let her walk, but he refused to show weakness, so he called her bluff. He dismissively waved his hand in air and said, “So it appears.” He pushed back his chair and stood. He gestured with his hand towards the stairs. “You may go.”

  She hid her laugh at his display of bravado. He’d stood to full height in an attempt to intimidate her, and then dismissed her, as if she needed his permission to leave. Aditya stood and folded her coat and scarf over her arm. She’d wait until she was outside to don the winter coat. She didn’t want the excess bulk covering her in case she needed to defend herself. “Thank you,” she said politely. “Good luck on your mission.” She turned and started up the stairs.

  Hazeem watched in shock as she turned and headed for the stairs. Was she stupid enough to think she could do this without him? He needed to think quickly and get her ass back in the chair. He stepped closer to the stairs and said, “Riya was pregnant. If it was a girl she wanted to name her after you.”

  Aditya stopped half-way up and looked over her shoulder. She was careful not to let the man at the top of the stairs out of her periphery. Was it true that Riya had been pregnant? Probably not. Riya would have told her. “Then we must also avenge the men for the murder of an unborn child.”

  “We?” Hazeem asked with one eyebrow raised in curiosity. “Does that mean you want to work with us?” He extended a hand to her. “You may walk down those steps again. We can resume our planning.”

  There he was again, acting as if he was giving her permission. How her sister put up with his shit was beyond her.

  She did plan to use him as a scapegoat, and it would be easier to set him up if she knew his movements. He wasn’t getting away with his part in Riya’s death. “If you are willing, I’d like to work with you. I think both of us bring different strengths to the situation.”

  Hazeem knew exactly what strengths she brought to the table. He didn’t look forward to working with her. He hated her already. She was clearly a bitch who did her best work between her legs.

  11

  Mike and Jack drove from Trellis to the closest superstore for lunch. The bakery there made great sandwiches along with some simple sides. The deal was too good to pass up.

  The men walked through the store towards the bakery. At this time of day, most of the shoppers were women with children toddling alongside or sitting restlessly in the cart. Occasionally the shrieks of toddlers mid-tantrum tore at their eardrums.

  Mike tapped Jack’s shoulder. “I’m gonna hit the head. Get me the usual. I’ll meet you at the bakery.” Mike peeled off and made his way to the bathroom.

  Jack gave a nod and stepped up to the counter. He ordered their usual sandwiches with a side of macaroni and cheese for him and a side of pasta salad for Mike. With their items on the tray, he found the table that looked the cleanest and sat down. As he brought his sandwich to his mouth, he recognized someone. His heart did a silly thing. It sped up.

  He froze. A woman who looked like Bella disappeared down a shopping aisle. Was it really her? He didn’t know why she’d be here. She never ate lunch out. She always brought her lunch to work and ate in the kitchen.

  He looked around. Mike had just exited the restroom, but he was still halfway across the superstore. Jack decided to leave their food and see if the woman was Bella. If it was her, he’d invite her to sit with them and eat lunch.

  Walking down the aisle, he headed in her direction, but she turned down another aisle. Jack hurried towards her and caught a glance of her as he strode down the aisle perpendicular to where she stood.

  He considered calling out to her, but then reconsidered when he realized that she was in the feminine hygiene aisle. Shit. No woman wanted a coworker hitting on her in front of the tampons.

  Mike saw Jack get up from the table and take off down an aisle. What the hell? He’d left their food on the table. Mike debated staying with the food, but then reconsidered. If Jack had left his lunch, then whatever he saw was important.

  Bella hated this. She’d squirmed through most of the morning and decided that she wasn’t waiting until evening. She didn’t get this very often, but it was literally a pain in the ass when she did.

  Jack watched her scan the items. He was going to walk away, give her some privacy, but then he walked into a wall of muscle. Stepping back, he stared hard into Mike’s concerned eyes. Jack’s finger went to his lips to motion quiet as he signaled Mike to move.

  The men moved in unison and came to a stop behind the endcap that hid them.

  Mike gestured with his hand and mouthed “What?” Had Jack seen a man from their past, a man they’d hunted?

  Jack mouthed, “Bella.”

  Mike cocked his head in frustration and mouthed, “Dude.” He motioned with his hands and whispered, “What the hell?”

  “I wanted to ask her to eat with us.”

  Mike peeked over the shelving and spotted her. Jack was right. That woman was definitely Bella. “You look like a creepy stalker.”

  “I’m not stalking her.” Jack rolled his eyes, something he didn�
�t do that often. Then he jerked his thumb and mouthed, “Let’s go.” As he walked past the aisle she was in, he noticed that she’d turned her back on the pads and tampons and picked up a different kind of box.

  Jack’s heart constricted. He forgot to breathe. He hid behind a different endcap and watched her as Mike came to a sudden stop behind him.

  She read the box and glanced at the other boxes on the shelves. There were too many to choose from. Lubricated? Ribbed? Thin? Ultra thin? Did you sacrifice efficacy by going thinner? Ultra thin sounded ultra dangerous?

  Jack felt sick. He knew far too well what condoms were for, and he didn’t like the idea of her needing them.

  She shook her head and put the box back on the shelf. She’d never bought condoms before. All the guys she’d been with had them. Didn’t most guys walk around with those things in their wallets? The overconfident probably carried more than one. She didn’t know why she was looking at them anyway. Condoms weren’t what she’d come for. She had a bigger problem to solve right now. And if she didn’t fix that problem, she wouldn’t need the condoms.

  Jack breathed again as she set the box down. Then a hard finger tapped relentlessly on his shoulder. He turned and met Mikes’ angry eyes.

  “You have a problem,” Mike mouthed. He motioned with his thumb over his shoulder. “Let’s go. We look weird.” He darted his eyes to the side. An older woman with curly, white hair stared at them. One of her eyebrows was raised and her lips were pressed together in a tight line. Mike didn’t like her stare. She reminded him of his first grade teacher. That woman had relished squashing happiness and the love of life out of powerless children.