Avenging Kiss (Savage Security Book 2)

by Karen Tjebben

  The fear in her voice turned him on. He hadn’t expected that reaction, but hell, a helpless woman under him as his groin pressed into her was erotic in an animalistic kind of way. Each movement she made as she struggled to free herself rubbed him in all the right ways. He grew hard and looked down into her beautiful face.

  Bella’s dark eyes and long black hair reminded him of Riya’s. She’d been the love of his life, but he could settle for a stand-in. The fear in Bella’s eyes didn’t squelch his desire. She was simply a casualty of war. He leaned down and eased his tongue against the curve of her chin and slowly ascended up her cheek.

  As the dampness from his tongue moved over her face, Bella’s stomach roiled. She turned her head and spotted her purse open on the floor. A pen had fallen out and lay near her. As one of his hands slid from her shoulder to her breast, she stretched her right hand out as far as she could. Her fingers brushed against the edge of the pen.

  The soft tissue of her breast filled his hand as he squeezed. He’d missed the weight of a breast in his hand. He’d missed the feel of a woman spread out for him. That feminine warmth welcoming him into her body. He squeezed Bella’s breast once again and then sucked on her neck. The salty taste of her skin made him hungry for more.

  As he squeezed her breast, she fought back the tears and did her best to wiggle a little closer to the pen. She managed to shimmy the top half of her body a little even though her bottom half was pressed firmly against the floor. She stuck her hand out and gripped the pen. Then, with all the strength that she had, she jabbed the pen into his neck.

  He screamed as something tore through his flesh. He instinctually rose up, and she shoved him off in that moment. He fell onto his back and gripped the pen. “Fucking bitch!” he roared. He pressed his hand to the wound and then looked at his hand. Blood stained his fingers. He didn’t take the pen out. He didn’t know if she’d hit a vein, and he didn’t want to bleed out. He’d finish her off first and then check his wound.

  She rolled onto her hands and knees and took off running. She needed to hit the panic button under her desk and then get the hell out of there.

  As she neared her desk, she heard him cursing behind her. She sprinted towards her desk and hit the panic button that was located on the underside of the top of her desk. The next sensation she felt was when her body slammed into the floor as he tackled her. She screamed, and at impact, the air whooshed from her lungs. The heaviness of his body smashed on top of her.

  He threw a quick punch to her face and dazed her. Then his hands wrapped around her neck. She gasped for air, but took none in. As he squeezed, he lifted her by the neck and smashed her head against the floor again. “Fucking bitch!” he seethed.

  Pain and fear overwhelmed her. She stretched out her arms, trying to reach the pen in his neck, but it was just out of reach. Unless Cole rushed through the door, she was finished. Darkness threatened to overtake her. She couldn’t focus on anything as she gasped for air that wouldn’t come.

  Digging her nails into his hands, she tried to pry herself free, but he only strengthened his grip. She gagged for air. Her eyes rolled back as everything went dark.

  33

  8:55 PM

  Jack slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched to a sudden stop as he pulled up to the office building. He knew the fucking bastard was inside with Bella; he’d seen the security footage.

  His heart thundered as he unlocked the building’s front door and then raced through the lobby towards the Savage Security office. At the sound of her scream, anger and desperation propelled him forward.

  Eric’s head was visible behind her desk. A pen stuck out of his neck and blood trailed from the wound. The bastard craned his head at the sound of the door as Jack entered. “Get off her!” Jack roared, pointing his gun at Eric as he stalked towards him.

  Fuck! Eric squeezed her neck harder, hoping to crush her fragile esophagus under the pressure of his tightening grip.

  When Eric didn’t back away from Bella, Jack pulled the trigger and shot him in the shoulder. As much as he wanted to kill the bastard, he couldn’t. Eric held too many answers to too many questions. Jack had better things in mind for him.

  A searing hot pain bore through Eric’s shoulder. Grabbing a quick glance at his shoulder, he saw the blood seeping into the fabric of his shirt. He released Bella’s neck from his suffocating grip and reached towards his ankle for the gun strapped to his leg.

  Bella came into view as Jack rounded the desk. Her body lay prone on the floor, unmoving. Her eyes were closed. Her clothes were ripped and disheveled. Bruises discolored her face and neck. He didn’t notice her chest rising and falling. That scared him.

  Jack caught the flash of Eric’s hand moving towards his ankle. Jack didn’t waste a moment. Bella needed him. Once again he squeezed the trigger and shot Eric in the other shoulder.

  The force of impact knocked Eric off balance. He struggled to move his arms through the blinding pain, but everything hurt too much. His arms felt as if they were made of lead and wouldn’t move the way he wanted them to. He was defenseless.

  Jack gripped him, one hand pressing against the bullet wound in Eric’s shoulder and the other wrapping around the back of his head. Jack smashed Eric’s head against the side of Bella’s desk. Blood oozed from a cut in his forehead, and his body went limp. Jack tossed him to the ground. Pulling out a zip-tie, he secured Eric’s hands behind his back. Then he gripped the small gun that was secured in Eric’s ankle holster and set it out of reach on the desk. Grabbing another zip-tie, he secured Eric’s ankles. The bastard wasn’t going anywhere.

  Jack knelt beside Bella. The sight of her petite body lying motionless scared the shit out of him. “Bella, Bella,” he said. He could hear the anxiety in his voice as concern nearly overwhelmed him. He pressed two fingers to her throat to check for a pulse. Nothing. Sliding his fingers to another position, he still couldn’t find a pulse. “Bella, honey, wake up. Talk to me,” he begged. But she remained motionless.

  Jack centered the heel of his hand on her chest and settled his other hand on top. He straightened his elbows and leaned over her and began chest compressions.

  Feeling the give in her ribs as he compressed her chest confirmed that he was successfully pumping her blood. He continued to talk to her, begging her to open her eyes. He never took his eyes off of her as he fought for her life.

  When he finished the first set of compressions, he checked for breathing. Not feeling anything, he tilted her head and lifted her chin in order to begin rescue breathing. He pinched her nostrils and placed his mouth over hers and blew. Her chest rose as his breath filled her lungs. He gave another breath, and then resumed the chest compressions.

  “Hey,” Cole called out as he came through the door, gun in hand. The pit in his stomach that festered on his drive to the office burned in his chest. He quickly noticed that Eric had been contained.

  “How is she?” Cole stepped around the desk and spotted Bella. Anger at the bastard that had done this to her consumed him. When he’d heard about the Black Widow seeking revenge for their actions, he never expected Bella to be pulled into the fray. He’d hoped that she would be safe from whatever retribution was headed their way. He’d been a fool.

  A slight twitch of Bella’s hand gave Jack hope. He stopped the compressions, leaving his hands in place on her chest. He said, “Bella, Bella, wake up. Are you here with us?” He was ready to begin the compressions again if she didn’t respond.

  “There.” Cole pointed to her foot. “Did you see that? She’s coming to.”

  Bella moaned. Her head throbbed, and when she tried to swallow, her throat felt like it would collapse. She didn’t want to swallow or move. She was drowning in pain.

  “Bella,” Jack smoothed a hand over her hair as he examined her face. “Open your eyes, Bella,” he said firmly. The stampeding of his heart slowed to a thundering gallop.

  She knew that voice. The rough pad of Jack’s thumb scraped over her cheek.
Why was Jack here? What happened? Her eyelids fluttered and then she locked on Jack. Concern was etched in the fine lines around his eyes and his lips were pressed tightly together. “Hey,” she began to say, but stopped as the pain intensified.

  “Just lay there. Help is coming.” He stroked her head. The feel of her silky hair between his fingers soothed him. When he’d first entered the room, he’d feared for her life. He would never have been able to forgive himself if she’d died as payback for something he’d done.

  Cole said a silent prayer of thanks and then looked over his shoulder at the unconscious man restrained on the office floor. He felt nothing but disgust and hatred for Eric. He refocused on Jack and Bella. “The ambulance is on its way,” Cole said. “I’ll call Captain Wallace. He’ll send over the right people to collect this son of a bitch.” He jabbed a thumb in Eric’s direction. There was no way the Captain would allow Eric to be apprehended by the municipal police department. Cole knew that Captain Wallace would arrange for Eric to spend some up-close and personal time with an interrogator.

  Cole slid his gun into the holster on his belt and tapped the screen on the cell phone. He positioned himself at the entrance to the hallway where he could see not only Eric but also keep an eye on Jack and Bella as he made the call.

  As Eric came to, his shoulders throbbed. A fierce pain began in his shoulders and radiated down his arms and into his torso. His head pounded and pulsed. He tried to move his hands but failed. Blood seeped into his shirt and dripped onto the carpet from his shoulder wounds. He groaned as he tried to separate his feet, but they were locked together with zip-ties. “Hey!” he screamed, panic swelling in his chest. “Let me go!” He wiggled around on the floor like a flipped beetle. Finally, he managed to get himself onto his side and then into a seated position with his hands still secured behind his back and his legs out in front of him.

  Jack’s head snapped to attention and locked on Eric. “Shut the fuck up!” he sneered. The asshole didn’t know how lucky he was that Jack hadn’t killed him. Jack stood and pulled out another zip-tie. He looked at Bella, and his heart filled with love. “Don’t move,” he said, his voice soft and tender. “I’ll be right back. Don’t wiggle around.” He didn’t know what kind of damage she’d sustained and didn’t want her to hurt herself any worse. “The ambulance will be here soon. They’ll take you to the hospital to get you checked out.”

  She nodded slightly, but even that little movement sent pain shooting down her neck and fear into her heart. She fought back the tears. She didn’t want to cry in front of them. Jack and Cole were strong and brave. It may have been crazy, but she felt as if crying in front of them was wrong. That somehow, being weak around them was unnecessary, so she drew strength from their courage. Somehow, she knew everything would be all right.

  Eric’s eyes went wide as Jack approached him. “You can’t do anything to me. I’m an American citizen,” he raged. “I want a lawyer.” Tears streaked down his face and mingled with the blood from his head wound. He hated for them to see him so weak, but the pain in his shoulders was horrendous. He hadn’t felt pain like this since the night of the bombing when the shrapnel had sliced through his body.

  The tone of Eric’s voice reminded Jack of a terrified bully who just realized that a new and improved bully was about to give him a beat down. Jack snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that. You’re a piece of shit who’s going to end up being a very helpful little bird.”

  Eric’s eyes widened. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go down. He was supposed to win. He’d come too far, worked too hard, and accomplished too much to have everything go to hell now. If Aditya hadn’t screwed up, his plan would have worked. He could have killed the team that destroyed his life and returned to his friends in the Middle East where he could help them in their war. “I’ll never help you. You can’t make me talk.” Eric pushed with his feet in an attempt to scoot away from Jack as he approached.

  This time Jack and Cole shared a smile. “That’s what they all say,” Jack said with a low chuckle. He grabbed Eric by the arm and hauled him up.

  Eric howled as pain ripped through his shoulders. The world swirled as Eric was forced up and nausea threatened to empty his stomach. He struggled to keep his head upright, but it felt so heavy and everything seemed to spin. “I get a phone call,” he panted. Fear at the reality of his future overwhelmed the pain in his body until all that was left was terror pulsing through him.

  Jack had several inches and many pounds of muscle on Eric. He stared into Eric’s eyes and enjoyed the fear he saw there. The bastard had nearly killed Bella, and he couldn’t begin to guess how many other lives he’d destroyed.

  Jack threw Eric over his shoulder, delighting in the grunt of pain that huffed out of him.

  Eric teetered precariously on the edge of Jack’s shoulder. He wasn’t sure Jack would catch him if he started to fall. If he fell, he couldn’t even use his arms to brace his fall. They were still shackled behind his back. In desperation, he tried to shimmy himself free, but Jack just clamped down on his legs and secured him more tightly.

  Jack walked down the hallway past Cole, who was currently talking to Captain Wallace, and into the conference room. Then he spotted the messenger bag on the floor and the duct tape and cell phone on the table. His gut twisted. He let Eric slip off his shoulder and crash onto the floor.

  Eric howled as he landed on his shoulder. He couldn’t hold back the tears that flooded his eyes. He pressed his head into the carpet as he wailed and tried to get to a kneeling position. He felt so fucking helpless.

  Disgust at the coward before him left no room for pity in Jack’s heart. The bastard had used Bella, carelessly played with her heart, and then tried to crush the life out of her. He’d show Eric the same consideration he’d shown Bella.

  Jack jerked Eric closer to the table and knelt by him. He grabbed a jumbo-sized zip tie from his back pocket and slipped it between the one on Eric’s hands. Then he wrapped it around the leg of the heavy conference table and tightened it. Eric wouldn’t be crawling or slithering anywhere.

  Pain intensified as his arms were pulled taunt in his nylon shackles. He groaned, “That hurts!”

  “No shit,” Jack said. He strode to the duct tape and cell phone that lay on the table and knelt. Looking under the table, he mumbled, “Fuck,” when he spied the bomb taped to the underside of the table. It didn’t look like it was on a timer, but he didn’t know for sure. Then he bent towards the messenger bag and saw the other bombs. He glared at Eric. How he’d love to kill the man, but he kept reminding himself that Eric could serve them well. That was the only reason he kept Eric alive. “So, how do these things work? A timer or remotely activated?” He knew better than to trust the man, but he wanted to read his response.

  Detest and hatred swelled in Eric. He wasn’t about to help the son of a bitch. It pissed him off that Jack had found them. If Eric didn’t contact Adeel by morning, then Adeel would set them off once business resumed in the building. But now it looked like the backup plan wasn’t going to work.

  “I’m not talking,” Eric replied like a stubborn child. He narrowed his eyes and tried to look confident.

  Jack smirked at Eric’s attempt to be tough. “So be it.” Jack gave a casual shrug of his shoulders and stood, tearing off a long piece of duct tape. “This should keep you quiet.”

  Eric shook his head back and forth, trying to avoid Jack’s hands, but Jack pressed the tape onto Eric’s mouth. Then Jack pulled out another zip-tie and secured Eric’s feet to the same table as his hands so he couldn’t kick around and make a ruckus. Eric was so securely attached to the table, that all he could do was rock from side-to-side on his ass.

  Now Jack had to inform Cole about the bombs. They’d have to ask Captain Wallace to send a bomb disposal unit. At least it was night and the building was empty. He was torn between telling Bella and the EMTs, that would soon arrive, about the bombs. He didn’t like the idea of the EMTs being inside the building when h
e knew there was a bomb, but he didn’t want to scare Bella or inform the EMTs of what was really happening. At least for now, no one could know about Eric.

  Bella listened to the deep rumble of Cole’s voice as he stood at a distance talking on his cell. She couldn’t make out his words, but the deep cadence calmed her. She tried to lay as still as possible on the floor beside her desk, but she needed to turn her head slightly in order to see Cole. Hearing him soothed her. She knew Jack and Cole wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

  She watched as Jack came back into view and signaled Cole. He made some motions with his hands while Cole held the cell to his ear. Then Cole turned his back on Bella and disappeared down the hallway.

  Jack smoothed his lips into a smile as he approached Bella. The siren of the ambulance was in the distance. He had very little time left to help Bella get her story straight. Kneeling beside her, he took her hand in his. The feel of her soft skin under his thumb as he stroked her hand calmed him. He explained the story that they’d go with.

  She mouthed the word, “Okay.” She didn’t like changing the story. She’d never been any good at lying. Her face and tone of voice always gave it away. And if this went to court, she didn’t want to perjure herself.

  The EMTs rushed through the office door and headed straight for Bella. Jack watched as they assessed her condition and affixed a neck collar to protect her neck and spine. As they worked, Cole joined them and tapped Jack’s shoulder.

  “I’ll be right back,” Jack said to Bella as the men loaded her onto the stretcher. He walked a short distance away with Cole.

  Cole leaned close so his words wouldn’t be overheard by the first responders. “Captain Wallace is sending over a team to collect the baggage and another team to take out the trash. Can I assume you’ll go with Bella to the hospital?”

  Jack gave a firm nod. “Yes.” There was no way he was letting her out of his sight.