Return of the Assassin (All the King's Men)

by Lynne, Donya

  What the hell?

  With her senses leaping to high alert and sharp as razors, she yanked open the door and stuck her head out in the hall. Was there a female on the premises? A foul, nasty…aroused female? And were those sounds coming from behind the door in the kitchen the sounds of…sex? Hard, body bruising sex?

  Oh bitch, no way.

  Her mated side lit up like a solar flare. Who did he think he was to give to another what belonged to her? This shit wasn't going to happen. Not now. She had finally realized what had been sending her head into the commode for weeks—that Malek was her life partner—and she refused to share him now that her invisible hooks had sunk in. Like she was going into battle, she charged through the kitchen, ready to kick some bitch ass. That was her male. Hers! If Malek was going to fuck anyone, it was going to be her, damn it! Not some secondhand slut. Not some stank ass, gum-on-the-bottom-of-her-shoe piece of trash.

  She threw the door open and tore down the stairs into what had to be Malek's bedroom. From behind the door across the room, the sounds of sex grew louder.

  "Harder. Fuck me harder!" the bitch said.

  From the sound of something hard hitting the wall, followed by glass breaking and the intense way she grunted and screamed, "Yes!" it sounded like Malek had given the little home wrecker exactly what she asked for.

  Little bitch! That was her mate in there!

  Gina leaped from the foot of the stairs and landed in front of the bathroom door a split second before her booted foot shattered the damn thing off its hinges.

  Malek had the bitch on the marble counter next to the sink, one hand around her throat, his pants around his ankles and hers on the floor. Her legs were over his shoulders, and the mirror behind her head was shattered. Shards of glass lay scattered around them. As soon as Gina busted in, their eyes swung toward her.

  Knife meet heart.

  "Gina!" Malek shot backward and struggled to pull up his pants while the female on the counter shrieked in protest.

  Without wasting a second, Gina was on her. What lovely hair you have. All the better to use as a handle and toss you across the room with. She grabbed a handful of brunette waves and threw the bitch into the bedroom with the ease of a finger flicking a piece of lint off her blouse.

  Ah, the power of unleashed mated aggression. It did a body good.

  Before the cunt could stop rolling and get her bearings, Gina jumped on her, held her down with one hand, and used her face as if it were concrete and her fist were a jackhammer.

  Bash! Bash! Bash!

  She was just getting into a nice rhythm when arms wrapped around her and yanked her off.

  Malek!

  She elbowed him in the gut, swung around as he dropped her, and hissed at him. He might be her mate, but right now she was beyond pissed at what he had done. What was he thinking? His dick was hers and hers alone. If he was going to stick it anywhere, it was going to be inside her, not some random slut.

  She was tackled from behind and landed face-first on the carpet, and the fight was on again. She grappled with the bitch and rolled over just in time to be coldcocked in the cheek.

  "Stop, Lorena!" Malek grabbed her arm as she pulled it back to hit Gina again.

  Lorena kicked him and sent him stumbling backward.

  "Get off me, you bitch!" Gina freed one leg and shoved her heel against Lorena's chin until she fell backward. Then Gina was on her again.

  She clawed, slapped, and pounded, wild with adrenaline and mated fury.

  "Gina! No!" Malek dragged her off the half-naked bitch on the floor. "This is my fault, not hers!"

  Gina didn't want to hear it. She was too pissed off. "Let me go! Get off me!" She flailed and broke free, and then spun around. Her fist shot out and cracked Malek in the chin. "You bastard! How dare you!"

  Lorena jumped up and was about to tackle her again when Malek's arm shot out and caught her by the waist. "No!"

  Gina glared at the two of them—angry, hurt, and pissed. Malek was just like Armand. Maybe he hadn't hit her, but his actions hurt nonetheless. He had left her alone to go God-knows-where, and then brought back this filthy tramp and fucked her right in front of her nose.

  "Why?" Her eyes pleaded with him for answers, but he only stared back, speechless.

  Malek hadn't laid a finger on her, and yet what he had done caused her more pain than any physical abuse Armand had ever subjected her to.

  "Face it," Lorena said with a satisfied smirk. "He just doesn't want you."

  Gina swatted her across the cheek, leaving streaks where her nails broke the skin. "Bitch!"

  "Sticks and stones, sweetheart." Lorena thrashed and tried to break out of Malek's hold, but he yanked her away.

  What? Was he protecting Lorena? From her? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't he be defending her honor instead of Lorena's?

  Gina looked between them, disgusted and mentally shredded. "I hope you both rot in hell." She slapped Lorena again, hard enough to leave welts, and shot a glare so lethal at Malek it was a wonder he didn't go up in flames. Then she charged up the stairs two-at-a-time.

  She needed to get out of here. No way would she stay here tonight after this. No fucking way.

  Making sure her phone was in her pocket, Gina hit the front door and bolted as Lorena screamed a stream of profanities after her.

  * * *

  Malek struggled to push Lorena back into the bathroom. She was livid, her body thrashing like she was a trapped wild animal.

  "Get dressed." He shoved her away from him and turned for the stairs to go after Gina.

  With a screech of protest, Lorena latched onto his arm and pulled him back around. "Finish what you started!"

  "No!" He jerked his arm from her grasp and frowned at the crazed expression on Lorena's face. She looked almost manic. Not good.

  "The bitch is gone. I'm here." She clapped her hand on her chest. "You owe me."

  "I owe you nothing! Now get dressed and get out." He hurried toward the stairs, but Lorena shrieked and jumped him from behind.

  They fell to the floor. The bitch was a frenzy of physical strength, on the brink of violence as she struggled against Malek's defenses to unfasten his pants and take what he no longer wanted to give. At least not to her.

  "I said NO!" He gripped her wrists and flung her to the side, but the bitch wouldn't give up. She rallied and attacked him again as he pushed off the floor and tried to scurry away, but she had hold of his ankle.

  Goddamn! What had he gotten himself into with this one? He was wasting precious time. Gina was getting away. Not that she would forgive him if he went after her. What he had done was unforgiveable. He had taken another female in front of her—his mate. Damn him!

  But this was what she could expect as his mate. Constant pain. A never ending supply of suffering as he struggled against his nature to pull and push her away. This was why she needed someone better.

  Lorena leaped onto his back as he rolled and scrambled to get away. "You will finish me, Malek!"

  For the love of God! What was this bitch's problem?

  "Finish me!" She clung to him as he pushed to his feet, her arms and legs wrapped around him.

  Enough! This shit was so done and over.

  "I don't want you, bitch!" He grabbed her arms, bent forward, and flung her to the floor.

  The whack-o actually moaned as if in pleasure. What the hell? But as quickly as she seemed to get off on the physical aggression, her eyes shot open, and she glared up at him. "What did you say?"

  The furious atmosphere suddenly froze as if she couldn't believe he was rejecting her and needed a moment to gather her wits.

  "You heard me." Malek turned, out of breath, and walked toward his dresser. When he glanced back at her, she rolled to her feet and stood. "I don't want you, Lorena. Now get dressed and get the fuck out."

  Daggers shot from her eyes and she bared her fangs. "You asshole." She started for him.

  He grabbed his gun out of the top draw
er of his dresser and, within a fraction of a second, pointed it at her. That put her brakes on.

  "Get. The fuck. Out!" Bringing this one home had been an epic fail on fifty different levels.

  For several seconds, the two stood at a stalemate, and then Lorena wiped a streak of blood off her face, turned, stormed into the bathroom for her pants and boots, and got dressed in record time. She was still snapping buttons into place as she marched back into the bedroom.

  "You'll pay for this." She whipped her jacket off the back of a nearby chair and shoved her arms through the sleeves. "So help me, you'll pay."

  "Yeah, yeah. Goody for you. Now leave." Malek still had the gun trained on her.

  Lorena spun and stomped up the stairs and out of his life. Hopefully forever.

  He lowered the gun and sank to the bed, head hung. A dull ache set up house behind his sternum, and he rubbed his thumb up and down to try and ease the pain, to no avail.

  What a mess he had made of things. Gina was gone, and maybe that was for the best. He should go after her, but what could he do or say to make things right with her? After what he had just done—which would be par for the course if they were together—there was no way she would forgive him.

  Micah was going to be pissed, but so what. Micah could get in line, because it seemed that everyone Malek came in contact with ended up pissed off at him.

  Damn it, but he just wanted the agony to end. He couldn't keep on like this.

  * * *

  Gina was too agitated to simply poof herself away from Malek's house, but her adrenaline needed an outlet, anyway, so she took off at Olympic record speed. Usain Bolt had nothing on her.

  After running God knew how many miles in only a few minutes, her legs gave out and she collapsed on her knees at the side of the road. Her adrenaline high was crashing, and now her emotions tore through her. Daggers of ice lanced her heart. She would never be free, would she? First, Armand had held her captive and stripped away her soul, her very essence. And now she was in love with a male who would never love her back. Malek would never give himself to her, which meant she would never truly be healed. She was destined to go through life a prisoner of her past, with no hope for the future.

  She dug her phone out of her pocket and punched up Trevor's number. He could come and get her, and they could leave. Go somewhere else. Anywhere but here.

  That's when her hands started to tremble.

  Shit. Not again.

  * * *

  Trevor's mobile starting chiming from the shelf in the locker as he tossed his wet towel in a bin against the wall. Micah sat a couple of feet away and was already half dressed. He hadn't even bothered to dry off. The guy really was eager to get home to his mate and it showed by how quickly he yanked his sweater over his head.

  He fished his phone from the locker and frowned at the ID.

  "Gina? Hey."

  Micah's head snapped around, and his eyes narrowed.

  "I need you to come and get me." She sounded agitated. Something wasn't right.

  He instantly froze, on alert. "What's wrong? Where are you?"

  "Side of the road. Two or three miles from Malek's house, give or take."

  "What happened? Are you okay?"

  "I don't want to talk about it. Just track my phone's GPS and come and get me. And hurry. Please." She sounded…off.

  "It's not Searcy or Vaydon, is it?" Shit! If they had found her, it was all over.

  "No. Just come and get me. And don't tell Micah."

  Trevor glanced over just as Micah frowned and stood up. He didn't look pleased. Whatever talents Micah had, they obviously included stealth mindreading.

  "Too late," he said.

  Silence answered him on the phone. Then she said, "Shit. He's right there, isn't he?"

  Micah snagged the phone out of his hand. "Yes, I'm right here. Where are you?" Micah didn't sound happy.

  After a couple of seconds, he said, "Where the hell is Malek?"

  Another pause. "Stay put. I'll be right there. I'll find you. No. Don't argue with me. I'll be there in less than five minutes." He handed the phone back to Trevor, sat back down on the bench, and yanked on his socks, grumbling under his breath about Malek and how "that bastard had better not have kept me from my mate today."

  Trevor turned away and pulled the phone to his ear. "You still want me to come?"

  "No," Micah said before Gina could answer. "You stay here."

  He turned around to find Micah strapping on a pair of knives that would have made both Rambo and Crocodile Dundee envious.

  "But…" Gina was his friend. He wanted to help.

  Micah nabbed a Sig from his locker and holstered it under his arm, then turned intense, navy eyes on him. "I'll get her. You stay here. With your Dacian friends in town, I don't want to get stuck out there with both of you. She's bait enough."

  Trevor spoke into his phone. "Did you get that?"

  "Yes, I got it." Gina sounded irritated. "Just tell him to hurry the hell up." Her teeth chattered. She sounded like she was having another panic attack.

  "Hold your panties," Micah said, lacing up one of his boots. "I'm hurrying."

  "I'll stay on with you until he gets there," Trevor said. "Just calm down, Gina. Breathe."

  "Okay, okay." She sounded breathless and shaky, like she was getting worse. This was a bad one.

  "Are you okay, Gina? Don't lie to me."

  "I'm f…fine. Just…shit!" Her breathing stuttered as if she was shivering.

  "Gina?"

  Sev appeared from the shower with Lakota right behind him. Micah turned toward them. "Sev, get dressed and get Malek on the phone. I don't have the patience to deal with him right now. You tell him to meet me at my apartment before sunrise. If he doesn't, and he keeps me from Sam today, so help me God, I will strap him into a chair and beat the living shit out of him until he finally breaks and accepts that he's mated Gina. Goddamn his stubborn ass! He's worse than a mule."

  Sev and Lakota stopped dead. "Did we miss something?"

  Gina yelled in his ear, and Trevor had to hold the phone away or risk temporary deafness. "You tell Micah that I don't want that bastard as my mate! Not after what he's done. That asshole! He can rot in hell! Fuck him!"

  There was too much going on around him, and Trevor couldn't keep up.

  Micah shut his locker and yelled toward the phone, "Gina, just hold on until I get there. I'll explain everything once I have you safe." He pointed at Trevor, then toward Lakota and Sev. "Trevor, fill them in after I'm gone." Micah stood, his jacket in hand.

  "Wait, I'm not sure—"

  "Just tell them what you know. I've got to go." Micah rushed out of the locker room and left Trevor with two blond males and a very pissed off Gina on the other end of the phone, who was still streaming out a trail of curses and obscenities.

  "…motherfucker doesn't act like my mate. What kind of goddamn male fucks another female in front of his mate? If that asshole's mated me, then why is he acting like a goddamn fool? I don't—"

  "Gina. Just slow down. Micah's on his way. I don't know what's going on, but Micah said he would explain everything when he gets there. Maybe he knows what's happening." Trevor sure hoped so, because he was lost.

  Gina's breath came in tight bursts, and she continued rattling on, barely pausing, her words running together. "Trevor, I don't know what to do. He's the reason for my panic attacks…I had one as soon as he left the house. Right after he left…I had one…a bad one…I was lying on the floor…feeling like my chest was caving in…and it hit me. As long as I was around him, I was okay, but as soon as he was gone, I panicked. You see? Do you understand? Oh God, Trev. I'm so fucked. I'm so fucking fucked!" She broke down into hysterics.

  "Gina, what are you talking about?" Her words flew at him at light speed, and he only comprehended half of what she was saying.

  "I'm…in love…with him, Trevor!" She bit out the words as if struggling to speak. "Shit. Not now. P…please not now."

  "G
ina? Are you okay? Gina?"

  Her breath burst through the line in tight gasps. "Another…panic…attack. Shit!" Then she grunted as if struck, and it sounded like she fell over.

  Micah's voice reached him from the background. "Gina. I'm here. Shit!"

  There were shuffling noises, then Micah spoke into the phone. "Trevor. I'm here. I've got her. I'm taking her to my apartment. Make sure Sev finds Malek and tells him to get his ass there pronto."

  "Is she okay?"

  "She's having some kind of seizure or panic attack."

  The sound of retching in the background made it clear just how bad Gina's attack actually was.

  "Fuck me," Micah said. "She's sick. I've gotta go. I'll take care of her."

  The line went dead, and Trevor turned to see Sev and Lakota both staring at him, concern on their faces, which was odd for Lakota, given how he had treated Gina earlier.

  "Well…?" Sev said.

  "Come on. You need to get dressed. Micah needs you to get hold of Malek ASAP. I'll explain what I know while you dress."

  He ushered them back to the locker bay and tried to wrap his mind around what was happening. If he hadn't heard it with his own two ears, he never would have believed it.

  Gina was in love. Miracles did happen.

  CHAPTER 17

  Micah hefted Gina into his arms. "Hold tight, Gina."

  Damn, but this female had been through enough already. Where the hell was Malek? She needed him.

  Her fingers dug into his shirt and put a death grip on the material. "Can't…breathe…"

  "Ssshh. I know. Just hold on. I'm taking you to my place in the city." He hated going vapor, but under the circumstances, he had no choice. It was how he'd gotten here so fast, and it was how he would get her to his place even faster. With his mind, he attached himself to her and sucked her into the tunnel that projected them back to the balcony of his penthouse. Once he reanimated with her, he slid the glass door open and carried her to the bedroom and set her down on the comforter, picked up her arm, and then stroked his thumb over the pulse point in her wrist. The glands in his mouth released their venom.

  He hated taking her vein like this, especially given that it would piss Malek off, but he didn't have much choice if he wanted to help bring her back down.