"I thought I told you to stay where you were?" Settling himself down on the side of the bed, Mal shakes his head and makes a few disapproving noises.
Deciding to play nicely, I say, "I was evicted. No one paid the rent on my flat after Alex died." It's the truth. He can go check if he likes.
"You coulda rung me, darlin'. Nice girls don't go runnin' out on their partner to shack up with two blokes, now do they?" Mal sounds pissed, and that's a really bad thing where he's concerned.
I try to keep the panic out of my voice. "I didn't. Brandt was the guy I put in prison for you. Remember? He kidnapped me and brought me here. He was trying to get me to talk." The truth - my version of it - just might save my ass for a change. Well, not my ass, but hopefully Brandt's and Gabriel's.
"Ahh. So it's not as bad as it seems, then. I was quite concerned for a moment, 'Arper. I don't take kindly to being disobeyed. You know that, sweetheart." Daggers bite through my flesh as Mal's fingers rise towards my sex and I know what he's about to do next.
"I would never disobey you willingly," I whisper, lying my ass off.
"So you didn't talk then? Believe me when I tell you I can find out rather quickly." Mal gets a little tube of glue out of his pocket and spins it in his fingers. My heart feels as heavy as lead, and my pulse rate could power space rockets.
"I didn't tell them anything. Why would I? They kept me penned up in a little cell downstairs, knocked me about a bit, didn't feed me, wouldn't let me sleep - that kind of shit." There's something I'm deliberately not telling him, but he won't let that slide for long.
"And did they fuck you, sweetheart? You know I'll be pissed if they fucked you. That's why Alex got one in the brain, wasn't it? We decided we wanted to be exclusive, didn't we darlin'?" No, he decided he wanted me to be a good girl. He still fucks anything and everything that moves. I sensibly don't voice this thought out loud.
"They had cuffs," I whisper miserably. "I had no choice. You know you're the man for me, Mal." This could all backfire on me massively if I'm not careful, but it's worth a shot.
"Fine. Shoot them both." Mal waves his hand behind me, as if he's asking his men to go have a cup of tea. This is boring shit as far as he's concerned. He's found a problem, and a bullet will take care of it.
"Don't kill them. They don't know anything. I put him away for five years. He had every right to be pissed. You'd have done a lot worse if I'd done that to you, and you'd found me." Sitting up, I cup my hand around Mal's face and caress it gently. "They're both ex-cons. Put them to work somewhere. Find a use for them. Preferably far, far away from me. For now, can't we just get out of here? I've had one hell of a ride for the past few days and I can't tell you how good it is to see a friendly face." Fuck, I hope my acting skills are up to par. All I want to do is break down and cry, but that will almost guarantee their deaths and I can't have that weighing me down.
Mal thinks my request over, snapping his gum loudly in his mouth. "So noble of you, wanting to save these fuckers. You're not still in love with that pretty boy, are you?" He points to Brandt. He knows exactly who he is. Alex was obsessed by him, and in the end, he and Mal were pretty close. Until he died, of course. Mal doesn't really get close to anyone. If Alex had been a little smarter he'd have figured that out.
"Tell you what, princess. If you let these two fuck you up a little, while everyone watches, I might find a use for them. I'm not promising them a long life or anything, but at least it'll give me a chance to get some plastic sheeting underneath them when I decide to finish 'em off. Does that work for you? You know I like to watch, 'Arper. Of course, if it doesn't we can go back to the original plan. What's it to be?" Mal has a little smile playing around the edge of his face and I want to slap it off him.
It's my turn to pretend to consider the offer just presented to me. In reality, there is no choice. I'm probably not extending their lifespan by more than a few hours or days, but that's their problem. They'll have to figure it out. If Brandt has Gabriel with him, he stands a chance.
"Oh, just kill them then," I say, shaking my head. This is purposely done. Brandt and Gabriel nearly choke on their tongues behind me, but I have my reasons. If I agree immediately Mal is likely to shoot them both on the spot. If he thinks I care for them he won't want them around. If he thinks the last thing I want to do is fuck them, however, it's an excellent way to torment me - and he just loves doing that. Watching me with other men is one of his favourite pastimes. As long as he picks the man, and it's a one off. He and Alex are so bloody similar it's almost scary. They love to control people. Maybe they were brothers in a past life?
I stand up, as if getting ready to go. I am naked as the day I was born, but you wouldn't know it to look at me. My posture is proud and regal. It won't be for long. This is reverse psychology at its finest. I hear a gun being cocked behind me and bite my tongue, hoping no one is about to die.
"Wait, wait." Mal stands up and shakes his head. "I liked my idea. I think we're going to need to play it through. As you said, you did put him away for five years. Perhaps we should let him and his friend have some fun with you. Hell, if they do a good job maybe I will let them live. You can tell a lot about a man by the way he fucks. If they're evil bastards, I'm pretty sure I can find something for them to do. Maybe I could even use them to keep you in check, darlin'." His smile is wide and feral, and my face looks horrified, which happens to be his favourite look on me. Great. Now we're out of the frying pan and into the fire. I just hope these two can somehow get out of here alive when they're finished with me. I'm a lost cause, but they stand a chance at making it. If they run far enough away, Mal will get bored of the hunt. He hasn't got a beef with them.
Unfortunately for me, I've seen too much. I'm living on borrowed time. He may keep me alive for a few more days, maybe even weeks, but he probably already has a tombstone with my name on it. The thought makes me laugh. Mal's far too tight for that. I'll be buried in concrete somewhere, never to be discovered again... if there's anything left to discover, that is. What a pleasant thought.
"'Arper, we're waiting. Get back on the bed, darling." Mal indicates that his men should let Brandt and Gabriel go, and they advance towards me warily. Gabriel is regarding me with malevolence, and that's unsurprising as he thinks I've just dropped him in it. I think Brandt has seen through the act, though. He looks worried. He'd better snap out of it. Mal wants a show, and he'd better deliver. His life is going to depend on it.
Thanks for reading!
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Beautiful Tyrant - Harper
Brandt and Gabriel have me tied down on the bed. While Mal points a gun at them, they're going to mess with me a little. Gabriel looks almost gleeful at the prospect, Brandt not so much. It's too bad. He might as well get his kicks where he can.
After Mal's finished with them, hopefully he'll find something unpleasant for them to do. He always needs a patsy to murder someone or other. My fingers are crossed that the pair can find an opportunity to run and get out of this mess. That's what I'd do if I had the chance.
Unfortunately for me, my last few days are to be spent at Mal's warehouse. The Airfix King is about to take his superglue addiction out on me, before he chops me up into little pieces and leaves me for dead.
This is probably not the time to wish I'd killed myself earlier, right?
Please help a starving author by leaving a review
Ok, so I lied about the starving part, but books need reviews to help them sell. Without them they can wither and die, and so can the authors. Honest.
You don't have to say much, but here are a few examples of what you could write if you were a truly wonderful person who didn't mind doing a good deed every now and again:
This book was so awesome I forgot to feed my kids. Thankfully they reminded me, over and over again, so I haven't managed to kill them yet. Phew.
This book sucked. It was even worse than a certain pres
ident's infamous hairdo, and that is saying something.
Gabriel and Brandt are so hot, I want a threesome with both of them. As long as I'm allowed a safe word - because Gabriel is a little bit on the seriously freaky crazy side.
I would rather read War and Peace than this ridiculous smutty drivel and nonsense. Seriously - all Mandara talks about is orgasms, sex, and hot blokes. Who wants to read about that?
Ms Mandara does not write quickly enough. I need her to release a book every month at the very least, and she keeps me waiting for months, and worse - ends everything on a horrendous cliff-hanger. I have a love/hate relationship with this author. She should probably be spanked.
This is not a good book to read on the train. Especially when the hot guy sitting next to me kept trying to read it over my shoulder.
Don't ever read this book to your wife. She will demand sex for days on end and will suddenly become insatiable in bed. Seriously, I have been considering divorce...
Any of these will do (I'm more partial to the nice ones...) and it will give you extra karma points that will be returned to you in due course in the form of cookies, money, hugs, and wine. Honest.
Thank You!
I just need to say a big thank you to all my wonderful beta readers who always step up to the rather tricky task of reading my books before they've had a good edit. Without you, my books would probably be unreadable as you manage to figure out that my heroine can't see things when she's wearing a blindfold, and that it's tough for her to talk if she's gagged. You also help me to correct my numerous errors and give me your honest opinions, which are more valuable than pixie dust. (The stuff that makes you fly without wings). (That is what pixie dust does, right?) A special thank you to Nikki! You know who you are :)
Another big thank you to all of my readers and fans - you always manage to brighten my day and make me remember why I started this journey. Please drop by anytime via my Facebook, Twitter Page, or email if you want to contact me. I don't bite - honest!
So, for everyone who's helped me along the way, thank you, thank you, thank you!
Stay tuned for more Harper and Brandt in Beautiful Tyrant!
Love 'n hugs to all xxx
Christina Mandara is a USA TODAY bestselling author and tends to write dark romance with lashings of kinky naughtiness. Her favourite pastime is travelling, and if it involves sun, sea and... sand then it's all good.
In her spare time she's usually cuddled up with a good book, exploring the countryside or baking in the kitchen. In fact, she loves her kitchen so much she's one of few women who wouldn't mind being tied to it! Her first and foremost love is writing, however, and more often than not you'll find her on a laptop spinning tales of romance, erotica or dark, paranormal fantasies.
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