“Ah, Cole...you may have just saved your worthless life, and this bitch's too. For a little while.” He cleared his throat, regaining his senses. “I do love a challenge. So you want to be ripped to pieces and made to behave, do you, puta?”
I nodded.
“Lay still. Don't move a muscle. You push back this time, and I will haul you off to the basement and give you something to cry about. Let's hope this is pain you can handle like a good girl instead of an insolent slut.”
His hands moved against the top of my dress. My blind eyes bulged when he ripped it hard, tearing at the thin fabric, smoothing his disgusting hand up my bare shoulder. His fingers stopped near my neck, circling it, testing a place for his lips to land.
When he kissed me there, it was gentle, but no less revolting. The mildness lasted no more than five seconds.
His mouth opened, and he sucked at my flesh, brutally sinking his teeth in.
“Oh!” It took all my willpower to keep my hands flattened to the floor.
He was biting, burning me, drinking my blood like a sadistic vampire. I thought he was going to chew a hole in my neck and swallow my flesh, but he began to move up, stamping the same awful kisses and dog bites below my jaw, and then on my cheek.
Higher...higher...just a little bit more...
When he was near my ear, pinching tender flesh between his teeth, I began to turn. My lips found his. Borzia hesitated a moment, as if disgusted I'd even try to kiss him.
Then he opened wide and sank his teeth on my lips. I pushed them into his mouth, deep as they would go, sucking and smacking at his vile tongue.
His teeth began sinking into my lips when the reaction started.
The weight of his body on top of me convulsed. He jerked, flopped, and rolled off me, wheezing like he had something lodged in his throat. Fists or hands beat the floor – I couldn't tell which.
All I knew was he was dying, and that was all that mattered. He grabbed for my leg as I tried to stand up. I kicked at his leg, feeling for the wall. Blood rushed into my head.
The green fog in my vision lifted, and I could see again, if only in a haze. Thank God.
I was in a huge room that looked like a king's master bedroom, and the brutal man sneered at me from the ground. Gasping terribly, he worked his hand, snapping his fingers to claw at my ankle.
He caught me and pulled with surprising strength. I went down. Damn!
I kicked hard, grateful to have my sight back. If only I could get away from him and leave him to die there, I'd be okay. Evan would come for me. I just knew it.
Hold on. Only a little bit longer...
The door burst open and two of those stone faced guards rushed in, shouting in Spanish. One of them made a direct line for their boss. The other took one look at Borzia's pale, twitching face and rushed me.
“The puta,” Borzia croaked. “She...she poisoned me.”
His palms came out, hit me in the chest, and I rocked back on the bed.
The whole world blurred and went dark again.
Jesus, no. Am I too late? Is Evan coming for me at all?
XII: Monstrous Designs (Evan)
I waited on a little hill overlooking the villa. The autumn sun was hotter than hell down here, blazing on my dusty back, rifle in hand. It was the closest I could get to snipe assholes without running into the cameras and sensors I'd personally seen installed.
Izzy was long gone with my boy. Waiting the full agonizing half-hour gave them a damned good head start, but they'd need luck too if this got fucked up. If Borzia lived, he wouldn't content himself with killing Cassie and me. He'd make sure he came back for my son and anybody I shared a drop of blood with, snuffing out the Cole line forever.
I gripped the rifle in my hands. Cold, cold steel, icy and hard as my bloodthirsty heart.
Peeking at my watch, the minutes ticked on. If nothing happened in the next half-hour, I had to go in shooting, straight to certain death. All I could do was wait and hope like hell that mother chaos threw me a fucking bone.
I heard the rumble behind me about five minutes later. The ambulance came tearing down the unpaved road, leaving heavy dust in its wake. In the distance, the house's huge door was thrown open, and two stern faced Mexican guards came storming out to greet the screaming vehicle.
The gate was open! And there wasn't a shred of doubt more than half his men were occupied with...whatever the fuck was going down inside.
One thing was for sure: Borzia was hurt. The bastards wouldn't have called an ambulance for my girl, but had she survived poisoning his twisted ass?
Only one way to find out.
I hauled myself up and ran, half-bent, the same way I'd done in the deserts and jungles dodging enemy fire. By the time I was through the gates and had a clear shot, the Mexicans noticed me.
A man with thick eyebrows drew his gun and screamed. It was too late, too fucking late.