Sexual Games [The Heroes of Silver Springs 8] (Siren Publishing Classic) (22 page)

Mallory started to object as she stepped into the office but stopped abruptly when she realized the room wasn’t empty.

Game on.

Her instincts screamed as her gaze landed on a tall man with a linebacker build and a handsome face she knew she had seen before but couldn’t quite place. Another man she instantly recognized as Carl Jordan, the club owner, lounged on the sofa. Bruno, who was also in the room, greeted her with an almost imperceptible nod. She started to tell the bouncer hello when her gaze landed next on the desk, on the man standing stiffly next to it, and the other who got to his feet behind it.

“Jacqueline, I thought I would never see you again.” Jim moved from behind the desk and covered the distance between them in four long strides.

Hit the button. Hit the button.

Mallory lifted a hand and cast a cursory glance at Kenneth Reese. She saw recognition in the man’s hardened eyes. Had he blown her cover? Did he know all she had to do was brush her right earring under the guise of pushing her hair behind her ear and Cameron and Tarantino would come running?

Jim caught both her hands in his before she got the chance. “Imagine my surprise when I discovered the most arresting woman I’ve met in my life has come to work in my club.”

His club?

Oh, shit.

Mallory forced a sultry smile to her lips.
Stay in character. You don’t know if the shit has really hit the fan yet.

Yeah, right. She still believed in the Easter Bunny, too.

“Wow, really? I thought Mr. Jordan owned this place.”

“Let’s just say I’m a silent partner.” Jim’s grip tightened on her hands, and he spun her around, guiding her right arm to rest at her waist and pulling her left behind her back as he held her against his front. He nuzzled his face in the bend of her neck. “It’s easier to keep my involvement in my businesses a secret if no one knows I own them.” His breath fanned her flesh as he spoke, and she coughed at the heavy scent of mint.

Had he just finished eating an entire box of Altoids before she walked into the office?

She angled her head back and looked up at him, hoping the expression on her face looked impressed rather than revolted. “You own more than one club?”

His lips unfolded in a smile that chilled her to the bone. “Wouldn’t you like to know, Jacqueline? Or should I say Mallory? Mallory Stone.
FBI Agent
Mallory Stone.”

Yep, the jig was up. No need to pretend anymore. “Did you know that when you approached me at Cinderella’s?”

“I had different plans for you that night.” His expression hardened and his eyes turned devastatingly dangerous. “Although, my plans for you haven’t changed much in the last few days.”

She didn’t dare ask what those plans were. A sickening feeling twisted in her gut that if she didn’t get her hands free of his soon so she could reach her earring, she was about to find out.

“You have me at a disadvantage, Jim. You know my real name, but I don’t know yours.”

His lips spread in a satisfied smile that turned the blood in her veins to ice. “That’s not the only disadvantage you’re in, sweetheart. I would have thought the FBI had figured that out by now.”

Shit.
Now he knew they were still searching. If he managed to get her out of this club, the team wouldn’t know where to look for her.

Jim had pulled her off balance when he spun her around, and she shifted her foot to steady her stance. No way did she want to lean on this bastard anymore than she had to. The movement reminded her of the anklet she wore and the tracking device it concealed. Okay, the team would know where to find her, but would they get to her in time?

“I suppose there’s no point in continuing our charade now that I have you. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Wade Forbes.” He pulled the hand he held at her waist to his lips and kissed it.

Mallory suppressed a shudder of revulsion. To think she had actually found this guy attractive, even considered having a fling with him. Would she have done it if Jackson hadn’t called that night?

No, for the same reason she hadn’t indulged in a night with any man in too long to remember. Jackson was the only man she wanted, the only one she burned for. She had known, just like she did now, that no other man could ever satisfy her. No man could ever take his place.

“Where are Lexie Stratus and the others?” She pushed her thoughts of Jackson aside and channeled all her concentration on the here and now. A part of her mind probed for the information they had been looking for, while another part weeded through ways to get her the fuck out of this. “What have you done to them?”

“They’re alive. Well, all of them except Erin Griffin, but you know that already.”

Mallory couldn’t keep her gaze from flicking to Kenneth Reese. A muscle ticked in the man’s jaw, the only outward sign that hearing his dead girlfriend’s name affected him at all. The team was certain he had been the one to call with the tip that led them to Erin’s body. Why was he here now? Was he biding his time, waiting for an opening to help her? Or had killing off his girlfriend done the trick and made him more loyal to Forbes?

“They’ve completed their jobs for me. They have new masters now.”

He had sold them to some pervert, turned them into sex slaves. Her stomach clenched at what those women must be going through, at the thought of what their “masters” might be doing to them. Some of them had been gone for months.

“They’re here in Waterston right under your nose.” Forbes laughed, and Mallory knew she was face-to-face with the devil himself. “You’ll never find them, of course.”

She would if it was the last thing she did. And that was not a good thought to have right about now, given her current situation. She switched it off, latching her mind on the list of options she had been subconsciously making. She could take him. He stood behind her with his legs slightly spread. A lift of one heel with all the strength her leg possessed and she would send his balls to his throat.

And the instant she did, one or all of the other men in the room would pounce on her. One on one, she stood a chance. Four on one, against men who were likely armed and definitely stronger, she was so screwed.

Scream.

Sasha was still somewhere in the club. So was Betty, but she knew she wouldn’t get any help there. The older woman had led her back here knowing what awaited her in this office. Was Sasha part of it, too?

“Get the van while I get our beauty here ready to transport.”

Van?
Likely the one Jennifer Moss had informed them she had seen tailing her. Mallory hadn’t spotted a van out front when she arrived. That meant it had to be parked out back.

Tarantino, you better not be sleeping on the job.

Bruno and the brute she didn’t know stepped out of her line of sight but not toward the office door. She heard a click, the faint sound of hinges creaking, and the unmistakable sound of a door closing. She remembered the door she had spotted last night. Obviously, it led to some kind of passage rather than a closet like she had thought.

Not good.

With two men out—thankfully, the largest of the five—that still left three. That was better odds than before but not by much. Forbes had yet to loosen his hold on her. Carl Jordan hadn’t moved from his relaxed spot on the sofa. Kenneth Reese remained in his spot near the desk.

Forbes spun her around to face him, still not letting go of her hands. The movement opened his jacket, revealing the gun he wore in a shoulder holster beneath. If she could just get to that gun…

“When I found out who you really were, I thought about killing you.” His gaze slid down her front, sending a repulsed shiver through her she couldn’t hide. “You’ll be happy to know I’ve reconsidered. With a body like yours, I think you will turn out to be my highest-selling merchandise yet.”

Mallory narrowed her eyes and scowled at him. “I’m nobody’s merchandise.”

“Oh, but you are. You belong to me now. At least until I can find an appropriate buyer. I have one in mind already. He likes you, says you’ve got great spirit. Perhaps he’ll be the one. He’s been waiting for me to get another girl to his liking. I think he’s itching for some girl on girl action. He wanted Erin, but she got out of hand.”

Mallory looked at Kenneth Reese. His blank expression was completely unreadable. The muscle continued to tick in his jaw, though. Had he loved Erin Griffin? Surely his feelings for her on some level had been what had prompted him to lead the FBI to her body.

“He has Lexie, you know?”

“Who?”

“That’s right, you don’t know. Your little investigation hasn’t uncovered that bit of information. She’s been right under your nose the whole time. They all are. It’s good to know I’ve found my forte with my newest business venture. I’ve got the FBI looking under rocks and not finding a thing.”

“They will. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Time you don’t have. I’ve covered my tracks well and will conceal them even better now that I have you.” He released her right hand and slowly brought his fingers to her ear. “I wonder what accessories you’re wearing that are designed to lead them to you. These, perhaps?” His fingers closed on the hoop of her earring and pulled it from her ear. He reached for the other one and removed it as well. “They suited you, accented your face. It’s a shame I can’t let you keep them.” The earrings made a soft thud as they hit the wall across the room.

Mallory’s heart raced as his fingers danced over the jeweled choker of her bustier. She fought to keep her breathing steady. Fear wound its way through her system, threatening to overpower her senses. She couldn’t allow that. She had to keep her mind clear, had to focus, had to think.

He slid his hand beneath her hair, blindly finding the choker’s clasp. “I’m afraid anything you’re wearing could have been tampered with. Kenneth tells me the feds have a way of concealing all sorts of gadgets to aid their agents.”

Mallory shot Reese a heated look and wished it was enough to make him burst into flames.

“We’ll leave all of this stuff here.” Forbes removed the choker, slid the connecting straps down her arms, and reached around her to unzip the back.

Dear God, he was undressing her. His hand glided over her flesh, caressing her like a lover would as he removed the bustier and let it fall to the floor.

Think, Mallory. Think!

He released her left hand, skimming both his palms down her sides to the waistband of the skirt. “I imagined doing this when I first met you,” he said as he peeled the skirt down her hips. “We would have had fun that night. We still might. Undressing you this way is making me hot. I’ll have to sample you for myself before I allow you to be bought.”

No. No fucking way.

He kneeled to unfasten her anklet. “I like this look, leather strapped around your ankle. It will look better on both your ankles when I strap you down and fuck you.”

Mallory felt the anklet fall away, and his hands left her. She took that split moment of opportunity to act. She might not live through this, but she damn sure had to try. She fisted her fingers in his hair as he started to rise, brought her right knee up with all the force she had in her, and jammed it into his jaw.

“You bitch!” He bolted upright. Blood poured from his mouth.

Mallory didn’t waste a second. She lifted her knee again, going for his balls. At the same time, she reached for the gun inside his coat. The knee shot connected right where she wanted, but he doubled over before she could get a grip on the gun.

Forbes recovered quickly, too quickly. He caught her ankles and yanked her feet out from under her.

Mallory’s teeth clinked as her head hit the floor, the breath left her lungs in a whoosh. She rolled, knowing she needed to be back on her feet. He would overpower her if he pinned her down.

He got to his feet first. Mallory made it to her hands and knees before he delivered the first blow. The powerful kick to her stomach lifted her an inch off the floor. The next kick landed in her solar plexus and she choked as the little bit of air she had managed to inhale burst from her lungs.

She tried to block out the pain and attempted to get to her feet. She sensed him bend over her and saw the hand come for her face. He closed his hand around her throat and lifted her by the neck. She struggled to breathe as black spots danced in her vision. Her hands instinctively closed around his wrist, her nails digging into his flesh. His grip tightened, his fingers squeezing off her air. She rose to her tiptoes in a futile attempt to ease the pressure.

He’s going to kill me.

The black spots joined, threatening to overtake her vision. Dizziness swept through her head. She knew she had only a short time before she would pass out. She released his wrist, balled her fist, and lashed out at him, not caring what part of him she hit as long as she did some kind of damage. Her fist collided with his already injured jaw, and she heard his cry of pain a split second before the faint sound of a bullet readying itself in the chamber of a gun.

“Let her go,” a voice said, both calm and forceful. “She’s worth more to us alive than dead.”

Forbes let her go, and she stumbled back into the owner of the voice. If not for the body behind her, she would have crumpled to the floor. She gasped, taking in breath after blessed breath, sweet oxygen filling her lungs. She fought against her body’s reflexive action to take in as much air as possible as quickly as it could, knowing she could hyperventilate. The man at her back stood rigid, acting like a wall to hold her up. He didn’t touch her. Dimly, she realized the cocking of the gun she had heard had not been aimed at Forbes but at her own head. The man at her back might have saved her from being strangled, but he wouldn’t be any help in saving her from whatever would come next.