The Dark Duet (23 page)

“Gash! Put a sock on it!” Burkenstein’s voice orders him. The current stops, releasing me from the waves of pain. I slump to the floor, exhausted.

“Secure him.” I hear the shuffling of feet as I wait for my heartbeat to slow down and my muscles to stop spasming. I focus on Alese’s gasping, my grounding factor. Sparky and Gash lift me up and carry my body across the room, securing me in a spot where I have a clear view of Alese.

Burkenstein laughs. “You will now be forced to watch as I exert my dominance, yet again. Everyone out.” Several security guards standing at the door obey. I hadn’t even see them enter the room behind me. “Not you, Gash. I need your assistance.”

“If he stays, then I’m stayin’,” Sparky says, his pinched face set in a determined expression.

Burkenstein passes a bored look his way and shakes his head. “Three is good company. Four makes an exciting venture. But five is a pain in the ass. Wait. Outside. Make sure our dark duo doesn’t have any friends lingering in the hallways,” Burkenstein orders Sparky.

“This shit ain’t fair,” Sparky whines on his way out the door, slamming it behind him.

“What do you want, Rudolph?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

“It’s not what I want, no. But rather what your maker would like to see.” He steps over to the projector TV mounted on the wall diagonally across from me and aims the remote toward it. The screen comes to life, filling the display with the image of a silhouetted face from my past—Vladimir.

“You look surprised, my son,” Vladimir’s shadowed image says to me.

“I am no son of yours,” I state with as much disgust as I can muster.

“You have worked so very hard to dethrone me, you and your Dostovsky clan. I must find a way to reward such diligence.”

“Oh boy, I cannot wait,” I reply sarcastically.

“You were always my favorite, Nikolai. Tell you what we’ll do. I’ll spare you and Ms. Broussard. That is, if you let me watch you fuck your girlfriend ... from behind.” Nausea rises in me. Hidden cameras must be stashed all around the room. “I do believe you enjoy doing sordid things of that nature. You should be right in your element.”

“What sick shit is this?” I growl. “Just kill us already.”

“I’ve no desire to see you die. You’re much too valuable. Consider this an insurance policy. A way to make you behave, to follow orders without question, lest you and your new girlfriend would like to become overnight porn stars. I’m fairly certain the CIA will also be pissed when they see their top agent has returned from the dead as well. Humiliating the agency in the process with her choice of profession,” Vladimir explains, his face silhouetted in shadows.

Now I understand. He wants me back in the Order, and videotaping me and Alese is his way of blackmailing me into doing so. Even Burkenstein looks surprised by this demand.

What this bastard doesn’t realize is he just handed me our way to freedom. “All right. I will make sure my performance is worthy of your time,” I promise. Alese’s frightened eyes shift my way.

“You do that, Ice Phoenix,” Vladimir’s image demands, his voice a menacing reminder of a past I can’t ever seem to forget. I can almost feel him grinning, even though I can’t see his face. “Handle this situation, Rudolph. Or you’ll find yourself handled, instead. Deliver the footage to me within the hour.”

“I got this, boss.” Turning to me, Burkenstein winks. The screen goes black. “Don’t just stand there like a dog,” Burkenstein says to Gash. “Help him up, so he can get started.”

Gash lifts me by the forearm and shoves me toward Alese. I move around behind her and act as though I’m sniffing her hair hanging loose around her shoulders, which gives me both a cover and the time to maneuver a small razor blade hidden in a pocket on the shoulder of my suit into my mouth.

“Remove her gag, or no deal,” I demand. Burkenstein nods toward Gash. He releases the Velcro holding the ball into her mouth and snatches it out. Alese starts coughing.

“Nikolai, please don’t do this,” she begs, her body shivering, the very fear of what I’m about to do in front of these assholes radiating off her body in waves. I lift my hands—still secured by Sparky’s rope—to the small of her back, assuring her in the only way I know how given the circumstances.

“No wait,” Burkenstein’s voice says. “I’m done taking orders from that spider obsessed asshole. We’re going to spice things up a bit here. Gash, you may have this honor. You’ve worked hard and deserve this moment.”

“Sick bastard. You won’t be touching her,” I warn, trying hard to form the syllables without slicing my tongue in half.

“But I assure you, we most certainly will,” he chides.

“And I promise none of you will live long enough to tell a soul about it,” I warn, a smile plastered across my lips.

“Oh, it’s not the girl I want. But don’t worry, Gash will see to her needs.” Rudolph’s slimy voice matches the perverted expression on his face. He moves over to where I’m standing and runs his hands across my ass, up my backside, and then releases my hair from the ponytail.

I scoff a laugh and shake my head. “Of course. I should’ve known.” I think back on all the times I caught Burkenstein leaving his study with various types of people: couples, a few women, and yes, more men than anything else.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Ballentine. Gash will take good care of you.” He turns to me and says, “We’ll make sure your partner has been handled first.”

As much as I hate the feel of nausea rising in me, I play along with the sickness of the moment. I have someone else to consider besides myself this time, and I’m the one responsible for putting her in danger this way. Burkenstein pulls me back toward my corner across the room.

Gash glances at me, grinning as he does so, and reaches underneath the table beside Alese. Pulling out a whip, he cracks the leather between his hands and moves toward her.

Chest heaving, Alese focuses on the man moving toward the table, her eyes storming with rage and something else Gash is too stupid to see. Her courage excites me, fueling the fire inside of my body, the flames that are going to burn alive every single low life in his room ... starting with their leader, Rudolph Burkenstein.

CHAPTER 26

~Nikolai~

Never allow the opposition to see two things: fear or worry. I accept full responsibility for what is happening and what has happened, but I will stop this. I will not be a victim ever again, and neither will Alese. I keep my expression blank, but my mind remains fierce and focused as Gash walks toward and behind the contraption Alese is attached to.

“How does it feel, knowing you’ve caused her suffering?” Burkenstein asks.

“Liberating,” I respond with no emotion.

Rudolph laughs lightly. “Liberating? Do you enjoy watching the woman you love writhe around in pain?” I can hear the excitement in his voice as he questions me. This sick display of power turns him on. He’s no better than the man who ordered him to record me fucking my girlfriend. I’ve seen worse and faced worse than what I’m about to witness, and I can handle this. I need a few more minutes before I can free us both. The bastard will not leave this compound tonight, and if he does, then he’ll be in a body bag.

Gash flexes his whip—the same one he used to hurt Gemma, I’m sure—and Rudolph keeps his gaze focused on me. He pulls his arm back and prepares to strike her bare legs. Alese closes her eyes and lowers her head.

“Wait!” I call out to Gash. He stops midair and focuses on me. “We are all men here, are we not?” Both men exchange glances, curious about this interruption.

“What are you playing at, Nikolas?” Rudolph asks, his hands easing away from my body. “Thought you didn’t care about what we did to her, seeing you’ve been about as responsive as a log this entire time.”

“You’re a worldly man, Rudolph. I hate to lose such a classy piece of ass. She’s a delight. Very tasty, if you know what I mean.” I can tell Gash is thinking about what I’m saying, even though his boss is urging him to continue.

No matter what the situation at hand may bring, men like Gash only think with one bargaining tool in the end: their cocks. “Why don’t you have a taste, Gash? See for yourself. You know you want to lick it.”

Alese’s eyes open slowly, her gaze meeting mine for a brief moment, the silence between us meaning more than any words we could ever say. Although it’s difficult, I keep my blank face focused on hers, hoping she catches the meaning behind my silent instructions.

“Hell yeah, baby,” Gash says, tossing down his whip and shoving Alese’s legs apart. Bending down, he glances back up at Alese, his crooked smile making me want to handle what I know my ghost is about to do. Slowly, Alese turns her head and gives him a smile, the kind a man like Gash would take as a seductive one. “By the time I’m done, you won’t remember a thing about golden boy over there. Time for dinner.”

“I’m sure you’re right. Although, it’s going to be kind of hard to reach me with my legs tied up this way,” she suggests, her voice thick and dark. Gash stops and stares at her. I hold my breath, waiting for him to decide if he’s going to comply with her suggestion.

“All right,” he says, bending down and attacking the knots of the rope, “but try any funny business, and I’ll Taser your ass to orgasm. Understand?” Alese nods.

Gash situates himself between Alese’s legs. Shoving aside her panties, he moves his head toward his goal, grinning wide and closing his eyes as he does so, while Rudolph resumes exploring my body, his hands sliding up underneath my shirt.

I force my gaze away from Alese and Gash and move my lips toward Rudolph’s. I need to distract him, and as much as this sickens me, giving him a taste of what he’d hoped to get from me is the only way to keep him from figuring out what’s about to happen. “I knew you were special the moment Katerina brought you to me,” Rudolph whispers and places his lips on mine, his tongue sliding between my lips, moving closer to the blade on my tongue.
Fuck!

At once, Gash cries out. Both Rudolph’s head and mine snap toward them. Alese’s thighs are wrapped around Gash’s neck and his hands are grasping her legs so hard that his fingers appear to be molded into her skin. He makes a choking gasp as his face turns a deeper red. Suddenly, she twists her body and swings toward the table beside her, taking a trapped Gash with her as she does so, the action designed for one purpose.

His head collides with the table.
Crack!
The snap of his neck echoes through the room, silencing everyone; Alese’s heaving gasps are the only sound filling the space. “There’s your dinner bell, mother fucker,” she gasps out, her eyes wild.

“What the fuck?” Sparky cries out as he races back into the room. His gaze travels from Gash, who is lying dead on the floor, to Rudolph and I still locked in our fake embrace, and finally to Alese. “Bitch! I’m gonna tear you apart!”

Time to make my move. I scramble to my feet along with Rudolph and head straight for Gash’s idiotic partner. With his attention focused on Alese, Sparky doesn’t see me headed his way until I’m already on him, slicing his body wherever I can find exposed flesh. “Get off me, you crazy fucker!”

Somehow, we wind up tumbling to the floor, me on top of him. Big mistake. I silence him with one last well-timed aim to his throat. He manages to maneuver to his knees while cradling his throat, his fight not lasting long. A few seconds later, he slumps to the ground, a set of keys falling out of his pocket as he does so, a pool of blood spreading around him just before his eyes cloud over and he goes completely still.

I stand and turn toward Burkenstein. His fear-filled eyes lock on mine, and I can’t help the smile spreading across my face. He’s still standing in the same position I left him in just before my ghost and me silenced his two negotiators.

“Your turn,” I say and smile wider. The man looks like he’s about to shit himself. “It appears we have ruined your boss’s sex tape. Such a shame.”

Somehow, Burkenstein ends his momentary paralysis, turns around and scrambles toward the tapestry hanging on the back wall, moving it aside and shoving his finger into a coded panel. “Another secret room?” I ask, shaking my head. “Unbelievable.”

“You and your crazy bitch will never capture me,” he says, and disappears behind the doors as they slide together.

~Alese~

Gash will never maim or molest another innocent female ever again. A strong sense of relief surges through my chest, but it doesn’t last long. As Nikolai works to free himself, Burkenstein takes off through a doorway at the back of the room, smiling like a madman as he disappears behind the sliding doors. Somehow, I manage to wriggle out of the ropes around my wrists, crumpling to the floor after the last part of the binding comes undone, my arms numb from being elevated above my head for so long. I scoot over to where Sparky’s body lies on the floor, blocking the entrance, and remove his gun.

Behind me, Nikolai kicks at the doorway where Burkenstein escaped. “Damn him!” he cries out, running a hand through his golden locks flowing around his shoulders, highlighted by his black clothing, giving him the look of an angelic assassin. I can see why any woman or man would obsess over him the way Burkenstein has obviously been doing all of these years. Nevertheless, I love Nikolai and don’t want to lose him. Moments ago, I wasn’t sure how any of this would turn out for us.