Kirk rejected the deal with a swift shake of his head. “She's not worth twenty million.”
“You asshole,” Phil swore in a sudden, unexpected display of temper. “That's Evelyn, my youngest daughter. Take her as security. I'll get you your money.”
An expression of pure disgust passed over Kirk's features before he could hide it. Phil was scum, but it took a special kind of scum to offer up their own family as security. Phil saw the look and shrewdly interpreted it for what it was, the sign of a chivalrous trait entirely out of place in Kirk's line of work. “You think I'm shit for making that deal, huh? If you don't take her as security, you don't buy me some time, the Russians will kill me and take her. Vlad wants her, special order.”
The filthy chuckles from the men in the back of the room confirmed Phil's statement, and explained the woman's presence. At first Kirk had assumed she was just a secretary who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now he was inclined to believe Phil's story. He allowed his gaze to settle on the woman properly for the first time. He'd ignored her as an irrelevance at first, but now that she was in play, she was worth noticing.
It was hard to tell what she looked like with half her face covered in duct tape, but judging by the tight body straining against its bonds it was certain she must have taken after her mother, not the flabby lump of flesh that was her father. She was wearing a fairly conservative dress that covered her from shoulder to knee, but there were visible curves under the stiff burgundy fabric, hips that strongly suggested a classical hourglass figure. Her hair was a glossy deep brown cut in a long bob and a few silky strands had been caught in the tape when she'd been bound roughly. Above the tape her wide, caramel brown eyes held more than a note of intelligence. She was scared alright, the fast rise and fall of her full bosom was testament to that, but she didn't lower her eyes subserviently, she held his gaze in a way that almost made him think that she was appraising him the same way he was appraising her. That clear, innocent look hit him like a punch in the gut. She didn't belong here, she was not of this world.
He swore softly under his breath. There was little to no choice. If he walked, Vlad didn't get his money, Phil got whacked and god only knows what happened to the girl. If he took the deal, maybe Vlad got his money, maybe Phil stayed alive, and the girl kept her virtue a while longer. Kirk nodded, his gaze hard. “I'll take her. You've got one week to get me that money, Phil. One week. You don't get me that money, you don't see your daughter again.” He made his voice menacing, it wasn't hard to do. He was angry at having been pressed into a devil's deal that could potentially see him on the hook for twenty million dollars, or have the blood of an innocent woman on his hands.
He turned to the woman and reached into his pocket. A moment later there was a flash of silver as the long, sharp blade of his flick knife sprang out from its casing. He crouched down in front of her, making eye contact and holding it as he laid down his expectations. “I'm going to cut you free,” he said in a devastatingly soft voice. “Then we're going to walk out of here like a normal couple. You put one foot wrong, you try to call out for help, you do a single thing that draws attention to us and daddy dearest will be at the bottom of the river by midnight, understand?”
She nodded slowly. “Clever girl,” Kirk purred, working at her bonds immediately. He kept an eye on her, waiting for her to make some frantic attempt at escape, but she sat quite still with a quiet watchfulness, that was somehow feline, as he first freed her legs, then her upper body. Finally he reached for the tape. “This is going to hurt,” he warned. He placed his thumb against her pale cheek and ripped the tape off quickly. Immediately a red rash-like mark sprang across the
“You asshole,” Phil swore in a sudden, unexpected display of temper. “That's Evelyn, my youngest daughter. Take her as security. I'll get you your money.”
An expression of pure disgust passed over Kirk's features before he could hide it. Phil was scum, but it took a special kind of scum to offer up their own family as security. Phil saw the look and shrewdly interpreted it for what it was, the sign of a chivalrous trait entirely out of place in Kirk's line of work. “You think I'm shit for making that deal, huh? If you don't take her as security, you don't buy me some time, the Russians will kill me and take her. Vlad wants her, special order.”
The filthy chuckles from the men in the back of the room confirmed Phil's statement, and explained the woman's presence. At first Kirk had assumed she was just a secretary who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now he was inclined to believe Phil's story. He allowed his gaze to settle on the woman properly for the first time. He'd ignored her as an irrelevance at first, but now that she was in play, she was worth noticing.
It was hard to tell what she looked like with half her face covered in duct tape, but judging by the tight body straining against its bonds it was certain she must have taken after her mother, not the flabby lump of flesh that was her father. She was wearing a fairly conservative dress that covered her from shoulder to knee, but there were visible curves under the stiff burgundy fabric, hips that strongly suggested a classical hourglass figure. Her hair was a glossy deep brown cut in a long bob and a few silky strands had been caught in the tape when she'd been bound roughly. Above the tape her wide, caramel brown eyes held more than a note of intelligence. She was scared alright, the fast rise and fall of her full bosom was testament to that, but she didn't lower her eyes subserviently, she held his gaze in a way that almost made him think that she was appraising him the same way he was appraising her. That clear, innocent look hit him like a punch in the gut. She didn't belong here, she was not of this world.
He swore softly under his breath. There was little to no choice. If he walked, Vlad didn't get his money, Phil got whacked and god only knows what happened to the girl. If he took the deal, maybe Vlad got his money, maybe Phil stayed alive, and the girl kept her virtue a while longer. Kirk nodded, his gaze hard. “I'll take her. You've got one week to get me that money, Phil. One week. You don't get me that money, you don't see your daughter again.” He made his voice menacing, it wasn't hard to do. He was angry at having been pressed into a devil's deal that could potentially see him on the hook for twenty million dollars, or have the blood of an innocent woman on his hands.
He turned to the woman and reached into his pocket. A moment later there was a flash of silver as the long, sharp blade of his flick knife sprang out from its casing. He crouched down in front of her, making eye contact and holding it as he laid down his expectations. “I'm going to cut you free,” he said in a devastatingly soft voice. “Then we're going to walk out of here like a normal couple. You put one foot wrong, you try to call out for help, you do a single thing that draws attention to us and daddy dearest will be at the bottom of the river by midnight, understand?”
She nodded slowly. “Clever girl,” Kirk purred, working at her bonds immediately. He kept an eye on her, waiting for her to make some frantic attempt at escape, but she sat quite still with a quiet watchfulness, that was somehow feline, as he first freed her legs, then her upper body. Finally he reached for the tape. “This is going to hurt,” he warned. He placed his thumb against her pale cheek and ripped the tape off quickly. Immediately a red rash-like mark sprang across the
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