Negotiation: A Mafia Love Story (Triple Threat Book 1) by Kit Tunstall, R. E. Saxton
Authors: Kit Tunstall, R. E. Saxton
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alone encourage her body to actually perform the motions as pain flared in her anew when she collided with the supple leather seat.
A glance at the door revealed there was no handle on the inside, and when she turned her head to look at the other way, she was startled to see a petite brunette seated beside her. She wasn’t certain of the woman’s identity, but she tentatively identified her as Audra. Any tentativeness fled a moment later when the other woman lifted a hand holding a dirty white cloth and slammed it over her face. The hand was missing the pinky and ring fingers, confirming the other woman’s identity even as Sarah fought to hold her breath, and then fought against breathing in the sharp stink of the chemical lacing the rag. Inevitably, she had to draw in a deep breath and giddiness swept through her, quickly followed by unconsciousness when she was unable to pry the hand holding the cloth clamped over her face off in time to avoid continuing to breathe in the fumes from the soaked cloth.
Chapter Seven
She was late. Roman paced around the foyer, pausing every few steps to look at the door in hopes that she would magically appear and step inside. The driver had told him he left her at the café three hours ago, and she still wasn’t home. She’d had plenty of time to have a snack and walk home. Hell, she’d had plenty of time to have a seven-course meal and crawl home on her belly at this rate. Something was definitely wrong, especially since she wasn’t answering her phone. It simply rang and rang.
As he waited for his brothers to join him, having put out the call for their assistance a few minutes before, he decided to try her number again. He had pressed the speed dial so often that his thumb seemed to have the muscle memory required to make the call without his brain’s input. The phone rang in his ear, but this time, someone answered on the third ring.
“Hello,” said a sweetly feminine voice, but with a definite bite of anger.
“Who is this? Why do you have Sarah Hastings’s phone?”
“Sarah and I are having quite a good time.” She gave a girlish giggle, but it seemed faintly psychotic. “We’re just waiting for you to arrive, Roman. I’m going to hand the phone to my cousin. He can give you all the details.”
There was a brief silence, and then the sounds of screaming shattered it before a rough male voice invaded his ear. “Come to the Marina, Sloop Eight. We have business to attend to, Rinaldi. If you don’t come alone, we’ll gut your girl before you can ever hope to reach the boat.”
The line went dead without the person identifying himself, but judging from the faint accent, Roman was certain it was Benas Vydūnas. He was also positive the female voice had belonged to Audra. She hadn’t been attempting to sound so lighthearted the day he had captured her red-handed with his shipment, but he was sure it was her. She’d spent most of her time cursing and screaming that day, but there was still similarities in the voices, and he was certain Sarah was in the possession of two pissed-off Lithuanians.
His blood ran cold at the idea.
He raced from the house, scooping up the keys to his sports car on his way out. He had to get to Sarah as quickly as possible, because there was no telling what the Lithuanians were doing to her.
***
“Eeny, meeny, miney, moe…” The psychotic girl trailed off as she lightly touched each of Sarah’s fingers while chanting the familiar childhood rhyme.
Sarah tried to remain stoic, knowing what was coming. The girl had already cut off her thumb, and it had caused excruciating pain, the likes of which she had never experienced before and had hoped to never feel again, but was certain that hope would be denied.
As Audra’s rhyme ended with her pinky, and she braced herself to feel the slash of the sharp knife through her skin again, hacking through the bone, she prayed the other woman would be content to even the score and would stop with
A glance at the door revealed there was no handle on the inside, and when she turned her head to look at the other way, she was startled to see a petite brunette seated beside her. She wasn’t certain of the woman’s identity, but she tentatively identified her as Audra. Any tentativeness fled a moment later when the other woman lifted a hand holding a dirty white cloth and slammed it over her face. The hand was missing the pinky and ring fingers, confirming the other woman’s identity even as Sarah fought to hold her breath, and then fought against breathing in the sharp stink of the chemical lacing the rag. Inevitably, she had to draw in a deep breath and giddiness swept through her, quickly followed by unconsciousness when she was unable to pry the hand holding the cloth clamped over her face off in time to avoid continuing to breathe in the fumes from the soaked cloth.
Chapter Seven
She was late. Roman paced around the foyer, pausing every few steps to look at the door in hopes that she would magically appear and step inside. The driver had told him he left her at the café three hours ago, and she still wasn’t home. She’d had plenty of time to have a snack and walk home. Hell, she’d had plenty of time to have a seven-course meal and crawl home on her belly at this rate. Something was definitely wrong, especially since she wasn’t answering her phone. It simply rang and rang.
As he waited for his brothers to join him, having put out the call for their assistance a few minutes before, he decided to try her number again. He had pressed the speed dial so often that his thumb seemed to have the muscle memory required to make the call without his brain’s input. The phone rang in his ear, but this time, someone answered on the third ring.
“Hello,” said a sweetly feminine voice, but with a definite bite of anger.
“Who is this? Why do you have Sarah Hastings’s phone?”
“Sarah and I are having quite a good time.” She gave a girlish giggle, but it seemed faintly psychotic. “We’re just waiting for you to arrive, Roman. I’m going to hand the phone to my cousin. He can give you all the details.”
There was a brief silence, and then the sounds of screaming shattered it before a rough male voice invaded his ear. “Come to the Marina, Sloop Eight. We have business to attend to, Rinaldi. If you don’t come alone, we’ll gut your girl before you can ever hope to reach the boat.”
The line went dead without the person identifying himself, but judging from the faint accent, Roman was certain it was Benas Vydūnas. He was also positive the female voice had belonged to Audra. She hadn’t been attempting to sound so lighthearted the day he had captured her red-handed with his shipment, but he was sure it was her. She’d spent most of her time cursing and screaming that day, but there was still similarities in the voices, and he was certain Sarah was in the possession of two pissed-off Lithuanians.
His blood ran cold at the idea.
He raced from the house, scooping up the keys to his sports car on his way out. He had to get to Sarah as quickly as possible, because there was no telling what the Lithuanians were doing to her.
***
“Eeny, meeny, miney, moe…” The psychotic girl trailed off as she lightly touched each of Sarah’s fingers while chanting the familiar childhood rhyme.
Sarah tried to remain stoic, knowing what was coming. The girl had already cut off her thumb, and it had caused excruciating pain, the likes of which she had never experienced before and had hoped to never feel again, but was certain that hope would be denied.
As Audra’s rhyme ended with her pinky, and she braced herself to feel the slash of the sharp knife through her skin again, hacking through the bone, she prayed the other woman would be content to even the score and would stop with
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