“Shut up, Avery.” Liam’s focus went to Thomas.
“Yeah, shut the fuck up, darlin’.” Thomas didn’t even sound like Thomas anymore. He sounded an awful lot like Liam. “You’ll come with me, but so will your little boyfriend there. I think we should talk, don’t you, Li?”
“I definitely think we should talk,” Liam said. “But let the girl go. This is between brothers.”
“What?” Avery asked. How was Thomas Liam’s brother?
A wicked smile crossed Thomas’s face. “Figured it out, did ya, brother? I can’t leave the girl now, can I? It’s a pity, you know. We always did like the same type. Boys, let’s take this someplace more private.”
Liam cursed, and a shot rang out, splitting the air around her. The floor thudded as a man went down.
“You get them both alive!” Thomas shouted.
A meaty hand pulled her from Liam, and she felt something sharp go into her neck. Immediately the world became gauzy and unreal. Panic welled. Her vision was losing focus. She watched in horror as Liam began to fight. He moved with such grace, but someone shoved a needle in his arm. Even so, he fired again. She began a long fall to the floor, time slowing. Liam was fighting. There was another shot, but it sounded so far away this time. Liam had two men on him, and she saw a flash of something metal before Liam started to go down. He looked at her, the drug obviously hitting his system, but his hand reached out for hers.
Darkness encroached, the world winking out like a candle being snuffed.
Rory O’Donnell looked down at his should-have-been-dust-in-the-grave-by-now brother, a little kernel of satisfaction in his gut. Maybe it was better this way. This time he would kill Liam himself. He would prove that he wasn’t the weak little brother this time. This time, Liam’s eyes would be open, and he would watch as his brother took the victory.
“Angus is dead, boss. What do you want me to do with him?” Colin asked, scratching his head as he looked down at the body.
Good henchmen were so bloody hard to find. By necessity they tended to be incredibly stupid. Malcolm had been smart, but he hadn’t been quick enough to take out Liam. “Put the body in the flat, and we’ll pick it up later. Hurry. I managed to get this floor clear, but my man at the front desk won’t be able to keep them out forever.”
Colin helped Brett drag dead Angus toward the flat where Avery had been staying.
Rory looked down at his brother. He probably should have just killed the bastard, but Rory had plans. His brother was into BDSM. It would be good to see how he liked a little torture. Liam had taken him to his first club. Rory rather thought he’d done it to try to teach him some control and to give him a safe outlet for his sadistic tendencies. He pulled a length of rope from his bag. The trouble was, Rory didn’t want a safe outlet. He wanted to be able to kill the occasional girl just for grins.
Killing a woman was the right of a powerful man. He would take that right with Avery, and he would make his brother watch.
He hummed a little as he bound his brother’s hands behind his back. Liam had always liked a little rope play. Perhaps not like this, but then Liam wasn’t calling the shots now.
He turned his attention to Avery. Sweet, dumb Avery. She was going to wish she was dead before he was done. He would certainly kill her eventually, but she would beg for it first.
Should he rape Avery and kill her in front of Liam? Or rape Avery and then kill Liam?
Choices, choices. It was the kind of thing a man had to rely on instinct to decide. He wasn’t going to make the decision now. He had a couple of hours. He wanted to play.
“You want me to tie the girl up, boss?” Colin asked.
“No. She’s not a threat. I’ll keep her in the car with me. The dose we gave her should keep her out until we can get back to my house. You’ll drop us off, make sure my brother here has a nice seat, and then I expect you to get to the airport and make sure everything is ready. We’re leaving for Dubai tonight.”
He’d already shifted money around. Not all of it, of course, but enough to get by until the Lachlan Bates deal came through, and then he would allow Nelson to get his little business into the Middle East and he would be set. It would be safe to kill Nelson then.
Colin lifted Liam up, tossing him over his shoulder.
“Throw him in the trunk.” He didn’t want to be anywhere near Liam, but Avery was a different story. He lifted her up himself. She wasn’t a lightweight, but then he’d never liked a skinny girl. They died too fast.
She really was quite pretty. It was too bad she turned out to be such a whore.
He sighed and kissed her cheek. She was limp in his arms. She would be a bit of fun before he killed her, a way to pass the time until his flight took off.
He followed his men down the stairs and to the waiting car.
The night had just begun.
Chapter TwentyOne