Wrath Read online

  “Stop calling me that,” Lauren snapped. “My name is Lauren and my boss, Mel Hadner, sent me to that warehouse. That’s all I know. She called me on my cell while I was at the restaurant to tell me Brent had some kind of emergency. She was busy and ordered me to show the property instead. I didn’t want to but it’s my job. I was the last hired and you know that saying. Last hired, first fired. I need to keep my job so I left the restaurant and here we are.”

  His lips twisted into a mean grimace. “You just showed your ability to lie. You said you didn’t date. Were you eating alone?”

  “I was having dinner with a friend.”

  “I see. Do you call men you share sex with your friends? How long have you and Bill been friendly?” A strange, animalistic noise came from him. “Stop lying. You are Bill’s type of female. We interviewed many of the ones he used to share sex with.” He bent a little, drew closer, and those dark glasses just made him look evil. “We’re not easily fooled. He is not a male you wish to protect since he is not one who would protect you. He’s free and you are not. You seem intelligent. This is only hurting you.”

  “I was having dinner with my friend Amanda. Don’t twist my words and stop accusing me of screwing that loser. He isn’t my type. I’ll say it again. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole!” She pushed back in her chair and glared at his sunglasses, resisting the urge to scream from the frustration.

  “We won’t release you until we have Bill. That is a promise.”

  She believed him and anger turned to fear all over again. They were going to hold her hostage until they had her coworker. It was beyond shocking. “You can’t do that. Please? I just want to go home. If this is about money, how much does he owe? I’ll try to pay it. Whatever it takes but please, let me go!”

  The man drew closer. Lauren felt fear but he suddenly spun away.

  “I can’t,” he snarled.

  She swallowed but the blond took his place. The guy crouched near her chair. “You are now willing to pay his debts but you aren’t sleeping with him? You are bad at lying.”

  “That’s not what I mean. I’m scared, you won’t believe the truth, and I’ll do anything you want if you just let me go.”

  “He doesn’t owe us money.”

  Lauren lost the last bit of hope. These guys were criminals and would probably kill her. She stared at the guy, trying to convey her sincerity. “You have it wrong. The only thing I did was answer my phone when my boss called me to show a property. That’s it. I don’t care if you want to beat on Brent. I’m sure he deserves it, he’s a jerk, but I’m innocent in this.”

  “You were having dinner with Brent? Just tell us the truth if you want out of here.”

  “Do you want me to lie? I will. I was having dinner with my friend Amanda but I’ll say anything you want if it makes you happy enough to release me.”

  The man took a deep breath. “I see.”

  “You believe me now, right? I am not sleeping with Brent.”

  The man moved quicker than she thought a person could. Lauren didn’t even have time to gasp before his hands gripped her waist, he flipped her and her back slammed on top of the table. The handcuffs pulled painfully on her wrists, which were hooked above her head now.

  Her heart hammered and pure terror tore through her as he leaned over her. His weight caused the table to tip until her head was higher than her feet as his fingers gripped her jaw. He kept her pinned with one hand on her waist and a snarl came from deep within his throat. It mimicked the sound from a vicious dog.

  “I’m done playing nice. Hurting a female isn’t something I wish to do but I will. Did you see the drain in the floor? It is there to clean up blood easier.”

  “Shadow.” The dark-haired one gripped his shoulder. “I can smell her fear over that horrible perfume even. Back off. You made your point and are going too far with your attempt to make her comply. Let’s give her time to let the situation sink in. We could all use a break.”

  The blond released her. “I made certain I didn’t cause her any harm.”

  The hands tore away from her body and both men left the room. The door slammed loudly, the twist of a bolt being thrown unmistakable, and she stared at the yellow light hanging above her head as the metal table chilled her body through her clothes.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered. They were going to kill her and they wouldn’t believe anything she said. Brent must owe money to the mob or something. Those guys had a room for torturing people and it was designed to make their kills easier to clean up.

  She tried to twist to get off the table but it was useless. The edges of the table had those horrible ridges, probably to keep blood from spilling off the sides of it, and gravity held her in place from her body being hung by her wrists. Lauren stared down at her feet and saw that drain from her position with the table tilted upright.

  The door suddenly opened. She gasped, turned her head and stared at the bald man who entered. With the bright lights, she got a very good look at his features and they still looked strange. Something wasn’t quite right with his prominent, wide cheekbones and those blue eyes of his were just as icy cold as she remembered. He still wore the uniform but his weapons were gone as well. He crossed his arms over a broad chest, displayed some seriously thick biceps stretching the shirt he wore, and gave a smile that could have frozen hell.

  “I was told you refuse to talk, that you are protecting Bill. They don’t believe you will break from the fear they caused when they tried to intimidate you.”

  He had a gruff voice, raspy, and it just amplified his scary appearance. Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

  “I don’t play games and I don’t care what the booklet says on interrogation and scare tactics. I will be honest.” He licked his lips. “We know you are Bill’s female. Your scent gives it away. He has a favorite one that you wear.” His gaze lowered to her chest. “All his females have large chests, just the way you do.” He dropped his hands to his sides and marched forward until he glared down at her from the side of the table. “You stink of belonging to him.”

  Her mind blanked, too afraid to make it work properly. “What smell?”

  “The perfume you wear. It is rare and the same one he gives to all the females he takes to his bed. It is offensive, messes with our noses, but it’s probably why he chose it. It’s to hide things from us.”

  Terror struck Lauren as the guy leaned closer and his hands came down on the table inches from her waist, pushing it back to nearly horizontal. She saw her own death in his cold eyes as his face came closer to hers too. He was really angry, talked crazy words she didn’t understand, but she was innocent, damn it. She’d never slept with Brent. He was a jackass, a conceited jerk, and as for her perfume…

  “I got it at the Christmas gift exchange at work last month,” she told him quickly. “Maybe he’s the one who bought it. I don’t know! I swear I don’t. This perfume was the gift I was given. We were all told to bring something to the Christmas party and names were drawn. If this is Brent’s favorite one, if it’s hard to come by, then he must have brought it. I have never slept with that man.”

  He shook his bald head slowly, snarled low, and leaned in so close his breath fanned her face. He’d drunk coffee recently. “Wrong answer. You will tell me where he is and help me find him. You don’t know what kind of monster you’ve been trying to protect, little female.” He snarled the words. “He killed a female who was loved and I know the same loss. I haven’t found the animal who murdered mine yet but I will have vengeance for others.”

  Wide eyed, Lauren stared up at the very angry man. He was livid beyond reason and it frightened her even more.

  “I am not sleeping with Bill!” she yelled in his face. “No matter how much you try to scare me, I still haven’t slept with Bill. I am not protecting anyone. I don’t know where he is or I’d tell you!”

  The man’s mouth tightened into a firm line. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  A whimper es