Chapter 5 Toxin
TOXIN
“Have you found a mark?” Grave asked.
“Have you nailed the mark yet?” Rock asked.
“Shut up and get the hell out of my earpiece,” Grave murmured.
“What? I want to know these things,” Rock said.
“Don’t make me regret putting my earpiece back in,” I murmured.
I shook my head as I listened to the idiots arguing in my ear.
What started out as Grave in my ear had morphed into the entire old guard in my ear.
But if they thought I was in a position to give updates, they were sorely mistaken.
I had all eyes on me. With security, anyway.
I had to find a way to shake them somehow before I could even think about approaching that beautiful woman to try and glean information from her.
I’d had my eye on her all night.
That flapper dress barely covered her ass cheeks.
That plunging neckline showcased the fabulous tits she had underneath.
They were shoved up and round. Calling to my teeth as my eyes flickered over toward her every once in a while.
I tried to stuff the feeling down. I had to guide this mission with my head and not my, well, other head.
I couldn't take my mind off her, though.
As I won and lost my money at the roulette table, my glance followed her around.
She rushed to get drinks. Dabbed at her forehead in the corner.
Stood underneath air vents and let those tiny flappers on her dress blow about.
She looked positively scrumptious. Sun kissed skin.
Long ass legs that could wrap around a man for days.
A slim waist and dark, brooding eyes that made me wonder what type of secrets she kept locked away.
Secrets that could take Lars down.
I didn’t like the way this drunk businessman was hitting on her, though.
He kept touching her. Reaching out for her.
Clearly making her uncomfortable, despite her shooting him down.
I played my last round of roulette before picking up my drink.
I gripped the crystal glass as I made my way toward another ATM, tucking myself back in the shadows.
Perching, so I could wait.
I saw the businessman getting more and more agitated. Natasha ignored him. Scooted by him. Stopped responding to him. And, eventually, sent someone else over to serve him. I heard someone yell “Natasha” and saw her turn her head. Making me grin as I logged that name away.
Then, she disappeared into the shadows as well.
I sipped my drink and waited for her to come back out.
But, when she didn’t, I started slinking along the wall.
Slowly making my way to the spot at the edge of the room where she disappeared.
But a sudden movement caught my eye. I whipped my head over as I finished my drink, watching as the businessman got up from his chair.
His eyes were locked on that spot, too. His body moved drunkenly through the crowd.
He kept his head on a swivel, looking around to see if anyone was watching him.
Which was never good.
I kept creeping around. Every time a guard looked at me, I paused and continued sipping my drink.
Something in the pit of my gut told me Natasha wasn’t all right.
And I wanted to check on her. It took me a few seconds to get past the guards.
To position myself where Natasha had disappeared.
Thank fuck, it was next to yet another ATM.
So, I turned and started fiddling with my cards.
“The fuck’s going on in there?” Grave asked.
“Let me talk to him. I can get it out of him,” Knox said.
“If you guys don’t shut the fuck up and let me do my damn job, we’re all getting caught,” I murmured.
I looked over and nodded at a man who had come to take shade in the darkness.
He didn’t pay me any mind. But I decided to be polite anyway.
I pulled out a little more money. Not enough to enter myself at any of the tables.
But enough to whip out for some fucking food and gas once I got the hell out of here.
I slipped my wallet back into my pocket and turned around.
The guys had fallen silent in my ear, minus Rock’s chuckling.
Then, I heard it.
A thud in the distance.
I slid along the wall in between the security guards taking shifts breathing down my damn neck. But it didn’t take me long to come to a door that was ajar in the shadows of the wall. I drew in a deep breath and silenced my footsteps. I slipped inside and closed the door behind me.
And it didn’t take me long to see Natasha being dragged across the floor.
“Shut. The fuck. Up.”
The growl of that man sent red dripping into my vision.
Red, like the color of Natasha’s dress. Red, like the color of her lips.
Red, like the color of the blood this man would spill tonight on the fucking floor.
I reached down and pulled out the small gun I had strapped to my ankle.
I held it up, following the man as Natasha groaned out in pain.
And when I had him cornered…
“You really should back the fuck off.”
Natasha gasped as the man whipped around.
“Who the hell are you?” he asked.
“Let me go, please,” Natasha whimpered.
“Let her go, or you’re dead,” I said plainly.
The guy laughed at me and took a step forward.
Then another. And yet another. He continued dragging that beautiful woman across the floor, so I leapt into action.
I rushed up behind him and knocked him in the back of the head with my gun.
He whipped around, releasing Natasha as he tried to reach out and choke me.
I knocked his wrist out of the way. I wrapped my own damn fingers around his throat.
And as I cut off his air supply, I barreled him into the first wall we came to.
Before shoving the barrel of my gun between his eyes.
“Men who don’t listen get in trouble,” I glowered.
“You’re making a massive mistake right now,” the guy choked out.
“I promise you, I’m not.”
“Would to two of you chill out, please? You’re causing a scene and it’s only going to make things worse,” Natasha hissed.
I slowly looked over at her, gazing at her as if she’d grown a third fucking head. Was she serious? She glared at me with her eyes before motioning with her fingers for me to let go of him. To back away. To holster my gun. So, with a growl, I did.
Except I kept my gun trained on the guy in question.
“Come on. Behind me,” I said.
“Wait a second. I’m not—hey!” Natasha exclaimed.
I gripped her arm and pulled her behind me.
I wanted a barrier between this drunken asshole and her beautiful body.
But the second she wrenched away from me, she fell back to the floor.
Cursing her heels and something about her broken feet or some shit like that before the man in front of me seethed with anger.
“Did you just shove her to the ground?” he growled.
“Since I’m not you? I’d say ‘no,’” I said.
The guy let out a blood-curdling scream as he rushed me. Quicker than I could’ve ever thought possible for a drunk moving about. He tackled me to the ground and pinned my gun above my head, then bashed his skull against mine. And, I mean, while it hurt like hell, it didn’t do much.
“You’re supposed to bash the nose, you idiot.”
I brought my head up into his nose and felt it crack underneath the assault. He rolled off my body and I scrambled on top of him, abandoning my gun altogether. If a man wanted a fistful encounter, I’d sure as hell give it to him.
Because, well, I’d been waiting for someone to let me draw blood.
“Stop it, you two! Cut it out!” Natasha exclaimed.
But I barely heard her voice.
I landed punch after punch as the businessman stayed on the ground between my legs. He put his arms up to his face, blocking my bone-crunching fists. He leaned up and shoved me off, causing me to fall back toward my gun. And as he went to climb on top of me, I took aim at his shoulder.
Shooting him through and through.
“Shit!” the man exclaimed.
“Ah!” Natasha yelped.
And before I knew it, red lights started flashing all around us.
“What the fuck is going on right now?” Grave asked.
“Toxin, can you hear us?” Brewer asked.
“It sounds like he’s fighting someone,” Knox said.
“Was that a gunshot I heard?” Rock asked.
I pushed the man away from me and scrambled to my feet. I took my earpiece out—again—and slipped it back into the breast pocket of my suit coat. People screamed and rushed around. Guards on the other side of the wall barked out orders. And as I picked up my gun, I rushed for Natasha.
Who quickly backed away.
“You need to come with me. I’ll explain later,” I said.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she breathed.
“Then, I’ll just have to do this.”
“Wait a second, what are y—what!?”
I picked her up over my shoulder as she kicked her bare feet.
And as she kicked them, I saw what she was talking about.
She had open sore wounds all over her feet.
Possibly from her heels. Something warm pooled in my gut.
Something foreign to me. I shook it away, though.
I had to concentrate on getting us out of here.
Whether or not Natasha wanted to come.
“Put me down!” she exclaimed.
Her fists beat against my back as I slinked through the winding hallways that sat on the other side of the casino walls.
“You can either do this the easy way, or I can knock you out. Which is it gonna be?” I asked.
And when she stopped beating against my suit, I patted her ass with my hand.
“Good choice.”
I held her to me as chaos ensued. Bodyguards ran about, forcing us to stay cloaked in the shadows.
I had no idea where the fuck I was going.
But I hoped it was in the right direction.
I breathed deeply and kept myself silent as Natasha started getting in on the action.
Pointing the way before grumbling that I wouldn't put her down.
“Can’t risk you getting away until after we talk. But I promise you, I’m not here to hurt you,” I said.
“Says the guy who won’t let me fucking walk on my own,” she said flatly.
I ignored her comment and used the chaos to my advantage.
But it only worked for so long. I heard someone yell, “he’s got one of our girls!
” And before I knew it, gunshots rang out in my ears.
Natasha screamed. I ducked behind furniture and aimed my gun at the man shooting.
I popped the guard in his thigh, causing him to drop his gun.
And when I saw two more ambushing me, I made sure to make frugal use of my ammunition.
Not enough bullets to kill. But enough to stop them from charging us.
“Put me down!” she demanded.
“Once we get to my bike, I will,” I said.
“I’ll talk to you. I’ll tell you what you want to know. But I’m not leaving with you. End of story.”
“Hate to break it to you, but your story’s just beginning with us.”
More guards took aim and I shot at them until my magazine was empty.
Then, it was simply a matter of dodging their bullets long enough to get out of that damn abandoned warehouse.
The guys screamed so loudly into my earpiece I could hear them from my damn pocket.
Natasha yelped every time gunfire rained down.
I sighed as I made my way up the steps. Taking them two by two while holding this gorgeous woman over my shoulder.
Then, I heard words that froze her against my shoulder.
“He can’t leave with her. Kill her if necessary!”
“What?” she asked breathlessly.
I ran as quickly as I could. I picked up abandoned pieces of wood with nail shards and started beating the shit out of the men that followed us.
And as we poured out onto the street, her softly cried against me.
She didn’t beat against my back anymore.
But instead, clung to my suit. She didn’t wiggle around to get away anymore.
But instead, curled tighter into me. Making it much easier to carry her around.
“Come on, we have to get on my bike,” I murmured.
I patted her ass before I let her down. I heard men yelling as they traveled up the stairs.
I dug out my keys and slid my leg over my bike.
Then, I offered Natasha my hand. She stared at me.
Her eyes dropped to my hands. And as her eyes darted back and forth between parts of my body, her eyes welled with tears.
“Who are you?” she asked.
But before I could answer, another bullet soared by our heads.
“Get on or we’re both dead,” I said.
And I didn’t have to tell her twice.
I revved my engine as she slid onto the bike behind me.
She wrapped her legs and arms around me, her bare feet settled between my thighs.
The condition of her feet made me sick. She had blisters that were burst open and oozing.
She wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her face into my back.
Curling deeper into me as men kept pouring out of that building.
Her warmth stopped me in my tracks. Only for a second.
But enough to make me question my entire life’s purpose.
Why the fuck did this woman have such an effect on me?
“Please, get me out of here,” she whispered.
I peeled away from the alley, quickly finding the main road before we sped off into the night. Away from that fucking casino. Away from those fucking guards. I dodged bullets coming for us as she yelped into my back. Fisting my suit and clinging to me as I drove us away from that wretched place.
And away from the men that apparently wouldn’t let Natasha go without a fight.