19. Chapter 19
nineteen
Dead Man Walking - Grant & ellis
M?kail led Jackie to the back rooms like he had more times than she could count. She played along, following like a smitten puppy dog. He ate it up, clasping her hand tightly as he led her to the farthest room at the back of the building. He liked it when she got loud.
They entered the room, and he turned, his mouth on Jackie’s before she could say anything. His hands roamed her body freely and hungrily. She let him. Men like M?kail became stupid when their cocks were hard. Theo had proven that point to her.
His mouth roamed from hers, along her cheek and then down her neck. She took the opportunity to ask her question.
“Where’s Talia?” she breathed.
“Hm?” he hummed into her neck, too occupied to understand her question.
“Talia Baptiste. The woman your friends kidnapped out of my home almost a month ago.”
He pulled away as if she were spoiled goods. Realization dawned on him.
“You’re the one Niki wants,” he breathed. Jackie watched him, waiting for his next move. She hoped he’d take the easy route and give her the information she asked for before letting her go.
She knew better, though. Nothing ever came that easily.
He lunged, gripping a fistful of her hair and tugging her head back. “So you did get yourself a boyfriend. Tell me, Jaclyn, does Dimitri Fraser fuck you as good as me?”
Jackie chuckled, not fighting him. She would conserve her energy for when she needed it. “Better.” She grinned.
His mouth twitched. Jackie laughed. Enraging men and knocking them off-kilter was sometimes too easy, always very entertaining.
“Will he want you still when I’m finished with you?” he hissed.
“You’re so wrong about how this is going to end.” She laughed. “We don’t have to ruin a good thing, Mik. Tell me where Talia is.”
“If you’re fucking Dimitri Fraser… You’ve not come to see me in a year because of him. The man who stole from my family and me. A good thing is ruined, Jaclyn. Why don’t I take you back out and bend you over the bar for him to watch, hm? He’s here, isn’t he?”
“You wouldn’t even make it past the door.”
“Niki was with me when I saw you. If Fraser is out there, he won’t be breathing for much longer.”
Jackie’s heart pounded. It was such a risk to come here. She thought she’d be able to hear if there was a scuffle, or worse, gunshots. But Mik had led her to one of the far private rooms.
“Sounds pretty quiet,” she breathed. “Who’s to say Dimitri hasn’t taken care of Nikita by now?
” She assumed who Niki must be. She had known her contact was high-ranking in this faction, though she hadn’t been certain how high.
If he was referring to Nikita Volkov so familiarly, they must be close.
He must be even higher ranking than she realized to speak of the Toronto bratva leader like that.
“He doesn’t stand a chance,” he hissed. He tugged Jackie’s hair, pulling her off balance so she fell back onto the plush-pillow-topped mattress.
He followed close behind, climbing up to straddle her body.
She lay still, not wanting to use her energy until she absolutely had to.
He fisted her hair again, tilting her head to the side and pressing his mouth to the shell of her ear.
“Niki is going to be so happy with me. Should I celebrate now, or see what Niki wants to do with you first?” Jackie tried not to cringe at the feel of his hot breath on her neck.
He paused a moment, seemingly considering his options.
“I don’t think he’ll mind if I take the first bite out of you. ”
She lay still as M?kail sat back up and began undoing his pants.
He pulled a gun from his waistband, removed the magazine and tossed the two pieces on either side of the room.
She watched where they landed on the tiled floor.
The scene felt entirely too familiar, and Jackie fought to keep her breathing and heart rate steady.
She had refrained from fighting back, specifically so that when they got to that point, she wouldn’t be gassed out yet.
“Fraser can’t be that good a fuck if you’re not even fighting me right now,” M?kail scoffed, pulling his pants and briefs down to his thighs.
Jackie watched as his cock fell lazily to the side, still only half hard.
It was a nice cock. It had served its purpose in the past. As she watched him now, she knew it would serve its purpose now, too.
“Just conserving my energy.” She shrugged. He hesitated a moment before shifting down her legs slightly to pull her panties out of the way. She had worn the dress on purpose, but hated how easily he was exposing her now.
He lifted a leg just enough for Jackie to free one of hers. As fast as an asp, she pulled it out and swung it toward M?kail. She caught him in the jaw, knocking him off her completely and onto the floor. Before he could recover, she launched herself onto him, punching him in the jaw twice.
He grunted, reaching up to grab Jackie under the armpits and toss her off. She scrambled away, reaching for the gun. Even without the magazine, there could still be a bullet in the chamber, and at worst, the hard metal would knock him out if she hit him in the head with it.
Her hand wrapped around the handle, and she rolled, swinging the gun to find M?kail. A fist came down on her cheek, disorienting her for a moment. She pulled the trigger, hoping for a bullet inside the chamber and that her aim was as impeccable as Dimitri suggested.
The gun clicked.
She looked up to find M?kail covering his face protectively. The air in the room stilled as they both realized the gun hadn’t worked.
Their eyes met. Jackie’s eyes were wide with calculation, M?kail’s burning with fury.
He swung on her again before she could remember to bring the gun down on him. Now Jackie covered her face with her arms. He pulled with one hand, hitting her with the other.
Realizing she wasn’t flagging under his attack, he jumped to his feet and stomped on her stomach.
The air in her lungs whooshed out at the impact, and Jackie crumpled, rolling to her side and away from him.
She tried to get onto her knees, but he kicked her in the stomach again.
She cried out, losing her balance for a moment.
Jackie fought through the pain, climbing to her feet and moving to the offensive.
She swung at him, trying to make any contact with M?kail that might knock him over.
He spun away from her onslaught, grabbing her arm as he went and pulling her back against his chest. His other hand fisted through Jackie’s hair, pulling her head back against his shoulder.
“I think I understand why you always liked it rough, Jaclyn,” he panted against her cheek. “I assume,” he huffed, shoving Jackie forward onto the bed again, “that you also enjoy a fuck after a fight. There’s something about the adrenaline rush that makes it so much better.”
He pushed her down into the mattress before his steel-toed boot pressed into her face to hold her down.
She fought as best as she could, but he had her completely pinned.
She heard his pants rustle as he pulled his cock free again.
He roughly yanked her panties down and pressed himself into her opening.
She tried to launch herself forward, trying to avoid him entering her completely.
His hand came down hard on her asscheek and she had to fight not to cry out.
She didn’t know what was going on outside with Dimitri and Nikita, but if he was out there and heard her scream, she knew he’d put himself at risk by coming to look for her.
M?kail’s boot came off her face, but his hand was back in her hair before she could react and get away. He pulled her back up against his chest, grunting.
“I will hit you again, Jaclyn. I want him to hear you scream for me. I want him to come back here and see me deep inside you and remember that you were mine first.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. You were an informant and a quick fuck, M?kail. Nothing more,” she panted, trying to pull out of his grip.
“Whore,” he spat and pushed her back onto the bed. He wasn’t pushing into her legs as hard now, and she took the advantage to roll away. Her feet connected with M?kail’s thighs, and he stumbled back onto his ass. He rolled, trying to get away before she could pounce.
Jackie moved anyway, launching herself off the bed and onto M?kail’s back. He rolled, trying to fight her off, but Jackie wrapped an arm around his neck, the other coming up to lock it in place. He hit her, trying to force her arms off him, but she only gripped tighter.
M?kail’s hits became weaker, and the strangled, choking sounds he was making told Jackie she was about to win this fight. She squeezed harder, and the choked sounds grew more frantic. Her arms tightened until she heard and felt a pop.
The room fell silent.
M?kail’s hands fell limp at his sides. Jackie held on for another second before releasing him.
She rolled away, and he fell with a hard thump on the ground.
She watched him for a moment, debating if she should check for a pulse.
The feel of the pop on her arms resonated.
She knew what she’d just done, but she wasn’t ready to accept that yet.
She gave herself another moment to catch her breath and adjust her underwear and dress before turning on her heel and walking out of the room.
She adjusted her hair to cover her bruising cheek as she made her way as casually as possible down the hall back toward the bar.
She paused as she stepped through the door, wiping the lipstick she knew was streaked across her chin, hoping that if anyone saw it, they’d assume it was from anything but a fight.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Dimitri still sitting where she’d last seen him. The bratva leader sat on the couch next to him, twisted as if they were having a casual conversation. She felt both their eyes on her as she returned to the bar to grab her jacket.
The EDM that thumped through the speakers kept time with the pounding of her heart. She chose to believe that she hadn’t just killed M?kail. With her bare hands no less.
She paused at the door, chancing one last glance around the club before leaving.
The crisp, cold night hit her like a brick wall, sobering her in a way she didn’t know she needed.
She’d made it in and out. She hadn’t, however, gotten the information she needed about Talia.
She hoped Dimitri could work some magic with Nikita.
She stopped a block away at their agreed-upon rendezvous spot. The cold stung her lungs, but she couldn’t stop herself from sucking it back like she was breaching water.
Dimitri was with Nikita when she left. It didn’t look like they were having a pleasant conversation, and it didn’t look like the bratva leader was inclined to simply let Dimitri go. She’d felt his eyes on her. She suspected what he must be demanding of Dimitri.
She leaned against the frost-covered brick, tucked away behind a garbage bin in the alley and hoped her boyfriend made it out of that club alive, too.