Pretty Deadly

Chapter Five

Nalini

I was petrified with fear. I was out of patches, and Eric was out of time. I’d caused a distraction. Maybe not the one I’d planned, but I had the interest of the guards focused on the blood all over the foyer. I slunk up the stairs and waited.

Eric should have been here by now. My heart beat in my chest, my head, and pounded in my ears. I slammed my fingers through my hair as my body trembled on an overload of adrenaline.

“Nalini!”

I spun at the shriek from the other side of the hall. Ayla rushed to me, wrapped her thin arms around my shoulders, and squeezed me.

She kissed me, holding me close as her hands weirdly roamed over my body, as if she were searching me. Paranoia slipped along my spine. What if I’d worn gloves or brought a weapon?

Ayla noticed everything. She’d sense my fear. I released a trembling breath and rubbed my arms, mimicking the icy chills of withdrawal.

“We were so scared we’d never see you again. Hurry. Come with me. Madden is desperate to see you. You can’t imagine what it did to him to know you were gone. I mean, you left with that asshole. But I explained to Madden you were protecting me.” She gasped as she grasped my arm. “Oh my god. Did he hurt you?”

Shivers broke over my flesh. “I had to escape.”

Ayla held my hand. My feet seemed to follow even while my head screamed to run. I darted my gaze over my shoulder. Eric said he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. But I was never safe with Madden, and Ayla was dragging me toward him. Perhaps if I had more patches, I could’ve drugged him like the guards, like he’d done to me.

“What did he do to you?” Ayla asked. “How did you get away?”

“I ran. I…I, ah, got sick. I’m hurting,” I whispered. “I didn’t want to come back, but I didn’t know where else to go.”

If I acted as if I wanted to be here, she’d know something was off. I never wanted to be here but couldn’t escape either.

She paused at the door to Madden’s office. I leaned against the wall, leaving a smear of blood.

“Madden will take care of you. He always does.” She pushed the door open and ushered me inside.

I stumbled into the room. Madden stood at the window with his back to me.

“I found her,” Ayla said to Madden. “She’s dope sick. You need to give her something.”

“I’m okay.” I only needed the ruse to get past the guards. Now that I was in Madden’s lair, I needed to be smart, not high.

She wrapped her arm around me and led me to a chair. “You should sit down. You’re shaking. You must have been scared.”

“Are you still afraid, Nalini?” Madden’s cold tone sank into my bones. There was no way he could know about Eric, but maybe I hadn’t been quick enough. Maybe he knew I’d drugged the guards.

“You’re safe now.” Ayla stood next to Madden but kept her gaze on me. “The guards captured an intruder. They have him detained. I think it might be the guy from the club. The guy who killed Laf. At least, I think it is. I only saw him on the security footage, and I was high at the club, but I remember the way he walked. He must have followed you here.”

Oh please, no. This wasn’t part of the plan. But maybe it didn’t matter. Eric understood we’d be seen on the security cameras. A violent shudder ripped through me, and a spike of fear pierced my resolve. They had Eric.

If I pleaded with Madden, I’d convince him I wanted to be here, not that he would let me go, and I’d only be playing into his twisted sickness.

He was going to hurt Eric.

Madden’s shoulders stiffened as he spoke to Ayla. “Now that Nalini is safely here, have one of the guards bring the intruder to me.” He slid his hands into the front pockets of his trousers. “I need a moment alone with Nalini.”

She squeezed my hand. “If it’s him, I’m sure Madden will let you watch him squirm as he dies.”

A hard knot of terror lodged in my throat, fighting to escape as a moan of regret. I should have saved a patch for Madden. I should have fought back a long time ago. Then like now, war with Madden was impossible. He always won.

Once the door clicked closed, the shroud of silence fell between us like a suffocating cloud of toxicity. I couldn’t draw a breath. My chest tightened, and my belly soured.

Each step Madden made toward me rippled the air with a wave of hostility. He came around the back of my chair. His deadly hand landed on my shoulder, skated higher to my neck, and curved around my throat. He’d choked me often, but this time, there was no sexual intention behind my torture. He squeezed, his strong fingers like a vise, killing me with his bare hands.

I froze, unwilling to fight the inevitable. He’d been killing me slowly. I’d rather be dead than watch him torture Eric. And he would be brutal. Madden relished the painful wails of his adversaries begging for mercy. Power made him high, higher than any of the drugs he pushed through his drug empire.

His grip lessened as he leaned over me. Warm breath, tainted with the scent of cigarettes, caressed my flesh. The spice of his cologne surrounded me, reminding me that even his presence was enough to hold me hostage with impending dread.

“Vinny is dead. Rico is dead. Laf is dead. Tomas is dead.” His voice became sharper and more dangerous with each name. “Yet, you’re here. Did you betray me, Nalini, after everything I’ve done for you?”

I couldn’t speak. My tongue thickened in my mouth.

“Did you use the only weapon you have against men? Did you fuck him? He must be weak to be brought to his knees by a tight, wet cunt. Did he promise to save you from your pathetic fucking life? You bring him into my home, to threaten my family, to what? Kill me?”

I white-knuckle gripped the arms of the chair. Tears burned in my eyes, but I couldn’t find my voice to speak. My hands trembled. Fear arrested my breath. Eric was right. I wasn’t ready for this.

“I’ve been inside you, bitch. Your cunt won’t save you.” He straightened, turned, and walked to his cabinet. A cabinet of horrors that promised a slippery slide into hell.

Sweat soaked my flesh. My gut clenched, my mouth salivated, and my veins sang with the memory of what was to come. Goosebumps crawled over my arms, tickling my veins. Or maybe the bumps were more like ants under my skin, creating an itch only a chemical high could scratch. Heat radiated through my limbs, but my mind was shattering. I ached, even my teeth hurt. “Oh, god.”

“Once I’m done with you, there won’t be anything left for your savior.”

Maybe I was stupidly hoping Eric would save me. I didn’t want to be me anymore. The girl I’d been before Madden, before drugs, no longer existed. But I could be someone else, someone who had no past.

The crush of rocks sent flares of anticipation into my blood. I hated that I could taste what he wanted to give me. The high, the euphoria of forgetting who I was…forgetting what I’d become.

But I didn’t want to forget Eric. He needed my help. Madden was going to send me back into the darkness when I’d barely glimpsed the possibility of light with a stranger. Maybe the blocker would help mask the effects, but I didn’t want to take the chance.

I cast a quick glance over my shoulder. Madden focused on melting the drug. I could run, but nothing had changed. Madden still had my freedom in his hands, and now, he didn’t just have me. He had Eric.

I didn’t have a weapon. There was no way to escape, and Ayla would return with Eric. I needed something, anything, to keep him from getting me high. Not that it was sharp like a knife, or deadly like a gun, but there was a pencil resting on top of his desk.

Madden only did his books with a pencil. Laundering his drug money through legitimate business meant adjusting numbers. What if I stabbed him and the pencil broke? I would be dead two minutes from now after he snapped my neck. The only way would be to hit him somewhere vulnerable. I could jam it into his eye or his ear. He wouldn’t be dead, but I’d be able to run.

I needed to wait until Eric was in the room. I couldn’t abandon him to the same misery he tried to break me free from. I just needed a little good luck for once in my life. Maybe this could be twice in my life because Eric taking me from the club was the first good thing that had happened to me. Maybe ever.

Holy shit. Madden focused on loading the syringe. If I moved, he’d see me. I slid forward on the chair.

Madden shifted his gaze from me to the melted drug. “I should make you suffer, but I want you to enjoy your captor’s demise.” He tapped the syringe with his fingernail. “I admit, this situation had me unnerved. I didn’t understand why he’d come after you, not if he wanted to get to me.”

I stood and faced Madden with his desk behind me. I took a step back, grabbed the pencil, and flattened it beneath my palm on my thigh. “Whatever you gave me at the club was too strong. I don’t remember much after he took me. I wasn’t with him long enough to know what he wanted.”

He paused, his gaze narrowed, and a muscle clenched in his jaw. “Sit down.”

I carefully angled my body and sank into the chair, tucking the pencil under my thigh. He approached with the syringe in his hand.

“Don’t do this,” I whispered.

“You should be thanking me. I’m granting you leniency.”

I was motionless as he turned over my arm. Blood rushed to the surface, swelling in my veins. “I don’t want it.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you want. If he’s here for you, he’s going to see you’re nothing but a junkie looking for her next high. If he’s here thinking he can get to me through you, then he’s higher than you’re about to be.” He traced my vein. “I’ll deal with your betrayal after I’ve made your friend regret his interference in my business.”

The needle promised a moment of sweet relief and another lifetime of darkness. This time, I’d be stronger than my addiction.

My gaze lifted to Madden’s. “Don’t talk of betrayal when you betrayed me first.” Tears filled my eyes. “You’ve stolen everything from me.” My sanity, my morals, my integrity…a future with a man who would love me and want a family.

“Stolen? Don’t forget how this started. You cost me three hundred thousand in product when you fucked up. You owed me.” He leaned in closer, the needle in his hand as he followed my vein with his thumb. “You still owe me.”

An instinct to fight overwhelmed me. I lifted my thigh and curled my fingers around the pencil. I didn’t know what would happen once he hit a vein. Would the blocker keep me from getting high, or would I once again fall into the nothingness?

I didn’t want to be dead anymore. I’d had a moment with Eric. A blip in an otherwise fucked up life. He had his own demons to fight, and I was just a stranger.

Regrets still wormed through my belly, but it wasn’t just Eric. I couldn’t deny there was a spark. I wanted the heat of his body against mine, the lick of fire across my skin, but I only had this moment left.

I couldn’t wait for Eric to kill Madden, to watch him suffer from a toxic chemical death. My grip tightened on the pencil.

The prick of my skin sent a flash of fear through me. The needle slid into my vein. Madden pulled back on the plunger. A swirl of blood mixed with the clear liquid inside the syringe. For a surreal moment, I could see my future.

“No,” I whispered.

Every muscle in my body clenched, my mind focused on Madden’s long, strong fingers. Time slowed. My breath gusted past the rim of my lips. As if I was watching in slow motion, his thumb shifted to the plunger.

“No.” My voice echoed in the room as I wrenched my arm back. Madden jerked. The needle ripped from my vein and dropped from his fingers.

Gripping the pencil, I spun, swinging my arm as hard as I could, jabbing the pencil into Madden’s neck. I felt resistance for the beat of my heart, then the pencil pierced the skin and slid into Madden’s throat. I yanked back hard. Blood squirted from the hole.

Madden gripped his neck and fell back on his ass. I collapsed to the carpet next to him and jammed the bloody pencil into the hollow of his neck. It cracked and snapped. He flung his arm. Pain exploded in my head as I tumbled to my side.

He rose to his feet, blood squirting from his neck with each beat of his heart. I must have hit an artery. His eyes widened as he stared at me, his bloody fingers trying to grasp the broken pencil still protruding from the base of his neck.

Light glinted off the syringe beneath the chair I’d been sitting in. I scrambled over and clutched it in my hand. This would be the last time.

“I hate you,” I screamed at him. I hated myself.

Madden dropped to his knees. Air hissed from the hole in his throat. Blood gurgled and bubbled, drenching the pristine white shirt hugging his muscular torso. I crawled across the carpet with the syringe in my hand.

Madden’s gaze met mine.

“You didn’t just kill me. You killed any chance I have for a normal life. I know I’ll go to prison for this.” Until tears slipped onto my cheeks, I hadn’t realized I was crying. “I’ll finally sleep at night knowing you won’t come to my bed because you’ll be dead. Ayla will rot in prison with me. Your empire is gone.” I stabbed the needle into his arm, pressed the plunger, and injected his poison into his body.

The door flung open. I darted my gaze to the intruder.

Ayla screamed when she saw Madden on the floor, covered in blood. I leaned over him, my blood-stained hands braced against his chest as I stared into his eyes and the last whistles of breath eked out of the hole in his neck.

Eric positioned behind Ayla. He had one hand on her shoulder, the other held a syringe to her neck, the needle already imbedded deep in her throat. He kicked the door closed.

“Oh god, Eric.” I crawled away from Madden, pulled myself to standing, and stumbled toward them. The high of adrenaline morphed into a fluid wave of relief.

His gaze softened as he glanced from me to Madden.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I messed up.”

A slow smile curled his lips. “You did great, baby. He’s dead.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Fat tears rolled down Ayla’s face. “How could you? After everything he’s done for you. You fucking bitch.”

Eric propelled her farther into the room. “He was going to die today regardless. You should thank her. I would’ve made him suffer.”

I glared at Ayla. “After everything he’s done to me, he deserved to die. You should be with him. You’re just as twisted as he is. How could you help him? You know he raped me. You kept me high because you knew he was going to give me to his dealers.”

“You fucking bitch! You killed him!”

“Yes, and when he drowned in his own blood, he knew I was the one who killed him.” I turned to Eric. “You need to go. When the police come, they’re going to arrest me.”

“I hate you,” Ayla said to me.

“I don’t care.” My monster was dead.

“I loved him.” Ayla nearly crumpled to the ground, but Eric held her steady. “I can’t live without him.” Before Eric could react to stop her, she thrust her arm high, grabbed his wrist, and forced the chemical into her throat.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” He jerked the needle from her neck.

Ayla dropped to the ground, crawled across the floor, and climbed onto Madden. She kissed him, smearing her hands through the thickening blood. “I love you,” she cried.

“What was in the syringe?”

Eric stared at Ayla as she curled against Madden. Blood colored her cheeks as she rested her head on his motionless chest. Her mouth opened, but she clutched her throat. Her wild eyes turned to me.

“She’ll be dead in minutes.”

“She looks like she’s in pain.”

Ayla’s hands curled into fists. Drool leaked from the corners of her mouth as she tried to breathe.

“She is.” His voice was cold and final.

I wanted to care, but I couldn’t see past my anger. Eric wrapped his strong arms around my shoulders and pulled me into his solid chest. Muscles flexed beneath my cheek. His hand slipped under the fall of my hair and his fingertips slid along the nape of my neck.

I sagged against him and lifted my face to his. Those ice-blue eyes stared into mine. Then he pressed his soft lips against my forehead. His kiss feathered across my flesh. Warmth bloomed in my core. This was a man that fairytales were made of. A man who slayed dragons and rescued the princess.

But I was the poison apple. I gripped his shirt, the scent of his cologne seeping into me. Tears filled my eyes as I convinced my heart to let go of the dream that I could have someone like Eric care about me. “You need to go.”

“Not yet.” His knuckles grazed along my cheek. “Everyone isn’t dead.”

“It’s too late. The police will know Madden was murdered.” My tummy tumbled when I thought of the trail of evidence I’d left. “And I made a mess of the guards at the gate.” An incredulous laugh bubbled out of my throat. “I’m not very good at killing.”

“You killed Kyng with a pencil. I think that puts you on a level with assassins from the movies.”

I ran my hands across his cabled abdominals and over his sculpted chest, feeling the hard beat of his heart beneath my palms. Taking a step back pained my heart, but I wouldn’t bring him down with me. “You can’t cover this up.”

“Don’t worry. This is a drug crime.”

I stared at the blood on my hands. Red rimmed my fingernails and soaked into my pores. “Police are going to investigate. My fingerprints are throughout the house.” I’d even left bloody handprints on the walls. “My DNA is all over Madden.”

He gently raked his fingers through the hair at my temple. “They’ll have hundreds of prints and DNA. Unless you’re in the system, they won’t know who you are. Just never get your ancestry charted. That’s how they found the Golden State Killer.”

I stared at Ayla. Because of her, I didn’t need a DNA ancestry database. “I have a warrant out for my arrest. Madden had it buried, but he made sure I understood that he controlled my freedom. With him gone, there won’t be a way to protect me from facing the drug charges against me.”

Eric was quiet. I lifted my gaze to his.

“Trust me, Nalini. I can keep you safe.”

Spade

Nalini trembled against me.

“So fucking brave.” I spoke against her hair as she fit perfectly against me with her arms around my waist and her head tucked under my chin. I slid my hand along the ladder of her spine, pressing her closer, crushing her tits against my chest, feeling her hard nipples like diamonds.

Her grip eased, and her hands drifted onto my hips. “I killed him.”

“You did, baby.”

“I’m not his whore anymore.”

In the club, her eyes had been vacant and lifeless, blown with drugs. Now, when she stared at me, those same eyes darkened with a heat that simmered the same in me. A chaotic madness. “You never were.”

Long lashes lowered, and when she lifted them again, her eyes glistened with a shimmer of moisture.

“You’ve done enough,” I said to her. “I can finish.” I rubbed a smudge of blood from her cheek. “We don’t have much time. But we can’t be on the street covered in blood. Wash off and change into something casual.”

“Jeans and a T-shirt or sweats and a tank?”

“Yeah. Either one. This is it. When we walk away, you’re leaving Nalini here. Take nothing from your room. Not your purse or your ID. Leave everything.”

A flash of concern crossed her face. Then her shoulders relaxed, and the tension seemed to drain from her body. A shaky breath ghosted over her lips. “I trust you, but I can’t…I can’t let you go to prison for me.”

The corner of my mouth twitched with a smile. “Trust me. I’m not going to get caught.”

And I wasn’t letting her go. I’d warned her she was trading one prison for another. Only with me, she’d be safe. A gilded cage, but still a cage. The perfect place for a broken bird, too damaged to fly free.

She seemed to accept that the decision wasn’t hers. “Okay. What about the security cameras?” She pushed her hair from her face. “I don’t know how to erase the footage, and there won’t be anyone to torture into helping us. Vic is head of security.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I slapped a patch on him first.” She glanced at Ayla. “And she can’t help us now.”

Ayla had the same drug combination in her as the guards downstairs. Her death would be ruled a drug overdose. There was nothing I could do about Madden. The pencil jammed into his neck was a clear indication foul play was involved, but that didn’t mean the evidence needed to point to the petite woman next to me.

Blood stained her hands. At first, I hadn’t noticed the gash on her arm because of the amount of Madden’s blood covering her arms, face, and chest. Fuck. She’d already been through hell, and I’d failed her, too. She’d had to face Madden alone because I’d been careless and momentarily lost the upper hand.

“I’ll take care of the surveillance system.” I assumed Madden had a CCTC system recorded to a local server. He wouldn’t want the police to have the ability to investigate his illegal activities. If I couldn’t get to the SSDs, I’d take the whole fucking computer system.

“We need to split up,” she said. “I’ll get changed while you take care of the system. I can be downstairs in five minutes.”

“I don’t know if the house is secure.”

“Madden has guns,” she said and rushed to the cabinet against the far wall. She stilled, her spine became rigid, and her small hands curled into fists.

I crossed the room. Drug paraphernalia littered the countertop. Needles, spoons, torches, and filters.

“I’m an addict.” Her voice was soft. “I can taste the high. I crave it as much as I hate it.” Tears slipped from her eyes.

I cupped her cheeks, catching her tears with my thumbs. “Nalini is dead now. Leave her here.”

She nodded, turned away from me, and unlocked a hidden compartment in the cabinet. The door sprang open revealing several handguns and ammunition. She hesitantly lifted the small, black handgun.

“Do you know how to use it?” I took the gun from her, checked the chamber and the magazine, then handed it back to her. I covered her hand with mine, braced the handle in her palm, and aimed the gun toward an invisible target. “Firm grip on the handle, soft touch on the trigger.”

“I know enough to aim and pull the trigger. Five minutes,” she repeated, holding the gun close to her side. “The security room is downstairs. There’s a hidden door next to the grandfather clock. Run your fingers along the molding. You’ll feel a slide latch that opens the door.”

“Got it.” I grabbed the other gun.

I’d fucked up when I’d entered the house. I’d seen the blood, and I’d envisioned the worst possible scenario. Fear had festered in my gut, boiling into a white-hot rage. If Nalini was hurt, if they put their fucking hands on her again, I’d burn the house to the ground.

She was mine now. The guard had disarmed me, but he’d failed to understand I was more deadly with my satchel. I was fighting for her. With my hands free, I’d shoved a needle between his ribs. While he gagged on his tongue, Ayla made the unfortunate decision to threaten me with Nalini.

I didn’t enjoy killing women, but I was glad the bitch was dead. How many other girls had she befriended to their detriment? Perhaps Ella had been another one of her victims.

“Eric?”

I lifted my gaze from checking the rounds in the magazine. Words seem to stick in her throat. She swallowed.

I pressed my lips to her forehead. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ve got you now.” I opened the door of the office.

Nalini sucked in a sharp breath. Two additional guards slumped against the wall. Blank eyes stared straight ahead. Drool trickled from the guard’s mouth, and the pungent scent of urine tinted the air.

“There are no innocents here,” I said to her.

“I know. Drug dealers aren’t the only ones who deserve to die.” She glared at the bigger of the two dead guards. “Dominic. He was Madden’s enforcer. He used him to make sure I stayed compliant.” Her voice softened. “He broke me. Yesterday, I was supposed to be his birthday present. If I hadn’t been so high, I would have slit my wrists before I let him touch me again.”

I leaned into her and whispered against her ear. Her silky hair tickled my lips, and her scent slipped under my skin. “The injection I gave him paralyzes his ability to move. He suffered.”

“Good.”

I glanced in both directions, hyperaware of every creak of the flooring, every whisper of disturbed air. “No witnesses,” I said to her. No one was going to be able to threaten her again.