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Chapter 20
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The Darkest Hour Chapter 21
Pale morning light roused Kenzie from one of the deepest sleeps she'd ever had. She opened her eyes, blinking slowly as she took in the elegant and lavish room around her.This isn't home. This isShe was bewildered for a long moment, wondering how she'd gotten here, in Russia with her professor and in his bed. Memories from last night hit her, and she winced as she shifted. Her inner legs were sore, and between her thighs hurt too. She bit her lip to hide a smile.Dr. Devereaux sure knew how to make love, as they had stared into each other's eyes and he'd gone slow, it had rocked her to her very core. She hadn't been a virgin before, but that last time was what every girl dreamed her first time would be like.She sat up in bed, still tender all over, and it felt good. She tucked her knees up to her chin and realized she was smiling. She couldn't seem to stop. That was when she heard it, the sound of the shower running and the voice of a man singing in deep tones. Normally, a man s
The Darkest Hour Chapter 22
Vadym Andreikiv sat in his leather chair in his office, glaring at Jov Tomenko."You said they were in Moscow, but you lost track of them at the airport."Jov was a burly brute born in Siberia. He was a man of few words, and he kept secrets well, but if he didn't start talking, then Vadym would replace himpermanently."They hired a private car service. Our hacker team checked all the major databases and the taxicabs. Electronic receipts are easy to track these days, but we couldn't get a lock on their location."Vadym pulled a cigar cutter from his desk and stared at Jov as he sliced off the tip of the cigar with a menacing sound."Think carefully about your next words, Jov. You don't want to displease me."Jov audibly swallowed."I'll find them. Or""Or?""Well, you could lure him to you, couldn't you? Put the word out where you can be found. Make Devereaux come to us. Then I can deal with him." Jov clenched his hands together, his knuckles cracking.Vadym considered the ide
The Darkest Hour Chapter 23
Royce faced Moscow State University's vast central building located on Sparrow Hills in the southwest part of the city. The building had been designed by Lev Vladimirovich Rudnev and was the tallest of Moscow's Seven Sisters, the high-rises built by Stalin's labor force. It was both grim and beautiful at the same time."Holy cow." Kenzie tilted her head back to look up at the center spire that reached toward the cloudless winter sky."One of the tallest buildings in the world, aside from the Sears Tower, until 1990," Hans said as he joined them. Royce and Kenzie both turned to stare at him."What?" He shrugged. "You guys didn't grab a brochure from the hotel lobby before we left?" He waved a small pamphlet.Royce sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He needed another hit of coffee. "This isn't a vacation, Hans.""You say super-secret mission to stop a Russian mobster, I say vacation. To-ma-to, to-mah-toe." Kenzie giggled as Hans waggled his eyebrows teasingly.
The Darkest Hour Chapter 24
Kenzie held her breath as she snapped the expensive black bra around her torso. The silky set was given to her by Royce earlier in the day, and they were definitely on the slightly too-tight side, making her feel restless and uncomfortable, even though the fabric was smooth and light against her skin.As she adjusted the lingerie and looked herself over in the mirror, her thoughts turned from the elastic biting into her ass cheeks toward the things Royce would want to do to her once he saw her in the lingerie. She squeezed her thighs tight and slipped a shimmering knee-length gold sheath dress over the lingerie, then slipped on the black heels and finally a black coat with a fur collar.She stepped out of the bathroom unnoticed by either Royce or Hans, who were caught up discussing their strategy for the night. Royce wore a black suit and a blue-gray shirt with a steel-gray tie. His wild, wavy dark hair had been tamed back a little, and he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed a
The Darkest Hour Chapter 25
Kenzie was led into a room at the front of the hall. There was a massive bed with expensive furnishings. The restraints and the wall of toys were like the room Royce had taken her into in the Gilded Cuff, albeit a bit darker and less elegant. Dimitri was already there waiting, his coat off, his shirtsleeves rolled up. He walked along the wall of toys, examining each one. Kenzie halted a few feet inside the door when she saw him pick up a flogger."Oh God," she said. This two-man fantasy was fast becoming a realitymaybe too fast."No floggers. Not yet," Royce said as he closed and locked the door.When she gulped and stared at him, he chuckled."It's to keep the bad men out, not you in.""Right. Of course." She shrugged out of her coat and Royce took it, hanging it on a hook. Then he removed his own coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Both he and Dimitri were watching her, their eyes fixed on her every move."Not much training with this one?" Dimitri asked.Royce shook his head
The Darkest Hour Chapter 26
Royce felt the weight of the vial of ricin in his trousers.It seemed to be burning through his pocket. Soon he would be slipping it into a drink and giving it to Vadym. Never in his life had he imagined he would be a man who would take a life like this. He'd always believed in being a hero, someone who would kill a bad guy in a glorious shootout, not this shady, spy-versus-spy, fucked-up shitstorm he was currently trapped in. Soon this nightmare would be over. He led Kenzie outside of the room and buried all thoughts of what they had just shared deep inside. He couldn't let his feelings get in the way of what had to be done.He'd prefer to simply shoot the man in the midst of a fight. That would be fair, sure, but that was too dangerous. Innocents could get hurt in the process. They needed to be cold and calculated because they were putting more than just their own lives at risk.While he had some qualms about using these means to kill someone, he certainly had none about the targe
The Darkest Hour Chapter 27
Hans could barely breathe. Hands dug into his arms, keeping him still as Royce and Kenzie were hauled away through the back door of the club.I can't let that boy down. His eyes burned and his vision blurred with tears. Am I fucking crying?"Brummer, everything will be fine. We'll go after them," Dimitri promised in a low tone only Hans and Tatiana could hear. The room was still full of armed men who were watching every move around them for signs that Royce and Kenzie had allies."He's right," said Tatiana, leaning into him by the bar. "If you tried to fight now, Vadym would only kill you. For now, Devereaux is safe and well, and if he's smart he can protect the girl."But all Hans could picture was a tiny child, one who sat quietly beside another boy with bruises and cuts everywhere. Royce had been only eight years old when Emery had been rescued.Hans hadn't been able to get the scene out of his headEmery on one bed, knees tucked up to his chin, eyes wide and gaze distant and Ro
The Darkest Hour Chapter 28
Kenzie was shoved into a black van outside the club, her hands bound in front of her. Two of Vadym's men tossed the poor unconscious woman onto the floor beside her, before they walked around to the front of the van and got in. Through the front windshield, Kenzie could see Royce being dragged to a black SUV parked in front of them.When they'd knocked Royce out, Kenzie had nearly fainted. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding and she felt dizzy with terror, but she'd managed to stay in control. This was so much worse than Gary and Monte attacking her at Royce's office. Compared to this, that had been child's play.Vadym had her in his clutches, and he'd made it clear he was going to use her to get what he wanted from Royce and then to hurt her after he disposed of this other poor woman. Kenzie crawled over to the woman and rolled her onto her back. The left side of her face was still red from Vadym's blow.She pressed two fingers under the woman's jaw and felt the steady pulse of a hea
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