Slow Release (Ebony and Ivory Book 1) (19 page)

Damon

Having the name of the man who took Skye was all I needed to get a wealth of information on him. All along, I believed the threats stemmed from animosity towards me. Now, I had something that would help me get Skye back—understanding. Getting in his head would help me find her and, ultimately, kill him. There was no way I was going to rescue her and then leave him alive just so he could come back for her later.

The only problem was the more research Marcus did, the more I understood just how dangerous her abductor was. It was going to take Skye using her head too. I listened as Marcus filled me in on just how skilled my adversary was.

“Aedan O’Hara has ties with the Irish IRA.” I watched as Marcus leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You may need to call in some help on this one. Your Colombian friend, Antonio Wayne, perhaps he could help.”

“I don’t like owing men like Antonio Wayne Ramirez. The guy’s warped. He gets off on torturing people.”

“In situations like this, it takes a thug to deal with a thug.”

“Well, one thing is for sure; he fits that bill.” I didn’t like the idea of being indebted to Antonio Wayne Ramirez. He took being dangerous to a whole new level. As much as I didn’t like it, I was going to have to ask for help from one of the most unsavory characters I had ever met. Antonio was going to want something in return, and I knew, by the time it was all said and done, no one would come out of this unscathed.

I opened the desk and retrieved something I rarely had to use—a burner phone.

The Stalker

I watched her rest as I cooked up the concoction I had come to depend on. Despite my assurances otherwise, I laced her soup with something that would help her rest while I conducted business over the phone with my colleagues in Ireland. I was shocked she trusted me enough to eat what I gave her, but I can be a pretty convincing liar. It comes in handy in my line of work. The timing was never good to babysit someone in my home, but I had access to a woman who could be trusted to keep an eye on my hostage while I did business. The ringing of the cell phone I used only for business purposes drew my attention.

“Antonio Wayne, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I have a shipment coming in, and it’s something that may interest you—fifteen hundred ArmaLite AR-18 automatic rifles. At ten to twelve hundred a piece, I’d say that’s one hell of a mother load.”

“Yes, my friend, that will do much to serve the cause. That many guns would really make a difference for the Independent Republican Army.” I’d been trying to get him to do business with me for a long time. He usually only worked with the Colombians, and I was pleased he finally agreed to deal with the IRA. Every gun we secured meant one less in the hands of our rivals.

“When will you be expecting this shipment?”

“Soon, my friend. I’ll call you when you can pick up the shipment at the docks.”

“Good, that will give me time to take care of some personal business I need to tend to,” I answered as I eyed my sleeping beauty.

This deal would give me the money I needed to take my little abductee home to my motherland. Once we were in Ireland, I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping her chained. I would have the same kind of control over her that my nemesis once had. She would be in a foreign land with no one to depend on but me. Yes, things were going much better than I anticipated.

Skye

I rubbed at my wrist as I contemplated what I overheard as my abductor spoke on the phone. I knew he was lying when I asked about the soup. That was why I hadn’t eaten much. I wanted to eat some because if he felt like I trusted him, it increased my chances of escaping, but I didn’t want to eat so much that I wasn’t coherent. This wasn’t some harmless man, trying to get back at someone he believed had wronged him. I was familiar with just how dangerous gunrunners could be from living in Haiti. The fact that he was dealing in illegal arms meant he had connections, but that wasn’t what scared me the most. What scared me the most was that he was in the IRA. That meant his connections spanned continents. This man was extremely dangerous. For the first time since my abduction, I doubted Damon’s ability to save me.

I was going to have to use my wits to get out of this predicament. If there was some way I could get to a phone, perhaps I could notify the authorities of the gun shipment. That large of a shipment of guns would ensure he stayed in federal prison for the rest of his life. I pushed away the thoughts of how lethal their organization was and how many enemies I would make if my plan succeeded. The first thing I needed to do was gain this man’s trust. He wasn’t going to be easy to win over, not with the people he was accustomed to doing business with. I was going to have to play on the fact that he was attracted to me. The tricky thing was going to be playing on his attraction and not sleeping with him. I didn’t want to betray Damon, but I certainly didn’t want to die either.

I jumped when I heard his voice.

“Did you sleep well?”

I pulled at the chain on my arm as I answered. “It’s hard to sleep when you’re chained to a bed.” I was shocked when he reached into his pocket and retrieved a key as he made his way over to me.

As if having second thoughts, he sat next to me on the bed and coldly eyed me as he spoke. “Your every move is on camera. There’s nowhere you can hide from me.”

I took a moment to study the man speaking to me. He was large with reddish brown hair he pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes were blue and, though they were stunning in color, they didn’t hide the cold nature he held within. His Irish heritage showed in his appearance, and I was certain it would manifest in a ruthless manner if I pushed him or was caught trying to escape. I wasn’t dealing with a petty criminal. I was dealing with a man who was a mobster, trained in the art of reading body language and ready to enforce discipline on anyone who attempted deception.

“I only want the freedom to walk around the room, maybe read one of the books on that shelf over there. You’re drugging me so much I’m losing track of time. I don’t like drugs, and I sure don’t want to become dependent on whatever it is you’re giving me.”

“If you try and escape, being drugged will be the least of your worries. Don’t fuck with me, Skye. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m weak just because I’ve been kind to you. I have a very ugly side, and I would rather not have to subject you to it.”

“I have no intentions of trying to escape. Whatever problem you have with my boss is between you and him.”

“Don’t even try to act like you’re not fucking him, Skye. I have sex tapes that prove otherwise.”

“You taped my most private moments?”

“You have no more private moments. Now, don’t make me angry.”

I hung my head in embarrassment as he reached over and unlocked my wrist.

“Go take a shower, Skye. There’s fresh clothing in the drawers and closet.”

“Is there a camera in the bathroom?”

“I’ve already told you, there’s nowhere you can hide from my all-seeing eyes. Don’t worry, I’m not a man given to raping women. Now, be a good girl and go do as I asked.”

He got up to leave, but he looked over his shoulder and said one last thing before he left. “The windows are nailed shut, and there is no access to outside communications without the code I embedded. I’ll be very displeased if I catch you nosing around.”