The Sinner's Bargain (Contracts & Deceptions #2) (29 page)

“Stop!” The pleading cry was Amara’s. “Please just stop!”

Her long hair fell forward, curtaining her face as it swung to and fro with the swaying of her head. At the sound of three loud bangs in succession the other, the man’s grip loosened and Amara fell to the ground face first. She gasped, pushing up with her hands, cringing with realization that she’d landed in her vomit. Amara surveyed the room as the men shuffled around between shouts and began exiting the room. Another loud bang reverberated through the room, and Amara ran off of the stage and headed toward Courtney. Trying to ignore the stench of blood and the stumps of her arms tied to the table, Amara struggled as she tried to release Courtney.

“Untie me, please!” Courtney wailed.

“I’m trying!”

“It hurts so bad. It hurts so fucking bad,” Courtney cried.

“I’m trying!” Amara sobbed, tears blurring her line of vision.

“Step back!” It was a command that came from the door. Amara stood rooted in place until the words were repeated, “Step back!”

Amara dropped the ropes and took a shaky step back as Philip stomped toward her with a gun in his hand. He brought the gun up and aimed at Amara, her hands flying to her face as if they would shield her from the impending bullet. An icy shiver ran down her spine at the look on Philip’s face, and she shrieked loudly as the bullet shot out of the barrel with a click.

HE KNEW HE should have gone with her. Even though he’d taken a flight to Paris the very next day, Colin should have listened to his instincts and gone with Amara. If he had, all of this could have been avoided, he was sure of it. The driver he’d hired kept giving him a wary look through the rearview mirror. Colin was sure the man thought he was crazy—not that he cared. He knew he was impatient. His eyes drifted from the driver to the screen of his phone, following the blinking red light that said they were going in the right direction. They were close.
Finally.
Wasting no time, he sent Samuel a text message telling him he was on his way. He pictured the look of disbelief on Samuel’s face as he read it, probably thinking, “Stupid fucking kid can’t follow directions.” He wasn’t wrong.

He’d hired men to watch Colin—to keep him safe in his hotel room. Word was, Amir had tried to send somebody to take him hostage. Colin shook his head in disgust at the thought. Stupid fucking man thought he was going to get away with his plan. It wasn’t shocking that he’d try to play Amara the way he was, he had tricked her into taking the fall for him the first time, after all. Colin was sure Amir hadn’t worked out the details of the plan though, and that’s where he’d failed. Hiring Courtney was his first slip-up, especially since Colin had started paying close attention to everything that girl did and all the clients she took on. As detail oriented as Philip was, Colin was shocked he hadn’t caught on to her. In her defense, she did cover up her tracks, except for that one… where she’d emailed her “client” and spoken about Amara, or “Jasmine,”—a huge Méchant no-no. You didn’t pass your clients off to other women in the company without approval from Vivienne, who had been keeping a tight leash on Courtney’s client list as it was.

Poor Amara. His wonderful girl with the selfless heart, who he wished he could shelter from all of the bullshit she’d been dealt. It was too late for that now though, and as the car pulled up to a house—which looked more like an old castle—Colin could only hope he’d be able to get her out without getting them both killed. He was banking on Samuel bringing her outside, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Stay here. Whatever happens, do not leave this fucking spot. I’ll pay you triple your price, just… stay put,” Colin said to the driver before ducking out of the car. “And turn off the lights.”

The back of his neck began to prickle as he walked toward the dimly lit castle. He didn’t know which direction to go—it seemed like the entire thing was one huge rock with only one door, but there had to be another entrance. Even old castles had to have more than one way in. Colin reached for his phone and pressed a button to flick on the flashlight app. He cursed when he saw that he still hadn’t gotten anything back from Samuel. He’d better not be double crossing him. Amara wasn’t the best judge of character, but even she felt off about Philip and Samuel. People who do anything for the highest bidder can’t be trusted, she’d said. It helped to know that he was aware of the location of Samuel’s kids. He was willing to bury each and every known family member he or Philip had. He wasn’t surprised to admit he felt nothing about doing it. They were fucking with what was his, so he had every right to return the favor—and he would.

Colin stilled at the sound of running footfalls coming his way. He cursed himself for not thinking to bring a gun—not that he’d ever fired one before, but he would have figured it out.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Samuel asked, appearing from the side of the house.

“I told you I would come if I didn’t hear back from you sooner.”

“I called you two hours ago when I found her!”

“I told you I needed to hear her voice.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Really? Then what the fuck am I paying you for?”

“Colin, this is serious,” Samuel said, exasperated.

“So I keep hearing. I want you to bring my girlfriend out here and continue your serious business without her.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Make it that fucking simple!” Colin growled as he glared at him. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and mentally counted back from five. Colin had always thought he was a simple man. He wanted simple things, but he did always expect to get those things when he asked for them. Maybe it was the curse of growing up well off, you always got what you wanted, when you wanted, because money talks. He was completely okay with that.

“Follow me,” Samuel said, shaking his head as he turned and walked in the direction he’d come from.

When they neared the back of the building, Samuel stopped walking suddenly and looked off in the distance as if he’d heard something.

“What?” Colin asked.

“I think they’re here.”

“Who?” Colin asked in a whisper that matched Samuel’s. The entire place had an eerie feel that made his hands clam up as he looked around. Before he could register movement, two men in camouflage showed up in front of them. They were so unexpected, that both Samuel and Colin took a step back.

“Them. I’ll leave the door open for you—you have to move fast. There are at least eight armed men in there,” Samuel explained quickly. He continued rattling off locations that he’d seen them in, and Colin listened attentively, slightly horrified. Amara was in there with all of those men. She’d been in there for at least a day, maybe two. The thought sent a chill down his spine.

Colin followed Samuel through the large wooden door and found himself in a dark hallway. The inside of the castle was just like the outdoors—rocky, cold and dark. The walls along the corridor snaked in two different directions, making them look like they had a mind of their own.

“Where is she?” Colin asked in a low whisper.

Samuel pointed to the right. As they were approaching, a group of men ran past, ignoring them as they shouted to one another. Samuel stopped walking and gave Colin a wide-eyed look. “You’re going to have to go look for her without me. I have to go that way anyway, and if I see her, I’ll bring her to you. If you don’t find her and I’m not back here by eight thirty, go back to the car and stay there.” When Colin didn’t make a move, he gave him an exasperated look. “Second door to the left.”

He nodded and walked in that direction. At the sound of a gunshot, he stopped dead in his tracks. A woman’s screams shook him to the core. It was all the fuel he needed for his body to kick into overdrive. Colin barged into the room and stopped his forward motion only long enough to quickly assess the situation. Philip’s arm was still in motion, bringing his arm down with a gun in his hand. Amara was screaming, both hands covering her face. Courtney sat in a chair, missing both of her hands, her neck wrenched to the side, blood sputtering from a wound on her head. Colin’s stomach churned. Pushing down the bile in his throat, Colin leaped toward Amara, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her quivering frame into his chest. She screamed louder, her tiny body thrashing inside of his hold as she tried to fight him. Colin squeezed harder, his eyes on Philip, who stood over Courtney’s body.

“She’s not hurt. You need to get out of here,” Philip said, his voice as distant as the look in his eyes.

Colin curled his arm under Amara’s knees and picked her up, cradling her to him. “Shh it’s okay, I’m here now,” he said low into her ear. Her screams had died down, but tears continued to spill down her face, dripping down her chin and onto his shirt. He saw the moment his voice registered in her mind—the second she realized whose arms she was in. Her amber eyes widened slightly, and her limbs loosened in his strong hold, as she gave herself to him completely. He strode toward the open door and walked out, not bothering to look back. He made his way through the halls, carrying Amara through the passage he’d used to find her. Colin passing an American soldier along the way. His eyes registered the man’s name: Jennings. He nodded sharply at him, and the man returned the gesture.

“She okay?” he asked, looking at Amara.

“She will be.”

“As soon as you get to the car, drive away as fast as you can.”

That had been Colin’s plan anyway. Once they were outside, he picked up his pace into a sprint until he reached the car. He opened the door and got in, not letting go of Amara, even when he bumped his head on the ceiling. There was no way he was letting her out of his arms.

“Go!” he said as soon as the driver gave him a questioning look.

“It was Courtney the whole time. Following me. And she was working with my dad,” Amara said in a whimper. “They…they cut off her hands right there, and made me watch it… they…. Philip shot her. Just shot her… right there… I was trying to help her and he shot her,” she wailed. She began to cry again, and the only thing Colin could do was hold her as sobs rocked her body. He felt helpless in that moment, unsure of what he could do for her. No amount of money could take the pain away or erase the mental picture she would have for the rest of her life.

“I’m here. It’s going to be okay now,” he murmured into her hair. His promise was the only thing he had; the only thing he could stand behind. At least his vow was something he could control.

As they drove, Colin craned his head to look back and saw smoke. The castle was burning. For a second he wondered about Philip—about Samuel and the American soldiers he had seen run in there. He squeezed Amara in his arms as he thought of them and, for the first time in a long time, Colin said a short prayer. Those men ran into danger because it was their job. Somewhere, loved ones waited for them.

“I was so scared,” Amara said in a hoarse whisper as she wiped her tears and shifted on his lap so she could see his face. “They said my dad knew where you were and that he was going to use you—” Amara choked on the words and began to sob again, as Colin pulled her face to his chest and stroked her hair.

“He would have tried and failed, Mara. We’re okay. Everything is okay. Did they hurt you?”

Her head shook against him and Colin let out a long, relieved breath.

“What is this?” he asked, placing his hand over her stomach.

“Oh. The papers!” she said, wiping her face and scrambling out of his legs to sit beside him. She reached under her shirt and pulled them out. “I just snatched them when all the commotion was going on.”

“What do they say?”

“I haven’t been able to look at them. I just grabbed them and put them under my shirt.”

When they reached the hotel, Colin paid the driver and led Amara by the hand, ignoring the curious looks they earned from other guests. He ignored the security detail Samuel had hired for him as he opened the door and walked her straight to the bathroom, turning on the water in the tub.

“I need a shower,” she said.

“I’ll help you.”

Amara shook her head and looked away from him, giving herself a once