RunningScaredBN (13 page)

She saw no judgment on anyone’s face. Knew there would be no urging for her to even be involved if she said no. But then, what would that make her? A coward? Less than what she had become? A victim once again, too afraid to face her demons? She was a rescuer. She did whatever it took to save lives. In LCR, the victim always came first. Personal grudges had to be put aside for the greater good. Larson had to be stopped before he destroyed another life. There was no other choice to make.

She took a breath, this one soul-deep, and said, “Let’s bring these bastards down.”

Chapter Eleven

Mediterranean Sea
 

With silky elegance, the yacht sailed through velvety smooth water. Majestic and sleek, the Jewel of the Sea was the largest of its kind. Two hundred and fifty tons of graceful steel, the vessel was the envy of every man in the world. Dimitri Soukis took pride in that fact.
 

Though he had inherited some wealth, Dimitri still considered himself a self-made man. Through his vision, perseverance, and sheer doggedness, he had been able to maintain that wealth as well as amass more. Times were tough for many. Most of his acquaintances had lost everything. The jealous ones accused him of dishonesty, of taking advantage of the less fortunate. He laughed in their faces. Less fortunate? Through grit and strength, he had gained his wealth. While others whimpered and whined as they saw their riches dwindling away, he swooped down and took what he wanted. The spoils of victory were always the sweetest.
 

Was it any wonder that he’d been nicknamed The Vulture? He enjoyed the comparison. He had no sympathy for those he had taken from, those he had destroyed. They had been too stupid to retain their wealth—bad luck for them. Luck had nothing to do with Dimitri’s success. He saw, he wanted, he took. To hell with the rest of the world.

There were two rules he’d set for himself when he’d taken control of his family’s empire. He swore he would never break them, and to his knowledge, he hadn’t.

The first rule: Be ruthless in all things. If his father were still alive, he’d cut his feet out from under him if necessary. To win, one had to be ruthless. Dimitri had no real friends…didn’t want any. He had business associates who liked to call themselves his friends. Did they know he could have them destroyed with barely a wave of his hand? He hoped so.
 

He’d learned long ago that there were two kinds of people in the world. The ones who wanted what you had and the ones who wanted you to give them a handout. The first kind he enjoyed destroying. The second kind he used to his advantage. Amazing what people would do for you for money.

His second rule was just as important as the first: Be willing to dump the garbage. No. Matter. What. He had eliminated more than a few relatives, several business acquaintances, and if a servant displeased him, Dimitri didn’t give him a second chance.
 

And then there was Jessica.

In his most private moments—ones he would never reveal to anyone—he considered her his only failure.

She had been pure and perfect. His beautiful girl. His to remold and remake into what he needed.

Making her into what he expected had been a time-consuming, sometimes grueling endeavor. Not to say there hadn’t been times he hadn’t enjoyed the training. Especially during the first year. Later on, when she realized how much he enjoyed her tears, she learned to withhold them. He’d had to work even harder on her then.

When she had left him, the embarrassment had been much worse than his heartache. He had offered her everything, and she had practically spit in his face. People, most especially women, did not leave Dimitri Soukis and live.
 

He had searched for her, discreetly, of course. His business rivals didn’t need to know what went on in his personal life. They especially didn’t need to see that he hadn’t been able to control one slight female. In private, he raged and roared his fury. In public, he was amused, blasé. A woman who didn’t appreciate the gift of living with Dimitri Soukis was deserving of pity. How stupid she must be to leave everything behind.

He had been misled. She had not been what he had expected—what he had been promised. Oh, she’d put on an act, he had to give her that. She had pretended to be malleable, obedient to his commands. Then what had she done? She had betrayed him, had tried to call out for help. He had punished her for that infraction.
 

That one punishment had been exactly what both of them had needed. After her recovery, she had been docile and meek. He had realized his leniency with her had brought on her need to flee. Any softness he’d shown her before was gone. In its place was strict discipline. At last, she had been becoming exactly what he’d hoped she’d be. He had been on the verge of giving her the greatest gift any woman could receive. And then, without any warning whatsoever, she had disappeared.

He had gone on with his life. People might speculate in private what had happened, but they would never have the audacity to ask him or speak of it in public. He would never stop wanting her, though.
 

None of her replacements had held up near as well. They were all gone now and he was alone. His wants and needs unfulfilled. It was so damn unfair!

Jessica would return to him one day—this he vowed. And when she did. Oh, when she did, she would pay for every day that she had been away from him. And then, if he was feeling merciful, he might let her die.

But then again, what fun would that be?

“Mr. Dimitri, sir. You have a phone call from a Mr. Larson.”

About damn time. Dimitri held out his hand for the phone. Snatching it from the servant, he put the phone to his ear. “Well? Do you have news or not?”

Los Angeles, California

William Larson stood on the balcony of his multimillion-dollar mansion, blind to the spectacular scenery below. Bitterness and fury kept him from appreciating the view. Hearing Dimitri Soukis’s slimy, pompous voice on the phone, William could almost feel his blood pressure shoot up the charts.
 

His teeth grinding against each other, he forced calmness into his tone. “I’m making arrangements to find her, to have her returned to you.”

“It’s about time. Any reason you’re doing it now?”

William held back his snarl of anger. The asshole knew exactly why he was working so hard to find the girl.

“You’re ruining my reputation,” William said. “People are wary of buying from me. They say my products are inferior.”

“With good cause. You’ve never delivered what I was promised.”

It took every bit of control William had left not to let loose on the man. As it was, he could barely get the words out. “I have provided you with several others since Jessica.”

“None of them held up.”

Telling the brutal beast that it was his own damn fault would do no good. The man wanted what he wanted. And he had paid an astronomical amount for Jessica. Not for the first time, William cursed her for escaping. Dammit, why couldn’t she have just died like the others?

Finding women, especially young healthy ones, who could survive Dimitri’s particular needs was difficult. Since Jessica’s defection, William had sent others—three of them. And hadn’t charged Dimitri one single cent. Two of the girls had died within a year of delivery. The other had lasted almost two years before she had sliced her wrists and bled out.

“Jessica was the best one and she left me.”

The whine in Dimitri’s voice was both childish sounding and creepy.

“We trained Jessica to entertain and please. She was to be an obedient companion, a lovely, useless ornament. Her sales profile described her talents and abilities. If you had indicated you wanted a full-time slave with strong masochistic tendencies, you should’ve said so. We could have accommodated you with someone else at that time. But finding that particular type of woman takes time and a goodly amount of training. We—”

“You dare blame me for Jessica’s inexcusable behavior?”

William held his temper. Alienating the man would be even more detrimental. He had to find and return Jessica to redeem himself in the eyes of his clients. With three pieces of merchandise to move within the next six months, he had to play this just right. This would be his biggest payoff ever. He couldn’t screw this up.

“I have six different agencies working to find her.”

“I won’t pay a penny more to you.”

“I’m not asking for money. I just want to make this right.”

“How do you plan for this to work?”

“Once I hear that she’s been found, I’ll arrange a meeting. I’ve had medical records created to show she has severe mental problems. They’ll turn her over to me without difficulty. I’ll contact you and make arrangements for transfer.”

“What makes you think she’s even alive? She was a half-wit who could barely take care of herself. Plus, she’s been gone eight years. She could be at the bottom of the ocean, for all we know.”

William wanted to growl that it was the asshole’s fault that she had been in such poor condition. Jessica had been his best, his brightest star. Intelligent, talented, but with a pleasant, amenable personality. He’d spent more time and money on her than any of his other pieces. Therefore, she had brought the biggest price.

When Dimitri had bid for her, William had pushed aside his thoughts that maybe it wasn’t a good fit. The man had a reputation for being too abusive to his women. But the money had been too big of a temptation.
 

It was just too damn bad that Dimitri hadn’t killed the girl instead of allowing her to escape. Then it would be all on his head and not William’s. It wasn’t fair that he had to do all this extra work, plus bear the expense of finding the bitch when it should’ve been Dimitri’s responsibility.

“She may have been in poor condition, but since she somehow managed to escape, her survival instincts were apparently still working.”

“If you do find her, she won’t be treated as well as before.”

“Having been out on her own, she may be even harder to control.”

“Then I’ll enjoy breaking her again even more. I’ve finessed some particularly enjoyable new methods to ensure obedience.”

Probably the same methods that had caused the deaths of the three girls William had provided after Jessica’s escape. He couldn’t care less. All he wanted to do was get the bitch back to Dimitri and move on.

“Return her to me and I’ll make sure you regain your reputation. I’ll be satisfied and you’ll never hear from me again.”

Those words, more than any others, was music to his ears. “I’ll contact you when I have something.” William ended the call.
 

He hadn’t even known that Dimitri had put out the word that William’s products were defective. He’d been so immersed in doing his job, readying and perfecting his merchandise, that he hadn’t realized how severely damaged his reputation was until he had begun the preliminary advertising for his upcoming sales. After years of supplying some of the most beautiful and talented pieces of merchandise on today’s market, people were questioning his professionalism. Even his most frequent clients were acting hesitant.
 

He had to fix this and fast!

“Well, what did he say?”

William looked at the attractive blond woman standing in the doorway. She was one of his most trusted business associates, had done some phenomenal work, but she was becoming beyond tiresome. Lately, she had taken on a more assertive attitude. As if she was his equal, his partner. It wasn’t an attitude he appreciated. He didn’t care that she had provided one of his best pieces of merchandise. He paid her well for her work. Her duties did not extend to more than he allowed.
 

If he could score just a few more good sales, he wouldn’t need her or the other women he used for trainers. He’d take the money he made and disappear for good. With millions in the bank, a new name, and maybe a new face, he could live the good life somewhere and never have to worry about working again.

This one would give him trouble, though. He already knew it. She’d worked for him longer than anyone else. Because of that, she took liberties. Some he ignored. Occasionally, he had to show her who was boss. If she gave him too much trouble, he’d just eliminate her for good.
 

William waited to see if that thought caused even a twinge of guilt. She’d given him years of dedicated service, along with the use of her body from time to time. After a few seconds, he decided he was perfectly fine with killing her if need be.

Wouldn’t do to alienate her now, though. She had another six months to train their “daughter.” When Keira went on the market, he’d make sure she stayed where she was supposed to be. No more screw-ups like Jessica.

“Dimitri said if we bring her back to him, he’ll alert everyone that we made good on his investment.”

She gave a derisive snort. “It’s all his fault in the first place. When she called me that day, it should’ve been a wakeup call to him that she wasn’t in line.”

“True, but telling him that would do more harm than good.”

Pulling out her phone, she clicked on a text. “I’ve got three potentials waiting in the wings after Keira’s gone. A six-month-old boy in Australia, a three-year-old girl in Canada, and a five-year-old girl in Russia. Infants are a pain in the ass. Even if we hire a nanny for a couple of years, it’ll be easier if we get an older kid. Five years is almost too old. How about we split the difference and take the three-year-old? My contact says she’ll be an easy one to snatch.”