Silent Deceit (9 page)

  "I owe you nothing. I pay rent for
this place and I work for you in the bar. That's it." Oh yes, she talked
big, but could he see the fear in her eyes? Smell it on her skin?

  Deuce yanked her against him. Crushed her
mouth with his and forced her lips apart. He tasted of booze and stank of
sweat. She bit his tongue. Threw her head back and slammed him in the nose.
"Get out of here! Leave me alone!"

  She ran to the counter, seized a knife
from the kitchen sink and swung around to face him. Catching her wrist, he
twisted it until she dropped the blade. He followed with an uppercut to the
jaw. Blood flew, oozing from her split lips. Rena hit the floor, shaking her
head to clear it.
Not again. Never again.
She struggled to her knees.

  "We're not done yet." Grabbing
her hair, Deuce hauled her across the carpet toward the bed. And came
face-to-face with Tigz. "Fuck! What the hell kind of cat is that?"

"The
killing kind."

  Tigz jumped off the bed. Deuce let her go
in a hurry.  A low growl in his throat, her cat slinked toward him. Deuce
backed away, felt behind him for the door handle, and got out.  Rena crawled to
the entrance as the cat flew straight at Deuce. He stumbled and fell on the
landing while Moshpit and Mitch aimed at Tigz and fired their guns.Tigz
was too fast, bounding off the stairs and into the trees. She slammed the door
and locked it, pulling herself up with the handle. Leaning against the counter,
Rena searched for her mace in a drawer, knowing this wasn't over. The can was
gone, but Kingman wasn’t. And the bastard had a key to the place.

Deuce
bellowed. "That's it! I'm done with drugs. I'm edgy as shit and I'm seeing
things!"

  "I dunno, boss." Moshpit's
voice. "We
all
saw the cat. I don't think it's a
hallucination."

  "I don't give a crap what you
think." Kingman roared and booted the door, plowing into her apartment
again. His eyes were wild, his intentions clear. "You don't want to play
nice? Tough shit. You're coming with me. The cops are onto us, and it's time to
leave."

  "I'm not going anywhere!" She
snagged the coffee pot and flung it in his face.

  Deuce screamed, but still managed to grab
hold of her.  Fingers wrapping around her throat, he dragged
her with him. She couldn't breathe. Pinpoints of light danced behind her eyes.
She tore at his hands. He didn't let go, and Rena saw stars an instant before
the lights went out.

Growing up with two brothers, having a husband and raising two sons, Kallie Lane understands the rough edges of Alpha males, and loves to write about them. She excels at hard hitting action and complex relationships.

Kallie keeps herself grounded by also working in the biotech industry.

Living in Canada with her family and a robust collection of dogs and cats, you will usually find her with a book in her hand, that's if she's not at her computer writing one, or plotting her next romantic suspense novel.

Visit her website at: www.kallielane.com

Kallie loves to hear from readers. You can send her an email at [email protected]