Blood & Torment (Pins and Needles: Moscow Book 2) by Elizabeth Knox (best short books to read TXT) 📕

pleasure only. Though, I hope to have more than a sexual relationship with her. I crave a mental and emotional connection too. This is something she and I can work for together, with time, of course.”

I cross my arms and lean back against the wall, nodding as I force a fake smile. “Of course.” I smell bullshit and I don’t like it.

Vova opens the door to the small room and Khristina walks in, her hair in loose curls that fall to her mid-back and she’s wearing an eggplant purple dress with a fur coat on the top. She looks like a typical luxurious Russian, exactly what this man’s hoping to get. Only, I don’t know if he will. I’ve never had a feeling like this about a client, but I think maybe I’m focusing too much on the man. This could be my guilt making me over-analyze things.

Khristina and Marty make their introductions, kiss one another on the cheek, and I overhear him say how he’d love to take a stroll in the park with her. Khristina tells him about a local park and the two make plans right in front of me to go have some private time where they can get to learn more about one another.

I let them leave by themselves and tell them to have a great time, but what neither of them knows is that I’m following them. I’m blending myself in with the crowd as they cross the street, head down the two blocks, and then turn into the park.

Another thing that’s incredibly odd is the fact he wants to go to the park on such a cold day. Does he want to freeze her out? She may be Russian, though it doesn’t mean she’s invincible. I’m sticking close behind them as they head down the paths and then Khristina stops on the small wooden bridge and looks out at the birds on the fountain, drinking as they sing sweet songs. Then, the unexpected happens. Marty takes out some sort of small device, so small I believe it’s a phone at first, but I know it isn’t. It’s far too narrow.

I grow a bit closer as a beep rings out and Marty smiles. The way he smiles is one I know far too well, the smile of someone who’s thinking of or doing sinister things. At this point, my gut is screaming at me to intervene, so I rush over toward him. Whatever he’s doing, I don’t like it.

Marty looks right over at me and I expect his eyes to widen, but they don’t. In fact, there’s a sense of expectation in his eyes. As if he knew something like this might happen. Very clearly, he speaks up as I grow closer. “She isn’t yours. Khristina is owned by another and now I have proof of it.”

I take a step closer to them. “Bullshit.”

Marty pulls out a gun from under his suit jacket and points it straight at my head. “Don’t take another step. She doesn’t belong to you.”

“You’re right, she doesn’t. She’s a free woman. A woman free to do whatever she wants or pleases, but this woman does rent an apartment from my company. There’s no crime in that.”

Marty scoffs and moves the gun from my head to hers. “He told me he didn’t care if you were dead or alive, but he did want me to send him proof.”

A woman in the background is muttering something to her child before a gasp causes me to turn my head back and look. The only thing in front of me is fear. Fear that she won’t make it out of this public space alive, and I can’t blame her. I’d be scared shitless, too, if I were in her position.

Before I know it, the woman behind me is screaming, telling everyone to run, and in doing so, she’s making the situation a thousand times worse. The panic spreading through the crowd is a bit much and if I don’t rein this in now, it’ll get out and over the city before I know it. The last thing we need is more madness. I pull my gun from the back of my jeans and point it at Marty.

He laughs arrogantly. “You don’t want to do that. If you do, he’ll be pissed.”

“Get out of here,” I hiss, almost wishing this fucker would take a step toward me. I’m itching for a reason to bash skulls and make people pay.

“I won’t leave until I get my boss’s property. She’s microchipped, so get out of my way.”

“Microchipped? She’s not a fucking dog.”

“You’d be right about that, but she’s his property, so kindly get out of my way.”

I pull the safety back on my gun, showing the man I mean business, ready to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

“She’s not going back with you. I have a job to do.” Marty sneers in my direction and grabs the back of Khristina’s neck, forcing her to look down.

Without hesitation, I respond, “So do I.” I pull the trigger and watch as his lifeless body hits the ground.

No one fucks with our girls. Not anyone. And if they do, they sure as fuck don’t get away with it.

Chapter Ten

Trista

Getting home from spending a day at Pins and Needles, I’m exhausted. Well, not so much exhausted, but feeling extremely down. Michail hasn’t spoken to me since the other day when I stood my ground. I still don’t understand what the problem is. Sure, I hugged K-9, but that doesn’t mean he has to be a royal dick.

It’s almost as if he’s doing everything possible to avoid me. I really liked spending time with him the other night. It was the only date we’ve ever had, and I really, really liked how it was going. Why I had to go and fuck it up by yanking my hand away is beyond me.

Now even after he’s made his intentions obvious, he hasn’t stepped foot near me. To