Wrath's Storm: A Masters' Admiralty Novel by Mari Carr (desktop ebook reader .txt) 📕

thick Ukrainian accent made him sound like a thug. German movies and TV liked to use Eastern European actors to portray villains.

Jakob opened his eyes, blinking back the tears.

Vadisk leaned over him, his face twisted in a grimace of sympathy. “I’ve heard bullet ant stings are some of the worst pain,” he said to Jakob in passable German.

“It’s true,” Jakob croaked.

“English, guys. English. Please.”

Vadisk, who was casually sitting on the bed beside Jakob, shrugged in apology. After the revelations about Petro and what had been going on in Hungary, the territories had all upped their inter-society surveillance. Jakob was glad now that they had because it meant he knew exactly how dangerous the man casually perched on the bed was.

Vadisk’s military record had been sealed so tight, they’d only gotten mission reports for a few of his ops. He hadn’t been a security officer for long—he’d been brought in by the new admiral of Hungary when she overhauled the entire power structure of her damaged territory.

“I brought you a nerve blocker.” Vadisk held up two capped syringes. “The doctor won’t give it to you.”

Jakob’s heart leapt at that. “Walt. Do it.”

“No, and here is why.” Walt took a breath, then paused, shook his head. “I was going to explain in detail, but I have this sinking feeling neither of you would listen. So I will use small words. This is a bad idea. This is dangerous.”

Jakob looked at Vadisk. “You do it.”

Vadisk uncapped a syringe. “Maybe in your neck?”

“Sweet baby Jesus, give that to me!” Walt lunged across Jakob and snatched the syringes.

Vadisk looked down at Jakob and winked.

There was a distinct possibility Jakob was hallucinating all of this.

“Okay, Jakob, I need you to take a deep breath. There’s a nerve bundle in your shoulder, the brachial plexus, which, given the site of the string, is the most likely set of nerves to be affected.” Walt’s voice had gone into what Jakob now knew was doctor mode. Calm, controlled, explaining what he was doing as he did it.

Walt’s finger probed his shoulder, and Jakob balled up the duvet in his fists.

“Want me to hold you down?” Vadisk asked.

Jakob’s pride wanted to say no. But his pride didn’t matter. What mattered was getting himself functional so he could find Annalise.

“Yes,” Jakob hissed from between his clenched jaw.

Vadisk held him down at wrist and chest. Walt kept up a calm dialogue as he touched Jakob’s shoulder. The pain of the needle didn’t even register. The burn of the medicine was noticeable only because it was different from the deeper pain caused by the neurotoxin.

The pain ebbed, but it had done that before. It always came back.

“Can you make a fist for me?” Walt asked. “Okay, good. Now can you flex your wrist, like this?”

When Jakob was able to do both, Walt nodded, a little of the tension Jakob hadn’t noticed fading.

“Better?” Vadisk asked.

“It comes and goes,” Jakob said. “Not sure yet.”

Walt checked his breathing, pulse, and had him move his arm, which didn’t hurt as much as it had.

Experimentally, Jakob sat up. “I think it worked. Good job, Doc. Also, you have the best bedside manner. Has anyone ever told you that? Calm. Kind. Really good.”

Walt’s eyes widened. “Okay then. Nerve blocker turns you into talky Jakob.”

“I love to talk,” Jakob said. “But everyone told me I was annoying.”

Vadisk nodded. “Seems accurate.”

Jakob barked out a loud laugh. The Incredible Hulk was funny.

Vadisk stood. “You mentioned security footage. What do we need? I will get it.”

“Footage from the hotel’s front doors. Blond man knocked into me. He must have had a pin or something with the venom on him. You know, I should have just killed him for running into me. It’s fucking inconsiderate.”

“Sweet Jesus,” Walt murmured.

“I will get the footage. You have a secure computer?”

“Of course.” Jakob stood under his own power, even stretched. The lack of pain was nearly euphoric. “Then we find the woman I love and kill whoever took her.”

“A good plan.” Vadisk disappeared out the door. Jakob was starting to warm up to the guy. He was going to help him get Annalise back.

Walt tried to push Jakob back down on the bed. “I’d like to take your vitals again. What I did was so fucking dangerous…so fucking stupid…”

“You just want an excuse to get your hands on me,” Jakob said. “And I get it. I’m hot. You’re hot. The sex will be amazing, but we have to wait for Annalise.”

“Maybe I got it in your bloodstream and it’s gone into your brain…no, you’d be dead.” Walt was looking at his watch while he held two fingers on Jakob’s wrist.

“Who do you think is after us?” Jakob mused. “I mean, it doesn’t matter, I’m going to kill them, but do you think it’s the serial killer?” Saying that sobered him up because if Annalise was in the hands of a serial killer, one who liked to cut off people’s heads…

“Why would he?” Walt asked, but his eyes were pinched with worry. “I mean, we don’t know anything about him yet, right?”

“Maybe her stalker. But no, he didn’t follow her when she went to that academic conference.” Jakob shook his head. “No, not him. If it was, he would have had to follow us from Frankfurt and…” Jakob let his words trail off. “But his letters have been getting more deranged. She gets at least three a week, but don’t tell her that. And this is the first time in months, a year, Annalise has been anywhere besides her heavily secured house or office at the university.”

“Maybe he’s desperate and he followed her, hoping you would slip up—”

Jakob jerked away from Walt.

“Wait, wait. I didn’t mean it like that.” Walt put a hand on Jakob’s shoulder. “I misspoke. I’m not blaming you.”

“You should. She should. I’m not good enough for her. I should never have touched her.” Jakob was haunted now by the feel of her body under his hands. Could hear the soft sound of her demanding moans.

“Don’t