Page 90 of Run

“American dickhead,” Abasi muttered as he tucked his gun into the back of his jeans and opened the door.

* * *

Elle came roundto the sound of her teeth chattering.Cold. So cold.Her whole body ached with it. Something hit her in the face, and it took a second to realize she was being drenched in icy cold water.

She blinked rapidly, bringing the world back into focus. But she wished it hadn’t because all she could see was Tommy standing over her, the spray hose from the sink aimed at her head.

Noticing she was awake, he shut it off and tossed it back into the sink. “Where’s the hard drive?” He flexed his fists.

“I-I can u-understand why sh-she had an affair,” Elle forced through chattering teeth. “There is n-nothing a-attractive about you.”

This time, he didn’t bother to hit her. Instead, he kicked her hard in the shin. The pain blinded her, stealing her ability to think. She couldn’t even scream. All she could do was scrunch her eyes tight and wait for it to pass.

“Remember the first time we did this?” Tommy said once she’d opened her eyes again. “You couldn’t have been more than twelve. No, thirteen. That’s right. Marcus begged for you then too.” He kicked her other leg.

This time, Elle screamed. The sound echoed off the hard, cold tiles and bounced back at her. She could hear laughter and knew it was Cutter, but she couldn’t make herself look at him. So much for being brave like Princess, no,GeneralLeia. She’d bet Leia had no problem thinking through the pain.

Tommy crouched in front of her. “I planned to get rid of you. You were screwing up important jobs, and I figured I could get somebody else to do them. Somebody who didn’t make me sick to look at them. But Marcus, he wanted his sister. Even though you were no more related to him than any other bitch. So, we made a deal. Do you know what I made him do in return for leaving you alone that time? He ever tell you? No?”

Elle’s stomach churned. Whatever was coming, it would be bad, and she didn’t want to hear it.

“I took him with me when I went to teach somebody a lesson. The moron had stolen from me and bragged about it. You can understand why I couldn’t let that slide. I had Cutter here hold the guy down while Marcus cut off his fingers, one by one, and we stuffed them down the guy’s throat. He did a good job, Marcus did.” Tommy leaned toward her. “I think he enjoyed it.”

With no warning for her or Tommy, Elle vomited all over him.

“Bitch,” he exploded as he sprang away from her.

The disgust on his face would have been amusing if she wasn’t still trying to empty her already empty stomach. He cursed and spat at her but wouldn’t come close because they were both covered in vomit. It was almost the worst thing that could happen to vain Tommy James. And Elle loved it.

“Better get that hose of yours, Tommy. Looks like you could do with a wash,” she taunted.

Fury, dark and malevolent, contorted his features. “Clean her up while I get changed,” he ordered Cutter.

As he strode toward the door, Cutter’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen and called after Tommy, “Wait up, it’s the cop.”

Tommy turned back slowly. “See what she’s got for us,” he said, his eyes on Elle.

“Tessa? What you got?” Cutter said into his phone.

Elle stilled. Tessa? It couldn’t be.

A vicious smile appeared on Tommy’s face. “Paid Tessa Sharp a fortune for the details of when and where you were meeting with the Met. Worth every penny.”

If Elle hadn’t already emptied her stomach, she would have vomited all over again. Tessa had betrayed them. They’d known the woman for years. Relied on her. Trusted her. How could she have done this to them?

Cutter’s eyes caught Tommy’s. “You’re gonna want to hear this, boss. Tessa’s been made, so she’s making a run for it. But she knows where the hard drive is.”

“Does she now?” Tommy reached for the phone.

34

Abasi strode down the stairs to the cellar as though he owned the place. “Boss in there?” he asked the guys standing guard beside a door that had been hidden behind a rack of wine.

“Yeah,” the one on the left said. “Where you been? Cutter’s been looking for you.”

“I bet he has.” Abasi moved to the left, taking their attention with him.

Which meant David was free to reach up through the gap at the top of the door and yank the wires out of the camera.