Read Online Her Hollywood Hitman: A Dark Romantic Suspense by Imani King - Free Book Online
Authors: Imani King
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feet were untied, and I was lying on an old mattress that surprisingly didn’t smell too horrible. I tried to lift myself up on one elbow, looking around to see in the hazy darkness. I must have been locked inside somewhere, since they had untied me. There was a bottle of water on the floor. I opened it, taking a few desperate sips until my head began pulsing again. My eyes started to adjust to the near-darkness. The rafters showed through in the ceiling, and there was no heat control. It was good that it wasn’t terribly hot outside, because I’d be screwed if it was.
My mind drifted to Red.
Why had they taken me? What did it have to do with him? It felt like there was a missing piece, something stuck in my mind that I couldn’t parse out. Some phrase, some words, something someone said … but I couldn’t remember. It had been beaten out of me, along with my strength. I closed my eyes, trying to force myself to remember, but the images wouldn’t come.
Something about Red. Something someone said. I opened my eyes and tried to sit up again, but the dark, dry room spun before me. I took another sip of water and lay back down. I knew I shouldn’t let myself fall asleep again, but my head felt heavy, drowsy, drifting.
The man had said something about Red knowing too much, but what did that mean? Something about a deal. The words were jumbled all up in my head, and I took a sharp breath in. These were things I hadn’t been supposed to hear. They had thought I was passed out in the back of the car. But I could hear them talking through the trunk. I heard the words before I passed out, before I awoke to hands pulling me out and the gun crushing against my skull once again.
There was a sick feeling behind these thoughts, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. When the man had come up behind me and covered my mouth, I’d thought I was being taken for ransom. After all my father had his fortune, and he was highly connected in both Hollywood and in the crime world.
Would anyone come or was I all alone?
I felt an overwhelming longing for Red. The man who had saved me. The man who had changed me. The man who was in grave danger.
I heard the men walking around beneath me. Their steps echoed in the empty house.
“Red … he’ll come,” one of them said. “The boss has him on it.” The voices drifted out of the reach of my hearing and then returned again.
“… We got the girl, then we return her safe after we have him. Art says no one will know he’s gone, and all that money… Yeah, Art’s fucking broke, and Red’s the only witness to the murder. Better just to get rid of him.”
The murder? What murder?
I moaned. There were footsteps on the stairs.
“Red,” I whispered. “Don’t come for me.”
Red
I paced in Art’s office. I’d driven over there first. I had to cover my fucking bases and see who the hell Art had been dealing with. The only reason someone would take Gabi would be to get at Art.
The little fucking troll. Fucking asshole.
“And why exactly was she coming to see you?” Art looked at me coolly, as if sizing me up. I turned the thought over in my head again. He didn’t seem like someone whose daughter had been kidnapped. But then Art didn’t ever seem like anything you would expect. Mostly, he just seemed like a dick. I pressed the sharp anger down, pacing across his office. I could almost taste her on my lips… how close she was…
Someone. Someone had taken her to get at Art. To get a chunk of Art’s cash, or to leverage a favor.
“What the fuck, Art? That’s not important.” I raked my fingers through my hair, agitated.
“She shouldn’t be coming to see a red Irish prick like you. She’s better than that. She’s Rose’s daughter, and she needs to be with someone who’s a little classier than a nasty career criminal from the projects.”
I clenched my fists. Art looked at me, his eyes locked with mine, as if
My mind drifted to Red.
Why had they taken me? What did it have to do with him? It felt like there was a missing piece, something stuck in my mind that I couldn’t parse out. Some phrase, some words, something someone said … but I couldn’t remember. It had been beaten out of me, along with my strength. I closed my eyes, trying to force myself to remember, but the images wouldn’t come.
Something about Red. Something someone said. I opened my eyes and tried to sit up again, but the dark, dry room spun before me. I took another sip of water and lay back down. I knew I shouldn’t let myself fall asleep again, but my head felt heavy, drowsy, drifting.
The man had said something about Red knowing too much, but what did that mean? Something about a deal. The words were jumbled all up in my head, and I took a sharp breath in. These were things I hadn’t been supposed to hear. They had thought I was passed out in the back of the car. But I could hear them talking through the trunk. I heard the words before I passed out, before I awoke to hands pulling me out and the gun crushing against my skull once again.
There was a sick feeling behind these thoughts, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. When the man had come up behind me and covered my mouth, I’d thought I was being taken for ransom. After all my father had his fortune, and he was highly connected in both Hollywood and in the crime world.
Would anyone come or was I all alone?
I felt an overwhelming longing for Red. The man who had saved me. The man who had changed me. The man who was in grave danger.
I heard the men walking around beneath me. Their steps echoed in the empty house.
“Red … he’ll come,” one of them said. “The boss has him on it.” The voices drifted out of the reach of my hearing and then returned again.
“… We got the girl, then we return her safe after we have him. Art says no one will know he’s gone, and all that money… Yeah, Art’s fucking broke, and Red’s the only witness to the murder. Better just to get rid of him.”
The murder? What murder?
I moaned. There were footsteps on the stairs.
“Red,” I whispered. “Don’t come for me.”
Red
I paced in Art’s office. I’d driven over there first. I had to cover my fucking bases and see who the hell Art had been dealing with. The only reason someone would take Gabi would be to get at Art.
The little fucking troll. Fucking asshole.
“And why exactly was she coming to see you?” Art looked at me coolly, as if sizing me up. I turned the thought over in my head again. He didn’t seem like someone whose daughter had been kidnapped. But then Art didn’t ever seem like anything you would expect. Mostly, he just seemed like a dick. I pressed the sharp anger down, pacing across his office. I could almost taste her on my lips… how close she was…
Someone. Someone had taken her to get at Art. To get a chunk of Art’s cash, or to leverage a favor.
“What the fuck, Art? That’s not important.” I raked my fingers through my hair, agitated.
“She shouldn’t be coming to see a red Irish prick like you. She’s better than that. She’s Rose’s daughter, and she needs to be with someone who’s a little classier than a nasty career criminal from the projects.”
I clenched my fists. Art looked at me, his eyes locked with mine, as if
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