Read Online Her Hollywood Hitman: A Dark Romantic Suspense by Imani King - Free Book Online Page B

with vacant eyes. Regardless of how much these guys wanted the money, there was still plenty they could do to hurt Gabi. Fury pumped through my veins. At the men who took her. At Art, for prepping the money and sending me on my merry way to hunt down the bad guys. At myself, for not greeting her at the garage. For not protecting her.  

    Gabriella, beautiful and pure.  

    Gabriella, trapped behind closed doors. At the will and mercy of people who meant her harm. It wasn’t any goddamn good.  

    “Get the fuck out of here, and bring back Gabi. I don’t care how much money you’ve got in the bank, Red. I still fucking own you. Get out of here and do as I say.” He gestured at me like he was brushing me away.  

    “Whatever you say, boss.” I spat the words at him. “I guess I’ll do as you say. But mark my words. One day you won’t own me anymore. And one day I’ll get on the other side of all of this.” He laughed, a short grotesque bark. The man had dirt on me, and it didn’t matter how much money I had. Money didn’t make too much of a difference behind bars. Or dead. I thought of the FBI agent, leaning in and telling me I could get the damn man, own him once and for all. I shook the thought away and looked over to my scowling boss. His eyes were cool, emotionless.  

    “Dammit, Red. Stop fucking talking. And get the goddamn fuck out of here. Get the girl back here. That’s all I need you to do.”

    I grabbed the suitcase and walked out, slamming Art’s office door behind me. He was pushing on me for some reason, and I couldn’t figure out why. Blinded by my own rage, I opened the door to the Aston and peeled out of the driveway, headed east toward the desert.  

    Toward Gabi.

CHAPTER SEVEN

    Gabriella

    I heard footsteps on the stairs. My heart pounded hard, the blood whooshing in my ears. The adrenaline of fear pumped through my body, and I gulped. Instinctively, I backed up on the mattress. I saw the man appear on the stairs in the dim light of the attic. It was the bigger of the two men, the one who had whacked me with the gun.

    “Stand up, girl. We’re going on a ride. That’s what the boss says.” My mouth went dry. With every movement away from Red’s apartment, I was further and further away from rescue. I sat there, frozen. “I said get up.” The man walked over to me and pulled me up roughly.  

    “Fuck! That hurt!” I protested. He’d nearly pulled my arm out of its socket. “Aren’t you supposed to keep me unharmed or some shit?” He took my hand and tied it to the other with a zip tie.  

    “For such a pretty little thing, you’ve got a damn foul mouth.” The man thrust me toward the stairs, his hand on the zip tie. “And no, the boss said we could rough you up a little if need be. You just need to be alive . Says you’re his meal ticket.” A cold fear ran through me. His meal ticket ? What the hell did that mean? “Go on down the stairs girl.” He pushed me roughly and I walked until I hit the cool air of the lower floor. He pushed me outside into the blinding light of the day. The air was dry, the road in front of us deserted save for the van that brought us out here to this hell hole. The smaller man came up and tied a blindfold over my eyes.

    “You ready, Al?” I heard the taller man grunt in response. The two men grabbed me by the arms and led me, stumbling, over to the van. I heard the door open and felt myself being shoved inside. The men threaded the seatbelt in the back through my arms and slammed the door shut. I lay there shaking, cold in spite of the heat. How had I become a pawn in some kind of game? And what exactly was the game? The van rumbled along, moving east into the desert lands of California. I closed my eyes and slipped in and out of consciousness, waking fully sometime later to hear the low voices of the two men who had kidnapped me.

    “We’ll have him alone out here. No one ever comes to this part of the park. Boss says the guy