Read Online The Cleaner (Born Bratva Book 4) by Suzanne Steele - Free Book Online
Authors: Suzanne Steele
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Linda clever enough to hide them from me. She must have hidden them somewhere else, dammit. But those are my thoughts and feelings laid bare on those pages. I’m in control now, and I’m taking back what’s mine.
At the end of the hall, I pause and place my hand flat on the master bedroom door, savoring the moment. I’m nobody’s victim. Not anymore. The door is ajar so I push it open, just enough for me to slip inside and approach the bed. I can make out her silhouette where she lies on her side, curled into a ball like a child, facing the door. The air around me begins to feel heavy as my body thrums with anticipation.
Steady, rhythmic puffs of air escape from her lips as she sleeps. I shake my head in contempt, marveling at the blissful ignorance that lets her sleep so soundly. She has no way of knowing that all hell is about to break loose, that her life as she knows it is already dead and gone. Bye-bye, Linda .
I grip the syringe, striking decisively when I jam the needle into her neck. Her eyes fly open and I savor her brief look of recognition and horror as I depress the plunger with my thumb, releasing a powerful paralytic drug into her veins. Her muscles go lax and her expression goes blank. The SUX I mixed with the tranquilizer does its job and she can do nothing but stare up at me helplessly.
“Linda, you look like you could use a little help,” I scowl with mock seriousness. “But you can’t even yell for help, can you? See, here’s the thing,” I continue conversationally from where I sit on the edge of the bed. As the drug takes hold, she’ll suffocate within a few minutes, so I settle in for a little girl talk. “I needed help, remember? I asked you and Karen for help – I fucking begged for help – but you didn’t lift a finger to help me, no one did!”
I cap the needle and stow it in my pocket. “So, you see, my friend, what goes around really does come around. It only seems fair that you aren’t able to lift a finger tonight to help yourself.” Adrenaline blasts through my veins, raising goosebumps on my arms as I pull the knife from my pocket.
“I bet you’re wishing you’d brought that K9 home with you after all. Too bad,” I hiss as I drive the blade home again and again.
Chapter Nineteen
Natasha
“Shh, be quiet and get up, baby. Throw on some jeans and a t-shirt. I’ll tell you what’s up when we get to the car.” Nikita nudges me repeatedly until I finally sit up in bed and huff indignantly.
“Seriously, Nik, what the fuck is with you?” I grumble as I scrub my hands over my face and try to wake up.
“There’s no time to talk, malysh. Move, now.”
I shuffle into the bathroom and don’t bother looking in the mirror. At this ungodly hour of the morning, I really don’t give a shit what I look like. I brush my teeth, run a comb through my hair and throw on some clothes before joining Nikita in the bedroom. I snatch the travel mug of coffee from his hand and grunt my thanks with a scowl as we venture out to the car. We’re cruising along the downtown streets as he fills me in.
“This time they’ve called you directly to the crime scene. Blood and gore, no waiting.”
“Oh, hell yeah!” I’m wide awake now, anxious to see where this is headed.
“The FBI is in on this now,” he says, glancing over at me quickly as he maneuvers through the streets of Louisville. “You haven’t met Agent Turner. I have. Trust me, they aren’t going to be happy about either of us being on scene.”
“They?”
“He and his partner, Agent Rene Murphy. I’m telling you, the best thing you can do is just listen. Don’t speak unless they ask you a direct question -- and under no circumstances do you say anything about us getting the computer and the notebooks.”
“This ain’t my first rodeo, you know. I learned how to keep my mouth shut when I started working for your family.”
“Good girl.”
“Been a long time since you said that,” I purr as I lean
At the end of the hall, I pause and place my hand flat on the master bedroom door, savoring the moment. I’m nobody’s victim. Not anymore. The door is ajar so I push it open, just enough for me to slip inside and approach the bed. I can make out her silhouette where she lies on her side, curled into a ball like a child, facing the door. The air around me begins to feel heavy as my body thrums with anticipation.
Steady, rhythmic puffs of air escape from her lips as she sleeps. I shake my head in contempt, marveling at the blissful ignorance that lets her sleep so soundly. She has no way of knowing that all hell is about to break loose, that her life as she knows it is already dead and gone. Bye-bye, Linda .
I grip the syringe, striking decisively when I jam the needle into her neck. Her eyes fly open and I savor her brief look of recognition and horror as I depress the plunger with my thumb, releasing a powerful paralytic drug into her veins. Her muscles go lax and her expression goes blank. The SUX I mixed with the tranquilizer does its job and she can do nothing but stare up at me helplessly.
“Linda, you look like you could use a little help,” I scowl with mock seriousness. “But you can’t even yell for help, can you? See, here’s the thing,” I continue conversationally from where I sit on the edge of the bed. As the drug takes hold, she’ll suffocate within a few minutes, so I settle in for a little girl talk. “I needed help, remember? I asked you and Karen for help – I fucking begged for help – but you didn’t lift a finger to help me, no one did!”
I cap the needle and stow it in my pocket. “So, you see, my friend, what goes around really does come around. It only seems fair that you aren’t able to lift a finger tonight to help yourself.” Adrenaline blasts through my veins, raising goosebumps on my arms as I pull the knife from my pocket.
“I bet you’re wishing you’d brought that K9 home with you after all. Too bad,” I hiss as I drive the blade home again and again.
Chapter Nineteen
Natasha
“Shh, be quiet and get up, baby. Throw on some jeans and a t-shirt. I’ll tell you what’s up when we get to the car.” Nikita nudges me repeatedly until I finally sit up in bed and huff indignantly.
“Seriously, Nik, what the fuck is with you?” I grumble as I scrub my hands over my face and try to wake up.
“There’s no time to talk, malysh. Move, now.”
I shuffle into the bathroom and don’t bother looking in the mirror. At this ungodly hour of the morning, I really don’t give a shit what I look like. I brush my teeth, run a comb through my hair and throw on some clothes before joining Nikita in the bedroom. I snatch the travel mug of coffee from his hand and grunt my thanks with a scowl as we venture out to the car. We’re cruising along the downtown streets as he fills me in.
“This time they’ve called you directly to the crime scene. Blood and gore, no waiting.”
“Oh, hell yeah!” I’m wide awake now, anxious to see where this is headed.
“The FBI is in on this now,” he says, glancing over at me quickly as he maneuvers through the streets of Louisville. “You haven’t met Agent Turner. I have. Trust me, they aren’t going to be happy about either of us being on scene.”
“They?”
“He and his partner, Agent Rene Murphy. I’m telling you, the best thing you can do is just listen. Don’t speak unless they ask you a direct question -- and under no circumstances do you say anything about us getting the computer and the notebooks.”
“This ain’t my first rodeo, you know. I learned how to keep my mouth shut when I started working for your family.”
“Good girl.”
“Been a long time since you said that,” I purr as I lean
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