bluffing?”
Wayne grinned. “Nope. Another precaution.” If anybody was going down for this clusterfuck, it wasn’t going to be him. He’d shown Ed some special loads of his months ago and put one or two away for safekeeping. Just in case something like this happened.
The man steepled his fingers on his desk, leaning forward to rest his chin on them. “This nephew Ed is obsessed with… What do you have on him?”
“An address, names of his parents, the usual.”
“I want Krista McLanaughan. I have something special planned for her.” The devilish smile gracing the man’s lips sent a chill down Wayne’s spine.
“Anything you’d care to let your partner in on?”
“We’ve had a certain number of those requests lately. I think Ed is drawing in a particularly dark crowd to the website. She will help us to satisfy those requests. Her friend as well, possibly.” His eyes took on a dreamy quality. “Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.”
Christ . Wayne knew they’d had requests for snuff films trickle in, almost since the inception of the site, but nobody had taken them seriously. The idea of killing innocents while filming them had been distasteful to Ed Lowe from the beginning. He said he’d refuse to be a part of it.
“What about Ed?”
The man waved a hand dismissively. “Ed’s a loose cannon. You’ll be taking care of him after this is all over with.” As if discussing a pesky fly, the man’s tone conveyed the lack of respect for Ed Lowe, the man who had initially come to him with this particular proposition.
“You don’t think he’ll do something to screw this up, do you?”
“He doesn’t have the brains to screw this up.” Wayne got an uneasy feeling in his gut. Dismissing a madman wasn’t a great idea. Wayne would have to keep an extra eye on Ed Lowe, even though he’d practically disappeared from the public eye. He’d gone to work a couple of days after the incident, but had taken sick leave and locked himself in his house since then.
“Okay, back to Krista, any plans besides the film?”
The chilling smile came back. “Oh, I think we can make a few films with her before this is all over with.” The smile disappeared as he looked squarely at Wayne. “Just get her.”
Ryan let Krista rest that afternoon, but the next morning, he woke her with a cup of coffee and orders to get dressed and meet him on the porch. He waited with a roll of tape and a smile.
“Today, you learn how to fight. Sit.” She obeyed without question, butterflies swarming in her stomach as he knelt between her legs and took one of her hands in his giant paws. The electricity between them was not imagined. She’d dreamt about it at night, lying in his bed, smelling his scent all around her. Gently, he wrapped her knuckles in white tape, not too tight.
“It’s to protect your skin from the bag. I wear gloves, but I don’t think they’d fit you.” He smiled at her indulgently before clasping her other hand and wrapping it as well.
“Good. I thought for a minute there, I’d be punching you .” She blushed at what almost came out of her mouth, something about messing up his rakishly good looks. He grinned at her like he’d read her mind.
He led her to the garage, really a carport attached to the back of the cabin, which housed a motorcycle and an enormous punching bag. She eyed it with excitement. Punching bags were alluring to her—the idea that she could be as aggressive as she wanted without actually hurting anyone had always appealed to her when practicing self-defense.
Ryan moved behind her, standing close enough for her to pick up his scent, a cedar body wash smell she’d come to associate with him. Of course his soap would smell like outside.
He placed his hands on her hips and twisted her pelvis, squeezing as he did so. She felt her insides clench with a need so strong, she wanted nothing more than to turn in his arms and kiss the fool out of him, but she refrained.
Wayne grinned. “Nope. Another precaution.” If anybody was going down for this clusterfuck, it wasn’t going to be him. He’d shown Ed some special loads of his months ago and put one or two away for safekeeping. Just in case something like this happened.
The man steepled his fingers on his desk, leaning forward to rest his chin on them. “This nephew Ed is obsessed with… What do you have on him?”
“An address, names of his parents, the usual.”
“I want Krista McLanaughan. I have something special planned for her.” The devilish smile gracing the man’s lips sent a chill down Wayne’s spine.
“Anything you’d care to let your partner in on?”
“We’ve had a certain number of those requests lately. I think Ed is drawing in a particularly dark crowd to the website. She will help us to satisfy those requests. Her friend as well, possibly.” His eyes took on a dreamy quality. “Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.”
Christ . Wayne knew they’d had requests for snuff films trickle in, almost since the inception of the site, but nobody had taken them seriously. The idea of killing innocents while filming them had been distasteful to Ed Lowe from the beginning. He said he’d refuse to be a part of it.
“What about Ed?”
The man waved a hand dismissively. “Ed’s a loose cannon. You’ll be taking care of him after this is all over with.” As if discussing a pesky fly, the man’s tone conveyed the lack of respect for Ed Lowe, the man who had initially come to him with this particular proposition.
“You don’t think he’ll do something to screw this up, do you?”
“He doesn’t have the brains to screw this up.” Wayne got an uneasy feeling in his gut. Dismissing a madman wasn’t a great idea. Wayne would have to keep an extra eye on Ed Lowe, even though he’d practically disappeared from the public eye. He’d gone to work a couple of days after the incident, but had taken sick leave and locked himself in his house since then.
“Okay, back to Krista, any plans besides the film?”
The chilling smile came back. “Oh, I think we can make a few films with her before this is all over with.” The smile disappeared as he looked squarely at Wayne. “Just get her.”
Ryan let Krista rest that afternoon, but the next morning, he woke her with a cup of coffee and orders to get dressed and meet him on the porch. He waited with a roll of tape and a smile.
“Today, you learn how to fight. Sit.” She obeyed without question, butterflies swarming in her stomach as he knelt between her legs and took one of her hands in his giant paws. The electricity between them was not imagined. She’d dreamt about it at night, lying in his bed, smelling his scent all around her. Gently, he wrapped her knuckles in white tape, not too tight.
“It’s to protect your skin from the bag. I wear gloves, but I don’t think they’d fit you.” He smiled at her indulgently before clasping her other hand and wrapping it as well.
“Good. I thought for a minute there, I’d be punching you .” She blushed at what almost came out of her mouth, something about messing up his rakishly good looks. He grinned at her like he’d read her mind.
He led her to the garage, really a carport attached to the back of the cabin, which housed a motorcycle and an enormous punching bag. She eyed it with excitement. Punching bags were alluring to her—the idea that she could be as aggressive as she wanted without actually hurting anyone had always appealed to her when practicing self-defense.
Ryan moved behind her, standing close enough for her to pick up his scent, a cedar body wash smell she’d come to associate with him. Of course his soap would smell like outside.
He placed his hands on her hips and twisted her pelvis, squeezing as he did so. She felt her insides clench with a need so strong, she wanted nothing more than to turn in his arms and kiss the fool out of him, but she refrained.
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