Bad Men Read online

  Bad Men

  Piper Stone

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Afterword

  Additional Books in the Dangerous Business Series

  More Stormy Night Books by Piper Stone

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2020 by Stormy Night Publications and Piper Stone

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by Stormy Night Publications and Design, LLC.

  www.StormyNightPublications.com

  Stone, Piper

  Bad Men

  Cover Design by Korey Mae Johnson

  Images by Shutterstock/ArtOfPhotos, iStock/MRBIG_PHOTOGRAPHY, Shutterstock/Nadezda Murmakova, Shutterstock/Kao, and Shutterstock/Jacek Sledzinski

  Prologue

  The Specialists

  Specializing in ROI. Operational specialists hired to perform a job using any methods necessary to fulfill their duties—legal or otherwise.

  A covert operation consisting of highly trained experts from various industries: Military, KGB, CIA, Russian and Irish Mafia. All considered dangerous, ruthless mercenaries, their missions entail returning precious stolen or abducted items to powerful and influential tycoons, who pay handsomely for the completion of their tasks.

  Funded by various wealthy moguls, including those in the criminal sect, their strict methods of protocol leave nothing to second guess, including termination of the perpetrator and everyone involved in the heinous act if necessary.

  There is one rule that must not be broken.

  No personal involvement.

  Anyone who challenges their method of operation in any way will face their wrath…

  Chapter 1

  Jack

  Darkness.

  The deepening of shadows was my best friend, one of the reasons I’d become a mercenary in the first place. I enjoyed the quality time of being alone while performing my work. I’d risen to the ranks of the best and intended on keeping it that way. I was a man who enjoyed his work, at least usually. I glared at my unexpected partner before shifting my gaze back toward the compound a few hundred yards through the trees. The light breeze had allowed the sound of the rippling waterfall from the saltwater pool to float in our direction.

  Other than the nightcrawlers combing the woods in search of a breach in security, all was quiet behind the thick walls. The bastard those in South American called the Serpent believed his world was impenetrable. He assumed he was God, his brutality placing him in the class of some of the worst creatures on the face of the earth. However, he would soon understand that he’d fucked with the wrong people.

  After all, my partner and I were also considered bad men, the kind who’d long ago tossed away any concept of humanity. We were expert marksmen, trained in all aspects of weaponry. We also could blend in with any environment, no matter how affluent. Those were some of the reasons we’d been recruited to work with a group known only as the Specialists in the first place.

  The other reason?

  Because we didn’t mind taking human life if necessary in order to fulfill our mission, reacquiring valuable merchandise.

  However, the package we were required to secure wasn’t the kind I was used to. A woman. Whatever she was worth meant risking our lives. That didn’t suit me in the least. In fact, I was one pissed-off mercenary. While both Diego and I had been briefed, the meeting at our handler’s house a requirement, if tense as fuck, an uneasy feeling had remained since the moment we’d stepped foot on the plane.

  What the fuck hadn’t Dante told us? Why had an American doctor been abducted in the middle of the night from a location almost one hundred miles away? There were far too many questions and no decent answers. Dante Moretti had been my handler since my recruitment and while I didn’t like him, he was a man who knew better than to fuck with me. He was also well aware that if all the necessary information wasn’t provided, the assignment could go to shit easily.

  The nagging remained in the back of my mind and what my instincts continued to tell me was disturbing.

  One of us on this mission was going to die.

  That sure as shit wasn’t going to be me.

  The buzzing of insects and the slithering of snakes had gotten on my nerves.

  I’d be glad to get out of the damn jungle, the area infested with myriad dangerous wild creatures. The Serpent enjoyed his games of treachery, utilizing areas of quicksand, pits writhing with snakes and sudden drop-offs to ensure no one would compromise his private quarters, a sprawling mansion that cost millions.

  Only I wasn’t just anyone. Navigating the one hundred acres had been strenuous but doable. Now the danger was in human form. My favorite kind, my finger itching to pull the trigger.

  People died when they got in my way.

  Hunkered down, I kept a firm grip on the M4 as we waited. The timing had to be right. There would be no second chances. We knew the layout of the entire compound, including the sleeping quarters for everyone in the house. That included our target for the evening. Every step had to be calculated, every action performed perfectly. There was one hell of a paycheck to collect and I intended on doing so.

  Except that I’d be forced to share two million dollars with one fucking asshole.

  Diego Sanchez.

  My handler had determined to keep the fact I wouldn’t be working alone from me until the last minute, something the Italian asshole would pay for later. I certainly didn’t need a babysitter or to be forced to work with a low-life criminal in order to perform my task. But here we were, deep in the darkness of Brazil, attempting to save a damsel in distress.

  I checked my watch then gave the only signal the man should need. If he was as good as I’d been told, I wouldn’t be required to explain the mission a second time.

  Moving out, I crawled forward, able to detect Diego right behind me. We remained low until we got to the wall, the location the single three-foot radius that was undetectable by the dozens of cameras on the property. We remained in position for a full sixty seconds before I tossed the grappling hook, enabling us to scale the wall.

  At least my partner seemed to know what he was doing, the first mission accomplished without incident. We hugged the exterior wall, shifting along the perimeter until we were under the window housing the doctor. If our intel was wrong, we’d find ourselves working in a Brazilian gold mine within twenty-four hours, slaving away in order to enrich the pot for the Serpent.

  That is if we were lucky.

  The alternatives were… unpleasant.

  Diego shifted to take a look at the balcony, before giving me several hand signs. I tossed the hook once again, catching one of the heavy iron posts of the ornate railing. Diego was the lookout and he damn well better do his job or I’d personally feed him to the piranhas in the lagoon. After shimmying up, I touched my watch, the mechanism easily detecting the alarm sensors and neutralizing them.

  I had to admit I was somewhat concerned the actions had been easy, maybe too much so. I glanced at the perimeter. I had less than three minutes to get in and out before the soldiers moved back in our direction and the security system detected a breach in
operation. While the lock was meant to keep the prisoner in, I had no issue picking it.

  Once inside, I moved quickly to the bed, easing my hand into the bag I was carrying. Securing a piece of tape, I studied her sleeping form for a few seconds before yanking the sheets and immediately slapping the tape over her mouth. She instantly flailed, kicking out in an effort to stop her attacker.

  Little did she understand we’d come to rescue her.

  I placed my hand around her long neck as I leaned over and whispered instructions that she was required to accept. If not? She would learn what happened to bad little girls who crossed me. I allowed the slender beam of light to highlight a portion of my eyes before turning the flashlight toward her.

  “Be quiet. I was sent by your father to retrieve you. You scream, I’ll punish you. You disobey me, I’ll punish you. If you try and run, I’ll freaking punish you in a way you won’t like. And if you escape, God help you. I won’t be coming to find you again.” She would receive nothing more until we were miles away from the compound. Even then, she would know only what we’d been directed to tell her.

  I wasted no time, tossing her over my shoulder and moving quickly out of the room, her muffled screams irritating as fuck. She continued struggling, beating her fists against my back, her strength surprising as hell.

  I could see that the beautiful woman was going to be trouble. What I didn’t expect was for my cock to ache, hunger broiling within every cell and muscle just from the sight of her. The picture I’d been given hadn’t done her justice. She was one inviting creature, her blonde hair spilling out over the pillows in such a seductive way I’d had difficulty breathing. I was a man who took what he wanted and the photograph of her alone had been enough to invoke the beast from deep within. I wasn’t entirely certain I could control my desires, no matter the cost.

  Maybe she enjoyed serving the sadist prick, although I had doubts that she’d fully learned of his reputation. The Serpent wasn’t just a killer. He was a true monster.

  What I knew that the others within the Specialist’s organization didn’t was that since the Serpent had set his sights on the lovely and talented Dr. Lindsey Walters, there wasn’t a place on this earth where she could hide.

  Until the fucker was dead.

  And I intended on pulling the trigger.

  Chapter 2

  Lindsey

  I struggled in the large man’s arms, trying desperately to get away from him.

  Punish?

  Who did the asshole think he was to threaten me? I’d been punished enough as it was, but I knew one thing for certain.

  I was going to die. There was no other possibility.

  Whether the two assailants murdered me or the asshole who’d stolen me from the camp where I was working found me, I was a dead woman. Three treacherous weeks had shifted into something out of a horror movie.

  Granted, I’d prayed for some kind of release, for a hero to come walking through the locked door in order to save me. Then he’d sweep me out of the jungle to some incredible Caribbean beach, completely safe and protected. But my fantasy hadn’t included a man in dark clothing breaking in through the window, telling me in no uncertain terms that he’d punish me for the slightest infraction.

  That had just happened, so was I dreaming or just losing my mind?

  Please, God. Please…

  I wasn’t normally a religious person, but I prayed the cross surrounding my neck had some magical powers. A nervous laugh almost bubbled to the surface. Fairytales weren’t real. I expected to hear rounds of gunfire at any second. I’d heard enough rounds of ammunition fired to last me the rest of my life. Instead, the muffled sounds of slithering creatures in the jungle only added to the nightmarish feel.

  Fear.

  I’d known various levels of fear during my life, but nothing paralyzing until the horrific night I’d been captured by ugly beasts disguised as soldiers weeks before. I’d been tied and tossed into the back of a vehicle, driven miles away from my original location. All the while, I’d understood the filthy words spoken in Spanish of what the bastards had wanted to do with me.

  “The little bitch deserves a hard cock shoved into her pretty pink pussy.”

  “I think the princess needs a session with a real man.”

  “Maybe she’d like stiff cock as a meal.”

  Yet they hadn’t touched me, likely for fear of what their boss would do. I’d realized quickly that the Serpent’s authority was akin to God. The Serpent. The only name I’d ever heard the monster referred to as, the majority of those around him treating the man like the holy one instead of the murderous beast he truly was.

  I’d been tossed into and locked in a windowless room where I’d been forced to stay for several days, or so I believed. Time had ceased to exist, my imagination working overtime as I’d heard nothing but the scuttling sound of rats or snakes or God knows what. The Serpent had wanted to break me down, to rip away my resolve, but the bastard had failed.

  When he’d provided a beautifully adorned room with no way out, that had honestly been worse. That’s when I’d been forced to tolerate the Serpent’s advances as well as his attention. What I’d endured was the thing nightmares were made of. Nightmares plagued me, my mind starting to lose its grip on just how long I’d been kept a prisoner. I’d even begun to accept the fact I’d never see the United States again.

  Now this.

  Several hours of being carried like a sack of potatoes through the dense jungle, blood-sucking insects feasting on human flesh, the wretched sounds of predatory animals and reptiles the only thing I’d been able to concentrate on. My captors had said nothing, not a single additional word after capturing me in the middle of the night, threatening to punish me. From what I’d been able to see, I knew they were heavily armed, as if preparing for a war.

  Or retaliation.

  I’d fought at first until exhaustion had settled in. Still, they had no idea what kind of woman they had in their clutches. I’d continue to do so until I found a method of getting away from them. For all I knew, they could be mercenaries for some other horrible organization.

  I moaned as loudly as the thick tape would allow, managing to knee the asshole in the gut.

  The hard crack on my backside was his way of reminding me to remain quiet, his groan giving me satisfaction.

  “Up here,” I finally heard the second man whisper. I was able to detect a Spanish accent, his voice husky and dark.

  I tried to pay attention to where they’d taken me, but the dense jungle and the darkness made it almost impossible. They’d used a single flashlight, a mere pinprick of light while going through the foliage, but I’d seen the goggles they wore. They had to be used for night vision. Were they really attempting to free me or something much worse? As I was finally eased to my feet, I sank several inches in mud. Thankfully, the asshole removed the tape, growling after doing so.

  “What are we doing?” I could hear the sound of running water. We were close to a river.

  “Keep quiet. The jungle has ears,” the first one whispered as he hoisted me into a small boat.

  Folding my arms, I shivered even in the horrible humidity and did as I was told, trying to keep images of wretched creatures out of my imagination.

  One of them pushed the boat away from the shore before both men settled in, using only paddles to guide us down the river. As it had before, time seemed to stand still, the darkness eerie and foreboding. Minutes passed.

  Maybe hours.

  My mind was foggy, my skin clammy and my heart racing. I had to remain strong. Were they telling me the truth? Did I dare believe them?

  As the boat was finally rowed to what appeared to be a small alcove, I was finally able to take a deep breath.

  After helping me out of the boat, I was lifted into the first man’s arms again, only this time close to his chest. He carried me with ease as both men trudged through the rough terrain, the second soldier using a light to guide our way.

  “You
will be all right, Doctor. I promise you,” he whispered, his fingers digging into my skin as if for reassurance.

  I could hear his labored breathing as the scent of him reached me. Dear God, I wanted to believe him. He was all male in every sense of the word, his musk and testosterone filling my nostrils.

  “Six hundred yards to the right,” the second man said, now leading the way.

  I strained to see anything, finally able to make out a building or hut of some kind. The second man swung the light from right to left, then toward the entrance, the door creaking as it was opened. Only when the door was closed behind us did the second man locate and turn on a light, the small lantern creating a bleak glow in the rugged interior. Blinking in order to focus, I was finally able to get a decent look at the two men, although both were wearing dark clothes, some kind of black gunk on their faces. One had short cropped blond hair, his gorgeous eyes enigmatic. The other had shoulder-length black hair and ebony eyes, the kind that seemed soulless.

  My saviors.

  My dark angels.

  Or were they merely another kind of beast?

  Maybe they were really criminals in disguise, stealing away the Serpent’s precious possession, making up a story to keep me quiet. They certainly hadn’t provided any details. Why should I believe them? My father was the last person I would expect to attempt a rescue, unless he was determined to go through with a promise he’d obviously made regarding my hand in matrimony.

  The two men were both extremely muscular, standing nearly six and a half feet tall. I felt tiny in comparison, my five-foot-six-inch frame no match for their brawn.