Agent Out of Time - Page 46/135

Deshavi stepped back into the world she had left behind for the summer. Looking around at the glitzy apartment and her things she couldn't but help notice how much she had changed since she was here last. She'd found love and suffered heartbreak all in the course of a single summer and she was forever changed and in some ways scared by it. This place and the entertainments it held had no charm to her anymore.

She wanted something fresher and wiser than the selfish existence for self she had been living. It was late, but she started packing up her stuff. She was determined to be out of here in the morning and embarked on a new life.

It was going well, when suddenly the door of her apartment shattered, as it was busted inward. On a gasp of alarm she watched as several masked men stormed in. She started for the bedroom, where she kept a gun under the mattress, but there was a sharp sting at her neck. Numbly her fingers reached up to feel the small dart, even as her feet gave out on her and she crumpled headlong to the floor already unconscious.

Dimly Deshavi became aware of color and then the texture of carpet beneath her fingers. She sat up slowly. She was lying on the floor of an extravagant looking room that had far too much of the color red throughout its design. Several armed men stood about in suits and she knew she was in big trouble. The door opened and in walked an older man. All the men were Russian and she had a pretty good idea why she was here. She had to look up from her position on the floor, as the man came close to her. His eyes held nothing but cruelty in there depths and a deep fear blossomed within her.

"So the thieving whore has returned home at long last."

Picking her words carefully Deshavi said, "I can return the necklace to you and I can pay."

The man shook his head, as a smile played about his lips in a false sign of joviality. "I already have the necklace and as for the money, I don't need it. I wonder however, how are you going to return my son's life to me?"

Cold dread filled Deshavi's blood with ice. She wanted to scream out for help, but she had no friends here. Trent was gone from her and grandfather was far away in the mountains. She was alone and without help.

"You would have been wise to heed the maxim of 'never steal from a thief'. If that had been the extent of your crime I would've simply killed you and spared you the ordeal of what is to come. After all there must be respect among thieves should there not?"