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Chapter 8
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The Darkest Hour Chapter 9
Royce stood beside his bed, quietly watching Kenzie as she slipped into sleep. Her breathing slowed and became deeper, and her hands unclenched for the first time in hours. The worry lines that framed her eyes smoothed as she slipped into dreams.Damn, he had to be careful. She was his, but she could never truly be his. And not just because protecting her meant not letting her ruin her career for him. No, it was because life was a cruel bitch.Whenever he thought of loving someone, he was overwhelmed with thoughts of the loss of his parents. The night they died and what had happened to them became a recurring nightmare as his imagination played out what their final moments must have been like. He was watching the runway through a small plane window. The blinking lights of the plane flashing and fading in the thick fog. The white dashes of the runway vanishingthe sudden flash before everything went dark.After the accident, waking up became a routine: His chest constricted until he c
The Darkest Hour Chapter 10
He had to be sure she knew what he meant to do. "Do you understand what you're saying? You were at the Gilded Cuff""I am going to Russia."Emery and Fenn laughed. Hans rolled his eyes. "I'm going to secure the perimeter. I do not want to see whatever you're going to do that poor girl. But considering I found leather cuffs under her bed, I'm guessing she'll be into it." He left the billiard room."Cuffs, huh?" Royce grinned.Kenzie glanced at Fenn, Emery, and finally at Royce. She gulped and didn't respond to his question about the cuffs. Royce nodded at his friend. Emery reached under the pool table and flipped a switch. Two panels by the end of the table opened on the felt surface and two silver rings appeared with handcuffs attached. Perfect restraints to keep a woman bent over the pool table.She stared at the rings, her eyes wide. "What are those?""It's not too late to back out, Little Mac. No hard feelings." Royce prayed she would give in and go back upstairs. Who knew whe
The Darkest Hour Chapter 11
My ass hurts.That was the first thought that crept into Kenzie's head when she woke up. Bright sunlight shone through the windowpanes where the curtains had been pulled to the sides. She winced as she sat up and pushed the covers back. The sheets were heavy and softtoo softand the room she was in was lavishly decorated with antique furniture, not the cheap IKEA stuff from her apartment. A trickle, then a flood of embarrassing memories came back to her. She covered her face in her hands.Oh my God, I let my professor spank me last night. In front of his friends.She peeked between her fingers, checking to make sure the room was in fact empty. It was. Then she slipped out of bed and dashed to the bathroom. Her toiletry bag sat on the counter. Hans had been really thorough when he'd retrieved her stuff. She hastily brushed her teeth before she had the courage to tug down the pajama pants and look at her ass in the mirror.It was a light-pink shade and still incredibly sensitive. Ever
The Darkest Hour Chapter 12
Royce hated planes. He didn't used to, but since he lost his parents, he'd viewed them as giant deathtraps. The pilot announced their flight time and the weather conditions on the way to Moscow, and Royce's stomach knotted. He'd flown often over the years but had never gotten over the ache of his memories of that tragic night.He would sit frozen in his first-class seat of the Boeing 747 and not be able to breathe. The engines would come to life and the flight attendant would walk the length of the cabin, calm and casual, but nothing could distract him from his fear. He would grip the armrest until his knuckles were white, even before takeoff.Every time the memories of losing his parents came back, they were as dark and heavy as a midnight sea, drawing him down into their depths.Royce grinned as he, Wes, and Emery raided his dad's liquor cabinet and sat in the den watching TV. His parents wouldn't get home until late tonight, and they could hide the empty bottle of Jack Daniel's l
The Darkest Hour Chapter 13
Moscow was a strange mix of the past and present. Kenzie stared at the sights from inside the private cab that took them from the airport to the hotel. The famous multicolored onion domes of Saint Basil's Cathedral shimmered in the distance, accented like a castle in a foggy world, backlit by snowy skies. The streets were full of tourists and locals bustling along the icy streets, coats clutched tight with woolen scarves blowing in the wind.Beside her, Royce leaned back in the cab, seemingly at ease, his gaze distant. He'd been silent for much of the long flight, and she was afraid that spending most the time cuddled against him asleep had been a mistake. What if he was regretting letting her come? What if he didn't want her here? That led to worse questions.What if he doesn't want me at all?When they'd been together in the shower, he'd come so close to kissing and then after he punished her, he'd said things that had given her hope. Not that she should hope. They couldn't go dow
The Darkest Hour Chapter 14
"So, are we going to talk about it?" Hans asked as he and Royce climbed in the back of their hired SUV.Royce leaned back, resting his head on the headrest as he stared straight ahead. "Talk about what?" Hans had the most amazing way of making him feel like he was a ten-year-old boy and not a man of thirty-three."About the fact that you basically told your grad student you want to fuck her brains out. Are you fraternizing with students now?""No. There's a fuck ton of paperwork involved, for one thing. And I would have to stop working with her. If it's handled wrong, it could damage the academic integrity of any research we did together.""Jesus. Why didn't you send her somewhere safe if she's such a temptation to you?" Hans asked. "She would have been fine at Fenn's ranch in Colorado."Royce watched the streets of Moscow blur as their driver sped up when the street cleared. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd told Kenzie the truth. As a Dom, he had a natural urge to protect his
The Darkest Hour Chapter 15
Royce glanced at Rurik. The man was flexing his hands and curled them into fists, a growl barely audible. Dimitri's words sank in, and Royce felt his stomach heave. His blood began to boil."You mean human trafficking."Dimitri slipped his hands into his pockets. "Yes. He's one of the biggest traders in the flesh markets."If there was one thing in the world that could change Royce's mind about killing a man in cold blood, it was sex trafficking. The monsters who did that to women, who stole their freedom, their bodies, their livesit was a fate worse than death. It was hell. Royce stared down at the vial of ricin in his hands, and made his decision."Then he's a dead man," Royce said. He wasn't going to let someone like Vadym continue breathing if he had a say in the matter. It wouldn't stop human trafficking in general, but he was going to stop this bastard if he could.Hans looked to Dimitri. "Guess that's that. Where can we find him? You mentioned the club he gets into?""It's
The Darkest Hour Chapter 16
One, two, three, fourKenzie fell into the cathartic pace of counting her strokes as she did laps in the massive underground pool of the Lotte Hotel. The square blue tiles along the pool bottom seemed to glow like neon from the underwater pool lights. She felt weightless, as if she were swimming in a distant galaxy of glowing stars rather than a pool in Moscow.She swam until her arms burned. With each stroke she tried to banish the memories of the horrors she'd faced.Monte gripping her throat, squeezingwood splintering above her. Glass and splinters raining down on hergunshots piercing the night, louder than she'd ever imagined they could bebullets embedded in the wall where her head had beenbroken glass glittering on the expensive stone floors like hundreds of diamonds.She'd never been close to death. She'd never seen the ugliness of true violence or crime. She had lived a sheltered life full of love, happiness, and her textbooks. Dinosaur bones over human bones. She could neve
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The Darkest Hour Chapter 34: Epilogue
Six months laterKenzie held on to Royce's back as his motorcycle cruised down the private road toward their homeDevereaux House. She peered at the mansion through her helmet visor and sighed. She never got tired of looking at it. The gabled roofs and endless halls full of priceless paintings and lavish bedrooms and the study where Royce worked. It had all become a part of her life in the best possible way. He pulled up in front of the mansion and killed the engine. Kenzie let go of his hips and slid off. The sight of him astride the bike with his helmet, jacket, and jeans was utterly sinful.He pulled the visor up. "What's up, babe? You're looking at me funny.""I'm just picturing how much I want you to bend me over the pool table tonight."He took off his helmet, leaving his hair playfully tousled, but his expression was hungry and serious."Are you asking me to fuck you, Dr. Martin?""Oh, most definitely, Dr. Devereaux."He grinned. "That's too bad, Little Mac, because I have
The Darkest Hour Chapter 33
Royce came awake slowly, aware that he was in some sort of hospital, probably still at the embassy in Mongolia given the news station flashing on the TV in the corner of the room. Everything hurt like hell. Tubes were in his nose, and an IV bag hung on a pole nearby. His right hand was taped, keeping the IV needle in."Fuck," he groaned, his head falling back onto the pillow. Then he noticed a shape in a chair beside his hospital bed. Kenzie. She was curled up on the chair, her head pillowed by one arm and a jacket covering her. A man's jacket.Not my jacket."Thank God," a deep voice said from the doorway. Hans Brummer stood there, a paper cup of coffee in his hand and a relieved look in his brown eyes."Give you a few new gray hairs, did I?" Royce's voice came out a croak.Hans raked a hand through his scalp. "More than a few. I'll go full George Clooney in a month at this rate.""How did you find us?"Hans pulled a chair out and turned it around, not waking Kenzie. He sat on
The Darkest Hour Chapter 32
Vadym let go of her, and she retreated. He laughed as he turned to Royce. "She has just agreed to come back to Moscow and serve mein all ways."Royce's face was pale as he looked between them. "Kenzie, what's he talking about?""He said he'll spare you and Elena if I do. Please, Royce, don't cross him," she pleaded with him, hoping he would read her thoughts. It's just for a short time, until you can save me from him."You son of a bitch!" Royce moved fast, slamming his fist into Vadym's face before his bodyguards could move in. The attack stunned everyone."Kenzie, run!" Royce shouted as he tackled Vadym to the ground. Kenzie turned and smacked hard into Jov Tomenko's body. She hadn't even known he was in the room. His heavy hand clamped around her arm, squeezing until she cried out. Vadym's other guards grabbed Royce and dragged him off."Take them to the cars.""May I kill them?" Jov wrenched his hand down harder on Kenzie's arm. Her muscles seemed to tear beneath his hands, a
The Darkest Hour Chapter 31
The city of Ulaanbaatar was nothing like what Kenzie had expected. When Hans and Royce had spoken of mountains, lonely deserts, and yurts, they had been speaking of the countryside of Mongolia. But as the Trans-Siberian train pulled into the city, it left the valley hills with snowy pine trees far behind them. The horsemen who had darted alongside the train tracks like the Mongolian herdsmen of history vanished as the cityscape of Ulaanbaatar took over.It was a curious mix of ancient temples, crumbling Soviet-era apartment blocks, and newer glass towers, along with derelict suburbs of yurts and brick houses. A mesh of wire, concrete, and metal piping all crashed together. But Kenzie was stunned by the energy and warmth of the people, which was so at odds with the city itself."Welcome to UB," Royce said. "The city's name means Red Hero." He coughed. "But honestly, they should call it Black Hero in the winter." He pointed at the hazy dark clouds that hovered above the city like an om
The Darkest Hour Chapter 30
Royce was watching out the window as the private jet landed on the airstrip outside of Kyakhta. Kenzie and Elena were still close to him. For some reason Vadym had left them alone after he'd given Royce one hell of a beating. Perhaps it was some kind of mind game, allowing him to sit and think about what he had to lose if he didn't cooperate.But now that the plane had landed, Vadym would want his fossils. It went against everything Royce believed in to use his professional reputation to lie, but Royce wanted to live. More importantly, he wanted to protect Kenzie and Elena. The best way to do that was to play along with Vadym until a chance to fight presented itself or the cavalry showed up.Vadym came up to Royce, a cold smile on his lips. "Now, Dr. Devereaux, this way." He jerked his head toward the plane door, indicating it was time to go.Royce gritted his teeth but followed Vadym out of the plane. A truck of Russian officials was waiting for them."Royce?" Kenzie stuck close t
The Darkest Hour Chapter 29
"What's the fossil in Mongolia that you're trying to transport?"Vadym's gaze narrowed. "What do you know of fossils?""A lot," Kenzie said. She could feel Elena in the seat beside her, unmoving, terrified. "You didn't think I was sleeping with Dr. Devereaux, did you? He's a professor of paleontology, and I'm his teaching assistant. In five months, I'll be a professor of paleontology as well."Her announcement caught Vadym by surprise. "You? You will be a doctor like him?" He looked back at the room where Royce lay on the floor, two goons hovering over him."Yes. I can assist Dr. Devereaux with his inspections of the fossils. There's more to it than signing a page of authenticity. He'll need to verify the time period the fossils came from, among other things. I can help him with that."Vadym sat back, a smug smile on his face. "You will take Elena's place after the fossils are sold. I will make good use of youin many ways."Kenzie didn't rise to the bait. It was obvious that he l
The Darkest Hour Chapter 28
Kenzie was shoved into a black van outside the club, her hands bound in front of her. Two of Vadym's men tossed the poor unconscious woman onto the floor beside her, before they walked around to the front of the van and got in. Through the front windshield, Kenzie could see Royce being dragged to a black SUV parked in front of them.When they'd knocked Royce out, Kenzie had nearly fainted. Her heart hadn't stopped pounding and she felt dizzy with terror, but she'd managed to stay in control. This was so much worse than Gary and Monte attacking her at Royce's office. Compared to this, that had been child's play.Vadym had her in his clutches, and he'd made it clear he was going to use her to get what he wanted from Royce and then to hurt her after he disposed of this other poor woman. Kenzie crawled over to the woman and rolled her onto her back. The left side of her face was still red from Vadym's blow.She pressed two fingers under the woman's jaw and felt the steady pulse of a hea
The Darkest Hour Chapter 27
Hans could barely breathe. Hands dug into his arms, keeping him still as Royce and Kenzie were hauled away through the back door of the club.I can't let that boy down. His eyes burned and his vision blurred with tears. Am I fucking crying?"Brummer, everything will be fine. We'll go after them," Dimitri promised in a low tone only Hans and Tatiana could hear. The room was still full of armed men who were watching every move around them for signs that Royce and Kenzie had allies."He's right," said Tatiana, leaning into him by the bar. "If you tried to fight now, Vadym would only kill you. For now, Devereaux is safe and well, and if he's smart he can protect the girl."But all Hans could picture was a tiny child, one who sat quietly beside another boy with bruises and cuts everywhere. Royce had been only eight years old when Emery had been rescued.Hans hadn't been able to get the scene out of his headEmery on one bed, knees tucked up to his chin, eyes wide and gaze distant and Ro
The Darkest Hour Chapter 26
Royce felt the weight of the vial of ricin in his trousers.It seemed to be burning through his pocket. Soon he would be slipping it into a drink and giving it to Vadym. Never in his life had he imagined he would be a man who would take a life like this. He'd always believed in being a hero, someone who would kill a bad guy in a glorious shootout, not this shady, spy-versus-spy, fucked-up shitstorm he was currently trapped in. Soon this nightmare would be over. He led Kenzie outside of the room and buried all thoughts of what they had just shared deep inside. He couldn't let his feelings get in the way of what had to be done.He'd prefer to simply shoot the man in the midst of a fight. That would be fair, sure, but that was too dangerous. Innocents could get hurt in the process. They needed to be cold and calculated because they were putting more than just their own lives at risk.While he had some qualms about using these means to kill someone, he certainly had none about the targe
