THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

dry corner she’d found in her cave-like room.
    Mason was coming.
    To deal with her.
    Her hands trembled. She prayed for strength not to give up Zane’s name – no matter what Mason did. She had to convince them that she’d tricked Zane into letting her stay at his apartment. That he knew nothing.
    Light glowed from under the office door.
    No one had been in this leaking room since she’d awakened to see if she was still there. They might have a peephole, but it wouldn’t make any difference. They knew, as well as she did, there was no way out that didn’t involve her guards.
    As if someone had heard her wandering thoughts, the office door opened.
    CK loomed in the opening.
    “You’re up.”  He started forward. “’Bout time. Thought you were gonna sleep all day. Where’s the fun in that?”  His sinister voice reverberated through the vacant room.
    “Cat got your tongue?” he taunted, ambling towards her, a black silhouette against the bright room behind him.
    She hunched down in the corner, considered trying to run past him, but experience had taught her better. He’d been amazingly fast for his massive bulk. She’d just hurt herself worse. Better to save all her strength to endure Mason.
    CK squatted down in front of her and said softly, “Been trying to think of how to repay you for the kick in the nuts.”
    She flinched at the memory. No man took that move well. What would he do in retaliation?
    With a flick of his hand, he ripped her pale yellow shirt down the front, leaving her dressed in the jog bra and shorts. She braced for his next move, but instead of tearing more clothes he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, wrenched her forward.
    Bile rose in her throat when she realized he wanted to kiss her. She forced her hands not to claw at him, yet. Not until he wanted more. It would take every ounce of strength she had to fight him off if he tried to rape her and she didn’t honestly believe she’d win.
    He closed his mouth over hers.
    Her stomach revolted at the combined odor of hamburger and sour breath. When he ended the kiss, he rocked back on his heels letting his rough palm trail over her damp hair.
    Her sharp breaths echoed the fear riding up her throat. His touch moved down her chest to the jog bra.
    She trembled in terror. He wrapped thick fingers around her right breast and squeezed. She jerked in disgust and pain, tears burning her eyes, but refused to make a sound.
    He released her breast. “I know ML better than most. When he’s finished, you’ll get a chance to make it up to me. If you give him whatever you took, I’ll make sure he doesn’t kill you.”
    Agile as a gymnast, he rose to his feet and turned. The glow from the office rimmed him in backlight and illuminated half of his face.
    Like a glowing Satan.
    Angel let out a pent up breath as a fate worse than Mason walked out of the room.
     
    Chapter 45
     
    Early evening settled over the city under a blanket of ominous clouds. Zane wheeled his truck into the covered parking garage at Miami International Airport minutes behind the vehicle he’d been tracking. He pulled into the first open space, ready to track the transmitter on foot now that it appeared to be stationary.
    Carrying the tablet with the tracking receiver concealed in a magazine, he followed the signal until it indicated he’d reached the target. In the far, outer region of the crowded garage sat a black Land Rover still dripping from the rain.
    Zane waited until he was reasonably sure no one remained in the vehicle, then strolled forward casually, scouting the area each step. With a building sense of dread, he sidled around the far side of the SUV and glanced inside.
    No bodies were visible.
    That was a plus. A soft drink can was lodged in the drink holder between the front seats, but other than that the interior appeared spotless. When he moved toward the rear to check the cargo area, a flash of yellow in the back seat caused him to do a double take.
    Angel’s running shoe sat on the floor.
    He’d been tracking her shoe, not her. His heart sank.
    So where was she? After a quick perusal of the empty rear cargo, he made a mental note of the tag number and the gold triangle logo on the side. What was Lorde Industries?
    Zane returned to his truck where he punched the screen on the tablet to take the tracking program back to the last fixed position before the blip had started moving toward the airport.
    When he reached that location, Angel had