Page 7 of Throttle

But sometimes, the job can get rough. I might need to do some creative persuading if an individual refuses to give us pertinent information. That’s my favorite part, although the real fun is had by Crusher. He’s an expert at extracting details from reluctant informants.

I sit up in bed, wiping away the sleep from my face before getting to my feet. Reaching for the shirt I threw on the floor at some point in the night, I pull it on, followed by my cut, before leaving my room and shuffling down the hallway. I know this route like the back of my hand and could walk it with my eyes closed, which is basically what I’m doing right now. I’m headed straight for the Prez’s office to see what assignment Venom has waiting for me.

Stopping in front of a large steel door, I knock once before I enter. Venom sits at his desk, his elbows planted on top with his fingers laced together. His only acknowledgment that I’ve entered the room is the flick of his eyes toward me before they settle back on the two people in front of him. I give him a subtle nod and turn my gaze on our guests.

The man standing in the middle of the room looks out of place in his navy suit. But he appears somewhat relaxed with the two buttons of his collar undone and his hair ruffled, as if he’s raked his hands through it a million times tonight. He stands protectively behind the woman he accompanies, blocking her from my view. I scan what I can see of her: torn clothing, tendrils of hair escaping her messy bun, dirty shoes. She’s a fucking mess.

“I understand your situation, honey. He’ll be assigned to your protection until we can… handle this further,” Venom explains.

My eyes twitch at the vague implication. If by handling, he means finding these bastards who did this and killing them, then, yes, we’ll definitely handle the situation.

The woman turns to look at the man behind her, but her captivating green eyes lock on mine and I freeze.

Fuck, she’s beautiful… and badly injured.

Smeared black mascara runs down her tear-stained cheeks, and her bottom lip has a spot of dried blood where it’s busted open. The purple bruise forming at the corner of her eye makes me want to find who did this to her and murder them with my bare hands. It takes a special kind of asshole to hurt a woman or a child. The kind who deserves to be put in the ground.

She trembles with her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if she’s barely holding the pieces together. I’m sure she’s scared out of her fucking mind, but I can’t stop staring at her—she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I can tell she’s not some little mouse as she assesses me with hard eyes. There’s a question in her gaze, but it’s shrouded by shock and fear. Whoever did this to her better be long gone, because when I find them, I’m going to fucking enjoy killing them.

I step closer to Venom’s desk. The woman’s eyes land on my patch, then lift to my face. As I hold her gaze, I realize I like her looking at me. Almost as if she can see all of me, not just what’s on the surface. Her unwavering stare sends a shiver down my spine, and I have to force myself to look away.

Venom introduces our guests and his voice breaks me from my trance. “This here is an old friend of mine, Lucien Toussaint.” Our Prez motions to the well-dressed man before gesturing to the woman. “And this is Sienna Jones.”

“Sienna.” I roll her name around on my tongue, loving how it fucking sounds. I notice the way she flinches, her eyes darker now.

Venom lifts his chin in my direction. “Sit down so we can begin.”

“Nah, I’m good right here.” I lean back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. I want to stay where I can keep my eyes on the beauty in front of me.

“Have it your way then.” Venom flicks a dismissive hand in my direction and turns back to his guests. “Why don’t you tell us what happened? From the beginning.”

“Take your time, kiddo.” The man, Lucien, reassures the girl. His voice is gentle, like a father calming a crying baby.

“I represented a man named Tony Bertelli in a recent trial…” Sienna begins. I pause at this news, my eyes narrowing at what she just said.

Venom looks to Lucien with barely contained surprise on his face. “She represented Toni Bertelli?”

But Sienna responds before Lucien can answer. “Yes, she did.”

I watch from my position off to the side as Sienna gives Venom a slight glare. He dips his chin apologetically, causing me to smile internally at her display of backbone.

“Probably would’ve been better if I didn’t, though, because the trial didn’t go the way he wanted. Now, he’s facing life in prison.” She sighs, lowering her head. “And he let me know just what he thought about that too, by threatening me. Telling me that if he ended up behind bars, then his men would make sure this was my last case. Ever.”

Lucien places a hand on her shoulder for encouragement, and she stiffens slightly. Not in fear of him, but in response to events that occurred earlier tonight. I don’t know this woman, but I don’t like seeing her this way. I can tell she’s a fighter. And watching her carry around this fear on her shoulders, knowing it doesn’t belong there, makes me irrationally angry.

She continues explaining. “When I left the office this evening, I wasn’t paying attention because I was so furious with myself about losing this high-profile case. And I’d just had my ass handed to me by the firm’s partners. I was in a fog when I got home, and that’s when a man came up behind me and bashed my head against my front door.”

So, that’s what happened to her pretty face. My hands are itching to get to these guys right now.

“He didn’t say much. Just told me that Tony should have been a free man, and then he hit me some more.” Sienna swallows, likely reliving the details from tonight. “Everything hurt and I thought I was gonna die, but I tried my best to focus. Tried to figure out how to get away from him. Then, I remembered my training, and I dropped.”

“You dropped?” Venom raises a curious eyebrow.

“Yeah. I took self-defense classes. Considering the men I represent from time to time, thought it would be a smart idea.”

Well, she wasn’t fucking wrong. That’s for damn sure.

Lucien chimes in, “We wanted to make sure she could take care of herself if she got into a situation like this. We just never believed it would actually happen.”

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