Page 51 of Incoming Layne Shift

Danielle straightened back up and gave a broad smile. “I’m going to be the one that takes your place and snatches up all the power in this damn city. There’s only room for one queen amongst all the kings.”

Layne outright laughed; this girl was on some seriously good drugs with the lack of sense she was making. “Good luck with that. Who the hell is going to listen to some delusional stripper?”

Now it was Danielle’s turn to laugh. “You don’t know? Oh, gee, this is awkward.” Her voice made it clear that this girl didn’t feel the least bit bad about any awkwardness.

She squatted down in front of Layne so she could watch her reaction. “I only took that job at Cassidy’s so I could keep tabs on Italo and his pathetic little crew. Then, you came along and disposed of him and it was clear that it was worthwhile sticking around. You see, I have a vested interest in making sure Daddy gets his way if I’m ever going to rise to the top.”

Layne had been good at controlling her face up until this point, but the more Danielle spoke the more she realized this was far worse than a case of a psycho chick with jealousy issues.

With the confusion in Layne’s eyes growing, Danielle smirked. “You didn’t know my last name is Spencer, did you?”

That may as well have been the atomic bomb on Layne’s brain. Everything began to snap into place as all the events that had transpired to this point were on rewind in her brain. The interest Danielle showed in Gage. Being present at all of Italo’s meetings as the entertainment. Straight back to the day she had barged into the souvenir shop Russ owned to confront him about poaching Andrew Correlli.

Layne walked into the retail storefront ignoring the girl at the cash register scrolling through her phone.

Even Alexei Kuznetsov had tried to warn her.

“I think you will find the answers you are looking for over at a little souvenir shop across from the Empire State Building.”

She had thought he was referring to Russell’s offices hidden in the back of that building. Not the girl who worked at the front counter. The very same girl that stood at the front of the store that day wasn’t just someone looking to earn a few bucks, it had been Russell’s daughter—Danielle. Fuck. This just went from being an inconvenience to being a goddamn crisis with potentially fatal consequences.

The realization left Layne speechless as she tried to sort through all the frantic thoughts in her brain. Even Alexei’s cryptic words to her during their meeting were floating to the forefront of her mind.

“Be sure of your actions, pchelka. You do not want to lay judgment on the tiger only to be bitten by the snake.”

She was snatched out of the things going on inside her head when the snake’s hand grabbed her by the face. “Just wait until he gets here, he’s going to be so proud to see what I have wrapped up in a slutty little package for him. I bet you’ll even spread your legs and beg for him, too.”

Layne didn’t avert her eyes from Danielle’s scornful face. “You have no idea what you’ve just done…” Her heart may have been beating faster than it should have but she had never felt more sure of what needed to happen.

Danielle stood up, releasing her hold on Layne. Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Oo, is this where you tell me that your two boy toys are going to come save you? That they’ll come here and save their damsel in distress?”

Layne shook her head. “No.” She made direct eye contact with Danielle, a gaze filled with violent promises. “This is where I tell you that you’ve started a war. A war that I promised I would bring to your dad’s front door if he crossed me ever again. A war he won’t win.”

It seemed that Danielle wasn’t too concerned by the shrug she gave. The stupid girl was clueless about how the city’s criminal politics were played. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re not in a position to be doing much of anything. You would have been much smarter to start the war after I convinced my own boy toys to do a little redecorating at that little dive bar you love so much. I heard the owner put up a hell of a fight.”

“You sick fuckin’ bitch!” she screamed out. There was the temper flare that Layne was known so well for. She yanked at her arms bound by those ropes and thrashed in her seat wanting to cover every inch of Danielle’s face with the bottom of her boots.

Danielle cackled in amusement as she backed up towards the door. “You don’t know the half of it. Maybe I will send my boys in here to teach you a lesson or three, a lesson for each of your holes. See you in a bit!” She blew Layne a kiss before she left the room slamming the door shut behind her and clicking the locks in place.

Layne yelled out in utter frustration as she pulled at her restraints despite the pain it caused. This bitch needed to die and Layne decided that it would be her life’s mission to end it in a spectacularly glorious fashion.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Layne sat in isolation tied to that chair for what felt like hours. Her thoughts were jumping all over the place. She was worried. Not for herself, but for her guys. They had to know she was missing by now, and they were likely ready to burn the city down just to find her. It hurt her heart even thinking about what they were going through. God, she hoped that they weren’t doing anything stupid that put their lives at risk.

Then, there was the person who was responsible for putting her here. It seemed that little Miss Spencer wanted to follow in her daddy’s footsteps or maybe she was trying to compete with Layne. Either way, she was a poor imitation of what strength and strategy looked like in this line of work.

She couldn’t be sure how much time she had before Danielle made good on any threats of sending in a bunch of cowards to torture or assault her. The ropes that kept her bound to the metal chair were creating burns against her skin from all the attempts to wiggle free from them. Nonetheless, she kept working at them.

As she heard voices approaching the door, she rushed her efforts along. It seemed not quick enough as the lock shifted and the door swung open. Danielle’s shitty face with too many layers of cheap makeup was the first thing she saw followed by three men. Well, this was going to be a goddamn rager of a party, wasn’t it?

There was a brief thought in her mind reflecting some self-doubt. Layne shoved it back down into the place where she fed her temper. This bitch wanted to make good on her threats? Layne was going to make good on hers.

Danielle damn near skipped in and was so full of happiness. “Did you miss me? I brought some friends to keep you company.”

It may have looked like Layne was sitting there refusing to speak out of defiance, but what she was doing was making calculations. Out of the three men, all wearing cheap ski masks, she did quick assessments of their heights and builds and how that would translate into who was the biggest potential threat. One had a gun on his hip and she’d pay a fortune in blood to get her hands on it. Of all of them, Danielle was the weakest link, she’d die last just so Layne could get satisfaction out of it.

“Cat got your tongue, Layne?” Danielle stepped off to the corner of the room. Did she have intentions of watching this all unfold? Layne hoped so. “If you’re worried about dying, don’t. I’m sure my dad will want to have a few words with you after I tell him about everything I’ve accomplished without his help. Then, afterward, he can watch while I do the job myself.”

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