Page 79 of Between the Lies

Nina froze. Oh shite! That was a voice she recognised and had hoped to never hear again.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT

Nina whirled round, fist flying, aimed right where the voice had come from. But the bastard jumped away, laughing.

Shah looked the same, clad in his usual leather jacket, his hair spiked like a porcupine, and wearing those fucking combat boots. Why did they never make a sound when he crept up on her?

‘What’re you doing here?’

The smile on his face grew. ‘I should ask you that. After all, you are inmyhumble establishment.’

Nina smirked. ‘Humble and that get-up don’t gel. Do you even know what “humble” means?’

‘You bitch!’ He lunged at her. Before she could jump away, his claws gripped her hair and pulled.

Nina bit back a yell, but her eyes teared up. ‘Let me go.’

‘Not a chance in hell.’

Jerking his head towards the door, Shah growled at the lad, ‘Lock up for the night and leave. This lady and I are old friends, and it’s time for a good long chat. Isn’t it, Ms Banerjee?’

All the money in the world couldn’t have kept the other man behind the till. Still, he swiped the cash she’d placed under the newspaper and ran out the shop. Perhaps that would be his remainder pay for the day.

Nina used her right hand to reach into her pocket for her phone. She needed to either contact Robert or the police.

This time, though, Shah was a step ahead of her. ‘Uh-uh, no calling your boyfriend.’ He smacked her hand, slamming the phone to the floor.

With a definite finality, his boots landed on the device, and a crack informed Nina of her salvation’s demise.

‘Where were we? Aye.’ Still gripping her hair, Shah led her to the centre of the shop and smacked his foot into the back of her knee. Nina’s leg buckled, and she found herself kneeling before her tormentor. ‘What’s wrong with you?’

‘Wrong? You filthy little?—’

This time his kick landed right at her rib cage.

Nina clutched her torso, tears streaming down her face. Those fucking combat boots came with metal attached to the front of the shoe. She’d be lucky if he hadn’t broken a bone.

Right then, the only thing keeping her upright was the knowledge that if she lay down on the floor, she would never get up again. Not with the madness gleaming in his eyes, as if his entire soul had left his body.

Gripping her thighs, Nina pushed herself up. Her feet wobbled, not with the stress but with pain.

‘Do you hurt? Ooh, but we aren’t done. A little tit for tat, eh?’

Nina shifted an inch to her right.

‘Where the fuck are you going?’

The eejit bodily shoved her to the floor, face first, and aimed another kick at her side. She turned, gasping with pain.

‘Stay down.’

Bending, Shah gripped her legs and tugged her closer to him. She slid down, all her efforts at getting away nullified.

In a last-ditch attempt, Nina tried kicking her left leg, but with the pain wrecking her body and Shah’s knowledge of her moves, he just jumped back and retaliated with a kick of his own.

‘You like to kick, don’t you, you bitch? Aye, you’ve got a bite – no wonder that cop likes to fuck you. He’d need you to soothe his damned ego. Both of you, pricks, fucking pricks! You think you can turn my life upside down, do you?’

His voice sounded garbled through the pain. That kick had landed on her calf and stung like the worse thing ever. Nina curled into a ball, wanting desperately to see to her leg. The entire thing throbbed, warming up like she had fever. ‘W-Why are you after me?’

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