Page 64 of Her Defiant Warrior

Jase shoved his nose into the lid of the box, but that only pushed it farther away. He twisted himself around until the tips of his fingers could prod the lid off.

Success!

Come on. Be like my mom. Come on.

He worked at the box until it finally tilted. Ribbons, bows, tape, and wrapping paper fell onto his tied hands and ankles. Then he heard a thud and grinned. He wiggled his way down and felt around until his fingers felt the sharp edge of a blade.

Scissors!

Perfect.

After what seemed like forever, he was able to make enough of a slit in the plastic that he could yank his wrists apart. It took a minute too long as far as Jase was concerned to get enough feeling in his joints to move his hands so he could yank the tiny knife out of his boot and slice the restraints around his ankles.

He felt in his front pocket to see if his cell phone was still there, but it wasn’t.

I guess Spider had to be good at something. Hitting me from behind and confiscating my cell phone are about it.

Now it was just a matter of getting the lay of the land so he could rescue Ryker and Gideon, figure out why they were so fucking interested in the Museum of the Future and find the damned C-4.

Jase got out from beneath the bed, wiped his bloody wrists on the bedspread, then went to the one door in the bedroom. After a minute of not hearing anything, he opened it just a little in order to take a look. Was that floral chintz wallpaper? Jesus, his mom would be in heaven.

He didn’t see anybody in the hallway, nor did he hear anything. He pulled off his belt and took that bigger knife in his left hand, keeping the SOG Sarl knife in his boot. He silently went down the hall. Finally, he heard a voice. It was Braxton.

“I’m at your disposal. You tell me to wait. I wait. You tell me to drive. I drive. You tell me to kill. I kill. I’m the world’s best employee.”

Shit, that was cold.

“I like you, Braxton.”

Even when she tries to purr, it comes off like nails on a chalkboard, and I like an Aussie accent!

“There’s a lot to like, if you get my meaning.”

Ewwww.

“Work first.”

“So, when am I going to meet Ely Roberts?” Braxton asked.

There was a long pause.

A long-ass pause.

“You’re meeting me, isn’t that enough?”

“Absolutely. Didn’t mean to step on your lovely toes, darlin’.”

God, he’s laying it on thick.

“It’s just that I’ve been trying to get on with this outfit for a while,” Braxton explained. “Heard a lot of good things about Frank Sykes, and it was a hell of a disappointment to hear that he went head-to-head with a bunch of squids and ended up dead.”

“That was before my time,” the Aussie said. She didn’t seem concerned. “Ely is more than enough man to keep things together. Under his leadership, the Elite has almost tripled in size.”

“The Elite?” Braxton queried.

“The Kraken?” Jase could practically hear her shudder in distaste. “Such a Neanderthal name for an elite organization. Do you realize that most of our commissions are upwards of fifty million dollars? A business of that stature should have a name that is commiserate with its abilities.”

“I’m pretty sure there is a pro wrestling team with that name.”