Free The Mogul (Necessary Lies Book 2) by Alison Ryan Page A

holding him thus, he reached down and yanked the gun from his holster and slid it across the floor toward me.
    “Take the safety off. It’s the button on the side. If this goes badly, point and shoot.”
    I bent and picked the weapon up, reaching to the bed for a sheet with which to cover my nudity.
    Nolan retained his immobilizing hold on the man’s neck, fending off both his hands as Nicholas attempted to extricate himself.
    As his face turned deeper shades of red, Nicholas’s left arm wound up in Nolan’s clutches. He took hold of the wrist, slipped an arm beneath it at the elbow, and the result was quick and sure. Crack .
    “I can go on breaking things, Nicholas. I can squeeze with my legs and you’ll pass out. Then I can take you apart. Is that what you want?”
    The man shook his head, best he was able.
    “Who’s giving the orders? It’s not Jessa fucking Ladson. It’s coming from above her. Who is it?”
    Nolan took hold of the broken arm and twisted it, eliciting an agonized howl.
    “Turn on the television. And turn it up,” Nolan commanded. I did as I was told.
    “Give me a name, Nicholas.” Nolan’s thumb dug into a spot on Nicholas’s shoulder, and the large man thrashed, but stopped protesting when Nolan adjusted and began to put more pressure on his neck with his leg lock.
    “QB, Weston. What the fuck are you going to do now?”
    Nolan looked ashen.
    “And Adrianna? Was that QB, too?” Nolan asked.
    “Fuck no, she was too small time to even be on his radar. Nice piece of ass, though.”
    Nolan raised a hand to strike when Nicholas summoned his last reserve of energy and somehow flipped over, dislodging Nolan from his neck. With what seemed like superhuman strength in his one good arm, he lifted and threw Nolan into the nearest wall.
    “Skirts will ruin us all. You fucked up because of Hunt’s daughter and I took this job to get into Jessa’s pants. You’d think we’d learn. Fuck it. You’re dead. I’ll get what else I need from Camilla. She doesn’t have the balls to shoot anybody.”
    Nicholas charged Nolan, his bulk crushing him up against the wall and pinning him there as he threw wild punches with his good arm and head-butted him over his left eye.
    I wanted to shoot, to end the nightmare, but Nolan was too close. I couldn’t risk it. I backed up against the wall and into… someone. I spun with the gun in my hand, only to have my arm intercepted and lifted out of the way by the woman I knew only as Krav Maga, my other security escort. She dispossessed me of the weapon, and I knew then that we were surely doomed.
    As Nicholas and Nolan exchanged blows, Krav Maga gave me a… smile?
    She flew across the room, landing a devastating series of strikes to the small of Nicholas’s back. The large man froze and staggered back, and Nolan delivered the deathblow directly to his throat.
    When it connected, the man collapsed straight down like I’d seen hotel towers fall in on themselves when imploded in Las Vegas. He crumpled, motionless and soundless.
    The room looked like a tornado had blown through it. Nolan’s face was puffy and battered, and he held his side as he limped toward me. We embraced, as I openly wept.
    I was vaguely aware that Krav Maga was on her phone.
    “Richard, there’s been a problem,” she said.
    Richard ? How did she…
    I pulled back from Nolan, puzzled. He wiped blood from a gash on his eyebrow, glanced at Krav Maga and back to me, and nodded his head.

Chapter Thirteen
    “ H e called Jessa Ladson . She’ll have dispatched a team to Jo’burg by now. Set up a welcoming committee.”
    Nolan was filling in Krav Maga on the events of the evening.
    “South Africa? Leonard and his team were in Pretoria last week. Hopefully they’re still nearby. I’ll arrange it. Are the two of you well enough to travel?” Krav Maga looked us up and down.
    “I just need to get cleaned up. I’ve got broken ribs. At least two. Everything else is superficial. Camilla?”