Free Junkie (Broken Doll #1) by Heather C. Leigh Page A

take a team of forensic accountants years to find any wrongdoing, but cops were annoying as fuck. They knew my name, knew what I did, and were pissed as hell that they could never pin anything on me.
    After speaking with the manager for several hours about the visit from Austin’s finest, I had Frank bring me back to the house. What was sure to become a blinding headache if I didn’t relax soon pressed at the inside of my skull. Of course there would be no rest. There never was. The second I walked through the door, Jase flew down the stairs, panting and red-faced, sweat dripping from his temples.
    “Boss, the girl…”
    Without thinking, I seized the lapels of his jacket and body slammed him against the nearest wall. Jase hit with such force, the pictures shook. One frame fell to the floor and shattered. Jase’s breath left his lungs with a loud whoosh and his head thunked against the hard surface. I got right up in his face, inexplicable rage pulsing through my veins. With a quick flick of my wrist, I had a blade out of its sheath and in my hand, the cold steel pressed against Jase’s cheek.
    “What the fuck did you do to her?”
    Jase’s eyes went wide and he held his hands up by his head. “Nothing, Boss. I swear.”
    I held him back with a hand to his chest, the knife still a millimeter away from slicing into his flesh. “Then tell me what the fuck is going on. Now .”
    “S-she’s been breaking everything in her room, Boss. T-tried to throw stuff against the window to get out. Shattered the mirror in the bathroom, the lamps, all of the drawers in the dresser. We… we didn’t want her to hurt herself.” He cringed away from the dagger.
    I moved it close enough to graze his skin. “What the fuck does that mean?”
    Jase swallowed, his wide gaze fixed on the knife. “We were a-afraid she’d cut her wrists or s-something, so George and I… w-we had no choice. We, uh, we handcuffed her to the bed, Boss.”
    “Why wasn’t I called?” The fury that ripped through me at the thought of the two big men holding down my tiny redhead and cuffing her to the bed frame turned my vision red.
    “We…” Jase swallowed again, his eyes still focused on the gleaming blade. “We d-didn’t think you wanted to be bothered with it, Boss.”
    “I want to know everything that happens in my organization. Especially in my own fucking house.” I pushed Jase away, returned the blade to its sheath, and stuck a finger in his face. “Don’t ever touch her without my permission. She’s mine .” I held out a hand. “Give me the goddamn key to the motherfucking cuffs.”
    He scrambled to dig in his pocket and dropped the small key on my palm. I pointed at the broken picture frame.
    “Clean up this mess, then get out of my sight.” Jase didn’t have to be told twice. He fled down the hall as I took the stairs three at a time, heart hammering so hard I could hear it.
    If they hurt Miri… fuck ! I stopped outside her room to rest my head against the door. I needed a minute to calm down or I would only scare her. It wouldn’t do any good for me to enter the room wild-eyed and seething. I breathed in and out through my nose and waited several agonizing minutes until my pulse slowed, even though every cell in my body urged me to break down the door and make sure the girl was okay.
    Once I was more or less composed, I smoothed down my suit and adjusted the cuffs. On a deep inhale, I opened the door. When I stepped inside, the room was near pitch black. The heavy curtains were pulled shut and every light was off. Nothing happened when I flicked the switch, and I remembered Jase saying something about Miri breaking the lamps. There was a small bit of light coming from the hall, so I left the door open and crossed to the side of the bed. When I got close, I could see Miri was asleep. Her wrists were shackled above her head, the cuffs threaded around a thick bedpost.
    I had to forcibly relax at the sight or I’d punch the fuck