Free Sassy Ever After: Mate of Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Renee George Page B

I didn’t think they’d grab you.” He shook his head. “I passed it off to that other lawyer. Your partner before she left last night. Right before I was grabbed. I thought if I gave you the information, you’d leave me alone.”
    “Tory has the drive?”
    “Yes.”
    “And these thugs think I have it.”
    “Yes. Unfortunate, but yes.”
    “Shit.” Bailey fought against the rising panic. All it would do is cloud her ability to think.
    “I thought they would let me go if I told them I’d already let the cat out of the bag. I mean they can’t stop shit getting out now, right?”
    “That’s naïve.” Bailey had worked enough human rights cases to know that people who had no compunction ruining other people’s lives wouldn’t hesitate to hurt or kill someone who got in their way.
    The guy who’d dragged her in opened the freezer door. He balled his hands into fists. “Where’s the USB drive?”
    Bailey shrugged. “I don’t have it.”
    “A few hours in the cooler will loosen your tongue, isn’t that right, Dale?” He slammed the door. The freezer motors kicked in as even colder air began to pump into the room.
    “That guy a friend of yours?” she asked.
    “Used to be. He’s not really a bad guy. Just stupid.”
    “I think smacking me in the face and throwing me in here makes him a pretty bad guy.”
    “Not considering he could have just killed you and easily disposed of your body.”
    A shock a fear jolted Bailey. “Uhm, well, when you put it that way…”
    Dale closed his eyes for a second. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”
    It was too late for apologies. “I’m going to look for a way out.” The freezer door was locked, no surprise, and she searched around the cold storage for some glimmer of escape. “What information did you have?” Thinking about work might keep her mind off of the fact that she was scared shitless. “Who were you working for?”
    “I guess it doesn’t matter now.”
    “Who?” she asked again.
    “I worked for SIP,” he said. “In their development department.”
    Bailey shook her head. “Sip? What is that?” One of the wire racks against the wall was loose. Bailey worked at it, tugging and kicking until the bottom bar broke off. It was lightweight, but she thought it might do for a weapon.
    “Silverback Investment Properties.”
    “I met Maxine Silverback. It doesn’t surprise me that she’d be involved in stomping on the poor.”
    “Not her,” Dale said. “She--” He put his face in his hands and rubbed his cheeks. “Damn, it’s getting cold in here.”
    “Shift. You’ll be much warmer in wolf form.” She was debating letting her fox out, but when she would have to change back, she’d be naked.
    “He told me they’d kill me if I took animal form.” His eyes were stark. “I believe him. Actually, I think he’ll kill me no matter what happens.”
    She bounced a pipe against her palms, probably less than a pound. “What do you think? I’ll stand by the door and when your friend comes back…” Bailey pulled her arms back then swung the pipe down over her head. “Whamo!”
    “Unless you have a machete, I think you’re just going to piss him off.”
    “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”
    The freezer door rattled. Bailey opened her mouth, but Dale shushed her. “Don’t move.”
    “Screw that,” she whispered. “I’m not going down without a fight.”
    The man who stepped in had a tri-colored beard and short blond hair. His eyes held a look of pure satisfaction. Like that cat that caught the canary. The enforcer who’d smacked her around stood behind him.
    “This is perfect,” he said. “I can smell the new Blackthorn alpha all over you, sweet cheeks. This is like killing two problems for the price of one.”
    His presence was heavy, and Bailey could feel power roll from him like an unnatural tide. She held up the useless pipe as if it would be any real defense. “Who…who are you?”
    “Victor,” he said. “Victor