Page 45 of Nobody's Girl

“Christ, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her sweetness and light as well?”

Grant made a disgusted noise. “Of course not. My only regret is I’ll only get to kill her once.”

Satisfied, Tamara switched back to her seductive purr. “Good. You know, she should really be our first kill here, don’t you think? The fun we could have with her before you cut her open.”

She was getting turned on by the mere thought and she heard Grant’s breath quicken. “That would work. I know she’s into kink – I saw her and Zacca fucking for the world to see. Glass box, packed club. And she was loving it.”

Tamara laughed aloud. “So, the perfect little princess is an exhibitionist, huh?”

“Sure is. With that body of hers, she could rival you.”

Tamar stopped laughing. “That little bitch has nothing on me, and don’t forget it.”

Grant changed the subject. “The only thing is getting her back to the States, Tam. I think she and the Zacca asshole are pretty entrenched here.”

Tamara winced. She hated being called Tam. “Well, there must be a way. She’s a burgeoning star in the art world, right? I’m sure some gallery owner here could be persuaded to give her crappy paintings a home for a while. Then we could take her.”

She heard Grant sigh. “Tamara, do you not know who the Zacca’s are? She is protected. They have security…and when it comes out their son has married the burgeoning new star, she’ll be even more protected.”

Tamara went very still. “What?”

“Sofia married Ivo Zacca.”

Tamara’s blood ran cold. “That fucking little upstart married a freakin’ billionaire?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck!” Tamara tried to calm herself down but the thought of Sofia hitting pay dirt made her rage boil over. “She is dead, Grant, I don’t care what it takes. Sofia Amory is dead. Agreed?”

“Oh, agreed, but we have to be careful. See what you can do to arrange a New York installation for her – at least then we’ll have a starting point. And calm the fuck down. It’ll be okay.”

Tamara hung up the phone, and took a deep breath. No. This would be better, she told herself. To take Sofia’s life just when she thought she had her happy ending. Tamara felt herself calm. This would be so much crueler and therefore more satisfying. She grabbed her iPad and Googled Ivo Zacca. Damn. Sofia knew how to pick them. Ivo Zacca even outdid Penn Black in the looks department. She gazed into the picture, at his gorgeous green eyes and smiled. She wondered how big his cock was, what kind of lover he was. She intended to find out before she broke him.

I will bring your world down, Mr. Zacca, and break your heart. Her cell phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen, her heart lifting.

“Hello darling, how have you been?”

There was a muffled sob at the end of the line. “Tamara?”

“She smiled. “Yes, darling…whatever is the matter?”

“Can I come see you?” Penn sounded if he was barely keeping it together. Tamara panicked a little – usually they met at Tension, but somehow, she didn’t think that would be appropriate for his mood.

“If course baby, but how about I come to you? You sound like you’re in no fit state to drive.”

He gave her the address she already knew so well and she told him she would be there as soon as she could.

Tamara grabbed her purse and stalked back through her almost-ready-to-open club and grinned. Everything was working out just perfectly.

Penn was drunk and almost inconsolable. He fell into her arms once he had opened the door and Tamara had to wrestle him onto his couch. There were photos of Penn with Willa all around but Tamara said nothing. “Darling, what’s wrong? Let me help you. I’ll make some coffee and we can talk.”

She went into the kitchen, and put on a pot of coffee, returning to check he was still with her. He was sobbing now and she went to the bathroom and ran a hot shower.

“Come on, baby.” She managed to get him undressed and into the shower, stripping herself and stepping into with him, mostly to prop him up. His mouth tasted of scotch and cigarettes – surprising Tamara – she hadn’t known he smoked but clearly, he was in such distress that he was looking for any comfort. When he started to kiss her, she didn’t pull away. Even hideously drunk and so distraught his eyes were almost swollen shut, she still wanted him. They made love on the floor of the bathroom, then again in his bed, Penn taking her roughly, first reaming her cunt into submission, then her ass. Tamara was used to angry sex, but this was on a whole other level. They fucked until dawn then Penn fell asleep in her arms.

Tamara’s body ached and when she knew he was deeply asleep, she eased out of his embrace and went to the bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. Her make-up was smeared, but her eyes were alive with excitement. I did this…I made this happen. Tamara ran the tap and splashed water on her face, wiping away the smudged eyeliner from her eyes.