The organization, p.1
The Organization, page 1
Back of the Book
The feisty, fiery women from Asset Management are back for another heart-stopping adventure! This time, their sights are set on a new mob boss Leonid Petrov who is more cunning and ten times more ruthless than the slave trader they took on in Asset Management.
No one is more surprised than Val when she is tagged as the go-to member of the team. Her task…infiltrate Leonid’s inner circle and work with another agent already on the inside. Val’s impenetrable exterior is starting to crumble, but Maggie, the head of The Organization doesn’t have a better option. Tasked with keeping Leonid’s impossible new wife, Gina, safe, Val encounters more problems than solutions.
Will wild card Gina provide Val the inspiration to take on her violent husband, or will that inspiration lead to Val’s downfall? Find out in this intriguing, fast-paced, romantic adventure just what love can do. Will it be Val’s Achilles heel and lead to her demise, or will it fill her with a strength she didn’t know she had?
The Organization
© 2017 by Annette Mori and Erin O’Reilly
Affinity E-Book Press NZ LTD.
Canterbury, New Zealand
1st Edition
ISBN:978-0-947528-58-4
All rights reserved.
No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form without the express permission of the author and publisher. Please note that piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights and is illegal.
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Editor: JoSelle Vanderhooft
Cover Design: Irish Dragon Designs
Acknowledgments
Annette Mori
The biggest acknowledgment goes to my cowriter, Erin O’Reilly, who teased me along to finally complete the continuation of the story. It was such an honor and a privilege to work with Erin on this project. I’m sure that like with my first love, if I ever cowrite a book again, I will undoubtedly compare that experience with this first one and it will be hard to surpass. I am honored to call her a friend and have her support me in my journey. I would also like to express my gratitude to Affinity Rainbow Publications and the wonderful trio (JM Dragon, Erin O’Reilly, and Nancy Kaufman) who continue to provide feedback to tighten up manuscripts that need assistance and publish my sometimes unconventional work. I am eternally grateful for the opportunities they give me to let my stories see the light of day. My other family members who are also very supportive include my nephew, Aaron, his wife, Chelsea, my two sisters, Val and Kim, and my father who struggles to read my books with one eye.
Thanks to JoSelle Vanderhooft for her magic as the final editor to tighten the story even further. Inevitably, there are those pesky final errors that slip through, so many thanks to Amy Herman-Pall for a final proof of the manuscript. Nancy Kaufman is a rock star with her covers and a promoter extraordinaire. A huge thanks to all the other readers and fellow writers who kept pushing for a continuation of the story via e-mails, sneaky messages embedded into the reviews of Asset Management, and posts on Facebook (you know who you are). The Affinity authors are an especially supportive group and often share posts or send words of encouragement. Finally, my wife, Jody, continues her support in so many ways. I need a keeper, and she always jumps in to make sure I have everything I need.
Erin O’Reilly
I do not have enough words to praise Annette, who invited me to write the sequel to Asset Management with her. We have two very different approaches to writing, and through this whole process she was patient with me and my need to think things to death before putting my ideas on paper.
Thank you goes out to everyone on the Affinity team who helped make this story possible. Without them and their support, I would be a lesser author.
Finally, thank you to the readers who take the time to read my stories and comment for it is with feedback—both positive and negative—that I can continue to grow as an author.
Dedication
To Mel for reasons I know she understands.
To my wife who I love dearly for her patience and her ability to take care of me when I fail to do that myself.
For Lisa
Also by Annette Mori
Captivated
The Termination
The Review
The Ultimate Betrayal
Locked Inside
Out of This World
Asset Management
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Elves in Love
(Affinity 2014 Christmas Collection)
Love Forever, Live Forever
The True Story of Valentine’s Day
Vampire Pussy…Cat
Nicky’s Christmas Miracle X3
(It’s in Her Kiss, Affinity’s Charity Anthology)
Also by Erin O’Reilly
Specter of Fear
Next Time
Ready for Love
Return to Me
If I Were a Boy
Through the Darkness
Deception
Fearless
’55 Ford
Fractured
Specter of Fear
That Kiss
Revelations
Wolf at the Door
Sandcastles
Writing with JM Dragon
Take Me as I Am
Against All Odds
Earthbound
Quest for Love
New Beginnings
Atonement
When Hell Meets Heaven Series
Echoes of the Past
Paradox of Love
The End Game
Requiem
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
About the Author
Other Affinity Books
Chapter One
Val opened the door to reveal her compact quarters and sighed, “Hovel sweet hovel,” before sniffing her clothes and saying, “Ick.” Surveillance work was boring and dirty and she hated doing it. The warehouse she had just been staking out was repulsive, and she wouldn’t be surprised if she caught some disgusting disease.
Going straight to her sink and then washing her hands thoroughly, she began singing “Happy Birthday” to herself like she’d been taught as a little girl by her mother, who was a nurse. She turned around and faced her deluxe, stainless-steel refrigerator and opened the door to the freezer.
Peering inside, she found one lonely pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Otherwise, the freezer was like a barren desert. She popped the top of the carton and looked inside. One measly spoonful of her treat was left at the bottom. “God damn it, Char.”
Val was furious. She was tired, dirty, and hungry—not necessarily in that order. She marched out of her quarters and down the hall, and started banging on the first door to the left. She absolutely did not care one bit if she interrupted Char and Toni in whatever stage of lovemaking they might be in. It was late at night, so she knew that would undoubtedly be occurring.
New love, ugh, they’re like rabbits for shit’s sake. They had raided her fridge for the last time. Isn’t anything sacred anymore?
Bang, bang, bang
“Open the fucking door, Char! You better have at least one full pint of ice cream left, or so help me, I’ll forget we’re on the same side and put a god damn bullet in your hand for stealing my main food source!”
Val instantly regretted her words. Char was like a sister to her—Val was just cranky tonight. Maggie—head of The Organization, a covert group of women working toward eliminating the sleazier side of society—had relegated her to watch what those animals were doing to the young girls, and it made her skin crawl. If it were up to her, she would have killed them all, but she had her orders and the last thing The Organization needed was for her to compromise the sting they were setting up.
Images of the past returned, and a cold fury washed over her. At least she’d been the one to put the bullet in Viktor Borsky’s head. It almost scared her to think that the one event had given her more joy than anything in her life—past or present.
Val was an impatient person, and the fact it took them eighteen months to take down Viktor was unacceptable to her. She wanted to move faster with Leonid, the newly appointed head of the Russian mob. He’d been able to reestablish Viktor’s slave trade business in mere months. Unfortunately, he was twice as cunning and ten times as ruthless as Viktor. Leonid was also a paranoid bastard who vetted his employees carefully, so they hadn’t found a way in to his inner circle yet.
Val didn’t generally agree with her fellow agent Ronda’s perspective on how to address the Russian mob, but in this instance, she thought her colleague had the right idea. Ronda’s answer to the problem was to execute every last one of them. Val thought that was the perfect solution and right up her alley. She excelled at executions.
As far as Val could tell, his only Achilles heel was his beautiful new wife. He had numerous enemies and didn’t want his wife to get caught in the crossfire. She, however, refused to feel like a prisoner in her own home and insisted on living life as a normal person without a string of bodyguards to protect her. His jealousy was legendary, and he’d already terminated three bodyguards for what he perceived as their inappropriate attention toward his wife.
Val was about to break the door down when a disheveled redhead opened it and blinked at her. Behind her, a dark-haired woman peered around her lover with an unrepentant smirk.
“Jesus, Val, it’s midnight. I didn’t realize you would be back so soon. What happened? Anything we need to know about?” Char asked.
“No, I’m just in a foul mood. Maggie took pity on me tonight and sent Ronda to finish the shift. She probably thinks I’ll go off the deep end and shoot all the fuckers before we have a chance to infiltrate the organization. You know how she is—always wants to wait for an opportunity to cut off the head of the snake. I’d be more worried about Ronda. Now that is one crazy-ass bitch,” Val answered.
“Ronda’s calmed down quite a bit now that Cindy is calling the shots. That’s what you need, Val, the love of a good woman. It ought to calm you right down,” Toni, Char’s lover, piped up from behind her.
“No thanks. My job here isn’t exactly conducive to a healthy, loving relationship.” Val held up her hand. “Nope, don’t want to get involved with another agent who might be just as bat-shit crazy as I am. I prefer living my life just the way it is right now. I get an itch and I find a beautiful woman to scratch it for one night only. That’s the rule and I’m sticking to it.”
Char looked at Toni and smiled before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “That’s the way I felt before I met Toni. Your day may come. Never say never.”
“Can we get to the more important subject of where I can get my fucking ice cream? I want my own untouched pint of perfection, not something you two got cooties all over. I know you incorporate it into your little love games, and I’m not interested in any additional flavor.” Val shuddered.
“Try Dani. I think she may have a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough left. She might still be in the lab, though. She was working on some new prototype. She won’t even disclose anything about it to me. I’ll pay you in ice cream if you can manage to get her to spill the beans.” Toni chuckled.
“Thanks for the tip, but I’m staying clear of any discussion of your egghead inventions. I’m the muscle part of the operation. I don’t understand what the two of you are talking about most of the time, but I’m happy to try out any new weapon. Ronda and Sophie got to have all the fun with those poison darts, so I’m next in line to try out any new prototype.” Val shook her head. “Next time you decide to raid my fridge, I expect a replacement before the night is over.”
“But the whole reason to raid your fridge is because we’re too lazy to go out and get our own,” Char reasoned.
“Not my problem. Next time I won’t be so nice,” Val growled.
“Who said you were nice this time?” Toni grinned. “Never mind, I’m on to you. Face it, Val, your bark is much bigger than your bite.”
Val pulled her Glock from her shoulder holster and pointed it at Toni. “I’ve killed for far less. Don’t push it, Toni. Consider yourself warned.”
She secured her gun back in the holster. After she turned and began walking toward the lab, Toni whispered, “She wouldn’t really shoot one of us, would she?”
Val chuckled. She enjoyed keeping people guessing. She was a coldhearted killer and that would never change, but of course that wouldn’t extend to one of her sisters in The Organization. However, she didn’t want them to know that deep down inside she’d die before she let any of them come to harm.
†
Val stalked down the hallway and entered the lab, vowing not to admit to Maggie that lately she was on the verge of losing it. Flashbacks from her past kept playing in her head late at night when she had nothing better to occupy her active mind. She lamented that they were returning. She thought she’d conquered her fears, but that part of her life just wouldn’t let go of her.
Tonight when she watched a man drag a struggling, chained young girl into the cement basement of the industrial complex, it all came flooding back. She felt the cold steel against her wrists and smelled the coppery scent of her own blood. Twelve years was a long time and she should have been able to forget, but tonight she couldn’t. When she’d reached for her phone, her hand was shaking uncontrollably. She called Maggie and asked for a replacement, and Maggie had sent Ronda without asking why. That was how Maggie was. She never pried, so she never knew the horrors that had befallen Val before Maggie caught her in the midst of picking that rich fart’s pocket.
Val blinked against the bright lights of the lab as she pushed open the door and saw a familiar head bent over one of the special computers. Val had a soft spot in her heart for Dani, who had her own skeletons and nightmares to overcome. Dani was a sweet kid, but Val wouldn’t think of revealing any of her terrifying nightmares to her. Dani’s physical barriers after being shot still plagued her, and the nightly reminders had not lessened. She simply could not accept that she wasn’t able to move about as well as she could before the undercover mission went terribly wrong.
“Hey, kiddo,” she said, her voice softer than usual, “your big sis told me you might have a few extra pints of Ben and Jerry’s hidden away in your freezer. If you can see your way to liberating them for me, it might save her life.” Val smiled.
Dani looked up and chuckled. “Stole your ice cream again, did she?”
“I keep threatening to shoot her, but she never listens. Next time I’m making good on my threats. You tell her that,” Val growled. “I don’t understand why she doesn’t steal from you.”
Dani shrugged. “I think she likes to rile you up. It’s been quiet for her since they got back from vacation, and I’m fairly certain she’s getting antsy and bored. You are her favorite entertainment at the moment.”
“Now I’m definitely going to put a bullet in her.”
“Please don’t do that. She’s the only sister I have, and she does have redeeming qualities,” Dani pleaded half-jokingly.
“I’m just kidding, but she does piss me off sometimes.”
“Yeah, me too, but you know she’d risk her life for either one of us.” Dani struggled to stand and wobbled before Val rushed over and steadied her. “Come on, I’ll get you my secret stash right now.”
“Where’s your crutches? You look like you might need a little extra help tonight. You’ve been pushing it lately, haven’t you?” Val frowned.
“Geez, suddenly I have six mothers and Maggie to contend with. I don’t need you playing that role as well. I’m just a little stiff from sitting for so long. I’ll let you offer your arm to steady me until I work out my stiffness, but I don’t need the silver sticks tonight.” Dani latched on to Val’s arm and took a few tentative steps as Val walked alongside.
“So what were you working on? You had that intense look you get when it’s something really innovative,” Val remarked.
The glint in Dani’s eyes told Val everything she needed to know. This was a special project that she imagined Dani was particularly proud of.
“I think I’ve developed an algorithm that will predict where Leonid’s wife will go with 85 percent accuracy. This means we can track her movements and eventually track Leonid’s. He accompanies her 38 percent of the time. Sixteen percent of that is at social functions that will provide us with the opportunity to get close enough to use Toni’s biological bug.” Dani’s smile disappeared. “I know that still leaves us without an in to their organization, but it’s a start. He isn’t as easy to infiltrate as Viktor was. So far we haven’t been able to plant tracking devices on his guards in the same manner that we used with Viktor’s cell phones.”
