The Mercy of Birds

CHAPTER 49: WOUNDED HANDS

CHAPTER 49
WOUNDED HANDS

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Nova barged in through the door and confronted the man preoccupied with a woman sitting on his desk, baring her breasts in front of him. She recoiled slightly at the sight of his shameless hands groping her body, but she tried to mask her revulsion, aware that she had been in the woman's position before, hardly a saint herself.

Ralph Prudence, as ironic as his name was to his real profession, actually had the tactfulness to stop his salacious activity and straightened his suit when he regarded her with a displeased look. He waved a hand to the woman that had been the center of his attention and she skittered away immediately, "What are you doing here?"

Footsteps clambering behind her with a tardiness in its haste. "Sorry, boss, I tried to get her away, but she wouldn't leave."

"I told you I've terminated all our contracts, you're free to go," he addressed Nova and beckoned a finger for his security to get rid of her.

A hand attempted to seize her arm but she fended it away by advancing to the stocky coxcomb. "I'm just really curious, Ralph, three months ago you literally said that I won't be able to escape you, and now you're just letting me go?"

"What? Do you want to go back? You should've been grateful that I would even let you out," he declared, emphasizing his hubris when he stared at her from head to toe in blatant debauchery in his eyes.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she paced in front of him. "You know it got me thinking, how coincidental was your abrupt news of my lay off with my involvement in the Clementine Spencer case that had made national headlines."

His expression grew stiffening. He beckoned a finger to the security that was lurking around to leave them alone and he closed the door behind them. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

She confronted him, placing her hands on top of the table as she leaned in and hovered above his face, her voice holding a dangerous edge on it. She was going out on a limb, but there was no other speculation more warranted than this. "So, how much did they pay you, huh? To tell them I was in Seattle? I know someone came in here to ask you about me. You know something about those fucking bastards that watched her rape and auction, don't you? At least you must have heard of it, you and your sicko for friends. Does the name Adam Murray sound familiar to you?"

He narrowed his eyes, his face distorted into something cunning and it was all that she needed to see to know that she was right. "What are you gonna do, huh, Nova? If I said yes they came here and gave me a hundred thousand to tell them about your relationship with Cameron Crane and that you've been flying in and out of Seattle without me knowing where you were going? Oh, and yes, I've heard of Adam Murray."

Nova sneered at him, grateful for his big mouth at the moment. "Then you've made a mistake."

His own lips curled into a mocking smile. "How so?"

"Because Nicholas Crane wouldn't like that," she whispered to him with a menacing tone.

The complacency in his expression crumbled almost immediately upon hearing his name. Trepidation and nerves replaced it as he stood up to his feet and pulled out his drawer, whipping out a gun on her face. "You wouldn't dare!"

Nova shook her head as she retreated, laughing at him in a taunting manner. She was putting herself in peril's way, but this time she was more confident in her safety. "My expectation of you were low, but wow, I didn't realize that you were this stupid. Really, if you're going to shoot me now or even put one finger on me, it's only going to speed up your doom when Nicholas comes for you. I'm invaluable to him, Ralph. Oh, and did you forget the part where I and his younger brother were literally almost killed because of you? Forget about me, do you know to what length he will go to protect his family?"