Read American Law (Law #2) for Free Online Page B

itself across the globe. “No.” He screamed, then shot to the keyboard and began typing as if he could stop it.
    Dmitry spun around, landing a fist hard into the muscle man’s firm stomach. His hand stung as if he’d punched granite, and had he not known better, he would’ve sworn that every bone in his hand had shattered from the impact. He bit off a curse, his hand throbbing, and pushed away the pain the best he could.
    The hired muscle grabbed him hard by the throat, lifting him several inches off the floor. The man’s dirty fingernails dug into his skin, Dmitry’s legs dangling in the air as he caught hold of the arm that suspended him in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure. His lungs burned, and his vision started to dim, the darkness calling to him.
    He kicked as hard as he could, his assault inadequate against a man of his opponent’s bulk. He could feel the force against his trachea and struggled to breathe. Another minute or two and he’d be unconscious, and then he really would be fucked. He removed his hands from his attacker’s arms and moved them to the man’s face, ignoring the urge to shudder as he pressed his thumbs firmly down on the corneas, straining the moist eyeballs.
    He sensed the beast trying to ignore the pain as he squeezed Dmitry’s neck harder in return. Darkness blurred the edges of his sight. He wouldn’t last much longer.
    He dug his thumbs deeper into the sockets. He ignored the sensation of touching slippery eyeballs and concentrated on inflicting as much pain as possible. He bent his head back as far as he could before jerking it forward fast, head-butting the man hard enough to daze the both of them. Stars burst in his vision and a massive headache started pounding. The man dropped him to his feet, and Dmitry stumbled as he tried to regain his equilibrium. He sucked in deep breaths as the attacker turned his immediate attention to himself.
    The beeping of the security alarm scared him just as much as the two men. He knew they would have company soon, and not the pleasant kind. There was no reason to stick around. He would retrieve the data at a later date. Right now, it was safe, away from the likes of the American. He headed for the exit, praying the man remained occupied and more worried about the flashing screen deleting the file and the piercing siren than he was about Dmitry.
     
    ***
     
    Sean tried in vain to stop the file from sending. He had never been a wiz at the computer, hating them and the world’s reliance on them. They helped him with his business, and because of that he was thankful and semi-tolerant, but that’s all. He spun around to face the fucking Russian, ready to put a bullet into the useless bastard’s body. The man had such good references, but from the very first had been a royal pain in his ass. He thought it would have been easy to pay the man for the job, but as it turned out the commie prick had principals.
    Such a useless trait in today’s world .
    He’d had high hopes for the Russian. He and his partner had been the perfect fall guys. With Ivanov’s history of hacking and Anisimov’s criminal record, no jury in the country would ever believe them innocent. Killing Ivan had been a means to an end—to force Ivanov’s hand. But again the Russian had defied him. Now he had to regroup, think of a new plan.
    The boss wouldn’t be pleased he had failed, even more so now that Sundown had been handed to the public, dispersed all over the world. It would be even harder to retrieve from around the globe.
    Truthfully, he preferred Anisimov dead. In his experience, dead men tell no tales and therefore cast no suspicion to him. Desire to shoot Ivanov filled him. He didn’t tolerate being made to feel inept and stupid and the Russian had done both. For now, the bastard would stay alive…at least until he’d gotten what he wanted. He needed him to retrieve Sundown. He would simply need to find a better bargaining piece, one the Russian valued