Vengeance (SSU Trilogy Book 1) by Vanessa Kier

bolting into the street.
    She—
    Too late. Hands grabbed her upper arms, pinching just the right nerve to send excruciating pain down to her fingers. Jenna ignored the stars dancing across her vision and twisted against their hold.
    No way in hell were they dragging her into that car.
    But her struggles didn’t loosen the men’s hold. They only made the pain worse. She planted her feet on the sidewalk and tried to slow the men down, but they just jerked her forward as if she weighed nothing.
    Up ahead, the door to the black car opened.
    Think, dammit. There has to be—
    A black racing motorcycle jumped the curb and plowed into the closest of Jenna’s abductors, knocking the man over. He didn’t release his grip and dragged Jenna down with him, which caused her second abductor to lose his balance and also fall.
    The driver of the bike skidded it into a one-hundred-eighty degree turn and drove back toward Jenna and her captors. The man on her left wasn’t moving, but the man on the right still had a death grip on her arm.
    Jenna slammed her free hand into his nose. That finally made him let go. She followed up by hits to his ear and his throat, then scrambled to her feet and ran.
    Right toward the open door of the town car.
    Oops.
    She pivoted and headed in the opposite direction.
    The motorcycle cut her off.
    She glanced behind her. The men were climbing unsteadily to their feet. One of them reached inside his jacket where a shoulder holster would sit.
    The driver of the motorcycle, with his sleek black racing helmet, black jacket and black jeans, didn’t look any safer. He revved the engine and she made a dash for the street.

Chapter 6
    The motorcycle caught up with her easily, blocking her path. The driver raised his visor and held out his hand.
    “Easy, Jenna. It’s just me.” Niko’s deep male voice could barely be heard over the sound of the engine. “I thought you’d recognize the bike.”
    A bullet ricocheted off the pavement inches from her leg.
    Jenna took Niko’s hand and settled onto the back of the motorcycle.
    The bike swerved into traffic and Jenna hugged Niko’s waist as he weaved through the flow of cars like a stunt driver in a James Bond movie. Déjà vu anyone?
    “Here, hide your hair.” Niko passed her a New York Yankees baseball cap. She stuck it on backwards. It was slightly too big and she winced as it slid down onto the cuts on her forehead, but she didn’t want to let go with both hands to tighten the strap.
    Her arms still hurt from the nerve pressure her would-be captors had applied and she was afraid she was going to lose her hold, so she pressed her face against Niko’s back, gripped harder with her thighs, and mentally crossed her fingers for luck.
    As they sped through the night, she tried not to resent the fact that being rescued by Niko was becoming a habit.
    #
    Mark Tonelli gingerly pushed himself into a seated position, then used the wall of the alley to help stabilize him as he stood up. He swiped under his nose and his hand came away covered in blood.
    God damn it.
    He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his nose, grimacing against the pain. It wasn’t broken, but it was going to be sore for a while.
    Blood stains dotted the front of his suit. Another suit ruined, thanks to the Paterson girl.
    She’d surprised him again. He hadn’t thought she’d picked up on the bartender’s body language this afternoon when he’d looked at her brother’s picture. The bartender confirmed seeing Paterson last evening, but hadn’t expected the man to return.
    Somehow the girl managed to get herself back to the bar without speaking Russian.
    He hadn’t recognized the young man sitting a few tables away as Jenna, but instinct had told him to keep an eye on the boy. So when he’d taken too long visiting the men’s room, Mark had gone to investigate. And found a chase in progress.
    The boy’s hat had come off during the fight in the alley, revealing Jenna’s