men.”
Her statement was so unexpected I burst out laughing. Oh, it was a high-pitched and hysterical laugh, and it surprised even me.
Teddy smiled. “That’s a lovely sound.”
I stopped laughing. My stomach rolled over as my brain finally began to catch up with my shock. How could Teddy be the bad guy? Meeting him had been an accident—literally. “Wait a minute. The car wreck that hurt the three of us was engineered by you?” It was the only thing that made sense. “You paid Carbine to have his girlfriend ram my car…right when you were driving by?”
His smile held menace. “Now that took some planning. You have to admit, your car hitting mine was the most innocent way we could get together. I bribed some jackass named Carbine and arranged the hit and run so you and I could connect.” His gaze flicked to Kelsey and back. “We were watching you, and we had to see how serious you were with Aiden Devlin and his precious special response team.” Teddy drawled out the words. “It became apparent you two were together, so Kelsey and I became…friends.”
She made a gagging sound. “You are such a dick.”
While I admired her sudden spunk, I didn’t want to get shot, so I kept him talking. “You’re going after the ATF team and Aiden?”
“I am,” Teddy said quietly. “His team screwed up our organization, and it has taken this long to track him down and plan. My first hit was the newspaper articles about when he’d been a hero as a teenager. The newspaper articles about you helped, and once we found you, well…”
It had been easy to find Aiden.
I searched for a way out with my peripheral vision. There was the door we’d come in and the large hangar door, and maybe a door that led outside from the office? I couldn’t tell. That was it. At the moment, we’d have to go through Teddy to get out. I needed to get the gun from him. Could Kelsey create some sort of distraction without getting shot? “You work for Norman Barensky,” I said. Since when did serial bombers work with others?
“No. I work with my Uncle Norman,” Teddy said. “Partners in the organization. We have our different interests and they often combine.” Now he sounded downright creepy and not so businesslike.
I gulped. “Your interest is pounding women’s heads into the ground?”
“It really is,” he said congenially. “That nosy Sasha deserved to die after harming our organization five years ago, and she was the easiest way to get to Devlin until you came along. I left her as a present for you. You’re welcome.”
I was going to throw up. “What about Bev?”
“Who’s Bev?” he asked, flicking a glance at his wristwatch.
“The woman found in my office,” I blurted out. “The dead one?”
His eyes cleared. “Oh, yeah. She’s one of the women who crashed the truck into you. They were witnesses, and I figured she’d make a good gift to you as well. Sorry, I didn’t get the third woman, but there’s always time now, I guess. You’re welcome again.”
“Did it occur to you that I might not want dead women as a present?” I snapped, my hands freezing on the chilly concrete.
He shrugged. “It was part of my uncle’s game as well. He likes to play chess, you know.”
“I’ve heard,” I whispered, flashing back to the bombings today and the parking area afterward when I’d run from Kurt. “Is Agent Kurt Stockwood working with you?”
“I don’t know Kurt,” Teddy said. “But I owe him one. Whoever he is, he got you to my truck today without my having to pull out my gun. I would have, though. Either way, we would’ve ended up right here and right now.”
Kelsey wiped more blood off her face. “What happens now that we’re here?”
He barely looked at her. “To be honest, you’re no longer needed.”
“Wait. Don’t shoot her,” I said, tensing to cover her.
“Why not?” he asked, not lifting the gun.
I swallowed. Why not?
He smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to shoot her.”
A burst of relieved air came out of Kelsey.
“I’m going to bash her head against the floor.” He ignored her gasp and looked at his watch again. “Or I might give Kelsey to my uncle. He deserves some fun.”
I blinked. “Your uncle likes to blow things up.”
“Exactly,” Teddy said. Then he walked closer and dropped to his haunches next to me. His gun rested on his thigh, and the barrel pointed directly at my ribcage. His eyes sparkled,