you?” he said. “It was a risk I was willing to take, and I’m confident that Kane will find his way out of it. He’s quite resourceful.”
“He will hunt you down and kill you.”
“No one is going to know I’m part of this. Oh, maybe they’ll think Hunt did it because you stole his money, or maybe they’ll think Hunt was getting revenge over his son’s death, but there’s nothing to connect him to me.”
Paxton’s phone vibrated. He read a message, typed, and a moment later Colton walked in. He handed Paxton a phone, and he listened to something. As he listened, his face reddened and the vein in his neck twitched. He handed Colton back the phone and said, “Bring him to me.”
Colton left.
What the hell happened? Sean didn’t dare speak, not right now. Paxton was furious about something—and Sean didn’t want to take the brunt of his wrath. At this point, all he needed was to find a phone and call Lucy or Rick or JT and tell them Jonathan Paxton was behind this. They’d start investigating. They’d find him.
Sean had to find a way to escape. The longer he was here, the more danger he was in.
He could pick the shackles, but he needed access to something narrow, slightly flexible, and strong.
The grounds were patrolled by armed guards, there were cameras everywhere—Sean had noticed them coming in.
He might find a way to take down the security from within.
If he could get out of his shackles and find a computer hooked up to the network.
If Colton wrote the security system, Sean could break it. Colton was good, but he was basic. He never thought outside the proverbial box. Colton’s strength was in planning and gathering information.
Which meant that Colton would know that Sean would try to get to a computer. Find a way to lock him out.
He might not have a choice. If Sean were creating a secure system, he would have a dedicated, closed security system that wasn’t connected wirelessly. Only phone lines or T1/T3 cables backed up by a dedicated generator in case of power outage. Wireless systems were the easiest to hack. For home security it wasn’t a problem for most people; for businesses or bad guys, they’d want the best security—which meant completely dedicated systems.
Sean had to find the main security hub. Which was most likely in a secure room. Guarded, with cameras.
But he had to get out of the shackles first.
While he thought about his limited options, he watched Jonathan Paxton. Though he appeared to have calmed down, he was still angry—his jaw remained tight and he had an almost desperate look in his eyes. Then he stared at a photo on his desk for several minutes and that seemed to calm him down. From where Sean sat, he couldn’t see the image.
Then the door opened and Paxton rose from his desk.
Sean risked turning slightly in his chair so he could see who had entered.
Jimmy Hunt. He’d showered and changed. Overused cologne filled the large room.
“Mr. Hunt, I have a favor to ask,” Paxton said, his voice deceptively calm. Sean’s veins turned cold at the sound.
“Anything, you know that,” Hunt said, gesturing to nothing specific. “We’re partners.”
Paxton smiled, and Sean realized he was setting Hunt up for something. And Hunt couldn’t see it. How had this man run a criminal empire for so long?
He was out of the country. His sister Margaret ran the day-to-day operations … and Nicole … and they were both smarter than Jimmy Hunt.
“Would you please tell Mr. Rogan what our arrangement was?”
Hunt looked confused. “I don’t understand.”
“When my associate Colton approached you last year at Victorville. What did he ask?”
“Umm, he said he worked for someone who could get me out of prison when the time was right.”
“And?”
“And I just had to testify that I hired a hit man to whack a low-level drug dealer.”
“In exchange for?”
“Freedom … oh, and you’d help me get revenge on the Rogans for killing my son and wife.”
“Exactly. Later, when we finalized the arrangement, I had a condition.”
When Hunt didn’t say anything, Paxton prodded, “I simply want Mr. Rogan to know that some people are off-limits, right? That certain people are protected?”
“Oh, yeah. Right. No one can touch Lucy Kincaid.”
“Yes. That’s right. You do remember.”
Hunt smiled.
Paxton didn’t.
He pressed a button on his phone.
Hunt’s voice came through.
“I’m not, sweetie. I’m just worried because I’m your father. I need you to be safe.”
“I am, Daddy. I wish I could kill Lucy, though. I really