at Whitmore’s head. “Tell your boys to fall back before I put a bullet in your brain.”
“They’ll kill you the second you shoot,” Whitmore sneered.
“True. But you’ll still be just as dead.” Joss smiled. “I’m okay with dying if it means I take out a fucker who was about ready to screw me over . . . but are you ready to die?”
Whitmore went white. “Everybody, go inside the house.”
A few hesitated.
Joss moved a step closer and applied pressure to the trigger.
“Get in the fucking house!” Whitmore bellowed.
As the rest of them scattered, Joss crouched down. “So, let’s chat. You’re going to pay me. You can have your fiancée. I’ll get my money. We go our separate ways.”
“And how do I know you won’t share whatever . . . information . . . you claim to have?”
“You don’t,” Joss said, shrugging. “But here’s the thing. You were planning on killing me the second I set foot in that house . . . weren’t you?”
The flicker in Whitmore’s eyes would have given him away even if Joss hadn’t heard the answer echo through that discordant train of thought.
“See? I know when somebody’s out to screw me over.” Joss shook his head. “You’ll just have to trust that I won’t do anything with it . . . and I’ll trust that you’ll stay the hell out of my life after this. Deal?”
I’ll see you dead . . .
Joss wasn’t surprised by the thought tripping through Whitmore’s mind. If he actually was the man Whitmore thought he was, he might be a little worried.
“Deal?”
Whitmore got up, ignoring the gun Joss had all but jammed into his face. Once he was on his feet, Joss did that, nudging the muzzle against his cheek. “You pay me, and I go off on my merry way.”
“Agreed,” Whitmore said. “You’ll bring my fiancée into the house.”
“No. You’ll have one of your men come and get her. After they bring my money out. A million is what you offered . . . that’s what you’ll bring me.”
“I don’t have that on hand.”
“Yes, you do.” Joss pushed harder with the gun. “Now come on. Tell me you can cough it up. Time is short and all, right?” Then he smiled and leaned in. “Considering how edgy you are, I imagine you want to be done with this in a hurry for a reason . . . do you really have time to dick around with me?”
“You keep fucking with me,” Whitmore said quietly, “you’ll go too far. Fine. I’ll have the money brought out. One million, in exchange for Ella. You’ll leave and get the fuck out of my way. And you won’t share any information on me with anybody. Correct?”
“Right. All the information about your ex-girlfriend, her current situation in Dubai, your various illegal activities with slavery and shit. Mum’s the word.” Joss smiled widely and gestured to the house. “Call one of your boys, Whitmore. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Something glittered in Whitmore’s eyes. Suspicion.
Doubt . . .
Pushed too hard.
* * *
DRU felt the mental jab against her shields.
Make a noise. Groan or something. Need him to focus on you, but don’t get out of the car.
An award. After all of this, she deserved an award.
It wasn’t that hard to groan. Hell, she was back in the one place she never wanted to return. So close to the monster she hated above all others . . .
The groan sounded feeble and weak to her own ears.
But Joss heard it.
“Hmmm. Sounds like she’s waking up. If you’re going to sit around with your thumb up your ass, I should probably dose her again.”
“No.”
A few seconds later, Joss’s thoughts brushed her own. He gives me the money and starts to take you into the house and it’s done.
Sounded so easy.
Jones and the rest are five minutes away.
She wondered if he was guessing at that or if he knew.
I know. Trust me . . .
Sighing, she tucked her chin against her chest.
Trust him. He made it sound so simple. So easy. And it was anything but. Blowing out a breath, she blocked out everything. Time to focus. Time to think. Everything was coming down to this . . .
All too soon, she heard the door open. Felt hands on her. Flash, flash, flash. Minton. The bastard. Worried . . . he was worried. Whitmore had killed more than a few people in the past few hours, and he was no longer certain he was indispensable. But he was