settling dust.
He had Jasmine by the arm, holding his gun to her head.
“ You served your purpose, Gabe. I think your contract is going to end here. Short, but productive. Just as I hoped.” He gave a cruel grin.
Gabe controlled his fury. He’d been pegged from the beginning, recruited because of his connection to the target. “Long shot, wasn’t it? Tekla and I were never best friends. Last time we saw each other was a decade ago.”
Brent had counted on the man to come out of hiding, if he thought he could give himself up safely, to a friend. It hadn’t exactly worked out that way, but the stalemate had been broken. Gabe had led them to Tekla’s hiding place. Brent had Jasmine because of him . Man, he hated the thought of that.
“ I didn’t bring you here because of your friendship to Tekla,” Brent lectured. “You were brought in for your girlfriend here. When the men I hired took her, they searched the house and sent me every scrap of paper. Most of it was crap. But this one little diary…” He gave a mean laugh.
“ A teenager’s diary from ten years ago. Didn’t pay much attention to it first, but I read the damn thing after Tekla took out those men. I figured I might find a clue to where he was hiding. People go to familiar ground when they’re on the run and all that. Nothing about Venice in the diary, I tell you that. But there were pages and pages about you.” Brent sneered.
Jasmine blushed scarlet and wouldn’t meet Gabe’s eyes.
He was too angry at Brent, too worried about her being in the middle of all this danger to feel amused. But he promised himself to enjoy the hell out of this little piece of information the second they were safe.
First, he had to get out of this jam. “Tekla got away. He’s talking to the authorities right now. Whoever has been protecting you won’t take the fall for this. He’ll make you the scapegoat.”
Brent flashed a grin of pure conceit. “I have enough on the man to be sure he’ll never turn against me.”
So he hadn’t simply bought a politician with the promise of a share in the gold. It all came down to blackmail. “What’s next then?” He needed to keep the man talking. His gun hand was almost free.
“ I shoot you now, then wait for the B Team to call me with the news that they have Tekla. Once I know I no longer need your girlfriend for anything, I’ll have some fun with her before I shoot her.”
Jasmine stood frozen—her eyes wide, cheeks pale—looking lost in some nightmarish memory. She was too stunned to struggle.
Come on, honey , Gabe tried to tell her with his eyes. Do something. Anything. All I need is a second of distraction.
“ You know, reading all those teenage fantasies wasn’t as bad as it sounds.” Brent leered at her, but was still talking to Gabe. “Let’s see what she does with a real man. Maybe I won’t shoot you just yet and let you watch. If you say, pretty please.”
“ Go to hell.”
“ I take that as a no.” Brent raised his gun.
That brought Jasmine out of her frozen fear, and she launched herself at the man who hadn’t expected much resistance from her. Big mistake.
“ What the hell—” He turned to deal with her.
Which was all Gabe needed. He shook off the rest of the bricks and took aim. He didn’t try to go easy on this one. He put a bullet right into the middle of Brent’s forehead.
Another shot rang out at the same time, slamming into the man’s chest.
Troy stood in a doorway, his face grim as he looked at Gabe. He must have heard it all. “Let’s get out of here before the others gather themselves and someone gets killed in the confusion.”
His scarred face looked even more haunted than usual as he watched Jasmine, and Gabe remembered the rumor he’d heard from another guy on the team. The same explosion that had messed up Troy’s voice and face had also killed the woman he loved. And for the first time, Gabe had an inkling of what that could mean to a man.
“ Thanks
He had Jasmine by the arm, holding his gun to her head.
“ You served your purpose, Gabe. I think your contract is going to end here. Short, but productive. Just as I hoped.” He gave a cruel grin.
Gabe controlled his fury. He’d been pegged from the beginning, recruited because of his connection to the target. “Long shot, wasn’t it? Tekla and I were never best friends. Last time we saw each other was a decade ago.”
Brent had counted on the man to come out of hiding, if he thought he could give himself up safely, to a friend. It hadn’t exactly worked out that way, but the stalemate had been broken. Gabe had led them to Tekla’s hiding place. Brent had Jasmine because of him . Man, he hated the thought of that.
“ I didn’t bring you here because of your friendship to Tekla,” Brent lectured. “You were brought in for your girlfriend here. When the men I hired took her, they searched the house and sent me every scrap of paper. Most of it was crap. But this one little diary…” He gave a mean laugh.
“ A teenager’s diary from ten years ago. Didn’t pay much attention to it first, but I read the damn thing after Tekla took out those men. I figured I might find a clue to where he was hiding. People go to familiar ground when they’re on the run and all that. Nothing about Venice in the diary, I tell you that. But there were pages and pages about you.” Brent sneered.
Jasmine blushed scarlet and wouldn’t meet Gabe’s eyes.
He was too angry at Brent, too worried about her being in the middle of all this danger to feel amused. But he promised himself to enjoy the hell out of this little piece of information the second they were safe.
First, he had to get out of this jam. “Tekla got away. He’s talking to the authorities right now. Whoever has been protecting you won’t take the fall for this. He’ll make you the scapegoat.”
Brent flashed a grin of pure conceit. “I have enough on the man to be sure he’ll never turn against me.”
So he hadn’t simply bought a politician with the promise of a share in the gold. It all came down to blackmail. “What’s next then?” He needed to keep the man talking. His gun hand was almost free.
“ I shoot you now, then wait for the B Team to call me with the news that they have Tekla. Once I know I no longer need your girlfriend for anything, I’ll have some fun with her before I shoot her.”
Jasmine stood frozen—her eyes wide, cheeks pale—looking lost in some nightmarish memory. She was too stunned to struggle.
Come on, honey , Gabe tried to tell her with his eyes. Do something. Anything. All I need is a second of distraction.
“ You know, reading all those teenage fantasies wasn’t as bad as it sounds.” Brent leered at her, but was still talking to Gabe. “Let’s see what she does with a real man. Maybe I won’t shoot you just yet and let you watch. If you say, pretty please.”
“ Go to hell.”
“ I take that as a no.” Brent raised his gun.
That brought Jasmine out of her frozen fear, and she launched herself at the man who hadn’t expected much resistance from her. Big mistake.
“ What the hell—” He turned to deal with her.
Which was all Gabe needed. He shook off the rest of the bricks and took aim. He didn’t try to go easy on this one. He put a bullet right into the middle of Brent’s forehead.
Another shot rang out at the same time, slamming into the man’s chest.
Troy stood in a doorway, his face grim as he looked at Gabe. He must have heard it all. “Let’s get out of here before the others gather themselves and someone gets killed in the confusion.”
His scarred face looked even more haunted than usual as he watched Jasmine, and Gabe remembered the rumor he’d heard from another guy on the team. The same explosion that had messed up Troy’s voice and face had also killed the woman he loved. And for the first time, Gabe had an inkling of what that could mean to a man.
“ Thanks
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