Page 111 of The Hitman and the Psychic

“Shit.” Johnny glanced at Aubree. “What should we do.”

Aubree turned to me. “You need to get rid of him. But don’t try anything, or we’ll kill you both. I don’t need you alive to lure in Stone.”

I stood and motioned to my hands. “You’d better get this off me first.”

Johnny pulled a knife from his pocket and cut through the zip-tie.

Rubbing my wrists, I slowly made my way to the door. Johnny followed close behind, but stayed out of sight. I opened the door a few inches and tried to smile. “Hey Brandon. Now’s not a good time after all. Can you come back later?”

“What? No. We need to settle this, now.” His eyes narrowed, and he glanced at the door. “What’s going on? Is that guy here?”

“No. But… something’s come up. You need to go.”

He put his hand on the door, and his eyes turned dark. “I’m not leaving. We have unfinished business, and I’m tiredof waiting.” At my widened gaze, he shoved the door open, and I jerked out of the way.

He rushed inside and came face-to-face with Johnny. Lurching back, he nearly fell. “Who the hell are you?”

Johnny sneered and punched him hard in the stomach. Brandon doubled over, going down on one knee. Johnny slammed the door shut, turning the lock for good measure, and hauled Brandon up before punching him in the face.

Brandon’s head jerked to the side, and he went down again. As Johnny leaned in to grab Brandon’s arm, Brandon pulled a gun on him. Before he could shoot, Johnny kicked the gun out of Brandon’s hand and followed through with a punch to the jaw, knocking him flat. This time, Brandon stayed down.

Johnny picked up the gun before I could go for it, and stuck it in the pocket of his jacket. He glanced my way, his gaze narrow and filled with accusation. “Did you know he had a gun?”

My shoulders rose. “No. I had no idea.” I glanced at Brandon. Dazed, he shook his head and blinked a few times. As he pushed into a sitting position, I stepped toward him. “What did you bring a gun for?”

He growled. “To kill you! But you just won’t die.” He rubbed his face and swore. “Dammit, Serenity. You should be dead by now.” He lunged for me, going for my neck, but I danced out of his way.

Johnny grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back. “Maybe, if you cooperate, I’ll let you kill her; but for now, you need to take a seat.”

He dragged Brandon into the kitchen while I stood there in shock. Just as they reached the doorway, I gathered my wits and turned to escape out the front door. Turning the lock, I grabbed the knob.

“Don’t, or you’re dead.”

I glanced up to find Aubree aiming a gun at my head. I stiffened, and tried to rein in my terror.

“Get back into the kitchen.” I hesitated, and her voice hardened. “Now.”

Out of options, I stepped toward her. She moved aside, nodding for me to go ahead of her into the kitchen.

Johnny had shoved Brandon into my chair and zip-tied his hands behind his back.

“Sit down.” Aubree motioned toward another chair, and I sat. She slipped the gun into the back of her pants and pulled my hands behind my back, fastening them with another zip-tie.

While she got to work, I let my fingers graze her skin, praying for a vision. I closed my eyes and caught a glimpse of her in a dark room. She stood facing a wall, with a photo of Nate and Vanetti. Raising her hand, she smudged out Nate’s eyes with a black marker. Then she moved to Vanetti’s photo. “I’m coming for you, next.”

The vision cleared, and I gasped. Holy hell! This was so much worse than I thought. I had to stop her, but how?

Brandon groaned, blood dripping down his chin from a cut on his lip. He glanced at me with accusation, his face hard as granite. Lifting his chin, he looked at Aubree. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m on your side. I want her dead. Just let me go, and I’ll do it for you.”

Aubree shook her head, her gaze moving between Brandon and me. “You guys are so screwed up. And I thought my life was a mess.” She snorted before meeting my gaze. “Does Stone know about him?” Shaking her head, her lips turned down. “You’d better hope he doesn’t find out he’s with you, or he won’t come to save you.”

Johnny stepped to the kitchen window, motioning for Aubree to follow. “You ready to go now?”

“Just another few minutes. Sooner or later, Stone will call her. Once he knows we have her, he’ll come. We can finish them off here.”

“You sure about that? He’s not the type to save anyone but himself.”

“You didn’t see them kissing. He’ll come.”

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