Page 114 of Passion and Payback

“But it’s true.”

“And it’s true that the same could be said of you. Now you accept it so easily.”

His brow furrowed. “I...that’s not...fine. I guess I have to live with it until I can deal with it.”

“Right, let’s deal with the immediate problem and then work our way around to the rest,” I said, leaning forward to kiss him.

“Deal,” he said with a shaky smile that steadied after a moment.

“Well then,” Stitch announced, making me jump as he reappeared. “If you’re ready to hear what I have to say?—”

“He says as if he wasn’t lurking around the corner listening for the moment to come in,” Hunter said with a snort, retreating to the far end of the kitchen. He wasn’t comfortable with Stitch, or at least with what Stitch represented.

“I find it’s polite to give people the illusion of privacy,” Stitch said, sitting in front of his coffee again. “People tend to be...touchy at the idea that their secrets are not their own.”

“I’m not touching that with a ten-foot pole,” Hunter said sourly.

“Neither am I,” I said with a snort and waved a hand at Stitch. “What’s the deal?”

“We’ll start with what we’ll provide you.”

“Obviously, you have to bait the hook.”

“Yes,” Stitch said, unfazed by what would have been an accusation to most people. “Nothing in this world comes easy or for free. Plus, if you’re going to get something out of them, they’re going to need something from you.”

“And I have this feeling money isn’t their priority,” Hunter said, crossing his arms. “They don’t seem the type to stress over money.”

“You would be correct.”

“Fine, what do you have on offer?”

“At its most basic? We clean up the mess.”

“And the more complicated answer?”

“We start by removing the bodies of Callum and the two Top Hat mercenaries in his employ.”

I leaned toward Hunter. “The same company Mitchell was using.”

“Figures,” he muttered.

Stitch waited a moment before continuing. “The two mercenaries will never be found. Callum will be found on the shore in about a week. Eaten by wildlife, but whole enough to be identified. The authorities will treat it as an obvious homicide but will be unable to find anything as, sadly, the bullets were dislodged from decomposition and animals, and the bullet wounds will be ruined because of the same.”

Hunter surprised me by giving an amused snort. “Jesus. The fucker will get dumped in the ocean for fish to eat and shit out, and there won’t be anything to help solve his murder?”

“Correct,” Stitch said impassively. “And they’ll oscillate between various motivations for the murder, but they’ll never be able to settle on one. Eventually, the case will go cold despite the inevitable pressure from his family, but for once, they will have to suffer through the disappointment of not getting what they want.”

“A nasty end and fitting for him,” Hunter said, shaking his head. So far, it's sounding good.”

“And finally, we can either find a place to put Brooke, take her valuables, and leave it to look like a mugging gone wrong?—”

“A dirty alley, I’ll bet,” Hunter said bitterly.

“Or, if we move quickly. We can stage it to look as though she was attacked here in a robbery that went awry. That would involve giving the two of you an alibi, which can be provided quickly.”

“And cost extra, I assume,” I grunted.

Hunter hung his head, but I’d caught the flash of wetness in his eyes and could hear the thickness in his throat. “And...what exactly would that involve?”

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