Page 89 of Rivals & Revenge

Specific locations were still obscured, but I had a feeling that the location for our final showdown would be revealed once we knew all the clues.

His phone chirped, and he snatched it from the table.

One look at the message was enough to shatter our moment of triumph.

"Henri said there's nothing on the broker's body. No more clues."

"There has to be more." Larissa said, her eyes drawn in confusion.

"There is more. We just have to find it." I said, rising from my chair. After all these setbacks with only the tiniest movements forward, I wasn't going to let this moment be yet another win we tossed aside. We were making slow progress, but it was progress and we needed to focus on the things we were getting right.

"We need to double check everything we think we know. Ahren, would you mind putting on a pot of tea? We might be here a while."

Chapter 47

AHREN

"I don't fucking think so," Tierney growled. "We stick together, remember? Until the bitch is in the ground, remember?"

"You can protect Connor. For fuck's sake, you'll be down in the truck, not across town." I argued, not sure why this was such a big deal.

"Two things. First, Larissa isn't the only one that needs back-up. I am going so I can watch your ass. End of discussion."

"End of discussion?" I asked, my lips turned up in amusement.

She nodded, raising her chin defiantly.

"If that's the end, what's number two?"

Her stiff posture faltered. "Ok, so two is that you're planning to show up three hours early. What the fuck are Larissa and I supposed to do, play cards in the truck? I am not a card girl, Ahren.I'm a blow-things-up-and-shoot-people girl with a deep love of sharp things."

That earned her a laugh. "Fine. Come. Maybe I'll let you shoot Richardson if you're a good girl."

"I don't work for free." She said, tossing my signature line back at me, flicking her braid over her shoulder. “And I can be a very good girl.”

"She sounds just like you," Connor chuckled.

"Get your weapons. We leave in twenty." I barked out, turning away before either of these pains in my ass could notice the broad smile spreading across my lips.

Shoes scuffing against the concrete steps echoed throughout the seven story stairwell. Tierney insisted we take the stairs, saying it was a more defensible position—that we were sitting ducks in an elevator. She still wasn't sold on the idea that Scott Richardson wasn't a criminal mastermind. She would understand after meeting him, of that I was certain. We were most definitely taking the elevator back down.

"Remind me not to do that again." I mumbled under my breath as my boots finally kissed the landing at the roof level.

"You two agreed to wait in the doorway, remember?"

Tierney pulled the pistol from her waistband and nodded.

"Don't go where I can't have eyes on you or the deal is off." The hard set of her eyes and her tone held no room for argument.

Sunlight flooded the darkened stairwell as the door swung open, momentarily blinding me. I blinked a few times to let my eyes adjust and stepped onto the roof.

A stocky man with dark hair stood near the roof's edge, facing away from me. Even without seeing his face, I could tell it was Richardson.

"You're a little early, aren't you, Scotty?" I called out.

He turned to face me, a red dot immediately appearing on his forehead. "I could say the same for you," he stuttered.

I spun around searching for the gunman, finding Tierney already on one knee, her weapon pointed skyward as she searched for the threat. The bright midday sun glinted off every surface downtown, obscuring the obvious perches.

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