Page 84 of Forged in Peril

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

BRISTOL

Bristol did as she was told, biting her lip as she tried to lay the thick folder neatly in the top drawer of the desk. It kept getting stuck on the screws that held the handle, and at last she shoved it in, not caring if the paper tore.

It made no difference now, and in any case, Jaclyn didn’t seem to have noticed.

As Bristol turned to face her once more, she forced herself to look the woman in the eye, not wanting to reveal just how terrified she was, though she doubted that she could conceal her shaking hands.

Jaclyn’s own fingers were completely steady, and one was resting calmly beside the trigger of the pistol she held.

She looked colder and more frightening than Bristol had ever seen her.

It was clear by the set of her jaw and the shark-like stare of her pale eyes that any decency or kindness that Bristol thought she’d seen in her was nothing but an illusion.

An illusion that the entire Forge Brothers Security staff had fallen for.

Neither woman spoke as Jaclyn let one hand fall away from the gun, reaching into her purse and drawing out her phone. Her eyes–and the barrel of the gun–remained trained firmly on Bristol.

“W-what are you doing?” Bristol asked as Jaclyn began typing something, pecking away with her index finger as she balanced the phone in one hand.

“Just letting my guys know that there’s been a change of schedule,” she said, sounding as if she was discussing something no more interesting than a sudden forecast for rain. “We’d planned for Friday, but it shouldn’t be a big problem for Grapas to make our special delivery a little early.”

Bristol tried to think of something to say.

“Oh,” Jaclyn added, her mouth opening in feigned surprise, “I forgot. I had to text Reilly and tell him to stay in his office for the next little while. I told him I’ll be dropping off some extremely sensitive case files for his eyes only. He’ll stay put, I’m sure. He really takes his job so seriously, don’t you think?”

Bristol nodded numbly, her mind racing as she tried to assimilate the new information. She still had no idea why Jaclyn had become wrapped up in such a plot, let alone how Reilly fit into it. Surely, if Jaclyn and Reilly had known each other somehow prior to her coming to work at FBS, she would have known about it by now.

And even if she didn’t, Gabriel certainly would have.

All she could think of was the excuse Jaclyn had given about the phone call, that she’d needed Reilly to testify on the Senera case before he went on paternity leave.

If only she’d had a chance to look at those files more closely. Perhaps there had been a clue there, after all.

Or, perhaps, it was something else entirely.

Either way, it was too late now.

A knock sounded at the office door, and it took every ounce of self-control that Bristol possessed to stop herself from bolting toward it.

Jaclyn swore under her breath, but the gun remained just as steady in her hands as it had been a moment before. Bristol watched as the lawyer made her way over to the small window that looked out into the main legal department office, and when she turned back, some of the tension had faded from her expression.

“Act natural, or I’ll shoot you,” Jaclyn said, her tone almost casual.

Bristol had no doubt that she’d do it. In fact, as much as it terrified her to admit it to herself, she could see no reason that Jaclyn would keep her alive for long in the first place.

For the moment, she assumed she was serving as a convenient insurance policy, but the cold calm in the lawyer’s eyes made it clear to her that she had to get out of this, and fast.

Jaclyn ushered Bristol to sit in front of the desk, and went to stand beside the door, so that Bristol would be in full view but most of her own body–and the gun–would be hidden when she opened the door.

Bristol once again considered making a run for it, but she put aside the idea as soon as she saw who the unexpected guest was.

Ron Rollins had been making deliveries for the Screaming Peach for most of Bristol’s life. Thanks to his developmental disabilities, his employment options were limited, but he was an incredibly sweet man who seemed to enjoy working for Iris.

“Hi, Ron,” she said weakly as he waved to her, hoping that the man wouldn’t pick up on the grimace hiding beneath her forced smile.

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