Page 81 of Forged in Secrets

“This is not who I raised you to be,” Craig said, his voice caught in his throat. “Your mother, she wouldn’t want this, she–”

Ben watched as Jade reached somewhere out of his line of sight.

“Stop,” Craig whimpered, raising both hands in the air.

Jade let out another barking laugh. In her hands, Ben recognized the metallic gleam of a pistol.

He started forward, ready to burst through the door with his own gun raised, but Asher had taken hold of his t-shirt, yanking him back. He had no choice but to oblige if he wanted their position to remain hidden. He allowed Asher to move in front of him.

Their eyes met in the dimness of the pantry. Neither could speak, but they didn’t need to. Asher must have some sort of plan in mind. Before he could decide whether or not he was going to trust his twin’s judgment, Jade spoke again.

“I’m not going to shoot you,” she said, her voice laced with disgust. “Be serious.”

Ben released the breath he’d caught in his lungs. So she wasn’t going to shoot her own father. Good, but hardly reassuring, considering who else was on board the Lumeneer.

“Just hold on,” Asher whispered, just loud enough for Ben to hear. “I have a plan.”

Ben almost nodded before he remembered his face was pressed against the crack of the door.

“What are you doing, Jade?” Craig asked, his voice unsteady. Ben tightened his fists. Craig Gorsky seriously needed to grow a pair, but he supposed that ship had long since sailed. Especially now that his daughter was holding a firearm.

“Nothing yet–” Jade said, sticking the gun into the pocket of her jeans. Craig pressed his fingers hard against his temples, as though massaging away a terrible headache. “–but I am going to act.”

“Jade–”

“I’m going to do what you should have done in the first place. When the money hits the account, we dump Grace Hinton and Katie Fairman right here in the Gulf. No more messing around.”

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FOUR

BEN

The floor seemed to fall out from beneath Ben’s feet.

Jade wanted to kill Katie. She wanted to kill Grace.

“Wait, Ben,” Asher was whispering beside him, his fingertips biting into his forearm. Every muscle in his body was burning, eager for action. All he wanted to do was to fight, and were it not for his brother’s insistence, he would already be out that door.

“Wait until the moment is right, and then go after the girls.”

Ben backed up a couple of steps, allowing his twin to slip past him, toward the door.

Please, God, keep my brother safe.

Asher waited for several seconds for Craig and Jade to begin arguing once again, and then he burst out of the pantry, weapon drawn.

The door swung shut behind him, leaving Ben alone,trying to calm his too-loud breaths. He pressed his eyes shut and took a couple steps closer to the door, trying to listen to what was going on. The pantry door was heavier than he’d realized, muffling the sounds in the kitchen now that it was completely closed.

“Drop the gun, Jade,” he heard Asher say, his voice calm.

Ben could imagine him standing there, his own pistol raised, every word exuding authority. His twin could be a goofball, but his military expertise and private security training always resurfaced when it counted.

“Drop it!” Asher shouted. “Now!”

The silence extended for what felt like a very long time, until at last Ben heard Craig Gorsky’s meek plea.

“Do what he says, honey. Drop the gun.”

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