Page 125 of Kai
“If you wanna keep breathing, I suggest you shut the fuck up,” I advised, my voice stiff.
“What he said.” Cece glared at the worm at her feet.
Tied as he was, she had the skills to take him out with a single strike, and yet she was toying with him. She didn’t intend to inflict lasting harm, but he didn’t need to know that. Cece’s goal was to play her “bad cop” part and scare the fuck out of him. That last task?
It wasn’t gonna be easy.
“I’m gonna ask you a question.” I scooted to the edge of the chair, leaned forward, and, ignoring the pain, clasped my hands. “You’ll tell me the truth or we’re done here. Do you read me,Jack?” I demanded, stressing the “J” and the “K,” turning his name into a virulent sound.
“Gotcha.” The brute’s Adam’s apple bounced like a basketball up and down his thick neck. He put on his poker face, but I’d gotten his attention.
“Are you wearing a tracker,Jack?”
“No.” His protuberant eyes darted from me to Cece as he kept tabs on both of us.
“Hard to believe.” I contemplated the fucker before me. “Li is a control freak. He’d wanna know where you are.”
“I’m no longer his animal,” the merc bit out. “I’m free now.”
“You have an interesting take on the concept of freedom.” I eased back in my chair, suppressing a wince. “You’re pissing outside the pot if you think your boss will spare you if you guide him to us. I have it on good authority that Li and his techies have wiped out every record of your existence, including your bank accounts.”
Levine hid his shock quickly. He was gonna be a toughmotherfucker to turn.
“So, yeah, you’re penniless and you don’t exist anymore,” I continued, watching him closely. “Are you sure you’re not wearing a tracker?”
“They implanted it in my hand, between my thumb and index finger.” His throat bobbed. “I cut it out before I stole the Cessna.”
I remembered the bandaged cut I’d found on his hand. It had the right appearance, but when dealing with Li, nothing was a slam dunk. My instincts alerted me to danger. Maybe it was the blood loss. Maybe not. I had to make sure.
“You say you don’t have a tracker, and yet, that big bad helo shot you down,” I pointed out, my voice dripping with skepticism.
“The tracker must’ve been in the Cessna.”
The merc tossed a wary glance in Cece’s direction. She came to a stop and stood next to me. She braced her feet apart, crossed her arms, and studied the man’s face with narrowed eyes.
Levine’s ugly frown emphasized the sorry state of his face. “Why the fuck are you staring at me like that, bitch?”
“Eyes on me,Jack-off.” I snapped my fingers, reclaiming the man’s attention. “And last call for manners. If you disrespect the lady again, I’ll punch all your teeth out. That’s a promise. Now, why do you think the tracker was on the aircraft?”
“In hindsight, stealing the plane was too easy,” he said.
I had to admit I’d had the same thought.
“I found it parked by the fence,” the merc explained, so much more talkative now that his life was in our hands. “The plane was fueled and ready to go.”
“Idiot.” I rapped my fingers on the upholstered arm. “You didn’t think about that before you got on the damned plane?”
“I was in a rush,” Levine grumbled, his tone defensive.“Your crew was on my tail, and I had to pull a quick escape. Li recalled my guys yesterday. Not me. Just my guys. I knew what that meant. A few of my guys stayed behind out of loyalty to me—”
“Or because you promised them something.” I challenged his bullshit. “A tall stash of cash, a chance to kill, and the spoils of war, of course.”
The smirk that bloomed on the merc’s lips suggested I was right on.
“You sent them to attack Tracker Team.” I’d known all along that the merc would need a distraction to steal away from Tracker Team, but rage sizzled through me, cold and controlled. “You told your murderers they could keep the weapons, gear, and resources they found wherever my team set up shop. To encourage your killers, you put a price on my teammates’ heads.”
“Don’t take it so personally.” Levine offered an ugly smirk. “I’m just doing my job.”
My money was on my team, and yet I had no idea if the attack had hurt anyone, if it was still in progress, or if it had set my crew back and fucked up our rendezvous schedule.
