Page 161 of Collateral Damage
Jonathan interrupts with a cackle. “Sorry guys, but I have to take credit for that one. I used my uncle’s contact and account.”
“You what?” Lance glares at his nephew.
“I thought Sybil deserved a little roughing up after she fired me.” He gives me another wink, and Cooper’s hands ball into fists. “I was there, you know. In the crowd. You should’ve seen your face. Hilarious.”
Cooper looks like he’s two seconds away from jumping onto Jonathan and strangling him.
“Jonny, are you kidding me?” Lance demands. “I gave you access to my resources, but that doesn’t mean you get to do whatever you want.”
“I’m your heir and prodigy.”
“Not if you don’t keep your ass in line.”
Jonathan raises a mocking eyebrow. “You’re surprised I’d resort to violence? Don’t be.” He pulls a gun from a holster under his lapel and points it right at me. “I learned a long time ago you have to be willing to resort to any means necessary to get what you want. You taught me that, Uncle. Don’t look so surprised.”
My heart rockets. Is this how I die?
Boom!
The gun fires followed by a thud.
But I’m fine, and so is Cooper.
Lance’s body slumps on his desk, crimson blood pooling around his head.
A scream rips from my throat.
Seventy
Sybil
Present - Age 27
“Well, shit. I may have underestimated this situation,” Cooper deadpans.
Jonathan’s sharp laugh cuts through the room. “Shitis right. Didn’t think I had it in me, did you?”
I definitely didn’t.
“Don’t move,” Jonathan orders, stepping toward his uncle’s body.
I know what he’s looking for before he even moves. The confirmation comes when he crouches and snatches up the gun, never taking his eyes off us.
“I’m going to tell you exactly how this is gonna go,” he says, voice steady, almost amused. “One wrong move, and one of you is getting a bullet in the brain. Got it?”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Cooper’s voice is even and controlled. “You just killed a man. Now you’re threatening to kill two more people. I already told you the cops are going to show any minute.”
Jonathan shrugs, unfazed. “The cops won’t hurt my plan.”
Cooper looks impressed, but I know he’s faking it. “Alright then, you sound like you’re pretty smart. Let’s hear it.”
Cooper’s calm is a facade. I know him better than anybody, and he’s terrified. My body is shaking, shock ripping through me in sickening waves. Cooper sits perfectly still, but his hand—the one closest to me—trembles slightly.
“You’re going to give me exactly what I want,” Jonathan says, his eyes burning into Cooper. “Or your girlfriend dies. Got it?”
Cooper nods. “I got it. You want a job, is that right? Well, I gotta warn you, working for the man sucks sometimes, but if you really want it, you can take mine.”
Jonathan laughs, full of scorn. “You think I want to work at your stupid company? That I want to ‘work for the man,’ as you say? I never wanted that. Myunclewanted that. He didn’t have the vision I have. He didn’t get it.”
