Page 107 of Coup De Grâce
“I’ve come to collect.”
“I got that from your text message,” I said, my voice coming out a tad sweeter than necessary. “So, what is it you want from me?”
“Nothing much. Nothing you can’t afford to give.”
“And what would that be?” I asked, cocking my head at him.
Instead of answering, he walked over to the chair opposite me, unbuttoning his jacket as he sat down, crossing one leg over the other. “I’m sure you’ve heard of the recent events at the Middle East Peace Summit.”
I had, but I gave no indication that I knew what he was talking about.
“Do you remember those children I told you about? The ones your husband kept from you?”
As if I could forget. Rafe had died saving Isabelle. The price was already higher than I expected.
“Well, one of those kids has gone off the rails and ruined one of our jobs. And in the process, his former employees have managed to hack into our accounts and drain our funds.”
“That’s a pity,” I said, keeping the glee out of my voice.
“You are going to get me inside.”
I snorted out a laugh at the ridiculousness of the favor. “And just how am I supposed to do that?”
“Your daughter is staying on the property. All you have to do is get me inside.”
“For what reason?”
“To get my money back,” he snarled.
But that would not be all that happened. He would get inside and he would kill everyone there. I was certain of that. There was no justice unless everyone paid. And that price was more than I could bear. There were kids on that property, my daughter and her husband—his daughter.
No, I would not be the one to destroy all those lives over money and some horrible pact I made years ago to get my daughter back. I didn’t care what he thought of me, if he decided to kill me slowly and painfully. I would never do another thing to help this man as long as I lived.
“Get packed. We leave in an hour.” He pushed to his feet, but I remained sitting.
“No.”
“Excuse me?” The snarl on his face promised retribution, but I was beyond caring.
“I said no. I’m not getting you inside.”
“You will if you want your daughter to live.”
“My daughter is now protected by the best men. If they can’t keep her safe, I have no hope of doing any better.”
He charged at me, swinging his fist hard into my face. I felt the bone shatter as I fell onto the couch, clutching my cheek as it throbbed with pain. He grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me upright as he yelled at me.
“You’re going to give me everything I ask for or you can kiss your daughter and your husband goodbye! We made a deal!”
I sucked in a ragged breath and pulled the gun from behind my back. “That deal is being revoked.” I fired just once, reveling in the surprise on his face as he dropped me and looked down at his gut where the bullet had lodged.
He stumbled back a step, his eyes growing wide as he clutched a hand to his stomach, tripping over the table before falling to the ground.
I didn’t know what to do, who to call. The police would instantly arrest me. Michael…he would hate me if he ever knew the deal I made. There was no way out of this for me. I would be sent to prison at the very least.
If I was lucky.
If not, there would be someone else on my doorstep in a matter of minutes, putting a bullet in my head for murdering one of their own.
