Page 105 of Jace 4Ever
“No!” He was horrified. “No! I didn’t know about the hit. I didn’t know…” He slumped. “Fuck. Nelson, go. Just go.”
“How are you in on this?” I whispered, the anger dripping off each word. “Tell me, Tom. Tell me right now. Because I will sic the fucking CIA on your ass and you’ll spend the rest of your life inside four hideous, soul-crushing prison walls.”
“Just go,” he barked and started to walk away.
I lost my temper. Grabbing his arm, I twisted it up and back behind him, shoved him against the tree next to him, and pressed my other arm across his back. “Talk. Right now. I learned how to really hurt someone unarmed in Ranger school and I’m pissed enough to reach back to those lessons right now. You don’t want that hurt, Tom. Just tell me what the hell is going on.”
He coughed and choked, then turned so his cheek—not his nose and forehead—were pressed against the trunk. “I got a call. Two weeks ago. Major money to get you away from that kid for just a few days. Money even I couldn’t turn down. Just to keep you away. Do you know how much the price is on his head? One million unmarked. Who could turn that down?”
“Anyone with a fucking soul, you leech,” I growled at him. “You’re going down for this, you know that? You’re going to prison. You’d better hope nothing happens to my fiancé before I get back there or they will never find your body.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Even I was shocked at the snarl that came out of me. “You bet your fucking ass I am.”
“I’ll second that,” Danworth said, appearing from the dark. “I will totally second that. You lousy asshole.”
“Me three,” Laura added, walking up behind him.
There were several more of the cast and crew behind them echoing the sentiment. I was surprised how many people appeared and stepped back to release Tom from the hold. He rubbed his elbow.
“Was the footage erased?” Danworth simply lifted an eyebrow at him.
“Yes.” The answer was too short.
Dan pointed at me. “Army Ranger. Good with hand to hand combat. Tell the truth, weasel.”
“No. No, it’s in a safety deposit box...”
“Nelson, go.” Laura pointed where Darshan was holding the door open. “Go, make sure that your man is safe. We’ll wrap this up and get the hell out of here tomorrow.”
“What do you want to do with that?” Dan pointed at Tom, who was now leaning against the tree looking utterly defeated.
“My friend from the CIA will deal with him,” I answered. “He’d just better hope Jace is happy, healthy, and home when I get there. Otherwise, there’s charges he doesn’t even want to contemplate coming down the pike.”
Darshan tossed my bag in the trunk as I climbed into the driver’s seat to get going. He walked back and slammed the door for me. “Good luck, sir. I hope everything is fine.”
“Thank you. Thank everyone for me. I’ll let you all know.”
I was speed dialing my pilot before I had even put the car into gear to get to Johannesburg.
