“Of course. He thinks we’re here to talk—which we are—but if things go south, and I don’t like what he has to say, he’ll be dealt with.”
Holly squeezed me from behind and fist-bumped Kai. It took several more moments until the gate slid open and another five minutes before we were in front of a 10-foot glass door. An older gentleman with platinum hair greeted us and escorted us to a main-level office without asking questions, where a heavy-set man, who I knew as Rojas, leaned in his chair with a cigar between his fingers and a devilish grin on his face.
“Amalia, my dear, please sit. And congratulations. I’m sorry I couldn’t make the event.”
“I’m sure.”
His lackey eyed me from the corner, where he stood like a sentinel, shoulders tensed, ready for the slightest signal from his boss. I wasn’t naive enough to think he had no knowledge of the men he hired turning on me and my family. But we needed to play it cool.
“Let’s address the issue. Cut the bullshit. You’ve been doing business with me for five years, longer with my father. What happened yesterday was unforgivable. And I need answers.”
“I was just as shocked as you were.”
“How are you going to sit there and tell me you had no idea your men were paid off.”
Rojas chuckled and blew a puff of smoke. “Probably the same way you weren’t aware.”
I hated to be made a fool. It made me ragey and homicidal. What was more frustrating was that I knew he had a point, and that alone made me want to stab someone. Preferably the bastard checking out my ass from the corner.
Kai hadn’t said a word, but I clocked him. His eyes were focused but everywhere at the same time. I was thankful he let me take care of things while staying vigilant.
“Three people were murdered in front of witnesses. The strings we had to pull and the money we had to pay to keep thisstory out of the press is on you. You won’t get the remainder of your pay, and you’ll owe me. And I don’t tolerate unpaid debts.”
“Bullshit!” he roared, jumping to his feet. “Those men came from one of the many agencies I own but don’t directly oversee. It was out of my hands.”
“And now it’s not. You have forty-eight hours to pay up, and I want a roster with the names of every man and woman who works for you.”
He rounded his desk and reached for me. “That’s not how this works—”
“Careful. You put a hand on my wife, and she’ll remove it. And I’ll take the other for fun.”
Kai’s tone was menacingly calm, the threat palpable in the air. Rojas’s hand recoiled as if he’d been burned, and he lifted his wary eyes toward my husband.
My husband.
“Forty-eight hours,” Kai repeated. “Was she clear enough for you?”
“Crystal.” He clamped down on his mouth, his eyes moving between us, lingering longer than I was comfortable with on Holly, then nodded his acknowledgment. But in my peripheral, I saw the signal he gave with the fingers at his side.
He’d sealed his fate.
“Kai.”
A blade descended into my palm from inside my sleeve, and I plunged it twice into the side of his neck before he even knew what had happened. In that exact second, Kai sent five rounds into the tall man in the corner, who’d managed to pop off two of his own before he went down.
“I’m assuming this was the quick exit you were talking about?”
“Nice of you to keep up, Cain,” I teased, snatching a laptop from the desk and bolting out of the office.
Thunderous footfalls beat against the hardwood above us and from unseen corridors on the main floor.
“Amalia, they’ll be on us soon. Toss me the laptop if you’re riding with Kai.” Holly was just a step behind us as we tore out the door and onto the front lawn. I eyed Kai’s backpack but knew the precious seconds I’d spend stuffing it inside could be the difference between life and death. Looking back, I hurled the device toward Holly, who caught it effortlessly.
We’d originally planned to scale the walls, but to our luck, the main gate was still slightly open, though it felt like it was miles away once bullets started whizzing by.
“Get in front of me.” Kai reached for my arm and slipped behind me to shield me from the gunshots. It was unnecessary but a sweet gesture, nonetheless.
I’d thank him on my knees later.
