I’d put a Cleaning in Progress sign on the nearest restroom, knowing it would deter others but not a man who was about to shit himself.
Now I waited in the restroom for Halston to make his inevitable appearance.
He came barreling into the room, almost slamming the door in my face before rushing into a stall.
Completely unaware of my presence.
Calmly, I locked the restroom door with the key I’d stolen from the cleaning supply pantry.
I’d only dosed Cole enough to send him running to the toilet to relieve himself.
It wasn’t enough to keep him there in crisis. I didn’t have time for that, though it would have been satisfying to put him through it.
Even though I knew how to move without sound, he was making such a fucking fuss in there, I slipped into the next stall and closed the door, leaving a gap so I could see out into the main room. I took savage pleasure in his muttered cursing and bitching.
Thankfully, it was over as quickly as it started.
I listened to him clean up, flush, and leave the stall to wash his hands.
I waited.
There were no mirrors near the hand towels.
The fucker was oblivious.
As soon as he crossed the room to dry his hands, I was on him before he knew what hit him.
I slammed his face off the tiled wall, the crack of his nose a satisfying echo as his knees gave out, his head bobbing. Grabbing him in a chokehold from behind, I flashed a large knife in front of his face. Halston made a gurgling noise, frantically trying to shake me off.
“If you make a move or even a squeak, I’ll gut you like a pig.”
“Who are you?” he gritted out, his voice nasally from the nose break.
I squeezed his neck harder until he smacked my arms, struggling to breathe. Finally, I released him just enough so he wouldn’t suffocate.
Bringing the knife closer to his face, I felt him tremble against me.
“This club is supposed to be the most secure club in Manhattan, yet here I am. I hacked their visual security and right now, their security team’s system is on a forty-minute time delay. They have no idea they’re not watching live footage. No one saw me serve you. No one saw me come in here. No one sawyoucome in here.” Courtesy of James. Again. I owed my friend. “What is my point, you ask?”
He panted between gritted teeth, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if the arsehole had pissed himself.
“My point is”—I pressed my lips to his ear—“there is nowhere you can run from me. I could slice your throat right now and no one will stop me. You’d die and it would be a fucking unsolved mystery for the rest of eternity.”
He whimpered.
“Shawn Prescott has been arrested for theattemptedmurder of Tierney Silver.”
Halston stiffened. I wanted to open his throat there and then.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the plan.
“That’s right, arsehole. You failed. She lived. And the knife was in Prescott’s possession and has Tierney Silver’s blood on it. The authorities have already found a digital money trail leading from Prescott to you. It’s all in motion and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. In about five minutes, the FBI will be here to arrest you.”
He whimpered again.
“It’s over for you. But I’m here for one thing only. To warn you that if you come for Tierney Silver again while justice awaits you, I won’t just cut your throat. I’ll cut a little bit of you off, piece by piece, over a prolonged period. I’ll make your death the most painful, horrifying fucking thing you can imagine. AndI’llget away with it. You think you know power … but you’ve never seen real power until now.” I leaned in, hissing between my teeth with my rage. “I havegovernmentsat my back. There’s nowhere in the world you can go that I can’t find you and no one will care when I make you disappear. Do you fucking understand me, you feculent fuck?”
Halston sobbed and gave a jerk of his head.
