Sylvie jumped and yelled when the gun went off. Tom’s howls let her know who’d been shot, and that he was still alive.
“My…fucking…knee,” he groaned.
“It’s only going to get worse for you, Tom, until you’ll wish the cartel had killed you,” the man said. “Not that Frank seems to care. So, let’s try this instead.” Sylvie heard steps moving toward her. She felt the unmistakable cold circle of the end of a gun barrel pressed into the soft tissue under her jaw.
“No!” Frank shouted.
“Then you know what you need to do, Frank,” the man said in a reasonable tone.
“No. We’re done. I already did what you wanted.”
“Frank. Don’t be like Tom here. He thought he could escape us after what he did, but he took a hostage with him just in case. Am I right, Tom? That’s why you took Sylvie. And now your hostage is a liability.”
“I can still salvage this. I can—”
The other man chuckled. “Oh, you’re salvage, all right. It’s up to you, Frank.” The gun pressed harder against her skin. “Frank?”
“Whatever he wants, Frank, don’t do it,” Sylvie said.
“Shut up, Rookie. You have no fucking clue what’s going on here.”
“I don’t know who this asshole is with the gun, but don’t do it.”
The man chuckled again. “You’re right, Frank, she’s a pain in the ass. But I like her. I’d rather she stay alive. That’ll be up to you though.” Sylvie heard the sound of car keys jingling. “Take her car this time.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.” She heard the keys again as they passed from the man to Frank. Her mind raced. The key to Watchdog’s kennels was on the ring. And her car had a gate pass.
Fuck. That’s where he was going. And it would look like her.
“What about me?” Tom whined, his voice thick with agony and snot.
The gun barrel disappeared from under her chin and another shot rang out. Tom howled again. Not dead, but God knew how injured.
“Like I said, you still have a part in this, don’t you worry,” the man said. “So, Frank. Do you understand the mission?”
“Yeah.” His voice shook. “But what do we do about Brianna?”
“If this plays out the way we want, Watchdog will take care of that for us. They aren’t going to let her die. They’ll save her from the cartel, and in the process set themselves up to get fucked. Tom may have done us a favor by turning traitor and grabbing Sylvie. Capitoline was going to send Watchdog a message, but I can send an even better one now. So, Frank, I suggest you get going while Watchdog is distracted trying to rescue Brianna. Once we get done with Tom, that is.”
Tom whimpered.
“There’s cameras everywhere,” Frank said. “I was lucky the first time.”
“There’s no luck involved. You know what we can do.” The man’s shoes scraped against the floor. Along with the bleach now, Sylvie could smell the coppery notes of Tom’s blood. Maybe the man had gotten some on his shoes. Sylvie breathed through her mouth to try and keep her growing nausea at bay.
“What about Sylvie?”
“Mmm. The hood’s still on, isn’t it? She has no idea where she is or who I am. If you complete your mission—and if she’s smart about it—it can stay that way and she’ll be let go later. Otherwise…” He trailed off. “You’re sure her partner still has no idea?”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Frank said.
Oh, shit. Sylvie realized she’d fucked herself. She’d told Carla she was going undercover. Not to tell anyone.
Frank continued. “Alex Hoff’s gonna know something’s up though. Her phone texts—”
Sylvie shook her head violently. “Frank—”
