Oh, God.
“Then you never knew me very well,” Todd said, his voice hard and deadly. And, frankly, scary as hell.
Pete wasn’t the only one who’d misjudged him.
Glancing at Megan, Lindsey said, “Come on. We need to get out of here.” She could get them to town on her own if she had to. Todd and Pete could sort out whatever shit they had going on without her.
She moved toward the door, but a slender arm snaked around her throat, jerking her back and cutting off her air. Something cold and hard jabbed the side of her head.
“We’re not going anywhere.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“DROP IT,” MEGAN said, “orI’llshoot.”
A muffled sound of shock escaped Lindsey’s lips.
Todd’s heart froze. Lindsey stood awkwardly in a chokehold with a Glock held to her temple, beautiful eyes wide with fear, confusion, betrayal.
Jesus,no.
For the first time since he’d kicked in the door, his hands shook.
Whatever the fuck was going on with this so-called friend, the blonde had just painted a target on her own chest. If only Lindsey weren’t in the way.
Pete twitched and Todd refocused on the man, his mind racing to come up with a way to end this standoff. “Not one step.”
The man halted, fists clenched.
“What are you doing?” Lindsey managed to wheeze.
“What I brought you to Montana for,” Megan said, her voice tight with strain. She was shorter than Lindsey, so holding her had to be tricky. “To make sure you don’t go home.”
“Wait,youwanted me dead?” Lindsey asked.
Todd couldn’t see her face, but he could hear the confusion and hurt even in that hoarse whisper.Think. He couldn’t afford to take his eyes off Pete again, but leaving Lindsey with Demented Barbie had his nerves on fire. For all he knew, killing Pete wouldn’t deter her from hurting Lindsey.
“I mean, I felt bad about it—you were my best friend—but you were going to ruin everything,” Megan said. “For once in my life, I wasn’t poor. I had finally made it, but you couldn’t stop asking questions about the money.”
“I was trying to help you—” The rest of Lindsey’s words were cut off by a choking cough.
Anger spiked through Todd like a hot poker. If Megan hurt her… Keeping Pete in his sights, Todd edged closer to the women.
“Bullshit. You just wanted to be right. I hired you to help with my taxes, not do a full-fledged audit of my customers. You should have listened to me, respected my wishes,” Megan said, her face bright red. “I knew what I was doing, and I also knew you wouldn’t approve. So I lied. And we all know that’s sin number one inThe Book According to Lindsey, isn’t it?” She scoffed. “As if you’re some kind of saint.”
Which meant if Todd had ever had a chance with Lindsey, he’d probably blown it.
“And you wonder why Cruz was so happy to jump into my bed. According to him, you’re not just a straight arrow when it comes to the law.”
Lindsey gaped. “You slept with Cruz?”
“Duh. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you it was me, just to rub it in.” Megan rolled her eyes. “I thought after you broke up, you’d binge on ice cream and Netflix like a normal person and quit digging into my shit. In hindsight, I should’ve known better. You’re such a nerd for numbers.”
“And so you decided to have mekilled?” Lindsey asked, her face drained of all color. “Jesus, Megan, that’s…Why?”
“Well, not originally. I’m not naturally violent, and youweremy friend.” The blonde half-shrugged and tapped Lindsey’s head with the tip of the gun as if to prove she was over her pacifism. “Honestly, it was JJ’s idea. When I told him you were curious about all of my affiliate income—”
“Shut the fuck up, Meg,” Pete said without looking at her.
