“Okay, easy now. Let my wife go; my son and daughter too. We’ll negotiate.”
“Negotiate?” The man scoffed. “You aren’t the one we want.” He thrust his gun away from Linda and shook it toward the other room. “Last chance, old man. Now.”
The former lieutenant backed up.
Jarrett pushed Marissa farther behind him and pressed her against the glittering tree.
“Grandma!” Jason hollered from another room. “I can’t find a big enough plastic bowl for the potatoes.”
“Oh, God.” Marissa gripped the sleeve of Jarrett’s sweater.
The leader, the one who held Linda, nodded to one of his accomplices.
The shorter man holstered his gun and left the room.
“No. Leave him alone!” Marissa pushed Jarrett aside. She only made it two steps before he wrapped his arms around her and hauled her back. “Let me go!” She hit his arms and shoved against him. “My baby, I have to get my—”
“Calm down. He’ll be fine,” Jarrett lashed out and swallowed hard to soften his voice. “Listen to me. Be smart.”
The leader pointed his gun at them.
Was this the man who’d cased Marissa’s home? The confrontation, if any, should’ve happened there. How long had the scumbags been waiting?
He’d contacted Ackermann after his shower the previous night and several times that morning, but the calls went straight to voicemail. Where the hell was his supervisor? He should’ve called his other superiors, but Ackermann had explicitly instructed him not to.
Jason screamed. “Stop it! Don’t touch me!”
Marissa elbowed Jarrett in the stomach and pried free.
Fuck. His gut seized, air ripping from his lungs. He doubled over and tried to grab her arm, but the sleeve of her dress skimmed his fingers.
The third man leveled his semi-automatic right at her.
She stopped, eyes wide and hands clenched.
His heart skipped a beat. No, not this. Anything but this.
The other man returned with Jason slung over his shoulder.
“You monster!” The boy pounded his fists against the man’s back and cursed him with words a child shouldn’t know.
After the intruder dumped Jason in a plush chair, Marissa hurried to her son and swiped her hands over his flushed face. She curled up beside him and shielded his trembling body with hers. Tears glistened in her eyes.
The asshole stepped back but guarded the chair as though he’d never let Marissa or Jason leave it.
Harold lowered his arms. “This is enough. What do you want?”
“They want me.” Jarrett rested his hand on his father’s stiff shoulder. His cheeks blazed hot as the man’s eyes narrowed. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to make it through one night together without riling each other. The surprisingly comfortable meal was the calm before the storm—too bad he hadn’t realized that ahead of time. “I’m sorry that I brought this home with me, Dad.” He glared at the leader. “I’ll make this easy for you on one condition—release my mother. I understand you won’t let anyone leave until I’m dead, but since it took three of you big shots to barge in here, then you know my reputation. Make the wise choice and let her go.”
The man glanced at his accomplices and shoved the crying woman away from him.
Harold caught her before she could fall and wrapped her in his arms.
The leader ripped off his ski mask. Hard blue eyes peered past the lengthy strands of his dark hair. The harsh slash of his mouth deepened the pox marks on his cheeks.
As the others removed their masks, Jarrett fisted his hands. These idiots barely looked old enough to drink, let alone have the brains and balls to carry out a hit. “You have me at a disadvantage. What should I call you?”
The man smirked. “Call me Bill.”
