“Where is Doctor Marsh now?” The man on the other end of the phone growled.
“I don’t know.”
“What the fuck do you mean you don’t know?”
He gritted his teeth together. If this guy thought his gruff tone and words scared him, he was wrong.
“I mean exactly what I said. Thanks to your guys, Katherine got spooked and is now under the protection of some private security firm out of Dallas.”
“Myguys?” The dangerous killer laughed. “Your man was the one who blew up the entire fucking lab.”
“Yes, well, since Todd killed himself in the process, I think it’s safe to say he learned his lesson.”
Pressing his luck with a man like this wasn’t smart, but the entire situation was getting out of hand. They needed to figure out what they were going to do about it.
“Kennedy knew the risks going in,” the other man stated bluntly.
“I could say the same for you and your boss,” he shot back. “If you want to blame someone, how about the dumbass who texted Katherine instead of Todd in the first place.That’sthe real reason we’re dealing with this clusterfuck.” He took a breath. “Do you even have any idea how much money I risk losing if we don’t find her?”
“Enough!” The guy’s loud voice made him jump. “You’re not the only one who stands to lose if this thing goes sideways. The situation isn’t going to right itself, so how about we quit this back and forth shit and figure out how we’re going to fix it. Starting with how to get access to the woman.”
He swallowed. “What are you planning to do to her?”
“Me? Nothing, other than delivering her to my boss. What happens to her once she gives him the formula, however, is anyone’s guess.”
He thought of Katherine. There was a time he’d genuinely liked her. Thought she was a sweet person and a brilliant scientist. Exactly what he needed, both personally and professionally. But that was before she ruined everything.
Now he merely saw her as a means to an end. Two ends, really. He’ll profit more than he’d ever dreamed of, and at the same time, she’ll finally be forced to pay for what she’d done. Like killing two birds with one stone.
Or a lying, conniving bitch who deserves whatever hell she has coming to her.
“We won’t gain access to her while she’s being protected,” he informed the other man. “I’ve learned a bit about R.I.S.C., the security firm watching over her. Apparently, she’s being guarded by one of their Bravo Team members. Guy named Turner. He’s former-military and very well trained. They all are. If you or your men try to go after her now, it won’t end well for you.”
The other man waited a beat before responding in a surprising way. “Turner’s guarding Marsh?” He laughed. “This deal just got sweeter.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Do you know him, or something?”
“Don’t worry about Turner,” the man ignored his question. “I’ll handle him and the rest of Bravo. We need to find a way to bring them out of hiding.”
This guy’s supposed to be smart?“How the hell do you propose we do that? It’s not like you can send an invitation and she’ll come running.”
“Actually, I think that’s exactly how this is going to play out.”
“What are you planning?”
The frustrating prick answered the question with another question. “Doctor Marsh’s mother died several years ago, and she’s an only child, correct?”
He shouldn’t have been surprised by the man’s knowledge of Katherine’s family dynamics, but he was. “Yes. That’s correct.”
“You know her father. Are they close? How is their relationship?”
“Somewhat strained, but okay, I guess. Why do you ask?”
“I think I may know a way to bring the good doctor out of hiding.”
His pulse spiked. “You said no one else was going to get hurt. Only Katherine.”
“And you promised you had everything under control,” the other man bit out. “Clearly, that’s not the case, so now we do things my way.”
