I couldn’t hide the tilt of my lips as I looked at Henley.Great question.
“Because she’s helping me figure out who wants me dead,” Henley explained, his words a bit stiffer than before.
“Then why does someone now wantherdead?” McKenna asked.
“Because I’m taking too long,” I answered.
“Let me get this straight,” Brynne said, pulling all our attention to her. “Someone wants Henley dead, and that same person now wants you dead?”
I shook my head. “I have a boss, but I don’t report directly to him. He gets the jobs, then delegates.”
Brynne’s eyes widened a bit. “There aremorekillers for hire?”
I nodded. “Kind of like a typical business. He’s the manager, then he has assistants, then other guys who keep things in line, then his employees. It’s a big ladder. Which is why we’re having a hard time figuring out who wants to see Henley six feet under. I’m supposed to do the jobs assigned to me, no questions asked, so they’re not happy about my sudden curiosity, or the fact that I’m approaching my deadline.”
“You’re saying Henley essentially has a ticking time bomb on his chest?” McKenna asked.
I shrugged. “Depends if I still want to kill him at the end of this.”
“If I don’t kill her first,” Henley mumbled.
Austin’s gaze snapped between the two of us. “You two both want each other dead.”
Henley and I shared a look before replying in unison, “Yes.”
“Hm,” was Austin’s only response.
Booker sat on the edge of the couch, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. “I can’t believe this.”
Brynne crossed to him, sitting beside him and rubbing a hand over his back. “It never stops, does it?”
“No,” Booker replied, lifting his head and bringing his focus back to Henley. “And he doesn’t even know who would want him dead because the list is too goddamn long.”
Henley’s lips rolled together. He seemed to be fighting the urge to say more. “We’re going to figure it out. We have it under control.”
“Do you?” Austin asked. “Because it looks to me like your girl was shot, and you both still have a death wish on your hands.”
“She’s not my girl,” Henley growled.
“I wasn’t shot,” I said at the same time.
Henley and I glared at each other.
“Are we done here?” Henley snapped, his eyes staying on mine a moment longer before facing the guys again. “You know everything now.”
“What’s the solution, Henley?” Booker asked.
Henley’s tongue sucked on his teeth before he admitted, “No fucking clue.”
“We’re going to find who wants him dead, then kill him,” I said quickly. If Booker didn’t get an answer, he’d likely grill Henley for another hour. I wanted the hell out of here.
“Then what?” Austin asked.
“I kill her,” Henley replied simply.
McKenna’s eyes narrowed on Henley. “You were serious?”
He looked at her like he couldn’t believe she was questioning that. “She tried tokillme.”
