Page 82 of Dangerous Liaisons

Jesse met Cole’s gaze. He seemed to be thinking the same thing she was: Here’s hoping Green Leader isn’t as smart as we think.

Jesse turned, yanked out her ear-bud, tossed it behind the tub, and faced the door. Seconds later, the door creaked open and Lanton stood in the doorway. He wore his characteristic dark suit, tie, and white shirt. Jesse laughed silently at sight of the gun held at waist level—a Walther PPK, just like James Bond. She wanted to shout Coward! when the barrel trembled as he scanned the interior.

He paused when his line of sight fell on Cole, then he continued searching until he saw her. Gun leveled on her, he stepped inside, pulling the door closed behind him. How about that? He considered her a bigger threat than Perez.

“Senor Lanton,” Cole said. Cole casually pointed his Glock at Lanton. His left hand, with its broken fingers, rested in the side suit pocket. “Please, lower the weapon. We can talk cordially.”

Lanton approached to three meters, then halted. “Amadeo Perez, back from the dead. What do you want?”

Cole gave his head a slow shake. “We had an agreement. Yet, you sent Miss Evans to kill me. You know what I do to people who break promises?”

Lanton raised his PPK a fraction. The fool thought he was James Bond. Emma Peel wouldn’t be impressed.

“Miss Evans explained how you sent her to kill me,” Cole said.

A corner of Lanton’s mouth turned up in a sneer. “She’s lying. She came after you because she thought you killed the girl.”

“Ah, the girl,” Cole said. His perfect Spanish accent sent a chill tickle down Jesse’s spine. She’s safe, I hope.”

“None of your business.”

“You shall issue a formal apology from your government,” Cole said. “I do not kidnap little girls, and will not have my reputation soiled.”

Jesse wanted to laugh and recoil at the same time. She could imagine Perez making such an insane demand.

Lanton’s mouth curved into a full sneer. “No. You just enslave them to the drugs you sell.” He turned to Jesse. “How does it feel making a pact with the devil?”

She shrugged. “It’s a marriage of convenience. You put me out in the cold and figured I’d go after Perez. I have no intention of solving all your problems so easily.”

“Solve all my problems?” he replied with such vehemence she knew she’d hit home. “You’ve been a thorn in my side far too long.”

Jesse flashed a nasty smile. “Submissions getting a bit too expensive? Have you saved enough of that bribe money to live without your wife’s support?”

Disdain flashed in Lanton’s brown eyes. “Don’t be a fool.”

“Enough,” Cole interrupted. “You will not live to enjoy your private clubs or your wife if you do not return my money.”

Lanton leveled the PPK on Cole. “You should have stayed dead in Colombia.”

Jesse riveted her gaze to the gun, saw his finger tighten on the trigger, and dove left as the gun erupted. A deafening shot filled the empty warehouse. Blood erupted from Cole’s chest. Lanton fired again. Another report assaulted her ears as she rolled to her feet.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Cole stumble backward. Glass shattered as he crashed through the office window behind him. Tiny shards of glass pierced her left cheek. Her gut wrenched. She should have pulled her Beretta immediately and shot Cole, not taken a chance Lanton would shoot him. Where had the bullet hit?