Page 4 of Unexpected Complication

Her eyes narrowed at me, and I knew without the gag, she’d be mouthing off.

My cell rang and I stifled a groan. I knew who was calling. I shot a look to Rex in the passenger seat, who, of course, ignored it, and I pressed Bluetooth.

“Yeah.”

“Rex tells me we have a guest.”

Simply the sound of that voice made me nauseous. I wanted to scream, shoot Rex beside me, then hunt him down and kill him.

But that wasn’t part of the plan.

I kept my voice neutral. “No. I have a guest. She is of no concern to you.”

“She shouldn’t be alive.”

“My decision.”

“I hired you to do a job, not add more problems.”

“As I said, she isn’t your problem. She’s mine.”

“You made her my problem. Kill her.”

I glanced at the back seat. Skylar’s eyes were closed, but I could see the tears running down her cheeks and her entire body shaking, her bravado crumbling.

“May I remind you that I don’t take orders from you? It’s my decision.”

“Rex will handle it. Let him take the girl.”

“No,” I spat through gritted teeth. “She’s mine. Nobody fucking touches her without me saying so.”

Orson’s voice became quiet, the tone all his enemies knew was the most dangerous. “And why is that?” he asked.

I forced my voice to be equally calm. “I have plans for her.” I looked back at her again, hoping Rex would think I was leering at her. “She’s got a smart mouth, and I like that.”

“You have plans for that mouth.”

“I do.”

“And then?”

“My business,” I repeated. “She’s mine, and I’ll deal with her as I see fit. This isn’t up for discussion, Orson.”

His laugh was cruel-sounding. “She may wish you had shot her.”

Knowing Rex was watching my reaction, I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“We need to meet.”

“Tomorrow. I’ll call you.” With a flick of my finger, I disconnected the call.

“You need to learn respect,” Rex hissed, his voice thick as cement.

A smile tugged on my lips as I thought about saying that to Skylar and her reaction.

“I don’t work for Orson. This is just a job to me.” I glanced sideways at him. “Keep your fucking opinions to yourself.”

The rest of the trip was silent. I heaved a sigh of relief when he exited the car. I made sure he was long gone before I started driving again.