Page 52 of Alex

Chapter Twenty-Five

Alex hadno idea what sort of operation Simon had going on, but it became clear to him very quickly that the men he was using were not as highly trained as the ones on the yacht had been. The house they had taken him to was not far from where they were staying with Hunter. They hadn’t covered his head either so he could see the way in, the number of guards on the gate, and weak spots in their security.

It meant they were probably going to kill him at some point, but it also meant they had no idea who they were dealing with. They had removed his comm unit but left him dressed and the watch with the tracker was still transmitting, meaning his team were not far away. Even if they weren’t, he could probably free himself in a few hours.

They had pushed him into a bedroom with nothing but a divan bed with a single sheet and a blind on the window. They had at least taken his guns and knives from him. The ties at his wrists were still on but would take less than a few seconds to cut through. They probably thought that he had no weapons available to him, so he wasn’t much of a threat—one man against all of them. They didn’t see the bigger picture. The bed sheet could be used as a noose or to choke someone out and that was completely ignoring the fact that his whole body was a finely honed weapon.

Being taken was possibly a good thing. He now had a chance to find the file and get the fuck out of there so he could find Evelyn. Walking to the window he saw the glass was double glazed and the window nailed shut. Outside the night was quiet, the smoke from the fire lingered on the air with the sea breeze blowing inland.

He felt nausea fill him at the thought of Evelyn out there with some maniac. His bet was Osiris. He fought the desire to punch the wall in anger. If Pax had warned him earlier, he would have taken more precautions, but she had sprung it on him, leaving him nowhere to go. If he had warned Evelyn she could have reacted badly and thrown the mission to hell and cancelling the mission wasn’t an option.

They’d had one window to get the file and clear her name. Now it was fucked, and she was missing. His only saving grace was that perhaps Osiris had some affection for her and wouldn’t hurt her. But if he knew Evelyn at all—and he did—she would lose her shit when she realised she’d been manipulated and all the connotations that went with that. Like losing her family, her friends, her future with him.

Yeah, it was fucked. She was in trouble and he needed to get out of there and go find her before she ended up in a world of hurt.

The door opened behind him and he looked around feigning boredom as Simon walked inside flanked by two guards. Both men seemed muscular but unfit. They probably relied on their size and not any skill. Typical muscle for hire scenario that almost made him laugh out loud. Simon had removed his jacket and was in his tux shirt and trousers. He was unarmed which was also interesting. Maybe he didn’t have the stomach for it.

“Mr Martinez,” Simon said making it clear that he knew his full name.

“Mr Booth.” Alex smirked at the obvious power play.

“I am not sure what you find so amusing but I’m sure this will wipe the smile off your face.” He produced an image of Evelyn in her wet dress strung up by her arms in a cinderblock room. Her head had fallen forward and provided evidence of her unconscious state. He swallowed past the lump of fury in his throat and sought the cold, calculated coldness that he would need to think straight and get her free. Looking at the image again he saw her clothes while wet, were not ripped and she had no apparent injuries. He also knew that the night was young.

“No response, Mr Martinez? I would have thought seeing the woman you love hurt would provoke some kind of reaction,” he said with a sneer.

Alex couldn’t wait to wipe the floor with his fucking stupid face. “She’s strong. She will be fine until I can get to her.” His calm answer hid the worry he felt, but he knew it would be convincing enough to trick Simon.

“Wow, you really are a hard bastard.”

“So, what do you want me for?

“Someone wants you dead and they’re paying me a pretty penny to make it happen. More than I would have got for tonight’s auction if you hadn’t fucked that up with your bombs.”

“That wasn’t me.” He shrugged ignoring the titbit about someone wanting him dead. That wasn’t news, some fucker always wanted to kill him.

Simon angled his head as if he was assessing what Alex was saying for truth.

“Hmmm, interesting. If it wasn’t me and it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Alex asked filling the man with doubt. “Maybe you have a snake in your midst?” Alex gave a chuckle and hoped his words would fill the man with doubt.

Simon went red, his face angry and mottled before he released his breath and un-balled his fists. “The only one with a traitor in the camp is you.”

So, Booth knows about that too. There seemed to be more going on here than he’d first thought.

“Who added the second team to Evelyn and blew up her house?” He didn’t really expect an answer but asked anyway.

Simon it turned out liked the sound of his own voice. “Whoever is paying me to kill you. I have no name. I just take the money and do the deed.”

“So not Osiris? I know you’re his little errand boy now,” he said using some guesswork.

“Osiris thinks he can beat me by using Evelyn, but he can’t. Whoever it is that wants you and the rest of your little friends dead, is serious. He’s pitting some of the meanest, deadliest criminals in the world against each other to bring you down. Whoever delivers gets the money and the kudos. I want both.”

“So, he pits you against Osiris? That’s a step up for you.” Alex kept him talking hoping to gather as much information as he could.

“Osiris is old, he needs to be put out to grass. The business needs new blood and I’m going to take it from him.”

“You are a real piece of work, aren’t you? No wonder your cousin disowned you.” He made sure his voice was filled with all the contempt he was feeling.

“My cousin will rue the day he challenged me,” Simon snarled. “Now, enough with the chit-chat I have to go and deliver this file to its new owner and collect my payment.” He reached inside his trouser pocket before waving a data stick at him. “Then I can come back, deliver your dead body and collect my payment.”