“Stay seated,” Rhinehart snapped at Omar and then bellowed, “Fredric!”
Fredric was at his boss’s side in an instant. “Yes?”
“We must leave.”
“No,” Omar said. “This is ridiculous.” Disregarding Rhinehart’s orders to stay seated, Omar stood, gesturing wildly. “I assure you there is no helicopter. No one else is coming. You’re completely safe here. I would never—”
Hoping to add to the growing paranoia, Elsa said, “Oh, Humphrey, perhaps we should go, too.”
“No!” Omar shouted. “This is—”
A gun appeared in Fredric’s hand, pointed at Omar.
Looking more insulted than frightened, Omar snapped, “I told you there were to be no weapons at this meeting.”
“Understand this, Omar. I have no need of you,” Rhinehart snarled. “Fredric could shoot you, and the deal with Mr. Humphrey would still go through.”
“How dare you?” Omar barked.
The drama center stage held everyone’s attention, giving Ash the opportunity to skirt behind both Fredric and Rhinehart, snagging the poker from the fireplace on the way.
“Do it,” Rhinehart barked. “Shoot him!”
Before Fredric could get a shot off, Ash swung the poker, crashing it hard across the back of Fredric’s skull. The big man teetered. Ash grabbed the gun from Fredric’s hand before he keeled over.
Squealing like an enraged hyena, Renee lunged toward Ash, a knife glinting in her hand. Jules flew through the air, tackling the other woman before she could make contact with Ash. They fell to the floor together.
* * *
Ash whirled to see Jules and Renee grappling for a knife. He rushed forward and then jerked to a stop when he heard a gunshot. Looking back, he saw Omar slump to the floor.
Holding a gun awkwardly in his damaged hand, Rhinehart turned to Humphrey. “Now you don’t have to share your profit.”
Ash raised Fredric’s pistol and fired rapidly, hitting Rhinehart in the head and then the chest. He turned just in time to see Jules plunge the knife into Renee’s chest. The woman grasped hold of Jules’s hair, pulling her forward.
Ash leaped over a coffee table and kicked at Renee’s arm, forcing her to let Jules go.
“You hurt?”
Gasping, her head still slumped over Renee’s body, she said, “No, I’m okay.”
Turning, he rushed toward Omar, glad to see that the bullet was a through-and-through to the man’s shoulder. Having Omar dead would seriously impede his ability to go through with the auction and get to Lang.
“Omar, can you hear me?”
Schrader opened his eyes and said weakly, “The man’s insane.”
Since the idiot was stating the obvious, Ash saw no reason to point out that Omar should have been smart enough to figure that out. When dealing with psychopathic people, crazy things tended to happen.
Grabbing a handful of napkins from the coffee table, he pressed them to Omar’s shoulder. “I’m surprised none of your guards showed up.”
“At Rhinehart’s insistence, I told them to stay back unless I called for them.”
As that was one of the dumbest things he’d ever heard, Ash couldn’t help but ask, “How the hell have you stayed alive all these years?”
Giving him a weak smile, Omar said, “My charm and good looks?”
Shaking his head, Ash stood and strode over to Jules, who was still on her knees beside Renee’s body. “You sure you’re okay?”