Two of the men left on command, but Killian stayed. “Bain will be looking for her before long.”
“Your point?”
“He’ll fucking kill you this time, a bullet right to the heart. Maybe a head shot,” said Killian before he left the room.
Scarlett felt like an outsider looking in. She didn’t want Bain to do something stupid that could get him killed. Surely Boss could be reasoned with. Then again, he’d killed Lisa in cold blood.
****
“She’s fucking gone!” Bain shouted.
“Bain?”
It was just after five in the morning, so he guessed Viper had been asleep. His alarm had gone off and instead of finding Scarlett in bed beside him, he’d found a note. Boss had her, and only God kn
ew what the bastard planned to do.
“Boss has Scarlett. I don’t have a clue where he’s taken her.”
“You knew this would happen,” said Viper. “He wants to level the playing field. You never should have shot him.”
“I already got that much. I don’t need to be fucking reminded.”
Bain felt like a caged tiger, pacing his bedroom with a volatile energy building stronger by the second. Boss had been in his house, gotten through his security system, and taken his woman from right under his nose. He felt like a failure, powerless, and also ready to bring a firestorm of pain to Boss.
“What do you want from me? I’m out of the life, and besides, Boss won’t listen to anything I have to say.”
“I just need to know where he’s taken her,” said Bain.
“I’ve been to his house, but it’s hours from you, and I doubt he’d bring her there. Think this through before you do something stupid.”
“Who would know where he’s taken her?” asked Bain.
“Killian’s the one watching his back these days. He’d probably know.”
“Okay, talk to you later. I’ve got shit to handle—”
“I’m not letting you go in this alone. You’re too damn impulsive for your own good. Meet me at old church off Tobermory in an hour. I’ve got your back.”
Bain turned off his spare cell and tossed it on the bed. His mind was focused on one task. He’d obsessed over this moment for over a week, and the second he let down his guard, the unimaginable happened. After a lifetime of horrors, he finally had something worth living for—only to lose it just as quickly.
Bain showered, dressed, and began to pack up his arsenal. By the time he left his house he was so strapped with heat, that he was a one-man killing machine. He met Viper at the old church. The sun was now coming up, the sky morphing from navy to light blue. The city in the distance was huge, housing millions of people. Where was Scarlett?
They both exited their vehicles. “Hey, how you doing?” asked Viper.
“Remember when you came to the Henshaw Corporation to kill Bernard Sutherland? You’d changed. You were ready to do anything for Pepper, for one woman,” said Bain. “I thought you’d gone weak, forgotten your training, lost your fucking mind.” He chuckled. “Now I understand.”
“We’ll get her back, Bain. Boss is crazy, but he’s not dumb enough to kill your woman. He wants you working for him. You’re rough around the edges, but you’re damn good at what you do. He knows that.”
“If one hair on her head—”
“We’ll get her back,” Viper repeated. He pulled out his cell and dialed a number. “Killian?” Viper handed Bain the phone.
“Where’s Scarlett?” he shouted.
“Right now? Alive. For how long, I don’t know.”
“Where is she dammit?”