The warmth inside me grows. How did I get so incredibly lucky with her?
“What do you think about Josie meaning my princess?” I ask.
Her blush deepens, causing her to somehow become simultaneously sexy and adorably cute at the same time.
“I’m okay with that—” She nods and leans in to kiss me on the cheek but stops when she feels my pistol pressing against her. I see the thought process play out across her face; she knows what it is and why I have it and what needs to be done today, but it also scares her.
She quickly smiles, doing her best to hide all that, and leans back in.
“It’s okay, baby,” I tell her. “All that is not for you. You stay here, and I’ll deal with Vincent and his goons. And when I return, I’ll have your mother with me, okay?”
Josie nods, doing her best to keep a straight face.
“What’s her name?”
“Debbie,” she says, her voice strained. “You be careful, okay?”
“Hey, what do I look like?” I smirk. “There’s a reason Vincent had me working security at his best club.”
I have to get moving or I’m never going to get out of here. I’ll just end up staying here for the rest of the day. After all, that’s where I’d much rather be.
With a final kiss on Josie’s plump lips, I leave her and head out the door to my truck. This is it, the final step before we’re together forever without the dark cloud of Vincent hanging over our heads.
I’m hardlyten minutes away from Josie and I’m already feeling it—that ice-cold, feral focus that comes over me when I need to get something important done. And right now, nothing could be more important than rescuing Josie’s mother.
The Palace, as Vincent calls it, is a hideout mansion like something out ofScarface. It looks like a house a frat boy would buy if he suddenly woke up with a hundred million dollars. Gaudy, tasteless, and if I remember right, registered to some shell company owned by Vincent that he does business through.
I’m crouched across the street in the bushes like a wild cat, surveying tonight’s security, which seems sparse. I only see two men by the gate and one patrolling the grounds. Vincent hasn’t had much competition as of late; maybe he’s letting his guard down.
Quietly, I screw the silencer onto my pistol and take aim.
The guard on the left goes down before his companion even has time to notice. He’s reaching for his own weapon when my shot hits him in the center of his forehead, knocking the hat off his head.
He goes down right beside his pal.
Then I’m off, crouched low, stalking across the street toward the gate. One of the men has a keycard in his pocket which I use to open it. Somehow, the man patrolling the grounds hasn’t seen me yet. He’s on the other side by a water fountain checking his phone. Gun down, I stalk closer and wait until I’m right up on him, then press the tip of the barrel to his neck.
“Debbie,” I hiss. “Where is she?”
The man’s body goes stiff, and his right hand expands. I can see he’s thinking of grabbing for his gun.
“Don’t,” I tell him. “Don’t do it. Just tell me where to find Debbie, and we can both walk away from this. Reach for that, and you won’t be so lucky.”
“H-he’ll kill me,” the man replies.
“You got a car?” He nods. “Get in your car and drive. Drive far away from here and don’t look back. This man is not worth dying for, and you know that.”
My captor wavers, then raises both hands above his head and nods. I reach in and take his gun off his hip, along with his cell phone. “For my security,” I tell him. “Now where is she?”
“That door.” He points. “Down the first flight of steps. Two doors down. She should be alone, or she’s with Vincent.”
I grit my teeth. “Let’s hope so.”
I wait until the man has gone out the gate before following his directions. Through the door he pointed out, down the flight of stone steps into a dimly lit hallway, and then two doors down.
There’s a woman’s voice coming from within, so I ready my gun Then, with one swift motion, I kick the latch and force my way in.
Inside is a woman, thin with blond hair, sitting on a bed with her eyes glued to a television. She’s talking to the television, not Vincent. She barely even looks up when I enter.