A Single Touch (Irresistible Attraction 3)

“I’ll contact you when I have specifics.” With that he stands, leaving me to calculate every possible way we can kill him. He’s a man hell-bent on vengeance and willing to burn everything that lies between him and it.

As the two of us stand up slowly, watching his hands and how he places the gun back in his holster, Walsh adds, “Go tonight for Romano. Tomorrow the teams change. I mean it when I say I intend to have a good rapport with you two.”

Turning his back to us, he places the chair he’d taken on top of the stack. “Unless you want to help me clean up, I think you’d better getting going.”

The metal of the gun is warm when I slip it behind my back in the holster, taking in everything I can about Officer Cody Walsh. It’s silent, save for the, “Until next time,” Walsh gives us on our way out.

Neither of us speaks until we’re far enough out in the distance.

Still seething, we both climb into the car and listen to the thunk of the doors closing as the sound of crickets off in the distance fades to silence.

“We’re screwed if he mails the recordings or hands them out to the fucking FBI.” Seth says the fucking obvious, tapping his foot in the car.

We should have incinerated him. That dead fuck and all the evidence along with it. Instead, I had to freak the fuck out over shit that happened years ago.

Seth keeps up with the tapping. Tap, tap, tapping as my frustration grows.

“Knock it the fuck off.”

“I’m thinking,” he retorts and then lets out a “fuck” and punches the side of the door.

“Feel better?” I ask him when he lifts his fist to examine his hand.

“Much,” he answers dryly.

The keys jingle in the ignition as the engine turns over, humming to life. Seth rolls his window down, breathing in the cold air until he comes up with a solution

“I’ll find out where the info is and get rid of it then get rid of him,” he speaks.

“That easy?”

“If we put him in the cellar, yeah. That easy.”

“You think he’ll tell us where it is?” I glance at him and let out an uneasy exhale, shaking my head as the wind blows by. “I don’t think he will. I think he’d die before quitting.”

“Then how?”

“Declan has to find something.”

“Declan’s looking into something?”

“I asked him to look into something before I know whether or not it’s a dead end. I don’t know yet; it may be useless.”

He’s reluctant to nod, but he does. “And what about Romano?”

“Go tonight and take three men with you. Two for lookouts.” The order comes out as easy as the plan should be. “If he’s in their custody, he’s unarmed and it should be in and out.”

“We’ll hit him with chloroform. Keep it quiet.”

“Just make sure you take out any cameras first. And stay silent, wear masks. Don’t trust it not to be recorded.”

“Got it. Want me to send a report to Carter first?” he asks and I stare off to the right side as the car comes to a stop. Just happens to be the graveyard. “No, I can do it. I’ll tell him.”

I’ll tell my brother just how badly I’ve fucked up. With all of this.

Then I’ll deal with Bethany.

And then Romano.

Bethany

My eyes feel so dry but I can’t keep them closed. Every time they shut, I see Jenny, in the hands of a villain. She’s out there and I’m lying in a comfortable bed, protected and doing nothing.

The thin slit of light from the hallway that lays across the bedroom floor and hits the dresser widens as a soft creak fills the quiet room. Jase’s footsteps are cautious and muted.

“You don’t have to be quiet,” I let him know although I have to clear my throat after. It’s raw and in need of a hot cup of tea. A luxury I can afford, as I’m not missing and presumed dead.

“You’re not sleeping?”

“How could I?” I answer Jase with the question as he walks to the bed and lowers himself to sit by my side, making the mattress dip where my legs lay.

He tells me, “I didn’t expect you in here.”

For a moment, I reconsider every thought that brought me back to his bedroom and ask, “Do you want me to leave?” If he does, I will. If he doesn’t, I’ll stay. Simply because I want to be here. I still want to be next to him when I do fall asleep. I want him to hold me, but I’m too prideful to ask. More than that, I’m ashamed that after all the lies, I still feel like I need him.

His answer is quick. “Never.”

“I don’t want to give you an ultimatum.” I spit out the words that I’ve been saying over and over in my head the last hour or so. “I hate them and I think they’re awful.”