* * * *
Nolan Byrne hung up his phone and turned to the backstabbing bitch who’d lied to him. He shouldn’t have found out that information from one of their victims. “You killed someone at The Reef?”
Jane shrugged. “He was a loose end, and that was pretty much the only way I was going to get close to him without causing a scene. I had to kill him in the club otherwise the police would get involved, and none of us wants that. Since he died in the club in a very embarrassing position, I assume Mrs. Hunt is currently cleaning up the mess.”
“Why the fuck did you need to kill a doctor?” He’d known Jane’s work could get bloody, but he’d thought he had her under control.
She looked cool and competent. By the time he’d made it back to his place, she’d already changed into black pants and a black jacket, her hair in a neat bun on her head. She’d secured the prisoners—that had been a surprise, too, since their plans had only included kidnapping Madeline. He’d been informed that the plan had changed and that Jane had brought along an extra. Of course by the time he’d gotten here, Jane had also given the guards their instructions. When he’d demanded information from one of them, he’d been told to ask Jane.
She’d been the one to bring in the six burly and dangerous-looking men she’d assured him would be discreet and take care of any situation that might arise.
Now he was starting to wonder who they would be loyal to. Him or Jane.
“I have my reasons,” she replied. “Is Madeline hard at work?”
Madeline was in his private office on his system. She had two hours to fully integrate the weapon with her AI. If she didn’t get it done by then, he would use her boyfriend against her. He would cut Deke Murphy’s fingers off one by one every fifteen minutes until she gave him a solution or he had to move on to the man’s toes. “She’s getting it done. Now explain why we have the extra body I’m going to have to deal with.”
“MaeBe Vaughn?” Jane leaned against the sofa looking as casual as a person talking about the weather instead of kidnapping and murder.
“Yes. Why the hell would you bring her with you? Did she see something she shouldn’t?” The plan had been to distract Kayla Summers-Hunt with a problem in the locker room and then sneak Madeline out the back. When Deke went to find her, Nolan would slip away.
He’d damn near had a heart attack when the alarms started going off. He’d almost gotten caught, and it was all Jane’s fault.
Jane shrugged. “She saw me murder a guy, though I’m sure she couldn’t tell you how I did it. MaeBe is a personal project of mine. Don’t worry about her. All you have to do is ensure the weapon is functioning. My guys will handle everything else. It’s imperative that the launch moves forward without a hitch.”
“You don’t think losing the AI expert is a hitch?” Somehow this whole thing had gone off the rails. He’d liked the idea the night before, but now all he could think about was how he was going to have to deal with the press. Jane would be long gone by then, and he would be left holding this particularly scandalous bag. “I think we should just kill them both and bury them where no one will find them.”
“We have a plan, Nolan.”
“No, you have a plan.” He moved into her space, anger and frustration thrumming through his system. She’d put him in a terrible position. “You’re manipulating me.”
She didn’t back down. “If I am, it’s only because you need it.”
He didn’t think. He followed his instincts. She’d promised him a night of BDSM. Well, he was at least going to get the part where he disciplined her. He drew back his hand and slapped her right across her smug face. Her head snapped to the side, and he saw blood on her lips.
She slowly brought her head around, eyes on him. For a moment, he thought about taking a step away from her because he’d never seen that look in her eyes before, never seen such darkness in anyone’s eyes. But then the moment passed, and she drew her hand over her mouth, wiping the blood away.
“I’m not trying to manipulate you, Nolan. I’m trying to deal with the situation the best way I can. You had two problem employees. I handled those situations for you, and it turned out fine. If you would like to take over, then please do so. How would you like to handle this situation? After all, you’re the boss.”
Now he did take a step back. It was good that she understood that none of this worked without him. “Don’t you dare pull another stunt like that again. You want to kill someone, do it on your time.”