My heart started to race in my chest, thud like a drum. Bones was an adversary I didn’t want to cross, not because I was afraid of him, but because he was Carmen’s family. If he told the Barsettis, he could make life difficult for me. Keeping our relationship a secret had made Carmen relax and give me a real chance. When she’d stopped worrying what her family would think of me, she’d finally looked past the deplorable way I made a living. The best solution to this problem was to kill him before he had a chance to say anything.
“He’s still in the city. You want me to take him out?”
“Why is he still here?”
“He’s been watching her apartment. I’m guessing he’s trying to figure out where she really is.”
Shit. He was a smart man, and he would figure it out soon enough if he hadn’t already. “Has he called Carmen?”
“He called her yesterday. The conversation only lasted a minute. The transcript showed that he asked where she was, and she said she was at her apartment. At that time, he knew that wasn’t true.”
“He didn’t say anything to that?”
“No. He also approached the jurisdiction line but didn’t cross it. Looked at your property from a top of a building. We think he was looking for her car. It’s parked outside, so he probably saw it.”
The only reason he wouldn’t confront her was because he’d already figured it out. And if he saw her car, that was evidence enough.
“My guys have a clean shot at him. He’s alone.”
I was tempted to do it. We could make it seem like an accident, like he drank too much and lost control of his truck. It would make all my problems go away. But when I thought about how devastated Carmen would be, I knew that wasn’t an option. It would break her heart. Even if she never figured out I was the one who ordered the hit, she would be upset for a really long time. “Leave him be.”
“You’re sure?” Drake asked in surprise.
“Yes.” He had a wife at home. He was just trying to protect Carmen, and I couldn’t hate him for that. “I’ll take care of this myself.”
I stood outside the large gates to his property and made the call. In the countryside, it was particularly dark, especially when the stars were obscured by heavy clouds. A thin fog had rolled into the area, making the cold bite all the way down to the bone. In my jeans and leather jacket, I was fine. But Carmen wouldn’t survive.
Heavy footsteps approached, the sound of a beefy man coming toward me in the darkness. Even with the metal gate separating us, I could feel his rage as it grew stronger and stronger.
The gates were nearly twenty feet high, tall enough that they would be extremely difficult to climb. Cobblestone walls surrounded the property, lush ivy growing over it. The place was a fortress as well as a historical landmark. The reason he bought it was because of his unique protection out here in the middle of nowhere.
The gates unlocked, and the light flicked on along the wall, illuminating the area near the road.
That’s when I saw him, his blue eyes fierce as he pointed a gun at my face.
I glanced at the barrel pointed at my chest but didn’t react in alarm. “I’m unarmed. And alone.” I nodded to the black car parked on the other side of the road, a two-seater that wouldn’t be able to fit an army or a cache of artillery. “If I wanted to kill you, my army would have destroyed your home and your lives before you even woke up.”
Bones was just as threatening as his reputation claimed him to be. Muscular, tall, and with a hint of sadistic rage in his eyes, he was the murderer people paid millions to hire. Covered in tattoos all the way up to his neck, he was a nightmare most never wanted to witness in person. He lowered the gun and emptied the barrel of the bullets before he tossed the gun on the grass. “And I prefer to kill a man with my own hands.”
I gave him a lopsided grin. “What a coincidence. I just did the same a few days ago. Good times.”
Bones didn’t drop his hostility, furious that I was on the outskirts of his property. “You crossed a line coming here. This is where my family lives.” His tone deepened. “Don’t come near my family.” Both of his hands tightened into fists like he wanted to break my face cleanly in two.
“I have no interest in hurting your wife. I don’t care about her. You’re the only person I want to see.”
“Then we could have had this discussion elsewhere.”
“Secrecy was the utmost importance. And like I said, I’m unarmed. I don’t go anywhere without my hundred-man army. But I left them behind—as a show of good faith.” I indicated the wide-open spaces around me. “We’re alone, Bones.”