Wild Justice (Nadia Stafford 3)

"Proposal?" Jack said.

"The man speaks, his tongue loosened by the potential for profit. That's the trick with your kind, isn't it? Anything for money."

I glanced back as Jack shrugged. "Willing to listen."

A smug smile. "Of course you are. But it seems your girlfriend has some compunctions about Henry here. She doesn't quite trust him."

"Do you?" I asked. "I thought you'd have learned a lesson from Drew Aldrich. That particular partnership was more trouble than it was worth, wasn't it? An albatross around your neck, having Aldrich out there, knowing your secrets. I bet it feels good to have finally gotten rid of him."

Henry shifted. He was thinking of Aldrich. Thinking of Koss's obvious contempt for him.

Keep thinking, Henry. Of how much you'd like to be free of him. Free of what he offers. Free of temptation. Free of blackmail. Do you really want to trust--?

Koss turned and shot Henry. Right through the heart. And I sat there, gaping like an idiot.

Before Henry even hit the floor, Jack lunged and yanked the gun from my holster. Koss spun and there was a brief flash of surprise on his face as he realized he'd left his flank open. Surely the very shock of his action should have stunned us into immobility. And it did--for me, at least.

Jack shot Koss in the right shoulder. The blow sent him spinning, gun flying from his hand. I dove for that gun and grabbed it before it hit the floor, then twisted and managed to land on my ass, gun pointed at Koss, before he recovered from his stumble. It was a sweet move, and Jack nodded his approval, which was nice, though I would have preferred to have been the one who'd actually had the presence of mind to shoot Koss. Moves, I've got. Nerves of steel? Aluminum more like.

Once Jack trained his gun on Koss, I disarmed Henry. He was still alive. Dying, though, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, mouth working. I watched

him in his final moments, and all I thought was, What has he done? What crimes has he committed? That shouldn't matter. A man was dying. If I could comfort him, even briefly, I should. But I couldn't.

So I took his gun and patted him down, and I found Jack's weapons, and took them, too.

"Four guns and a knife," I said, holding them up. "We have an arsenal."

"Got another gun under my pant leg."

I grinned. "Of course you do." I looked at Koss. "You winged him? Seriously?"

As I joked, Koss's scowl grew. Clearly he did not appreciate the casual response to the situation. Too bad.

"He winged me because he won't kill me," Koss said, struggling to find his smirk. "He knows you want me alive, and he wouldn't do anything that might cut him off. That's how you emasculate a hitman, Nadia. You fuck him and then--"

"He likes to talk," I said to Jack.

"Noticed."

"So I'm guessing there's a real reason why you kept him alive. Something to do with why you let yourself be captured?"

"Let himself?" Koss snorted. "You're as moonstruck as he is. He screwed up and got caught; he just managed to reverse the situation. A half-assed reversal because he needs to keep me alive so you--"

"Are we keeping him alive for someone else?" I said. "Because if not, I'd like him to stop talking now."

"So would I," said a voice from the doorway. "Unfortunately, we need him alive."

I turned and got my umpteenth shock of the night when I saw who was standing there. Quinn.

CHAPTER 50

Quinn walked in, followed by two men I didn't recognize. Both were armed, but they trained their guns on Henry and Koss. One lifted a radio.

"Bryant is still alive," the man said, meaning Henry, presumably. "Get Hayes up here and we might be able to keep him that way."

"Are you sure you want to?" I asked.

The man looked up at me and for a second I thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he dipped his chin and said, "I'm afraid we do. At least long enough to find out what he knows. And what he's done."