Mine to Protect (Mine 6)

Shock covered Tom’s face. I guess Luther didn’t tell you this secret.

“Luther said either I would kill that guy or I would be the one dying.”

Tom took a few fast steps toward her. “You killed the dealer. That’s why Luther was so certain of you. He had that man’s death on you. So if you betrayed him, then he’d turn you over to the cops—”

“I didn’t kill him.”

He stilled.

“The guy was crying, begging in front of me. Saying he’d made a mistake. That he’d never do it again. Luther was yelling for me to shoot. And I—I yanked the gun up. I turned it on Luther and I shot.”

Tom blinked. “You…shot Luther?”

“And he shot me.” Her breath sawed out. She moved her hand, brushed back the heavy mane of her hair, and showed him the faint white scar on the side of her head. She worked to constantly hide that scar. Even Victor had never seen it. “Because I’d moved, the bullet…it didn’t do much damage to me. Just grazed me. My bullet tore into Luther’s stomach, but he had doctors at his beck and call. They fixed him right up.”

“What happened to the drug dealer?”

Her gaze lowered to the floor. “When Luther was better, he brought me to see the man again. And he made me watch while the guy was slowly tortured. It took five days before he died. By that point, I wanted to kill the guy just to stop his pain.”

“Luther has always been good at getting what he wants.” There was admiration in his tone.

There was only hate in her voice as she said, “When it was over, Luther told me that it was all my fault. Every cry. Every scream. Because things could have ended quickly for the guy. But they didn’t. Because I did that. I made him hurt more. And Luther told me that if I ever tried to stop him again, he would make sure everyone I cared about went through that same hell.” She let her hair fall. “Once you see someone die that way…while you are helpless to stop their pain…it changes you.”

He came toward her. Lifted her hair again and traced that faint scar. His touch revolted her, but she didn’t move as he said, “Luther shot his own daughter.”

That was the part that she thought Luther might have regretted. Because when their guns had exploded that faithful day, and blood had poured down the side of her head, Luther had screamed. Not with fury. Not with pain.

With fear.

And he’d screamed her name.

Tom was silent a moment, then he shrugged as he dropped his hand. “I still want to hear you say that you’ll kill Luther Bates.”

“Fine.” She bit off the word. “I will kill Luther Bates. Are you happy now?”

“I’m—”

The doors to the penthouse flew open. No, they’d been kicked open. Chunks of wood flew through the air. Victor stood there, chest heaving, a gun in his hand and fury on his face. “Guess what, asshole?” he shouted at Tom. “I decided I didn’t fucking like your deal.” He reached into his pocket and yanked out the keycard he’d used in the elevator earlier. He tossed it onto the floor at Tom’s feet. “So I’m making a new deal. One that involves me, walking out of here with Zoe. And you—you spending the rest of your life behind bars.”

Tom rushed toward his desk. He yanked open his laptop and started tapping on the keys. “You shouldn’t be up here! My guards should never have let you—”

“The guards I encountered on my way up are…indisposed, so to speak.” Victor flashed his shark’s smile. Definitely killer.

“The video feed isn’t coming up!” Tom yelled. Spittle flew from his mouth. “What in the hell?”

“Oh, must be a technical glitch,” Victor said, sounding not even a little surprised. “That shit happens.”

Tom’s hand dropped away from the laptop.

“Zoe…” Victor said her name softly. Carefully. “Zoe, why are you holding your wrist that way?”

And she realized she was cradling her right wrist against her stomach. “It’s broken.”

Victor’s face…changed. His eyes seemed to burn brighter, but his expression became so dark, so menacing that, for a moment, she almost felt as if she were staring at a stranger.

“Come here, Zoe,” Victor said softly. He still had his gun aimed at Tom. “Come to me.”

Right. This was it. The good guy swooping in. Only she wasn’t convinced Victor was the good guy, not any longer.

I hate secrets. I’m so sick of them. Sick to death of them. She started walking toward Victor. At least this particular nightmare was over.

“Stop, Zoe.” Tom’s voice was mild. “Take another step, and the guard in Michelle’s room will blow her brains out.”

Her gaze jerked to him. His fingers were poised over his phone.

“One click, and I send the order to kill. Maybe my security system is glitching, but I can still use my phone and text just fine. The guard in the room will kill her, and Michelle’s blood will be on you. Just like your father said…everyone you care about, right? It goes back to you. To your fucking choices.”

She stilled.

“Come to me, Zoe,” Tom said.

“Zoe…” Victor growled.

“To me or she dies.” His finger was so close to the phone’s screen.

Zoe looked at Victor. “Tell me that the FBI heard which room she’s in. Tell me that a team already has her and that he’s bullshitting me. Please, please…tell me that.”

A muscle flexed in Victor’s jaw. His gaze was still locked on Tom. “Drop the phone or I will shoot your ass right now.”

That is Victor’s answer. He wants Tom to drop the phone because Michelle isn’t safe yet. The FBI doesn’t have her. But Tom’s finger was too close. If Victor fired, Tom could still carry out his dark order. He could hit send on the text—

She rushed toward Tom. “Don’t.”

With his left hand, Tom grabbed her, yanked her close and used her as a human shield. “You have got to stop caring so much about other people. Serious weakness, swee

theart.”

She didn’t think so. Caring about other people—that was what stopped her from becoming a monster. From being just like Luther.

He’d wanted her to stop caring. He’d wanted to alienate her. To make her see that people couldn’t be trusted. That your friends turned on you. That your lovers betrayed you.

Only blood matters.

She stared across the room and into Victor’s eyes. He still had his weapon up and aimed. Only right then, it was aimed at her because in order to shoot Tom, Victor would have to shoot her, too.

“How the fuck do you really think this will end?” Victor asked as he eased closer. His grip on that gun never wavered. “Here’s a newsflash for you, Tom. Zoe was wired. The FBI heard every single word you said up here with her. That jammer on your desk—you turned that shit off when I left, remember? Only you forgot to turn it back on. We’ve got you. You are done.”

“No!” Tom’s hold on Zoe tightened. “No, I won’t go down like this! I won’t!” And she knew he was going to send that text. She couldn’t let it happen. Zoe threw her entire body back against Tom and they fell to the floor in a heap.

***

“I’ve got her,” Jasmine said as she looked up from the computer monitor. The techs who’d been working in that room were unconscious at Drake’s feet. “The cop is being held in room 2804.” Her gaze darted over to the wall of monitors on the right. The security footage still showed on that wall, but the feed wasn’t going to Tom Winters, not any longer. She’d fixed that jackass.

“Looks like the rest of the cavalry is coming in,” Drake said as he, too, looked at the monitors.

The FBI was swarming through the building’s front doors.

Jasmine leapt to her feet. “Let’s get to Michelle before someone panics.” She’d seen that happen before. With the authorities bursting in, people would get desperate. And a desperate person could become trigger happy at the wrong time.

But…

She looked at the top monitor. A monitor that showed the penthouse. The penthouse…Victor was up there. And she knew he was not going to leave that place without Zoe.