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“Thanks, Pansy. We’d be in a bind without your help.” Brendan took a few steps toward the door and lurched to a stop. “Manning, Quill and I need to borrow a car.”
Manning shook his head. “My security team needs to assemble first, and we need to alert the FBI.”
“Like hell,” Brendan said, clenching his fist. Genevieve’s expression shot a dagger through his heart while oddly motivating him at the same time. “That’ll take too long.” Brendan glanced at Pansy. “Got another tablet that can track Genevieve’s location?”
Pansy nodded. “Sure do.”
Brendan locked eyes with Manning. “Follow behind us. I’m not waiting to rescue the woman I love.”
Manning walked to a panel of keys on the wall, selected a key fob, and tossed it to Brendan. “That’s to one of our Hummer Alphas. It’s parked right out the door here. It’s bulletproofed, and there are weapons in the trunk. I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell the cops or FBI that the weapons came from me. Some of them aren’t legal.”
“Sweet ride,” Quill whispered.
“Thanks, Manning,” Brendan said. “I owe you one for this.”
“Not if we put Jed Marshall behind bars,” Manning returned. “I think you’re forgetting how much I benefit from this if we succeed.”
Brendan clapped Manning on the shoulder and nodded toward Quill. “Let’s go.”
Both Manning and Pansy yelled, “Wait!” at the same time.
Manning braced a hand on Brendan’s shoulder. “I was just going to add, don’t get yourself killed, King. I’d prefer to have you around.”
Brendan let out a weak-sounding chuckle. “Hopefully, I can pull another stunt out of my hat as impulsively effective as the flash grenades. I won’t survive otherwise.” He turned toward Pansy. “Was there something else?”
Pansy glanced between him and Manning. “I’ll be in the backup crew if Mr. Cole and Farris approve it. I respect the hell out of Genevieve, and just so you know, Mr. King, I equipped her with some tactical and surveillance items. Besides weapons, she also has a voice-activated recorder sewn into her bra.”
“What?”
Pansy shrugged. “It was her idea. She might have been tempted to go it alone because she knows she can end this if she weasels a confession out of Jed Marshall.”
Brendan jerked his head back. “Confession?”
“Yeah, she and I talked about how valuable a voluntary admission of his crimes would be for your court case—you know?—if she could catch his words on a recording. The only way she’ll ever get that is from on the inside when he doesn’t expect it.”
Brendan’s mouth slowly parted open before he blinked himself into action. “Shit, we need to hurry, Quill. I now have no doubt she’ll put herself at risk if we don’t.” He tightened his fist around his new key fob. “Genevieve didn’t tell me about this on purpose. She knew I’d oppose and try to talk her out of it. Stubborn woman.”
“Come on.” Quill grabbed Brendan’s arm and tugged him through the door into The Golden Star’s private security parking garage. “We can attempt to dissect her plan while we’re on the move. Never thought I’d say this, but I’m starting to become a believer in your lady. Let’s go help her kick Marshal’s tail so I can pay the price. Damn, until I get married. Why in the hell did I agree to that?”
Even through his heightened nerves, Brendan snickered at the prospect of Genevieve setting Quill up on endless, drawn-out blind dates. “Because she outsmarted you, and she’s outsmarting Marshal too.” Brendan nodded with confidence as he clicked on the key fob, lighting up a black Hummer Alpha. “Genevieve knows what she’s doing, but she’s counting on us to come through for her.”
“We will.” Quill smacked the hood of the Hummer as they rounded the sides. “Let’s roll, King. It’s time to take out the law in this town.”
Nineteen
GENEVIEVE
“Hi, dove.”
No, no, no! Genevieve drew in a shallow breath and grasped her stomach, her insides coiling with nausea. Groggily, she blinked awake and shifted her hazy eyes, taking in the massive room. Contemporary furniture lined the space, and a huge set of full pane windows spanned the length of a multistory wall, showcasing a view of a desert-scrub-covered plain with rocky hills in the distance.
Jed hooked his arm over the back of a modular dark gray leather sofa, sitting on the armrest and towering over her with his leg draped by her side. A chill-inducing grin spread across his sharp features, bringing to life the wicked, unexplained scar that lined his jaw.
Genevieve’s skin broke out in an icy sweat. “Where are we?”
“And why should I tell you that when you’ve behaved so badly?”
She shifted, and the desert view spun in a dizzying circle. “Did you drug me?”
