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“Jesus! You didn’t break her, did you?”
A muffled thump followed, along with Sebastian’s chilling cadence.
“I am going to break you if you don’t mind your own business. Focus your attention on work where it belongs.”
Taylor shook her head. Despite their romp and the tenderness he’d shown her, when it came to these men and their job, some things never changed.
VII.
Tension knotted his lean form until Sebastian thought he would shatter with the force of it. His teeth ached from the constant clench. He should have killed that son-of-a-bitch Todd when he’d had the chance. He swallowed against the burn in the back of his throat. Cluster fucks like this were a prime example of what mercy and second-guessing your instincts got you. A dull throb rose and branched beneath his temples. He could see Marx’s smug smile in his mind’s eye. His fists curled. Focus. Oh, he was focused all right. The fucking jack-o-lantern was going to die this time, and if Sebastian had his way, it was going to be agonizingly slow and satisfying.
Josh straightened in the seat next to him and Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as the location’s garage door started to inch up. His hand locked around the door handle. Everything in him wanted to coil and spring. Josh’s fingers curled around his forearm in a silent bid to get him to stay and sit tight. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He just wanted to get this night over with and go home. Frowning, he shook his head. No. What he wanted to do was hear Todd scream—to see pain contort the bastard’s scarred face and to watch the life slowly ebb from his eyes. That would be satisfying. The thought alone was almost enough to give him a hard on.
He waited until the Mustang rounded the corner before flipping the laptop open. Minutes ticked by as he used the cameras stationed on the streetlights to track their target’s location. A knowing smile curved his lips as the car came to a stop at a convenience store a few blocks away. It seemed their teammate still liked his booze. A soft click echoed through the Audi as he snapped the computer shut. Glancing at Josh, he nodded.
They parked two streets over and made quick work of doubling back. Keeping his gaze trained on their surroundings, Sebastian kept a lookout for both Mustang and nosey neighbors. Unfortunately, the second was all too common, but tonight everything looked clean. A small thrill ran through him as he heard the electronic key click and the distinct sound of a latch springing open on the other side. In less than ten seconds, they were in the house and home free.
The stench of stale cigarette smoke and beer assaulted him the moment they stepped inside. Grimacing, Sebastian wrinkled his nose. He fought the overwhelming urge to fling open a window just so he could breathe. Josh cursed as he tripped over an empty pizza box sprawled across the floor. Even in the shadows, he could see the outline of dirty laundry draped over nearly every surface. Beneath the stink of smoke and beer wafted a foul undercurrent of sweat. Bile singed the back of his throat.
“This place is disgusting,” Josh growled.
“Depression and a lack of discipline at its finest,” Sebastian mused, pinching a stained tee shirt between his gloved forefinger and thumb. Curling his lip, he flung it across the room. “If you ask me, we’re doing the poor guy a favor.”
Feeling his partner’s stare, he turned. “What?”
“Nothing,” Josh said. “It’s just with the cheerful way you said that…” he trailed off with a snort. “Sometimes you really are a sick son-of-a-bitch.”
Sebastian shrugged. They both turned at the sound of the garage door creaking slowly up into its rails. He couldn’t help but smile into the darkness. This was always one of his favorite parts: the element of surprise. There was a definite sense of power and control that came in that moment and seeing that first spark of fear ignite in someone’s eyes. He liked to watch the resignation creep over them as they realized death had come calling and they’d just lost the fight. Josh pressed back against the wall next to the side door. Despite the filth and questionable safety of doing so, Sebastian opted for taking a seat on the couch. Reclining, he spread his arms and draped them across the back.
Todd muttered to himself as he pushed the door open. He barely made it inside before his instincts kicked in, and he glanced around. Josh’s revolver burrowed against the side of the man’s head. The crash of breaking glass and the slow gurgle of beer chugging out of splintered bottles echoed in the hall. Sebastian grinned as their eyes locked through the shadows.
“Hello, Todd,” he greeted softly.
“Fuck.”
“How eloquent of you.” He stood and folded his hands behind his back.
Josh shoved their former teammate forward with a snarl. Prowling across the room in leisurely strides, Sebastian approached their target and tilted his head.
“I was expecting a slightly more cheerful response. Given your recent photo shoot, I was under the impression you missed me.”
“You’re fucking insane.” Todd tried to sound brave, but the accusation bordered on a whine.
Sebastian regarded him with an affectionate smile. Reaching out, he stroked his gloved fingers across the man’s scarred cheek. The blond tried to flinch away, but Josh’s gun and unyielding hold on his arm brought his efforts up short. A low pitiful noise emanated from the base of his throat. He knew all too well what was coming. His knees wobbled as his eyes darted to Sebastian’s.
“Please, Baas,” he begged. “Just make it quick.”
“Quick? No,” he said softly with a slight shake of his head. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”
“You might have a chance if you give him what he wants up front. Be smart about this. Those pictures you took at the warehouse, where are they?” Josh pressed, shoving the barrel of his revolver even deeper.
“Kitchen…in the kitchen drawer next to the fridge. They’re inside the phone book. Jesus, man, what are you guys going to do?”
Sebastian ignored him and strode into the other room. He tamped down a snarl of frustration as his boots stuck to the linoleum floor. Eyes narrowed, he yanked open the drawer in question and rummaged through a stack of crumpled papers until he found the thick book buried beneath. He thumbed through it. Sure enough, several prints fluttered to the floor. Glancing the first one over, he made a mental note to search for the negatives later. The second caused him to slam the drawer shut so hard the wood splintered. A loud clatter echoed through the room as the facing hit the floor.
“Baas?” Concern rode on Josh’s voice.
The muscles in his cheeks tightened with a rigid twitch. His chest heaved. Squatting down, he peeled the glossy image off the floor and stared. Blood roared in his ears and his heart hammered a million miles a minute as he studied the angle. Lifting his fingers to his mouth, he slammed his eyes shut. Given the upwards slant of the shot, there was no way the picture was taken from anywhere but his yard. His yard…where the dark fatigues of the security patrolling his house could clearly be seen in the background. The harsh pant of his breath filled the room. Shaking his head, he forced himself to scan through the rest: Taylor’s face peering out their bedroom window, Taylor through the bay windows facing into the kitchen, another showing the limestone sprawl of Monique’s house, and a candid of his sister leaving somewhere with Josh. He remembered the clothes. It was the night they headed to his place to help with the blowout. His stomach clenched.
“Sebastian?” Josh called after him again.
Gathering the pictures up, he strode back into the darkened living room. Even through
the shadows, he could see the twisted smile playing on Todd’s face. His jaw knotted.
“See,” the man whispered. “Two can play at that game.”
“What the fuck is he talking about?”
A deafening crack exploded through the room. The force of the blow sent Todd and Josh reeling. Sebastian’s shoulders heaved as he shook the pain out of his knuckles. Their teammate slowly straightened and spit a thick glob of blood onto the floor. Crimson painted his crazed leer.
“Waste your time with me,” he said, laughing. “Or don’t. Either way, you lose. That’s the sad thing about it, isn’t it, Baas? We just know too fucking much, don’t we? What do you think is happening right now? Sad thing is, you can’t even place a call to home to see how that hot little number of yours is doing. If you do, someone, somewhere will place you here.”
“Shut your mouth,” Josh growled.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t forget to leave his smoking hot baby sister out of that equation either. You know…the one you’re fucking. Got to love that play. I can hurt you both with that one.”
Sebastian bit back his rage and nodded, careful to keep his expression neutral. “Perhaps. It was a brilliant scheme. I’ll give you that. How’d you pull it off?”
“It was easy. My brother knows someone who works for that security team. Simple thing really, snapping off a few pictures.”
A slow smile curved Sebastian’s fa
ce.
“Baas…” Tension and worry rode Josh’s voice.
“It’s okay,” he soothed in a raspy whisper. Cocking his head, he regarded Todd. The slow shake he gave almost spoke of pity. “You really do think you are clever. That’s the sad thing about this situation. It almost makes me feel sorry for you.”
“What are you talking about?” Confusion stamped the man’s broad features.
