Page 94 of Velvet Vaughn

“It’s the truth.” Brad’s laugh came out ugly. “Everybody who talks becomes a problem. Danica talked. Vic talked. Tim—”

He stopped himself, but it was too late. Remi saw the instant Brad realized it too.

“What about Tim?” Leo forced the words through clenched teeth.

Brad closed his mouth and shook his head.

“What about Tim Hargrove, Brad?” Leo’s voice roughened. “He was healthy, and all of a sudden he drops dead of a heart attack a week before everything starts falling apart?”

“He wanted to take it over!” The words exploded out of Brad. “He got greedy. Wanted a bigger piece.” His eyes drifted past all of them, staring at nothing. “It was easier to manage a heart attack than a whistleblower. Hell, he was sixty years old with a stressful career. Nobody was going to question it.”

Three people were dead, and Brad had reduced every one of them to a logistical problem he’d solved on his way to a bigger payday.

“You’re done,” Leo gritted out. “You understand that, right? Whatever this was, it’s over.”

“No.” Brad lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot and unfocused, but something feral had surfaced behind them. “No, it’s not.”

“It is.”

“I won’t let it be.”

“Is that a threat?” Remi asked.

“It’s a promise.”

Remi regarded him. “You might want to sober up before you start making those. Right now you can’t pronounce kidnapping.”

Brad’s hand moved fast, faster than his drunken stupor should have allowed, and steel flashed in the dim cabin light before Remi fully registered what it was.

The knife caught him in the side, a hot, tearing shock that stole the breath clean out of his lungs.

“Remi!” The Escalade lurched as Anja’s attention split between the road and the rearview mirror.

Brad lunged again, blade swinging toward the front seat. Remi threw his weight into him hard enough to drive them both against the door, his hand clamping around Brad’s wrist to keep the knife from finding Anja.

“Drive,” Remi bit out through gritted teeth, blood soaking hot through his shirt. “Anja, don’t stop, just drive.”