Page 75 of Boneyard HEA

“El Loco. The Madman. Because you went crazy and were known for coming out of nowhere and ambushing your former compadres.”

He sits back and waits, sips his champagne. I pour myself a glass, take a gulp.

“Did Aaron know? I think he must have.”

I shrug. “I’d have to ask him.” I might get one second before he tried to stab me. “Keep going. You said you’d tell me everything.”

“I said I’d answer your questions. But here is more. They like to film men interfering with their captives, for leverage, for blackmail purposes. I was one of those men. This is why I have protected them but no longer. Kidnapping a member is a step too far.”

“That’s what brought you to this? Only that? Not them torturing, raping, or whatever they’ve done. I’m sure there is more.” And not Karsten doing something similar. Interfering with the girls. I doubt he was forced to do so.

“Curse me if you will. I want to help you help your friend and your playmate. Is he your friend? You tried to shoot him in the head. They sent me the video of that.” He sips, puts it down. “If you don’t wish to save him, I’m paying you a large sum to do it anyway.”

Commenting on Aaron to this pedazo de mierda would be a mistake.

Though there is a plus if he thinks I don’t care.

“You saw what you saw. Aaron was useful to me, that’s it. Juniper is more than a playmate.” And that’s when I see how close I’ve allowed myself to get. “She’s a friend, also. Someone I actually…” I take a sip. “I respect her choices. She has muchos huevos.”

And seeing her dead would be… I cannot imagine my reaction, though I can see her lying crumpled and unmoving, and bloodied. Her eyes are dull. I’ve seen enough corpses for it to be vivid and gut-wrenching. My world would definitely be diminished. It takes me back to how I felt when I left my country and my family there.

I’m looking at my glass, the table is blurred, and I’m swimming in emptiness when Karsten interrupts.

“So, she did kill Nathan? They told me so but⁠—”

“Quiet.” I make a zip motion across my mouth. “That’s not for discussion.”

He winces. “Okay. Okay.” He relaxes into the lounge. “I want you to go in, find them, rescue them, if you want to. It’s up to you that part. I need something else done while you’re there. My own men are not ex-special forces like you are.”

“Were. It’s been years.” And I wasn’t really special forces anyway. Just good at killing and at obeying orders, at first.

“So does that mean you won’t try to find them and then…” He inhales. “Kill Zasha and Shawn for me.”

“Oh, I will do that. Pay me, and I will kill them and shred them into tiny fucking pieces then send them to hell with great pleasure. But I will do it for my own reasons, not for you.”

“I don’t care who you dedicate the killing to. I just need it done.”

“The fee?”

“Five million if it is a perfect operation—as in nothing leaks. You let my forensic IT guy in afterward to delete their archive of films. One million as a deposit. The rest later. Are we together on this?”

That’s a big fee. And an interesting stipulation.

I nod slowly, eyeing this man I thought at least a little moral. Instead, he’s shit. “Probably. I won’t clean up after such high-profile murders. These men will have their hands in a lot of financial pies, across the world. You have to fix that.”

“I can deal with it. Anything else?”

“My own part in this must be a secret. No one except me and you will know I did this, and my own team that I assemble. I’ll mask up when I allow in this IT guy of yours.”

He nods. “Anyone who goes in that house has to be a part of the fraternity already.”

“That limits who I can use. But I can’t do anything unless we know where they are. You have this information?”

“No.”

“Okay.” I hold up my hand and count on my fingers. “I need access to our hotel room here. I need that cleaned and our bills settled and us checked out. Which should’ve been on your list anyway to avoid suspicion.”

He’s nodding but not writing this down. Probably wise.