Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“I don’t dig bullets out of assholes trying to kill me.” He frowned at the silent man with the shaggy brown hair and pale face. There was a sprinkling of gray in the scruff on his cheeks and more threaded through the mop on his head. He looked to be at least in his forties. Not bad for a hit man. Gabriel took it as a sign that he must be pretty good at his job. At least, usually. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have lived quite so long. “Do you recognize him?”
Justin grunted. “One of his aliases is Peter Molston. I know he’s picked up several contracts that I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Nasty ones.”
“Really, now?” Gabriel murmured.
Justin whipped around to face him, eyes narrowing. “I know he was the triggerman on at least two contracts where the targets were kids. One contract her own father took out. Divorce case he lost. Didn’t want to pay child support. Another was a senator who found out his thirteen-year-old son was gay. He was worried about his re-election chances if the news came out.”
Gabriel clenched his teeth to keep from speaking, but he failed to keep all reaction from his face because Justin shifted, turning more toward him as if he meant to comfort him or approach him. Gabriel didn’t want either. Just this bastard dead along with the politician.
There was no question in Gabriel’s mind that Justin had doubts about him, questioned exactly where he drew the line when it came to taking a contract. Gabriel had distinct lines in the sand. He never targeted children and rarely women, though he’d taken out a couple who were fellow assassins. But those women knew how to take care of themselves in this business, and they would have happily killed him if he’d given them the opening.
He also avoided any contracts where the target was clearly innocent of any substantial wrongdoing, but he wasn’t going to admit to Justin that he appeared to be as picky as his temporary partner.
“You may have a point,” Gabriel agreed.
Justin rolled his eyes and then turned to their guest. “This douchenozzle will happily kill a target for just about any price.”
“And it appears that the price was just right for Devon and his daughter. I’m willing to bet he was the one in the truck at the grocery store. Possibly even the visitor to my hotel room.”
Dark eyes blazed at Gabriel above the strip of silver duct tape. Peter had come around while Justin had been poking at the gunshot wound in his leg. Sweat streaked with blood dripped down his pale face. He looked as if he wanted to kill them both with his bare hands if given the chance. It was sad. Gabriel was accustomed to others in the business being so remote and reserved in their dealings. Gabriel found himself wondering if this hotheaded passion was an American trait. He’d certainly seen flashes of it with Justin.
“So, you know how this game goes,” Justin said, his voice becoming deceptively playful. “You answer our questions, and we won’t hurt you. Lie or refuse to answer, and we start removing body parts.”
Reaching up, he grabbed the corner of the tape and ripped it off the man’s lips, pulling a loud hiss from him.
“Fuck you!” Peter snarled.
“Who hired you?” Gabriel demanded.
“Fuck off!”
“Who put out the order to kill Devon Jones and his daughter?”
“Fuck. Off.”
Justin grabbed his gun and fired one bullet neatly into the man’s right knee. The man’s loud howl filled the cabin, and Gabriel sighed.
“That’s a bit of a large target to start with when you know we’re going to be here for a while,” he said, earning a glare from Justin. Sometimes he couldn’t help but needle the man. The passionate side of Justin was too damn much fun. “Maybe we should have started with torture for an hour or so and then got to the questions.”
“Nope, I’m not spending my entire night here. I’ve got other things I’d rather do.” Justin turned to their captive, who was sucking in short, sharp breaths through his clenched teeth. “Maybe you don’t know who put out the contract. A lot of those are anonymous, and you don’t seem like the type to research them. How about you tell us what the job was?”
“Fuck—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Justin muttered. He stepped closer and pressed the muzzle into the man’s dick.
Peter jerked as best he could, trying to get away despite being tied down and having two injured legs. He screamed in pain, and Justin hadn’t even pulled the trigger yet.
“The doctors! The doctors!” he shouted. Justin took a step back but kept the gun pointed at Peter’s groin. “Kill the doctors. But when I was getting ready to leave town, another contract came in from the same email. Watch the homes of the two doctors as well as that old lady. If anyone that wasn’t a cop came snooping around, I was to kill them.”