Forgotten Sins (Sin Brothers, #1)(78)

Sam pushed her into a chair. “She found out about Billy.”

“I thought he fixed all the accounts.”

“Nope. Not in time.”

“Well, he fixed mine before he went to rehab.” Paul dropped into his chair. “You should’ve made sure he altered yours, too.”

Sam shrugged. “I didn’t get the chance. And Max is pissed.”

Paul turned white. “Where’s Billy?”

Josie straightened in the chair. “Billy’s dead. Shot through the head. Making deals with a guy like Max will get you all killed.” She assumed. It’s not like she’d met Max, but the evidence was pretty clear. “Let me go, Paul. I’ll help you get protection from the police.”

Sam snorted. “Yeah, right.”

Anger simmered beneath Josie’s skin. “Okay. Then let me go, or my husband will rip the skin from your body with his bare hands.” She leaned forward, her words spilling out. “You don’t know him. You have no idea the training he’s had. If anything happens to me, he’ll kill you so slowly.” The words made her shiver because they were the absolute truth.

Paul somehow paled even further, light freckles standing bold against stark white skin.

Madge dropped into the adjacent chair. “No he won’t. I shot him.”

Josie shook her head wildly. “One bullet won’t stop Shane. Trust me on that.”

Movement sounded behind her before the door snapped shut. “I’m not concerned about a wounded man, Mrs. Dean.” Low and accented, the deep voice filled the room.

Josie pivoted, her gaze on the tall man. Black hair swept away from an olive complexion that highlighted odd, light blue eyes. He wore a black silk suit with a red-striped tie. Josie sucked in a breath. “You must be the drug dealer.”

He smiled a perfect row of sparkling white teeth. “No. Paul’s brother is a simple drug dealer—for me. I’m a businessman.”

“Did you kill Billy?”

“Yes.” Max glanced at Sam, who swallowed audibly. “Billy needed to learn how foolish it is to cross me.” He brushed invisible lint off his lapel. “Of course, I hadn’t realized the construction crew in your building would be called to the north side of Snowville for the beginning of this week.” His full lips quirked. “I assume Billy is stinking up the place by now. I hope they find him soon.”

A ball of dread uncoiled in her gut. Full confession from the rabid criminal. Obviously he wasn’t planning on letting her go. Fear set up a ringing between her ears, and her hands shook. How could she get away? She turned toward a trembling Paul. “Are you really going to let him kill me?”

Paul sucked in air, his gaze lifting to Max. “You’re not going to kill her, are you? I mean, she’s a nice lady.”

Max gave her a nod of approval. “Smart, too.” He turned toward Paul. “She knows about your business, about how we’ve been not only selling meth here to customers but filtering the proceeds through several other businesses to end up clean. Laundering money is a federal offense. She’ll put you away for life.”

Josie straightened her shoulders. “That’s nothing compared to what Shane will do to you. Trust me.”

Paul’s hands trembled on his desk.

Max sighed. “Sam, Madge, take the Cadillac to the cabin and wait for me there. We’ll need to get you out of town for a while.” He tugged a cell phone out of his jacket pocket. “I’ll bring cash.”

Madge’s eyes gleamed, and she gave Josie a supercilious glare before flouncing out the door. Sam followed without looking back.

Several seconds later the outside door slammed shut.

Max pushed a button and pressed his phone to his ear. “Hi. There will be two problems arriving at the cabin in thirty minutes. Take care of them.” He clicked the phone shut.

Paul half lifted himself from his chair. “You’re going to kill them?” His voice rose an octave.

Max twisted his lips. “Of course. Witnesses saw them shoot a man and then kidnap this lovely lady.” He ran a hand down Josie’s hair.

Fear nearly made her gag, and she shrugged him off. “Touch me again, and you lose your hand.”

He shifted, placing both hands on the arms of the chair to trap her. He leaned in, his minty breath brushing her lips. “You might want to change your tone with me, Mrs. Dean.” His gaze dropped to her chest. “Or I’ll change it for you.” He leaned back. “How much fun we could have together.”

Dread pooled in her stomach. Panic had her changing his focus. “Did you bug my house?”

“Yes.” Max took a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping his hands. “When Billy checked into rehab, we realized he hadn’t quite finished doctoring all the books. You took over for him, so we bugged your home to make sure you hadn’t caught on before we fixed the files.”

The idea of people listening in on her life made her nauseous. She struggled to concentrate and not puke. “All of the men Shane has taken care of lately? Were they yours?”

Max huffed out an irritated breath. “Yes. I don’t know the full story there, either. I sent them to wait for you at your house so we could have a little talk. Next thing I heard, they were in the morgue.”

“I told you crossing Shane was an extremely bad idea.” So all the problems had been because of her, and not Shane’s past. How badly had her husband been shot, anyway? He had to be all right.