Deadly Lies (Deadly #3)(27)

“The ransom drop was made with marked bills,” Dante told him quietly. “The kidnappers had been watching the house. They knew the cops were involved. They knew the bills weren’t clean. So they gave the man back but…” his shoulders rolled as if he were shaking off a bad memory, “not in one piece.”

“Max…” Samantha’s husky voice.

Max held up his hand. “You know the way they operate.” The kidnappers had been watching the house. His thundering heartbeat filled his ears. “You know… and you’ve both put my brother’s life on the line?” His eyes narrowed on Dante. “Get the hell out of this house.”

Agent Dante didn’t move. “We know the way they operate, and we’re trying to stop them and save lives.”

Max could only shake his head. The guy didn’t get it. And Samantha—Sam—he didn’t want to think about her.

“You’re going to stay with him,” Dante said to Samantha, and it seemed like an order. Wait, he was the lead agent, so it was an order.

“No way.” Max could give orders too. “She leaves with you.” Because he was done with whatever game she was playing. The FBI could go screw off.

Dante crossed his arms over his chest. “I understand this is a difficult time for you, Mr. Ridgeway, but you need our help.”

Not from where he was standing. He needed them to get lost.

Dante’s attention shifted back to Samantha. “You’ve already got a cover here, Sam. Use it. Stay close and keep your eyes and ears open. When you learn something, you let us know.” Now his sharp gaze swung back to Max. “Mr. Ridgeway, I assure you that the kidnappers will not know about the SSD’s involvement. You’re in the clear.”

He’d better be.

“But this is the best chance we have to stop these perps. We can’t force your compliance, but…”

But the guy would really like to. Yeah, he could see that.

“But we can put you under a protective detail. And that is something we could force.” A nod toward Samantha. “Either way, Agent Kennedy isn’t leaving your side.”

Not a threat. Not blackmail. Just a fact.

Dammit. “Does it matter to you? If this gets my brother killed, does it matter to you?”

Samantha flinched but Dante didn’t bat an eyelash. “All the victims matter to me. That’s why I’m in this business. You might not like the way we work—”

“I f*cking don’t.” Protective detail. Right. He could always just have them both thrown out—he could throw them out. But if someone was watching, that person would see what was happening, and Max didn’t want to risk that exposure.

“Just play it cool,” Dante advised him. “Listen to Sam. She won’t steer you wrong.”

What? He was supposed to trust her? When she’d already lied to him?

“Report when they make contact,” Dante told Sam. “We’ll set up surveillance for the drop.”

Max’s mouth opened to protest.

“They won’t know.” Dante rushed to assure him. “You’ll get your brother back, Mr. Ridgeway, and we’ll get the men who took him.”

Promises, promises.

“Can you handle this?”

Max blinked. “Don’t worry about me, I can—”

“Sam?” The agent cut through his words.

Her chin lifted a notch. “I’ve got it.”

Dante grabbed the files. “Are you in, Ridgeway?”

Samantha touched his arm. “There’s no other option now. I’m here.”

Because she’d tricked him. He wouldn’t forget that.

But now Frank would have to act. They’d get the money, and they’d damn well get Quinlan back.

Get him back in pieces. The bastard’s voice seemed to whisper through Max’s mind as he stepped away from Sam. “If Quinlan dies, I’ll destroy the SSD.”

Samantha flinched. “I want to get him back for you.”

But she wasn’t promising that she would get him back.

“Trust us to do our jobs,” Dante said. “We’ll have eyes on you from now on. When you go to make the exchange, we will be there.”

“And if they see you?” Max demanded. “What then?”

“They won’t.” Certainty from Dante. “We know what we’re doing, and believe me, we have agents who specialize in not being seen.”

“Ramirez,” Samantha murmured.

Dante nodded. “Our agents will follow the kidnappers after the drop. They’ll track them back to their hole, and they will recover your brother.”

The guy was obviously confident, but then, it wasn’t Dante’s brother on the line.

Dante’s gaze searched his face. “Now do we have your cooperation on this?”

Not like Max had any other options. He inclined his head in a grim nod.

Samantha’s hand fell away from his arm. “Thank you,” she whispered.

His jaw locked.

“You made the right decision.” Dante turned toward the door. “Be careful, you two. I’ll be watching.”

“Luke, you need to know, Quinlan was taken from The Core,” Samantha said.

That stopped the other agent, and he glanced back at her. “You sure about that?”