Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(80)

“What story? What girl?”

“Does the name Amy Manning ring a bell?”

“No,” he lied easily.

“Really?” Max chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Maybe you know her as Jane Doe.”

Kelly was working hard to conceal his reaction, but he got the feeling Max could see right through him. Knowing this would move along faster if he would just own up to whatever it was Max thought he knew, Kelly decided to change the direction of the questioning.

“What does she have to do with you?”

“Everything,” Max stated easily. “Every goddamn thing.”

There was a knock on the door and Max pivoted around to open it. Someone passed something to him and then he was turning back toward Kelly holding … a pen and paper, plus a cell phone.

Okay, so the latter gave him hope.

Max laid the items on the table in front of him. “I’m gonna give you two options here.”

Kelly sat back, prepared to argue, but Max held up a hand.

“Let me finish.”

Kelly nodded.

“Your first option is to make a list of your transgressions, including the kidnapping and torture of Amy Manning, as well as your part in the deaths of your first wife, your second wife, Amy Manning’s aunt and uncle, as well as Detective Tannenbaum. Oh, and while you’re at it, you can confess to the attempted murder of Amy Manning.”

“Fuck you,” Kelly spat.

Max continued as though Kelly had said nothing. “Once that’s done, I’ll need you to sign and date the suicide note, as well.”

“The what?” Kelly sat up straight, fear lancing through his bones. Okay, drastic times called for drastic measures. “Wait. I’ve got money. I can pay you. Then you can let me go and no one’ll be the wiser.”

“Pay me, huh?”

Yeah, Kelly knew money would appeal to a man like Max.

“Absolutely.”

“That’s somethin’ to consider.”

Kelly nodded toward the cell phone. “I can wire the money to your account right now.”

Max seemed to consider this for a moment. “I’m listening.”

“One hundred thousand dollars,” Kelly offered.

One dark eyebrow lifted, signaling Max wasn’t impressed.

Shit.

“One hundred fifty,” Kelly said.

“Five hundred thousand,” Max countered.

“Fine.”

Before he knew what was happening, Max touched the screen on the phone, bringing it to life, then typed in the numbers.

“How do you know my account?” Kelly asked, a sense of dread filling him.

Max’s smile was what Kelly would’ve envisioned on the devil. “I know everything about you, Mr. Jackson.”

Glancing down at the phone again, Kelly watched as Max hit more buttons and then the screen showed “Transfer Successful.”

“So you’ll let me go, now?” Kelly asked, hating how hopeful he sounded.

“No.”

Kelly jerked, trying to break his arms free, but nothing happened.

“You finished yet?” Max asked, his patience seemingly never-ending.

“While you’re still considering your first option,” Max continued, “maybe you should hear your second.”

Kelly narrowed his eyes. “I fucking paid you.”

“You did. And I thank you for that. Amy Manning will thank you for that.” Max crossed his arms over his chest and regarded Kelly once more. “If your first option’s not to your liking, then I’ll invite my friend Ace in, and he can take care of things the easy way.”

“The easy way?”

“Yes,” Max stated firmly. “It’s damn sure easier on me because I have shit to do and” — he motioned his hand toward the paper — “waiting for you to write all that shit down is gonna take time. I’d much prefer to be on my way.”

“Easy on you?” Kelly asked. “Not me?”

Max shook his head and a sardonic smile turned up the corners of his mouth. The man leaned over and stared Kelly directly in the eye.

“Nothin’s ever gonna be easy for you again, Mr. Jackson. The nightmare you put those women through… Let’s just say hell’s a good resting place for you.”

When Max stood to his full height again, Kelly jumped when Max shifted the table to the side, revealing…

Kelly’s eyes went wide when he saw the drain in the floor.

His gaze slid up to the ceiling, noticing for the first time the chains that hung there. His heart pounded in his chest as the fear sliced through him.

“I’ll take the first option,” Kelly blurted. Eating a bullet was a hell of a lot easier than … whatever this man had in store for him.

Max rubbed his chin and Kelly could feel him assessing him.

“You know what?” Max said thoughtfully. “I think I’ll have to rescind my first option.”

When Max turned toward the door, Kelly shouted his name, but he didn’t turn back around.

And when the door opened and a tall, bald man stepped inside, his eyes as cold as the steel blades in his hands, Kelly swallowed hard.

“Thanks for comin’ down, Ace.”

“Max!” Kelly yelled.