Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(90)

His mind was whirling. What the hell had happened? “Wait? What? The prosecutor said there wasn’t a case.”

“Well, he changed his mind,” Taggart replied. “I don’t know and Maia hadn’t heard anything had changed about the case. I have to figure out what the hell is happening, but the first thing I need you to do is get Lisa someplace safe.”

“They don’t know she’s here. Her brother doesn’t even know exactly where she is. We left from the hospital and I made sure we weren’t followed.”

“Oh, but they do,” Taggart replied. “They know exactly where she is. Apparently someone named Josette Trahan recently filed papers with the local courthouse. She’s suing Lisa and she listed Lisa’s address as the bar. Normally that wouldn’t catch anyone’s eye, unless they were looking for her and looking hard. Someone’s been hunting her down in cyberspace.”

Hunting her. The words chilled him to the bone.

“I’ll call you when I have her secured. I’ll make arrangements for someone to take over here, but they won’t know anything more than we left. We’ll be ready to send those feds on their way in the morning.” He hung up and immediately went for the gun case.

“You won’t have the chance, my friend. They’re already here,” a voice said.

Remy turned and a shadow peeled away from the wall. The man coming at him was roughly six foot two and lanky. Dressed in all black, but his shock of light blond hair gave him away.

Taggart was going to kill him for getting caught without a gun. The week had made him soft and now he was with a known assassin in his own damn office.

“I’m sorry to scare you in this fashion. I had to sneak in or I feared you would react the way you did last time.” Biondo didn’t have the same problem as Remy. He was holding a semiautomatic in his left hand, pointed right at Remy’s chest.

In the distance he heard someone pounding on the front door.

“They’re here and if we allow them to take her, they’ll get the information they need and disappear, and we’ll be left with her body. They will ensure it looks like someone else kills her,” he said, his Italian accent thick. “They are…how do you say? Pretending. The paperwork will be perfect, but tomorrow the real police will show up and the whole thing will be blamed on criminal elements such as myself. They will blame Vallon or me. They will say we wanted to shut the witness up forever.”

He turned to the door as he heard Lisa yell something. Something about the sheriff. Remy’s stomach turned. “I need to get out there. I can’t leave her alone with them.”

“I agree, but you have to be calm, Mr. Guidry. She is not alone. Your sheriff is there. He doesn’t understand the situation though. Of course, you don’t either. I am not the enemy,” Biondo said. As though realizing his actions didn’t match his words, he lowered the gun. “I’m sorry, but after last time, I have to protect myself. You were not interested in talking.”

“You tossed my girlfriend into the trunk of your car,” he growled back. “You were about to leave with her. No, I wasn’t interested in talking.”

“I did not handle things with as much finesse as I should have. What can I say? I’m used to shooting people, not kidnapping them. And by kidnapping, I was only borrowing her. I would have brought her back safe and sound after I got what I needed.”

Well, of course. “The account number.”

He put a hand on his chest. “My account number. I used Vallon for years, and trust me, he’s going to have a visit from me to speak to him about his business practices. He will not enjoy how this meeting will go. But for now, we have to get her away from these men. As I stated before, they look like police, but they are not. This is an intricate game and your woman is always the pawn. They are going to sacrifice her tonight.”

“Why should I trust you?” He shouldn’t trust the other man. Not for a second, but Remy knew what the answer would be.

“Because you have no other choice, my friend,” Biondo replied. “You might not believe me, but I have a code of my own. I turn down more assignments than I take. I only take assignments where I decide the target deserves to meet me.”

“An assassin with a conscience?”

Biondo went still, as though waiting for the decision to be made. “Like I said, I have my code. Now you have to make the choice. Will you let me help you or shoot me and go into this alone?”

“Remy?” Lisa’s voice was closer now.

He was out of time. He couldn’t let her walk in and see Biondo standing there. It would ruin the only advantage they had—surprise. “If you betray me, I’ll never stop hunting you down.”

“Just be ready,” Biondo said. “I’ll make some chaos and you get her out. Run with her. All I ask is when this is done, I want my account number and then she will forget she ever saw it.”

Remy nodded. The last thing he wanted was for her to be in this man’s way. There was something almost arctic in the assassin’s eyes. He damn sure wasn’t going to mention that she wouldn’t be able to forget those numbers. “It’s a deal, but remember who I work for.”

He retreated, blending into the shadows as though they were his natural home. “I do not forget, Mr. Guidry. I have no wish to be on Mr. Taggart’s list. Do not get on mine. Be ready to run.”