Deadly Game (Fortress Security #5)(18)
The man closed his mouth as Brent retrieved his backup piece from Rowan and returned it to his ankle holster. He didn’t miss her soft sigh of relief. “Cat got your tongue, buddy?” he asked, tone conversational. “Let me help you out. You and your friend kicked down the door of a house last night, killed a husband and wife, and kidnapped a six-year-old. How am I doing so far?”
“You’re nuts, man.”
He smacked the back of the guy’s head. “Wrong answer. Try again.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Really? Hmm. So what you were doing looking in the lady’s window?”
“I didn’t know anybody lived here. Was just trying to find a way in. There’s got to be cash here. It’s business, you know?”
Brent circled around behind him, pulled out his phone, and grabbed the other man’s thumb.
“Ow! That hurts. What do you think you’re doing?”
He ignored the protests and pressed the guy’s thumb down on the phone screen. With a couple taps, he sent the print to Fortress to run through their system. Moving to the front, Brent snapped a picture, and sent that in to the techs as well. Hopefully, they’d get an ID on this guy before long. When he’d had this guy on his stomach on the ground, he hadn’t found a wallet so no identification. He could guess how a request for a name would be met. “What’s your name?”
“John Smith.”
Yep, just like he thought. He smiled. “Funny guy. You don’t look a plain old John Smith. No matter. We’ll know who you are soon. More importantly, we’ll know who you work for.”
“How do you know I’m not in business for myself?”
A snort. “You aren’t smart enough to run the show.” He circled around behind Ski Mask again. This time he laid his hands on the man’s shoulders and dug his thumbs into a couple pressure points. The results were immediate.
Ski Mask groaned, his face beading with sweat.
“Why were you breaking into this apartment?” he murmured.
“I told you. Looking for a way into the shop. I need money.” He spoke through clenched teeth.
Brent dug his thumbs in a little deeper, knowing from experience the pain Ski Mask experienced was excruciating. He glanced at Rowan, gratified to note she was hanging in there with him even though this must be distasteful for her. She’d moved a few feet farther away, her gaze locked on the man who’d tried to climb into her bedroom window.
Another groan, then, “I came for her, all right?”
“Why? Were you supposed to abduct the lady?” Brent had his doubts.
He shook his head. “Kill her.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Why?” Rowan edged closer to the man tied to her dining chair until Brent frowned, making it obvious he didn’t want her moving nearer to Ski Mask. “Why do you want me dead?” As far as she knew, Rowan had never seen this guy before. What possible reason could he have to kill her?
She swallowed hard, afraid Brent was right. The only crime she’d ever been exposed to had happened the night before. She sold coffee and pastries, nothing worth killing over.
“Nothing personal, lady.”
Anger burned in her gut. “It is to me, mister,” she snapped. “I have plans that don’t include dying today.” She took another step forward, wanting to wring this guy’s neck. Didn’t matter that she’d never done such a thing in her life. This lowlife deserved any punishment she dished out. If Rowan died, Alexa would be dumped in the foster care system. That was unacceptable on every level. Alexa needed Rowan now more than ever.
“Don’t move any closer, baby,” Brent said.
“You know, if I were you, I’d sing like a bird,” Rowan said to Ski Mask, voice soft. “My friend here is very skilled at getting answers to his questions. You don’t want him to demonstrate how good he is. You won’t like the process.” Not that she’d know anything about that from personal experience. Rowan had a great imagination, though. “So do yourself a favor and give him the information he wants.”
“Listen to the lady. Who hired you?” Brent asked, shifting his hold slightly.
“I don’t know.” Another moan and the sweat began to run down from Ski Mask’s hairline. “I got an email, offering money if I offered proof that the lady was dead.”
“Who sent the email?”
“Some guy who calls himself Invisible Man.”
Rowan stared in disbelief at the moniker. Some wannabe spy or someone with a late-night movie fetish wanted her dead?
Brent rolled his eyes. “How much did he offer for her death?”
“Ten thousand.”
Dollars? An invisible band tightened around Rowan’s chest. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact she had a bounty on her head.
“How were you supposed to kill her?” Brent asked.
“The email didn’t say. Invisible Man didn’t care as long as the lady was dead.”
“How would you identify her?”
Ski Mask shrugged. “Got this address in the email. No description or nothing, just that she lived upstairs and Invisible Man wanted her dead tonight.”
If a woman had been staying here besides her tonight, this guy would have killed that woman by accident. Rowan had an employee who stayed over when her boyfriend drank too much. More than one customer had mentioned how much Lacey and Rowan looked like sisters. Lacey wouldn’t have known anything until it was too late. Now that she thought about the noise that alerted her to Ski Mask’s presence, Rowan realized she heard him on the fire escape moving from the window to the guest room to her room. The guest room curtains weren’t drawn, letting this thug see that no one was in that room.