Mine To Protect (Mine #6)(51)

“Victor knew.” Tom had followed them. “Luther told me that Victor knew.”

Zoe stopped in the middle of the narrow hallway. She turned to face Tom.

“Your FBI Special Agent knew that Luther was involved with that woman and even more—”

“Don’t listen to him, Zoe,” Victor interrupted, aware that he was sounding desperate. He had to refocus them all. Get the attention back on Michelle. The case. “The guy is a criminal. He’s probably behind Michelle’s abduction. I mean, shit, he’s here, isn’t he? And he was the one at the police station. How the hell did he even become Roy’s attorney?”

“Victor knew—” Tom began and Victor couldn’t hold back. He couldn’t stop. There was no way he could let the guy say what would come next. Because maybe the listening device he wore was working again. And if Tom spilled this news, he would bring hell falling down on Elizabeth Ward.

So, before Tom could finish his sentence, Victor attacked. He lunged for the other man and this time, his fist flew. He drove his fist straight into Tom’s jaw, a hard right hook that had—once upon a darker time—been his specialty. He wasn’t particularly surprised to see that punch take Tom down. No way was the fancy suit meant to withstand hits like that.

While Tom lay on the floor, dazed, Victor grabbed the guy’s shirt front and stood over him. “Watch the f*ck what you say,” he snarled.

“H-he doesn’t want you to know…” Tom gasped out the words.

“Victor! Stop!” Zoe shouted. “Let him go!”

He heard the thunder of rushing footsteps and knew that Tom’s guards were coming. Cursing, he let the bastard go and jumped to his feet. In the same move, Victor grabbed the listening device, one of his cuff links, and he crushed the damn thing in his fingertips. He couldn’t let the other agents and cops hear—

“Elizabeth…is your…s-sister…and he knew.”

Victor’s gaze flew to Zoe’s face. He saw her confusion, her shock, her denial, her…

Betrayal. Her eyes widened as she stared back at Victor. “He’s lying.” Her voice was almost ghostly.

The two guards were there. Big and Brawny—Samuel—made the mistake of swinging at Victor. He ducked the punch. Then Victor delivered one of his own—a hard hit to the guy’s mid-section. The breath blew out of the fellow in a whoosh as the guard doubled-over.

The other guard—Kevin—had made the mistake of grabbing Zoe. She slammed her foot down on his shoe and drove back with her elbow. He swore and jerked her harder.

Big f*cking mistake.

“Duck, Zoe,” Victor ordered.

Her head dipped down and he used his right hook once more. This guy fell even faster than Tom. Only he nearly took Zoe down with him. Victor grabbed her, held tight. Her body pressed flush to his. And she stared up at him once more with—

Betrayal.

“We’re getting the hell out of here,” Victor snapped. He’d fix this. He had to fix this.

“Is it true?”

He locked his fingers around her wrist and pulled her toward the elevator. “We have to go.” Because the whole plan—it had been blown to hell. He needed to regroup. He needed to figure out why Luther would have told that information to Tom. Luther had been hell-bent on keeping the news of Elizabeth’s paternity a secret.

Because if the truth got out, she’d have a two million dollar price tag on her head, too.

Not what he wanted to happen for his sister-in-law.

And that was why he’d smashed the listening device. No way could he allow that information to get out.

“Zoe!”

Fuck. Victor looked back. Tom was on his feet. His jaw was already bruising.

“Zoe! He’s using you! Listen to me—listen! He realizes your father is close to getting out of prison, and he wants to stop that. He’s under orders…do anything necessary to gain your trust. Anything. And this Michelle person…how do you know she isn’t working with the FBI? That her supposed disappearance isn’t all a scam?”

Victor jabbed the button for the elevator, but nothing happened. Hell. He needed the keycard. His hands closed around Zoe’s shoulders. “Stay here.”

“Is it true? Is she my sister?”

Yes. I am so f*cking sorry, but…yes. “We’ll talk later.” When they were out of there. When she was safe.

She shook her head. “Why would you keep this from me?”

He spun away.

Tom had his sick smirk on his face. “Now she knows the truth about you.”

Victor marched toward the guard who was still hunched over on the floor. “Keycard,” he barked. “Keycard or I kick your ass right now.”

The guy handed him a keycard.

But Tom stepped closer. That smirk stretched. “I have all of this on video.” He pointed to the ceiling. To the small camera there. “You’ll be arrested for assault.”

Sonofabitch.

“I’ll share the video and Elizabeth Ward…she’ll become a target.”

Victor stilled. Tom’s voice had been so low that Victor knew Zoe hadn’t overheard the dark threat.

“You’ll be arrested, your precious career will go down the drain, and Elizabeth Ward will be dead. All of that will happen.” Tom rubbed his bruised jaw. “Or you can make a deal with me. Right here. Right now.” Again, his voice was too low for anyone else to hear.