Page 143 of High Reward

“Your clothes. Everything. You understand why we can’t go to the police, right?”

She nods. “I knew enough about him to understand that. No real details, but I was privy to his line of work.”

I go to the supply closet in the kitchen and pull out gloves and a bunch of trash bags. Then direct her to a spot near a drain in the floor.

“Everything will have to go in the trash bags. I’ll turn my back.”

Samuel and Tobias are already stripping the bloody clothes off their bodies as well.

As the clothes are going into bags, Grace slips back into the kitchen carrying a stack of towels and several pairs of silk pajamas we provide VIP guests.

“Thought these might come in handy,” she murmurs before backing out.

“Grace,” I call, stopping her. “Thank you,” I say when she turns to look back at me. “Keep Lili away from this, please.”

“Yes, Sir,” she murmurs. “I pulled my phone out of the lockers if you need me for anything.”

“The shot came from somewhere outside our surveillance window,” Owen says when Grace is gone. “I’m going to have to find other ways to sort out what happened.”

“Did we ever find out who his mark was that had the voice recorder?”

“Do you have a knife?” Ami asks.

I turn and stare at her. “What for?”

“Jacob had an insurance policy embedded in his shoulder. I can dig it out for you if you want me to.”

Owen raises an eyebrow. “What kind of policy?”

She shakes her head. “I have no idea. He just told me it was there if anything ever happened to him. I also have a key to his safe-deposit box.”

Tobias produces a knife from the pocket of the pants he was wearing and hands it to her. She stands there in just her bra and panties and feels around Jacob’s shoulder before making a small incision.

I’ve seen a lot of gory things in my life, but watching her emotionless expression as she slips her fingers into his lifeless flesh is something different. I’ve always known she was a strong woman, but now I get the feeling she’s seen some things.

The item she pulls from his shoulder is the tiniest microchip I’ve ever seen. Owen holds out a small plastic bag for her to drop it into.

“We have to spray you down before you can get to a real shower, and you’ll have to lose the undergarments as well.”

“It’s fine. You don’t want to get his blood everywhere. I get it.”

“I can have Grace or one of the others come in…”

She holds up a hand and cuts me off. “Please. I’m not squeamish or shy, Mr. Serrano.”

The formality of using my last name is almost chilling.

As she strips off the rest of her clothes, I wrap my shoes in two small trash bags, then step towards her so I can grab the sprayer from the industrial sink. I turn the water on warm and point it at her. It takes several minutes to rinse all the blood off her because it got everywhere, including her hair.

Tobias insists on spraying himself down after letting me rinse his hands. I grab two of the towels and a pair of pajamas and hand them to Amarjit. When she’s wrapped in the towels, I lead her to one of the suites where she can shower and change. “We’ll get you better clothes as soon as we can.”

“Don’t worry about it. Can I stay in here until you’re ready for me?”

“Of course. And Ami?”

She looks at me with a blank look on her face.

“I’m really sorry about Jacob.”