Page 68 of One Step After Another

“You made your point.”

“But did I?”

Penny squeezed Luca’s wrist, and leaned closer to murmur, “It’s fine, I promise.”

“Not sure a word is worth much here,” he replied.

Well ...

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Back to the task at hand,” Cree said from the other end of the hallway, “I assume your ... new friend can make himself comfortable? You’ll rejoin him shortly, Penny. You have other things to attend to upstairs.”

Right.

Dare.

Should be fun.

• • •

DARE DIDN’T TURN TOgreet Penny when she first entered his office but that wasn’t anything unusual. Instead, he faced the massive screens that covered the entire wall behind his desk. Split into several mini views of the security cameras, they panned different sections of the complex, but he only seemed to be watching one in particular.

Luca.

“Look at that,” Cree muttered beside her. “He managed to find the music room.”

“I allowed him to. Better the enemy you know than the one you don’t,” Dare replied. All she needed was the tone to know he was pissed and balancing on the edge. The tension in his shoulders when he shook his head was a pretty good indicator, too. “Otherwise, he was just wandering halls and checking doors. He shouldn’t be here at all.”

“Quite aware, Dare. You shouted so loud when they first arrived that I’m positive anyone inside the complex right now heard it and knows he’s here.”

“I’ve had just about all of your smart ass comments that I can take today, Cree.”

“Fair enough,” Cree returned.

“But you.”

Dare swung around all at once, the scowl etched into his face looked deep enough to stick permanently. He pointed a finger at Penny like it was supposed to mean something to her, but she only stared back, unaffected.

“Yes?” she asked.

“We have enough problems on our hands without you adding more to it for us to handle,” he said, arching a brow as though he expected her to deny it. “And what did you do? Exactly that, Penny. You created another mess for me to clean. You know what I should do? I should have the man killed and buried out there in the desert. That would solve everything.”

Her heart dared to stutter in her chest, skipping a beat and clenching painfully at the very idea this might not end the way she had hoped it would by bringing Luca here.

Dare didn’t make threats.

Not ones he wouldn’t keep.

It was that reason alone Penny was quick to say, “No, you won’t.”

“Excuse me?”

Two pairs of eyes drifted her way, their curiosity and disbelief burning brightly. She wasn’t willing to rehash her previous conversation with Cree from downstairs, but she also didn’t think she had to. The clench of Dare’s jaw was enough to tell her that he had probably already heard it through one of his many cameras and knew she was right.

If he wanted Luca dead, it would be done.

Undoubtedly.