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"I had no choice. Don't you get that? Decker James is not a man you say no to. He's a fixer. He fixes things--problems, money, people, all of it." Harry's voice is shaking now.
"What's his end game then? Why me?"
"That I don't know. But I fucked up and started investigating him, tried to get some leverage, dirt, something on him so I could get you back home and away from the man. And what I found, I don’t like at all. That's why I'm here."
My entire body jerks. "What?"
"Pack your shit. I've got a rental downstairs. We can drive to LA, then fly wherever you need to go to be safe. Then I can try and work with the cops or Barrett to bring him dow—”
A loud crash interrupts him as the door of my apartment is kicked in. Harry and I both whip around and come face to face with Justin, his gun drawn, his stony expression narrowed as he walks in, kicking the door closed behind him. He turns and points the gun at Harry, his lips curling up into a snarl. The gun with a silencer so if he shoots us, no one will hear. "You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, Harry?"
"J," I say, my voice low and steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I take a slow step toward him.
"Don't talk, Aiden. Just shut up."
I don't respond, instead keeping my eyes locked on his, assessing the situation while wracking my brain for a way to diffuse it.
"You know, Harry here was quite helpful in getting you to come to Vegas," Justin continues. "He had one job. Then he got curious and stupid. So now, he's no longer useful." His finger twitches on the trigger and my pulse spikes.
"Lucky for me, you're both here. So I can kill two birds with one stone." He laughs manically. "Which sucks, because I was starting to like you, A."
He looks around the apartment. "You know, I couldn't believe it when I heard you'd quit the force. Then I heard what you'd done and it seemed even more unbelievable. Then again, I've seen Alyssa Lucas, she's a hot piece of ass. Pity her husband is a Fed. But wait... he's the one who stole her from right under your nose, right? Man," he says with a sigh. "That must've stung. No wonder you outed him to Gavin and nearly got him killed. Pity he didn't finish the job, aye."
I grit my teeth, blocking out his words and chanting in my head to stay calm and not react like he wants me to. I need to keep him talking and buy us time to figure out a way out of this mess.
"J, we can talk about this. Harry here was just leaving. He's leaving and going away. He's not going to be any more trouble."
"I know he’s not going to be trouble. Not anymore, anyway. But you could be. You just had to go looking for shit you shouldn't be looking for, didn't you, Aiden? Thought we'd never know you were snooping around in my office even though we set it up for you to do that. And you fell for it too.” I narrow my eyes at him while I try to work out where I went wrong. “I can see you trying to figure it out. Seriously, Aiden. The office door was open and everything you found… it was just there waiting for you. We knew you'd do it and just like that, you proved us right."
"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything," I say, wearing my best poker face but there’s a ball of dread in my gut that tells me I’ve been played.
Justin groans and throws his head back, shaking it from side to side. "You had us bugged but we have cameras everywhere, A. Ev-er-ry-where."
He looks far too steady now, too in control and that is not a good thing. If he was irrational and wound tight, I’d be able to get a better read on him, plead to his good side and hope to hell he let us go. But I don’t think he’s about to let that happen.
"Lucky for me, and unlucky for you, I'm here to fix this little problem for all of us. Bet you think you’ve got us all figured out now too.” He glares at Harry while his finger flexes on the gun. “You came to warn him, didn’t you? Maybe tell him all about your little deal.”
“I didn’t. I swear I didn’t. He just knows that Decker wanted him here. Not why. I don’t even know why,” Harry says pleadingly.
“Good. And now you won’t be a problem for anyone.” My heart sinks as I realize what's about to happen.
I lunge toward Harry to shield him but Justin moves faster, his finger squeezing the trigger, the bullet hitting Harry square between the eyes in a split second. Time stands still except for a ragged, tortured cry rumbling in my chest as I hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud and watch the man who resurrected me from my destructive black hole crumble down onto the floor, his eyes open and boring straight into my soul. He’s dead before he even falls.
The man has obviously made many mistakes in his life, but no one deserves to die like that.
I spin onto my back to find Justin looming over me with the gun and its silencer pointed at the middle of my chest. "Please, J. You didn't have to do that," I rasp.
He stands there, his expression cold and unyielding. A far cry from the Justin Howell I’ve come to know. "Sorry, Lawrence. I just do what I’m told to. You know that.” It takes me a moment to realize that Justin doesn’t sound apologetic at all. His words are meaningless, his face a mask of cold and blind faith.
My heart sinks at the realization of my fate. I'm going to die in this dingy apartment in the same city as the woman who owns my heart. She went to bed having absolutely no idea what was about to happen, what’s going to be done. What if she’s next? What if they’re cleaning house and they know she’s undercover too?
"Justin, I can help you," I plead, all qualms about seeming weak and gutless flying out the window. If it means I can stop them from going after Marlee, I’ll do it. I’d sell my soul to the devil if it means keeping her safe.
He smirks but it doesn't meet his eyes. He's just as stuck as Harry is... was...
"No, you can't. Nobody can. But I can help myself by doing this."
"Don't do it, J. I'm not worth it," I say, willing to say anything to save myself at this point.
