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  The look on his face told me that perhaps this wasn't all good news. "Well that's great, right? Who were they?"

  He gave a non-committal nod. "Our would-be killer seems to be working on his own, because he didn't use Alpha guys. It looks like he farmed the job out and basically hired two hit men. Those two guys were known muscle for Anton Silva, who is suspected to be one of the biggest crime bosses in the country."

  "Wow. Okay. Just another small fish then."

  He shot me a smile, but it was short lived.

  "So what do we do with that info?" I asked.

  His lips compressed and he let out a little sigh. "I'm still working that out. This guy is the real deal, Sophia. Drugs, weapons, prostitution; he runs it all. If we play it right, we may be able to use him to get to whoever wants us dead, but one misstep..."

  He didn't need to finish the sentence. I could fill in the blanks. I felt a lump building in my throat, but I nodded anyway. "I get it. Bad guy."

  "Bad guy," Sebastian confirmed. "Anyway, Joe is on his way, so we can talk about it more when he arrives, but I think our best bet is to just try and buy Silva off. He's a criminal, which means he has a price. Everyone has a price."

  "But how do we get him to take the money without killing us in the process? I mean, he was hired to take us out and he screwed it up. We can't exactly just show up at his doorstep."

  Sebastian stared me dead in the eye. "Actually, that's exactly what I'm thinking I might do."

  I searched his voice for humour, but found none. "Are you insane?"

  This time he smiled. "A little, maybe. But I think it will work. He's not going to just gun me down on sight, not if I give him the right incentive first. He may be ruthless, but you don't get where he is unless you're practical as well. He'll hear me out, probably figuring he can finish the job afterwards if he doesn't like what he hears."

  "That's a lot of assumptions for us to risk our lives on."

  He gave a heavy nod. "I know. But what other choice do we have? Joe's searches came back empty. Our enemy holds all the cards, and this is the only lead we've got. If we want our lives back, I don't see any other option."

  I wracked my brains for an alternative. "I don't suppose we could just call Silva? Avoid putting ourselves in the firing line?"

  Sebastian barked out a laugh. "I can call to set up the meet, but getting Silva himself on the phone will be all but impossible. You don't become a criminal kingpin by discussing organised murder over the phone."

  My cheeks reddened. That made sense.

  As much as it scared me to admit, I realised he was right. We'd been on the back foot for so long and we'd stay there, unless we took a chance. This might be our last opportunity. But, beyond that, I was sick of running, sick of being hunted. If I was going to be put in danger again, I wanted it to be on my terms.

  "Okay, if you think we can pull it off, then I'm sold," I said. "But don't think for one second that just because you kept saying 'I' while I was saying 'we' that you're going in there alone."

  His expression hardened. "There's no need for both of us to take the risk. I'm not going to let you put yourself in danger because of my mistakes anymore."

  "Well I'm not letting you walk into that death trap by yourself," I countered. "You think it's any easier for me seeing you put yourself at risk? If you went in there and didn't come out, it would rip me open knowing that I might have be able to do something. I may not have much experience with this sort of thing, but last time shit hit the fan, I stepped up. Maybe I can be useful again." It amazed me how easily I was able to talk about that incident. Maybe I really was becoming desensitised.

  I put a hand on his knee. "We're in this together, Sebastian. Whatever happens."

  He stared at me for a full ten seconds, somehow managing to look touched yet incredibly anxious. Eventually, though, he broke into a sad little smile. "Together it is, then," he said softly, reaching out to squeeze my hand. And somehow it felt like an incredibly tender moment, instead of an insane suicide pact. Yep, definitely desensitised.

  Joe arrived a short time later and we went out for breakfast to discuss everything. He sat, wearing an unreadable expression, while Sebastian recounted everything that had happened so far. He'd heard the short version, but now he was getting the gory details.

  "If you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears," said Sebastian, when the story was over.

  Joe pondered. He didn't even look surprised. "Nothing springs to mind," he said eventually. "Whoever this is, they're not making many mistakes. When I looked through our system, I couldn't find any loose ends. According to the database, nobody besides you and your team swiped into your Alpha house. They cleared everything. If we don't take this chance, we might not get another."

  A scary thought suddenly occurred to me. "If you were using the Alpha system," I said to Joe, "doesn't that mean they could have tracked you somehow? Maybe picked up your trail?"

  Joe smiled. "I wouldn't worry about that. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

  I shot a questioning look at Sebastian, but he just shrugged. He certainly didn't seem concerned, so I let the issue drop.

  He scooped up his coffee and threw back the last sip. "Well, there's no time like the present." Reaching into his pocket, he removed his phone and tapped the screen several times before lifting it to his ear.

  "Hi. My name is Sebastian. Your boss and I have unfinished business. Tell him I will give him a million dollars for five minutes of his time."

  * * * * *

  Everyone stayed silent on the trip to see Anton. Sebastian's million dollar offer had apparently been enough to buy us entry, but what would happen beyond that was anyone's guess. The closer we drew, the more heavy my stomach felt. I knew I wanted this, to be proactive and take matters into my own hands, but that didn't change the fact that we were driving straight into the lair of a man who, only two days ago, had been trying to kill us. When my brain phrased it like that, it just seemed like a really, really bad idea.

  For his part, Sebastian wore a look of grim determination. That comforted me a little. To anyone who was paying attention it said 'fuck with me and you'll regret it,' and I hoped Anton would get the message. I suspected we'd need every little edge we could get.

  We were meeting him in the back room of a Kings Cross strip club, which he undoubtedly owned. I'd never really spent much time in the Cross. It's as close to a red light district as Sydney has, and thus the people there are most certainly not my sort of crowd. Between the metric fuckton of makeup that made all the women look like drug addicted clowns and the rather scandalous skin to clothes ratio on display, whenever I visited I wound up feeling trashier just by proximity.

  The sight outside the window was no different than I remembered. Even on a weeknight, the main strip was seething with neon light and fake tan. We pulled up outside the club. We'd hired a limo and made a big point of being seen stepping out of it by the two bodybuilders, with sleeve tattoos and steely expressions, who stood guard out front. For appearances, Joe was once again relegated to the role of driver. We had to look calm, in control, and dangerous, rather than desperate and out of options.

  "You ready for this?" asked Sebastian.

  I took a deep breath. "As ready as I'm going to be."

  "Good." He shot me a reassuring smile. "And don't worry, we'll be fine."

  I nodded, trying to let some of that confidence seep into my skin.

  The men looked us up and down as we approached. They were both as tall as Sebastian, but much wider, which made them incredibly intimidating, by any standards. They looked like someone had taken two plastic bags and crammed them full of walnuts. The larger of them smirked as his eyes rolled over my body, which gave me the sudden urge to go home and take a long shower, but that leer fell away once he turned to Sebastian. My partner was practically radiating danger now, and it was enough to make even these guys pause.

  "My name is Sebastian and this is Sophia. We're here to see Anton." His voice be
trayed no emotion. 'Just business as usual,' it said.

  "Who is Anton?" said giant number one, a look of mock confusion appearing on his face. "I think you must have the wrong place, my friend."

  Sebastian didn't even miss a beat. "I don't have time to play games. You know as well as I do that your boss is expecting us."

  The man glanced at his partner, who gave a little nod and disappeared upstairs.

  The first guy stared daggers at us for several seconds. Apparently he didn't like having his little power trip interrupted.

  "I need to search you," he said.

  "We're not stupid enough to be carrying here," Sebastian replied.

  The guy shrugged. "Then you've got nothing to worry about."

  Sebastian waited a few beats then gave a curt nod and stretched his arms out to the sides, gritting his teeth while the guard patted him from head to toe. He wasn't gentle. He almost looked disappointed when he came up empty-handed.

  "They'll probably check for these," Sebastian had said to me earlier, nodding towards our guns. "I'd never get one past them, but you just might. Most men struggle to see women as a threat. They never check as carefully."

  That had made sense at the time, but as the guard stepped towards me, suddenly the pistol holstered against my inner thigh felt like it weighed a thousand kilogrammes. What would he do if he found it? Laugh and take it away? Or flip out and call his buddies?

  He reached out and gave my shoulders and back a cursory check, before moving down my front. He lingered a little below my breasts, the smirk returning to his face, and I had to stop myself from dry retching in his face. I could almost feel the primal frustration simmering below Sebastian's skin, but he restrained himself.

  My cheeks started burning as the goon's hands gradually drew closer to the weapon. Despite what Sebastian had said, his search seemed very thorough. He made it as far as the top of my thighs, just inches from the butt of the gun, but as he began to dip between my legs, Sebastian let out a dangerous little growl. "If you want to keep that hand for more than the next three seconds, I suggest you stop there."

  The man hesitated, eyes locked with Sebastian. It felt like that night, at my work function, all over again where he'd sent Taylor fleeing with a simple stare. I wasn't sure it was going to work this time — the guard looked like he had something to prove — but after a few moments, he pulled away. I let out a silent sigh of relief. He finished the search in a matter of seconds.

  By that point the second thug had reappeared, and he gestured for us to follow him inside. It was early by strip club standards — about six in the evening — so the show hadn't even started yet. The only people in the place were two bartenders milling behind the counter, and a couple of bored looking, scantily clad girls that I brilliantly deduced were strippers. The lack of activity meant that every set of eyes was on us as we crossed the room, which only added to my discomfort.

  We were led past another two action movie extras and up a narrow staircase. Unlike the unapologetically tacky stage area, the room we wound up in was fairly inoffensive. It was basically an office, with several chairs, a filing cabinet, and a large desk. The man behind it stood as we entered.

  "Welcome," he said. At first glance he didn't appear particularly frightening. He looked to be in his early fifties. Lebanese maybe, or Mediterranean, and with his balding head, slightly retro clothes, and easy smile, he seemed like the kind of guy who'd be found taking his kids to soccer practice on the weekends or playing nine holes with his friends. But the longer I looked, the more I realised how wrong that impression was. It was the eyes, mostly. There was something cold flickering there, something calculating. I got the sense that his friendly appearance was well cultivated, and it could drop away at any moment.

  Then, of course, there were the two extra men who had melted across the doorway as we stepped inside. They were doing their best to look bored, but the way they stood, with their jackets casually thrown open to expose their weapons, said that was an illusion too. The message was clear. We weren't leaving unless Anton wanted us to.

  "Thank you for seeing us," Sebastian replied.

  Anton smiled wider and spread his hands. "When someone makes an offer such as you did, the least a man like me can do is hear him out, wouldn't you agree?"

  Sebastian nodded. "I was hoping that would be the case."

  "Besides," Anton continued, "it's not often I get a chance to sit down and talk with two people I condemned just days earlier. I had men out there looking for you when you called, you know. And now, here you are. I must admit, I'm curious." The lightness of his tone sent a shiver down my spine. Oh yes, this was a man for whom killing was of no consequence.

  But Sebastian appeared unshaken. "Well, like I said, I appreciate it."

  "Did you bring what you promised?" Anton asked.

  Taking my cue, I lifted the duffel bag I was carrying and dumped it on the table. I'd been quite surprised to find out that a million dollars in cash really did only occupy a few square feet. I thought that was just in the movies.

  He didn't even bother to count it. He just unzipped the top and glanced inside. "Wonderful." I figured most people were too afraid to actually try and rip him off.

  He gestured for the two of us to sit. "So, what brings you here? I have to say, this is a little unconventional. I'm not conceited enough to say I've never messed up a hit before, but those few lucky souls are usually eager to get as far away from me as possible. You and your lovely lady, on the other hand, have strolled right into my lap."

  This was all part of the plan. Intrigue him enough to hear us out, then throw so much money at him that he couldn't resist. I just wished he didn't sound so amused by it all.

  "It's simple, really," Sebastian replied. "You have information we want. We're willing to do what's necessary to get it."

  Anton laughed. "Nothing is ever that simple in this business. This information, I take it, relates to the people who want you dead?"

  Sebastian nodded. "Indeed."

  Anton leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together. "And what's to stop me simply refusing and then having Shawn and Iman here finish the job?" I glanced behind us and saw that the two men now had their hands resting on their pistols. I knew that if Anton gave the order, there would be no hesitation. We'd be dead in seconds. Despite how futile it seemed, I found my hand inching towards the hem of my dress.

  "Money, mostly," replied Sebastian.

  Anton shrugged. "I already got paid a lot of money to take you out, and that was only half. Now that you have kindly brought yourselves to me, I can get the rest when I report you dead. Not to mention the million you brought along. This has already been an incredibly profitable transaction for me."

  "I'm sure we can come up with a sum that will convince you."

  The other man studied us for several seconds. "And what about my existing client? I don't know him personally, but I'd hazard a guess that he'll be none too happy with me if I help you. Not to mention the damage he could do to my reputation; client confidentiality and so forth."

  Sebastian's gaze turned ice cold. "If you tell us what you know, I assure you that he won't be around to cause you any problems."

  Anton nodded slowly, like he'd just gotten the answer he was expecting. "And what do you think about all this, sweetheart?" he said, turning to me. "You haven't said a word, so far."

  That had been part of the plan too. Sebastian was much more familiar with this game than I was, so while I wasn't willing to let him leave me behind, I agreed to let him do all the talking. But I couldn't exactly ignore the question.

  "I think it would be in your best interests to take the deal." As soon as the words left my mouth, I realised how they sounded. I hadn't intended to threaten him.

  But apparently I wasn't as intimidating as I'd feared, because Anton just burst out laughing. "Is that right? I have to admit, when Leo told me you'd tracked me down, I was a little surprised. That must have taken some serious pull. It makes m
e wonder." He had that calculating look in his eye again, like he was trying to decide whether we were dangerous or stupid. I realised then that we were dealing with a very smart man. Callous, relentless, but also incredibly shrewd.

  Sebastian seemed to recognise an opportunity. "There is more at stake here than you realise, Anton. You don't want to be caught up in the middle of this."

  He cocked his head to one side. "Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"

  He stared intently at us, weighing our case, our lives reduced to little more than dollar signs on a hypothetical page. Now that we'd played our hand, he knew how much money was really at stake. I assumed he was debating whether to contact his client and start a bidding war. If he knew how powerless we really were, it wouldn't even be a question, but thankfully he was still wary of exactly what we might be capable of.

  I did my best to look calm, but my heart was raging like a jackhammer in my chest.

  After what felt like a lifetime, he spoke. "Ten million."

  "Done," replied Sebastian instantly.

  I let out the breath I hadn't even realised I was holding. It was a ludicrous sum — cocktails on a tropical island for all eternity kind of money — but the truth was, we were desperate. We needed him more than he needed us. Besides, I was fairly sure Sebastian could afford it.

  Judging by the look in Anton's eye, I think he realised that too. He seemed to be considering if he could get even more.

  "I don't have a name for you," he said. "I make it my business to know as little as possible about my clients. It's safer that way, if anyone comes looking." He shot us an ironic grin. "What I do have is the phone number that he originally contacted us on to organise the meet."

  Sebastian grimaced. "He won't be using his real phone for this. It's too easily tracked. What about a description? Anything that might help me identify him? I have reason to believe it's someone I'm familiar with."

  Anton chuckled softly. "I don't meet them myself. Too risky." He nodded to one of the men in the doorway. "Iman organises the hits."