Page 13 of Forbidden Heat

I could ask the Jamesons to talk to him, but I can’t trust this to anyone but myself. Which means I’ve got to use what leverage I can. “I’m also the man who’s going to decide whether to press charges, and believe me when I say no matter how many resources your employer can throw at defending you, I can throw more at making those charges stick.”

That gets his attention, but he still doesn’t speak. “Tell me your assignment,” I prompt. No answer. “You have five seconds.” The cops are heading our way. “Four.”

“The job was to extract an asset and hand it over.”

“What kind of asset?”

“The human kind.”

It doesn’t absolutely confirm that Haley was the target, but abductions for ransom are rare in the US these days, because the FBI has gotten very good at catching kidnappers. So it’s not likely that anyone would risk going after me for my money.

Hardly anyone knows about my extracurricular activities, so retribution on that score is also unlikely. Haley, on the other hand, could be very useful if someone wanted a hostage as leverage against her father.

Five minutes later, the police cars pull away with their prisoners inside. An hour after that, my security team has done a full check of the grounds. The system worked exactly as it was supposed to; I live in a home, not a fortress, and I’m not going to build twenty-foot-high electrified walls to keep the world out.

Everyone is safe, which is what matters. I asked Mrs. J to tell Haley that I’d be with her as soon as I could. I have one last task before I go to her.

I dial Haley’s father on my cell. He answers on the second ring. “Cameron. Is Haley all right?”

“She’s fine. A mercenary team came onto my property tonight to abduct her. They failed.”

He makes an almost inhuman sound. “I’ll move her. I’ll send an armed escort—”

“The fuck you will,” I snarl. “They’d be picked off on the road. She’s safe with me; it’s why you sent her here.”

I still have the taste of her in my mouth. It awakens something savage, primitive, inside me. “But you are damn sure going to tell me exactly what the fuck you’re mixed up in.”

“I can’t talk about it on the phone.”

“There are secure lines. Set it up.”

“Cameron—”

“Don’t expect me to work blind, Peter. I need to know exactly what I’m dealing with.” The truth is, I could find out without him telling me, but it’s faster this way.

And I want him to squirm. Whatever he’s done, it’s put Haley in danger. He deserves every ounce of guilt that’s wracking him right now.

His phone call to alert me that she was about to arrive at my house — strategically timed after she was already on the ground and en route to my home — made me angry enough that I almost said no. The fear and desperation in his voice were what stopped me from sending her back.

I’m counting on that now. He’ll tell me the truth because he wants Haley safe. And I’ll use whatever means necessary to ensure she stays that way.

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