Page 2 of Sizzling

“You boys must be lost.”

The feminine Southern drawl stopped me from picking up the case, and I turned to see Briar stepping inside the room. There was a flirty smile on her full lips, which either meant she wasn’t very smart to walk into a room where three men were going through her things or she relied too much on her looks in life and thought they were gonna save her. In this case, they just might. Because up close, she was even better, and I hadn’t thought that was possible.

King dropped her duffel and glared at her, which was unnecessary. “You can take us to Roger Ball.”

I watched her as she continued to smile as if she were charming a roomful of her fans. “Excuse me?”

Don’t do that, darling. This will go bad real damn fast.

King took a step toward her, and I had to force myself not to move. Not yet. I was here for King. Not some female I didn’t know who used her pussy as a weapon.

“Not gonna play games,” King warned her.

She let out a soft laugh. “Well, I didn’t accuse you of such, now did I?”

Dammit, she was going to piss him off. I glanced at Thatcher to see if he was going to step in, but he just looked like he was enjoying the show.

“We just need to know where to find him,” I told her. “We know he’s your father, and Netta said he was last seen with you.”

She blinked, and for a moment, a small glimpse of panic flashed so quickly in her eyes that I would have missed it if I hadn’t been so damn focused on her. King would have seen it too. She was going to have to talk—and fast. When she took a step back, I thought she was about to run, but instead, she closed the door behind her. Was she stupid? At least if someone heard her or walked by, it would keep King from making things messy. Dammit, she wasn’t helping me at all here.

“I do pity you that you were forced to breathe Netta’s air,” she said sweetly as she bent down. “She’s a nasty bitch.”

Perhaps if I hadn’t gotten distracted with the view of her ass in the jeans she was wearing, I’d have seen the warning sign or question why she was bending down. But even then, I had to give it to her. She was fast, and the pistol she pulled from her right boot was pointed in King’s direction before she was even standing straight up again.

Gone was the flirtatious smile. The hard line on her lips now reassured me this wasn’t her first time pulling a gun on someone.

“Fuck me,” Thatcher said with a touch of awe in his tone.

King’s gun was out of his holster and pointed at her as he took another step in her direction. “Put the gun away,” he told her.

“Thank you for the suggestion, but if you don’t mind, I think I’ll keep it out,” she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Disarming you would take seconds. Don’t test me. Just take me to the fucker, and you can leave. Free. You aren’t who I want,” King said.

She smirked. “You made that clear, but seeing as how y’all aren’t known for your goodwill and all, I think I’ll take my chances.”

Wait … what?

“You know who we are?” I asked her, not sure I understood that right.

A real smile briefly tugged at the corners of her lips as she kept her eyes on King. “I’ve not made it this long, living on my own, without knowing who to stay clear of.”

Thatcher chuckled. “You’re just full of surprises.”

“Then, you know this isn’t a casual threat,” King sneered, clearly not amused by this.

She held her shoulders straight as she looked him in the eyes, not backing down an inch. “I’m well aware. But I can’t give you want you’re asking of me.”

King took another step in her direction, his finger too damn close to the fucking trigger. “I can make you disappear. No one will find a trace.”

She let out a heavy breath, finally showing some concern for her life. “Roger is dead. Unless you want me to take you out on a boat in the gulf to the general vicinity his body was dumped in. Seeing as it’s been three weeks now, I’d gamble the sharks have eaten his body, so it would be a pointless activity.”

Damn.

“Is that so?” King asked, clearly not believing her.

“She’s not lying,” I told him. I could see the truth in her expression.

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