Page 81 of Westin

“When I didn’t go for his plan, he made a new plan.”

“Fang was supposed to follow you from the club that night and kill you quietly at your place. But he got in a hurry, confronted you in the office.”

“I got free.”

“And Will called us in a panic. We told him to send you up here and we’d give Fang a second chance.”

“Which he screwed up. Again.”

“Idiot.” Petey sighed. “Never should have invited him into this organization. He was nothing but trouble from the beginning.”

Petey stood up, pulling a gun out from his waistband. He played with it, checking the clip, and then he balanced it in one hand, then the other, getting a feel for it. He was getting tired of talking.

Lee lifted her hand, the handcuffs still dangling. “Do you think you could take this off before you do whatever comes next?”

Petey gestured to one of the guys behind him. The man came over, digging in his pocket as he walked, finally pulling out a ring of keys not unlike the one the driver of the ATV had had. Lee studied the ring as he unlocked the cuff, noticing a couple of keys that weren’t shaped like traditional keys, but were more like old-fashioned skeleton keys. Or maybe they were for some sort of machine. She wasn’t sure, but she knew she’d seen the same thing on the other guy’s key ring. What did it mean? Why was it familiar to her? Where had she seen something like that before? And recently, too?

“Now what?” she asked, rubbing her wrist where the cold metal of the cuff had bitten into it. “Is this the part where you put a bullet in my head?”

“Nothing that dramatic. We actually need you to change clothes.”

“Oh? Into what?”

Again, he gestured, and another man came over with a bag she knew. It was her own bag, a duffel she’d packed in a hurry on her way to the airport a lifetime ago. On top of it, the man set her cell phone, and then he handed her gun and holster to Petey.

“We need you to be wearing your own clothing.” Petey gestured to the bag. “The thing is, as far as the people in Seattle know, you left Phoenix six days ago, and fell off the map. No one but Will knew you were here, and as you’ve pointed out, he’s not talking to anyone anymore. So, when they find you, you need to be in your own clothes, and you need to have your cell phone on you. The SIM card has been removed, of course. But they’ll assume you did that to keep Fang from tracking you.”

“What about all the people at Golden Sphinx who saw me?”

“As far as they know, you were being stalked by an ex—right? Isn’t that what the foreman told Miss Dulcie about you?”

How did he know that? But she knew how. She knew who Razor was.

“And the explosions? The bunkhouse you destroyed?”

He shrugged. “Things happen in cold weather. It’s a phenomenon people around here are used to seeing.”

“Just like that. You think they’ll all keep quiet?”

“If they know what’s good for them.”

Westin flooded her mind in that moment—the feel of him, the taste of him. Would he be okay if she went along with this? If she let them take her out, would he live to see what came next in his story? Would Clint have a chance to make amends with his wife? Would Bowie and Landry and Remington be allowed to continue down the path that was meant for them?

She brushed a hand against her cheek. There were no tears, but she could feel them in her throat. She’d never cried while undercover unless the situation demanded it. She’d never shown her emotions, never allowed a mark to know she was scared or excited or on the verge of taking him out. It was one of the first things Will had taught her. But she wasn’t sure she could do that now. She couldn’t pretend that those boys didn’t matter to her.

“I’ll do this. I’ll play along. But you have to promise me you won’t hurt the boys on Golden Sphinx.”

Petey’s eyebrows rose. He looked her over, a new curiosity in his eyes. “Which one is it?” he wondered. “Which one got under your skin?”

When she refused to answer, he chuckled. “I know it’s not Clint because that boy is more committed to his wife and kid than is healthy. And that Remington… he’s too fucked-up to get close to a woman. A man looks at him sideways, he’ll kill him. A woman? Won’t even let one close to him.” He scratched his chin. “Bowie doesn’t seem your type. That leaves Landry and Westin.” He studied her again, his eyes moving slowly over her, taking in her curves, her long legs and her ample chest. He licked his lips like he was seeing something he’d been craving for a long time. “I’m going to guess Westin because I think Landry is a little too full of himself to handle a woman like you. Am I right?”

Lee turned her head so he couldn’t see her expression. She didn’t want to give herself away, but her attempts to avoid it caused her to do just that. He laughed, a hardy laugh that came from deep in his belly.

“Our girl is in love with Westin Clark!” he cried, his voice bouncing off the walls, reverberating through the entire building. Some of the other guys laughed, apparently finding it just as amusing as Petey. “Well, well, I guess we’ll have to save a little souvenir for Westin, remind him why he’s got to keep his big mouth shut!”

She glared at him. “Go to hell!”

“You first.”

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