Page 83 of Extracted

This job had just become downright impossible.

CHAPTER 23

White and blue strobe lights bounced off the ceiling and second floor of Silas’s bar. Dallas strode next to his now enemy, his hands balled into fists, as he surveyed the lower level. Too many people around to take out Silas right now. But if it had to be done in the bar, so be it.

He still had the gun at his ankle.

One of the guards waiting near the booth stood back and extended his hand so Silas could slide in at the edge closest to the emergency exit.

Dallas took the seat across. He rested his elbows on the table and waited while Silas conversed with one of his men in Spanish.

The guard nodded then moved into position in front of the booth next to the first man, their backs turned. Two guys—not bad odds. He could shoot Silas under the table and take out one of the guards before they could react. Then he’d only have one to tackle until more came.

“I apologize for the noise level. We can go downstairs to my office, but I figured we’d have some fun first.”

A woman in a short black dress sauntered between the two guards with a tray balanced on her hip. Her bright red hair was piled on her head. She slid four shots onto the table and flashed Dallas a smile. “What can I get you?”

Well, shit. He hadn’t asked for shots, and it wasn’t how he needed to start this job. Not if he wanted to kill Silas and make it out of the bar in one piece. But refusing alcohol would look suspicious as fuck. “Vodka and water.”

Silas placed his order in Spanish and she turned away. Then Silas smiled, picked up a miniature glass, and slammed it down on the table in front of Dallas.

Sliding his fingers around the cool shot, Dallas lifted it.

Silas grinned, picked up another shot glass, and held it in the air. “To business.”

“To business,” Dallas echoed, clinking the glass with Silas’s before tossing the liquid back.

Tequila burned his throat as he wiped his mouth. “Now,” he said, nodding at Silas’s phone. “Are your men waiting for Lorenzo?”

Silas brought his screen to life, hit a number, and pressed the device to his ear. He exchanged some words in Spanish with the person on the other end and a beat later tapped the screen and held it out to Dallas. A video call displayed three of Silas’s men standing next to a trunk. Lorenzo stood with his arms behind his back adjacent to them.

The men gestured to Lorenzo, and he walked in front of the trunk, blocking the camera for a second. He hefted open the lid then stood back. The person holding the camera panned over the contents—various guns with ammo inside.

Dallas lifted his gaze to Silas who studied the pieces. He asked his men to take out the guns and inspect them.

Dallas laced his fingers on the table as their waitress came back and slid their drinks in front of them. He didn’t reach for his glass but kept his gaze on the screen. Every instinct told him to fire now.

Each minute wasted was a chance lost. His odds of shooting him and getting out of the bar were already shitty, but he needed a better moment.

Silas turned off the video then pressed the phone to his ear again and conversed with the man on the other end for several minutes. “I’m satisfied with the shipment,” he said to Dallas, after disconnecting. “Let’s go over numbers.”

A new song came on. The bass raged. “Can we discuss it in your office? I can’t hear a damn thing.”

Silas gulped back his second shot then grabbed his full-sized drink. Dallas picked up his, and they shuffled out of the booth. He followed Silas down the walkway toward the set of stairs.

If he could get Silas alone in his office, he’d have a much better chance.

* * *

No! Where are they going?

Gemma turned in Cory’s arms, making his hand fall away. She watched as Dallas followed Silas along the second level then descended the stairs. Oh, thank god. Were they done with their meeting? What if they left? Would Charlene try to take them out once they got outside?

Panic rooted Gemma to the spot as Dallas approached. Cory’s hands circled her waist and swung her around so her belly bumped his crotch. She smiled through a grimace.

He laughed. “Thought you were trying to escape for a minute.”

Not yet.

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