Page 7 of Fire for Effect

“If you had any experience, you would have known that commuting a death sentence wouldn’t do jack shit for me.” He smiled and laughed again, his thick lips pulling back to bare his square teeth. “What? So I can enjoy a life in Guantanamo Bay with all the scumbags I put away in the name of the red, white and blue?”

He cackled again.

“And we both know I’m not getting out of this room alive. If I was, you wouldn’t have sent Cerberus after me.”

The man had a point. We were hit men. Government hired but hit men all the same.

I was only waiting for a nod from the commander in chief because I would have loved to take my pistol butt to his face, right now.

“But maybe we can offer another inducement,” the woman behind my father stared right at the camera, breaking protocol by speaking without permission when she hadn’t been offered a seat at the table.

The President eyed Director Griffith, then the woman. But she chose not to acknowledge anyone. Her only focus was on Matthews.

“Your daughter, Suzy, and your ex-wife, Monica, are currently living outside of Arlington,” she said. “Suzy’s about to graduate with Honors.” She grabbed open a folder, then pulled out a picture, holding it up to the camera. The image of a young woman in a private school uniform dominated the screen.

“She’s been accepted into Johns Hopkins University with a Major in Security, Strategy and Statecraft.” She pulled the picture away.

A sick feeling twisted in my stomach. This was not how we did business. When dealing with American citizens we never, ever, made the kind of threats that woman was implying.

“She’s a very smart girl. How do you think her chances of employment will be after her father is declared an American Traitor?”

Matthews’ face darkened, and I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I wasn’t on his side. Threatening someone’s kid was off-base, even if we weren’t threatening to kill her.

But, then again, we were in the clandestine services, so that was never fully off the table either.

I glanced at Oscar who stood off-camera. He was… horrified. So was Sierra.

“Not that it would matter. Her mother won’t be able to help her pay for that insane tuition, after she loses her job at City Hall. Her job might be bureaucratic, but no one will trust her after the news of you gets out.”

Who was this woman?

This was out of line! We kept things secret. We didn’t let news get out. And if you were going to make a threat, you better be willing to go through with it.

“You wouldn’t fucking dare!” Matthews said with so much confidence that it made him sound… uncertain. He doth protest too much. “You want to keep this a secret. You wouldn’t let that information out.”

“Would you like to try me, Mr. Matthews?” The woman straightened, like she was ready to arm wrestle him through the screen.

Matthew’s ground his molars, and I got a headache just seeing how hard his jaw muscles worked.

I winced, and it drew his attention to me. He narrowed his eyes, which made me laugh again. There wasn’t a whole lot to fear about this guy anymore. Not when he was bound and gagged.

“You think this is funny?” He yelled, fighting against his restraints.

“Nah, man,” I said coolly. “Just because I'm laughing, doesn’t mean I’m joking.”

“Agent Kilo,” The CIA Director reprimanded, and I lifted my hands, taking a step back from the prisoner… I mean hostage… I mean… dead man.

“Think about this, funny man.” Matthews smirked. “You’ll never be safe. Not in your condo in DC, not in your Daddy’s house.” He looked over at the screen, right at my father. “And not with that bitch you’ve got hidden upstate.”

I let out a low chuckle even as my heart clenched.

The bitch upstate? Was he talking about Taz?

Adrenaline seeped into every vein. I was ready to blow his brains out right here, right now. If they harmed a single hair on her head, I would break each bone in their body, and light their skin on fire. I would wipe them off the face of the fucking planet!

My name and lineage were meant to be kept under wraps. And the thing about Taz upstate? That was a secret laid out on a few pieces of paper, the true significance known to only two people. One was me. The other was Sierra, who put two and two together, and found the meaning of life…

She picked me up after I was done convalescing from a bullet wound to the thigh in Mourningkill, New York. She’d commented on the pretty woman who was playing nurse while I healed.

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