Page 45 of Reclaiming Adelaide

I scoffed. Of course, the only person allowed to ask questions was him.

“Black Dog. They are an Armenian mercenary company based out of Turkey. You worked on something for them a while back, testing out their computer systems.”

“How do you know that?”

I shook my head. “Because Holeo told me. But I didn’t know who you were then. This was eight months ago.”

“Just tell me why they’re after you.”

I sighed. “I think because Holeo went after them, making it personal. That’s what Franklin told me.” I shrugged.

“And how do you know he’s not behind it?”

I snorted. “Because he’s a six-foot nerd who has social anxiety like me. People like us don’t go around killing people with military precision.”

“Speak for yourself,” Tonk said as he walked back in with random wet spots all over his shirt.

Jake glared at his friend. “And why do they want you dead?”

Shaking my head, I pinched off a piece of bread and nibbled on it. “I don’t know. Probably because we were going to expose them.”

“And who is Holeo?” Jake put the bread and cheese into the fridge, except the pickles. I grabbed them and dug in, popping a spear into my mouth.

“He’s the lead. He gave us directives, and we followed his instructions. These guys are serious, Jake.” I sucked off the juice from the pickle, then finished chewing. “They’ve already killed Skipper and shot Torpedo. He’s in the hospital fighting for his life.”

“Then there’s hope,” Tonk said, chiming in.

“For what? That they’ll miss?”

“That they’ll let you live.”

“And how do you come by that?”

I twisted the lid back on the jar and tore a napkin off the roll, wiping my lips dry.

“They left this Torpedo guy alive.”

“He’s in the ICU, and I don’t think they meant to.”

Tonk laughed. “They didn’t mess up. They sent a message. My guess is he was the first. And once this Holeo guy didn’t stop, they went after the second, killing him.”

“If that was true, then they won’t stop until I’m dead.”

My skin warmed and beaded with sweat as I pictured my gruesome death.

“I wouldn’t. If you didn’t listen to the first warning, I’d make sure you’d never make that mistake again.”

I thought he was supposed to be security? Who the hell was this guy, and why did he have a basement like that?

“But I stopped. Well before anything happened…” I gave Jake the side eye, his gaze cast down toward my hand where someone had removed the plastic over my fresh tattoo. “How did you know where I was?” I said, hiding my finger under my other hand.

“I told you I’d find you.”

“But how?”

“It’s easy to find someone,” Tonk said. “A bit time-consuming, but not difficult.”

I snorted.

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