Page 49 of Reclaiming Adelaide

“Over guns?” I frowned. “I’m willing to get two hackers threatening to expose your entire outfit, and you want to toss that out for guns?”

“We’ll find them, eventually. Something tells me we just have to follow you home,” Sarkis said.

His threat landed like a sucker punch, and I broke.

I lunged at him, ripping the terms out of his hand, and fisted his bullet-proof vest. The clicking of gunmetal taking position and hitting shoulders as they braced for the kick of their automatic weapons stilled the air with growing hostility.

“Do not threatenmeorher—”

“We outnumber you, Jake Murray,” he sneered. “You’ll die before your pistol leaves your belt.”

I returned his smile with a sneer. “Who said I’d be the one killing you?” I shoved him backward and picked up the terms scattered on the floor. “You’ve entered my home stadium, and I hold the upper hand, Sarkis.”

“I don’t understand these American terms.”

“It means you walked intomyterritory whereIhave all the manpower. If I wanted to, I could kill you here and now, but I’m choosing to let you live and work with me.”

Sarkis and Yervant glanced around. “I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“You must be crazy if you think this is all of us. She’d be dead by morning if you did that.”

“We’ll see.”

I had my contingency plans set in motion. Alek wasn’t here for a reason. One being his new baby, but the other because I needed someone to take Adelaide away if things went south. He’d lock her in the highest tower where not even God himself could see. I didn’t care if she lived the rest of her days in Hell. At least she’d be safe.

“Fine. You have a deal, but if you don’t deliver, wewillreign unholy terror down around you and yours.”

I didn’t doubt it.

Yervant gestured to his team for them to put their weapons down, alleviating the vile vibration inside of me.

“Deal.”

“Now leave my city.”

Sarkis turned to his men and waved them forward, saying a word in a language I didn’t recognize—most likely Armenian. His men followed him to the hangar with hungry scowls.

They were bloodthirsty, but they hadn’t gotten their fix. If I played my cards right, they never would, not withAdelaide or me.

“Good luck,” Yervant said as he walked past me.

“Luck has nothing to do with it.”

I’d already started the process. Using a logger vulnerability, it monitored the comings and goings of a chat group Holeo liked to frequent before he disappeared.

The men got into their vehicles and drove away as I called to Tonk. “Clear.”

“What kind of watch would I be if I didn’t know that before you?” he said from behind me.

Tonk stood tall, his sniper rifle resting over his shoulder like it wasn’t a large piece of killing equipment.

“True.”

I rubbed my jaw, my other placed on my hip, taking up space around me.

“You sure this will work?”

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