Page 71 of Breaking Storm

“This morning I checked the black market.”

He pauses, eyes fastening onto mine, and it appears both of us stop breathing. I hear a child’s bicycle bell jingle. A dog barking nearby. Behind me is the rustling of material, which means the guy behind me is making his gun accessible. But I haven’t taken my eyes off Frankie. We’re at a stare-down, except he has the upper hand. He holds the secret he found on the black market.

My body goes into chill mode, to appear relaxed in the chair, folding my hands over my abs. I’m fingering the handle of the blade tucked into the side of my waistband. Frankie doesn’t notice, and if he did, he shows no sign of it.

Teagan’s right outside the door. Anything can happen in here and pour out into the hallway. Whatever direction this goes, I have to take down the big guy by the door before Frankie. He’s in closer proximity to Tea. But I can’t worry about it now or I’ll show a tell. Sweat will give me away. As much as I fear for us, I’m not going to give them more encouragement. Like I told Tea, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

Frankie cocks his head to the side. “Someone put a hit out on the black market.” My face remains neutral even though I know what’s coming. “The hit is on you, Joe. A five-million-dollar bounty on your head.”

I stay quiet, wanting to hear it all. Frankie rests his elbows on the desk and steeples his fingers, breaking eye contact for a second. He’s nervous, yet his confidence begins to bloom. Sweat trickles down from his hairline to his ear.

He wipes his hands down his face. “Do you understand what this means?” I give him nothing. “It means every gang, criminal, and crooked cop will be hunting you. For five-million-dollars, they’ll search every corner of every state to put a bullet in your head. Obviously, whoever put out the hit waited until this morning to do so, which means this is a game to them.”

My finger circles the knife handle, eyes never wavering from him. “And you want in, right, Frankie?”

“This isn’t easy. I like you, I really do, but business is business. If I’m going to lead the family and overthrow Leo, I need money and lots of it.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “This isn’t personal, Joe.”

I snort at his reasoning. “No, it’s not personal at all.” What little amount of conscience Frankie has is biting him. “So, you’re going after Leo, too. What about the alliance?”

“That was made between William and James. I had nothing to do with it.”

“I could kick myself for getting the men to support you. They wanted me, the blood of family. Instead, I planted a seed in their head, which was easy after everything James did.” I smirk. “Almighty Frankie as their leader. The man who can’t even find his brother’s killers.”

The last comment is meant to provoke him. He wants to commit murder with a clean conscience. Fuck him. Frankie shifts in his chair, obviously uncomfortable with my response.

He ignores my comment about Colin. “Like I said, it’s nothing personal.”

“Oh, but it is. Wanting to put a bullet in my head is very personal.” The air settles before I disrupt it again. “What about Teagan?”

“There’s nothing on the web about her. Only you. But I guess if she’s in the way, she’ll become a casualty.”

This time, I can’t hide my tell. My teeth clench, flexing the muscle in my jaw. If Teagan is with me, she’s in danger. I’ll need to find a safe passage for her. With enough money, she can start over. Be someone different. Finish college. I want her happy and to have the best life.

He lets out a long breath. “Because I like you, Joe, I’m going to give you an hour.”

“An hour.”

“Yes, you get an hour’s head start before me and my men come after you. I think it’s only fair. I can’t vouch for anyone else who might have come across the hit on the dark web.”

There’s no room for argument. He’s made up his mind and I’ll be damned if I beg him to reconsider.

I growl, “Fine. One hour.”

We both look at our watches. My second hand is ticking, moving the time closer to 10:00 a.m.

He breaks the silence by responding, “Your hour starts now.”

Without another word, I fly out of the room, grab Tea by the arm, and jog toward the car, with her stumbling behind. She’s tossing questions at me as I’m pulling away from his house. My eyes flick to the mirror. No one is following us. I’m sure there’s a tracker on the car. Teagan is breathing heavily while firing off questions.

Steering onto the highway, I ask Teagan, “Did anyone touch you from the moment we walked onto the porch?”

She shakes her head. “No.” From the corner of my eye, I notice her hands shaking. “What’s going on, Joey?”

“Someone put a hit on me. Five-million-dollars goes to the proud owner of the bullet they put in my brain.”

Teagan shoves her fist in her mouth to prevent herself from crying. “Who wants you dead? Why?”

“I didn’t ask. Doesn’t matter.”

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