Page 38 of Carter's Battle

Donny held on to the edge of the desk. “You and I need to have a chat. I can help you, you know. Your uncle listens to me.”

She couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing at his oversized ego. “You’re joking, right? You’re nothing more than a henchman, an errand boy. My uncle does not listen to the likes of you.” Mia knew she should keep her mouth shut but she was tired and scared and tired of being scared. What did she have to lose?

“You listen to me,” Donny snarled as he took a step toward her.

Just then, the office door opened again, and her uncle walked in with his ever-present bodyguard. He looked back and forth between Mia and Donny with narrowed eyes. “What’s going on here?” he demanded as he crossed the room and took his seat behind the desk.

“Mia and I were just having a little chat, weren’t we, dear.” Donny’s voice went smooth again and he offered her a smug smile.

Makaio glanced at Donny but let it go. “Mia, have you thought about what I said? I need you to tell me the truth or you won’t like the consequences.”

Mia shrugged. “Does it matter what I say? If I say yes, then you will kill me. And if I say no, you’re still going to kill me, so why say anything at all?”

Her uncle leaned across the desk. “But Mia, dear, it’s thewayI kill you that’s important. If you tell me the truth, I’ll make it quick. If you lie to me or you don’t say anything then I’ll have to make it slow and oh so painful.”

Her veins turned to ice. He meant it. Her uncle was a horrible man but he wasn’t lying to her. She tried to swallow, but terror had closed her throat and she ended up coughing.

Makaio folded his hands in front of him on the desk. “Time to tell me the truth. Did you tell the police about my gambling hall?”

She stared at him. There was no point in lying but was there a point in delaying things? She’d been thinking about their conversation all day like her uncle had suggested and she’d come to some realizations, but she needed a few more pieces of the puzzle. “Um, what was my end game?”

Her uncle frowned. “What? What are you talking about?”

“Why would I tell the police about your gambling ring? How does that help me?” Maybe if she could draw things out a bit, a solution might present itself. At the very least she’d get the answers she wanted.

Makaio narrowed his eyes at her again. “You’re stalling.”

“Maybe.” She lifted her shoulders awkwardly. “But it’s a legitimate question. Why would I rat out the gambling hall?”

“Because you wanted to get back at your uncle,” Donny supplied.

She turned toward him and curled up her lip. “But, dumbass,” she snarled, “that only gets my uncle in trouble if they can prove it was his place which I’m quite sure they can’t. And it doesn’t solve my Bobby problem. Bobby said if I don’t make money for him, he’ll kill Akela and Kai. I do not want their deaths on my conscience so why would I stop the only avenue I have for making a ton of money?” She didn’t mention that Bobby was planning to use the money to take over the gambling ring. That was the one bargaining chip she had left, and she didn’t want to use it until absolutely necessary. She needed all the help she could get.

CHAPTER 22

“Looks like seven men from here,”Carter said as he looked through the night vision scope. “What do you see, Quinn?”

“I count nine,” came the response threw his earbud.

Carter swore. How could he have missed two?

“You didn’t miss them. You can’t see them from your angle,” Quinn stated as if he could read Carter’s mind. It had taken them all day to determine where Mia was being held. Turns out they call it the Big Island for a reason. It didn’t help that her uncle had his fingers in a lot of pies, forcing them to have to check a lot of locations. Carter was on edge due to the amount of wasted time. He was starting to lose his shit and he knew it. The thought of Mia being held captive all day all but destroyed his concentration. He refused to believe she could be dead. That was an outcome he wouldn’t recover from, for all kinds of reasons. The main one was that he was falling in love with her, and if he couldn’t protect the people he loved, then what the hell was he doing?

A hand touched him on the shoulder. “We’ll get her out,” Flint said. “Just hang in there a little longer.”

Carter nodded in the darkness. He’d given up any pretense at hiding how wrecked he was feeling hours ago. “I know,” hecommented as he turned. They walked back to the others just as Quinn arrived.

They’d taken up a position on the roof of a warehouse, kitty-corner from the warehouse where Makaio was holding Mia. At least, they’d assumed it was her uncle. Bobby had gone underground, and rumor had it he was in hiding, so chances were good he didn’t have Mia.

Her uncle, on the other hand, had been seen out and about with Mark Bascom today and holding meetings with some developers. According to Emery’s sources, Makaio wanted to build some kind of high-security resort for the ultra-wealthy here on the Big Island. Sounded like some kind of dark money gathering place to Carter. The US is a major tax haven for non-Americans. A place like Makaio wanted to build would attract dubious high rollers from around the world.

“You sure he’s in there?” Flint said into the phone. He met Carter’s gaze and gave him a nod. “Okay, thanks. Let me know when you’re here.” He hung up. “Emery says they saw Mia’s uncle walk into the building a short time ago.”

Bowie leaned against the stairwell door. “What’s the plan?”

Carter blew out a long breath. “I wish we had the blueprints so we had a better idea of what we’re up against.”

“It would be better, but we’ve been in tougher situations than this and did just fine,” Bowie reminded him.

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