Page 44 of Edge of Danger

He forced his anger away. “Hi. How’s it going?”

“About as well as can be expected when dealing with the Riviera cartel.” She sighed. Somehow, the DA sounded even more exhausted than she had the last time they’d spoken—considering that he’d noted her exhaustion then, too, that was saying something.

“What happened?”

“Our shopkeeper passed away last night.”

He closed his eyes, stricken. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“So am I, considering that the poor guy was recovering well as of yesterday afternoon. I checked in with his doctors to see about his progress, and they were pleased with the way things were going. They told me he might be able to go home as early as tomorrow.”

“You’re kidding.”

“It happens that way sometimes,” she allowed. “But the doctors expressed surprise when I talked to them a few minutes ago.”

“We know what we’re talking about, then.”

“I think we can safely say this has ‘the cartel’ written all over it.”

He couldn’t think of anything to say except to offer a single reassurance. “You can count on me. I don’t plan on backing down from testifying.”

“Thank you for that—but remember, be careful. Now’s the time to grow an extra pair of eyes in the back of your head. With Prince out on bail until the trial, there’s no telling what else he’s put into motion.”

He took this to heart and was still thinking about it hours later when he left for the night. A quick call home confirmed everything was okay there. Tessa and Walker were waiting.

They were quickly becoming the center of his world, if they hadn’t already firmly planted themselves there. What a time to need eyes in the back of his head.

The ride home normally helped clear his mind. It wasn’t a heavily traveled route—he liked it that way, liked not having to sit in traffic the way some commuters did.

The wash of high beams took him by surprise, almost blinding him when the light hit the rearview mirror. He threw an arm up, blinking hard to clear away the spots in his vision.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, tapping the horn. Some people...

His car jolted forward, pushed by the car behind him.

That was no accident.

He floored the gas, determined to outrun them. There was an on-ramp for the freeway about a mile ahead. He could lose the tail there.

The driver had other ideas, ramming him harder than before and almost driving Brax off the road. He corrected in time, swinging the wheel to the left, kicking up clouds of dust. In the end, though, it gave the car behind him just enough room to slide in alongside and force him into the ditch.

Brax’s chest hit the wheel when the car pitched forward, and pain exploded in his shoulder when he hit the door. He pushed the pain aside and brought the car to a stop.

His heart hammered wildly. At least the adrenaline kept the pain at bay, but he knew that he’d be bruised come morning. If he made it to morning.

Looking around, he tried to spot the car that had caused this. There was light up on the road, telling him they’d come to a stop with the high beams still on. The best thing to do was stay in the car, doors locked. He was armed, but there was no way of telling how many people were up there.

Was this because of Robert? Or Prince Riviera?

He found out soon enough. A familiar figure reached the edge of the road, standing just where it dropped off into the ditch. The high beams created a sort of halo around him. But there was nothing holy about the head of the Riviera cartel.

Prince stared down at Brax’s car. What was he waiting for? To see how badly Brax was hurt?

How had the cartel found him?

Rather than descending to the car or sending somebody down in his place, Prince called out from where he stood, “You have the choice not to testify.”

With that, he walked away, and seconds later the sound of a car door closing came as a relief. The glow of the headlights faded to darkness, leaving Brax alone.

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