Page 42 of Weston

“Just making them believe that we will, I assume,” Xander finished.

“You think that’s what they want? How would they know about it?” Jayson asked.

“Bad guys always know about destructive weapons,” Corey said. “What else could they want?”

“Maybe Lex can throw in a blowjob? Might sweeten the deal.” Chaz snorted back a laugh.

“Stop telling everyone your fantasies, Madden,” Lex said.

They continued forward, pistols in hand, and then stopped in front of the lead pirate blocking the main path leading up to the house.

“We’re here to talk to your boss,” Brand said, keeping his voice neutral, fearless and commanding, “and get the woman back.”

“He is waiting for you.” The pirate motioned for them to follow him inside. The house wasn’t big, and they were guided into the back room where smudged windows overlooked a grove of native tropical fruit trees, including durian and mangosteen.

Nayvadius, the same asshole who ordered his men to shoot at Wes and Ellie, stood there, flanked by two Indonesian men. “I was wondering when you would arrive.” His tone was cocky and Wes’ trigger finger itched.

“Where is she?” Wes demanded.

“In a safe place,” the man answered. “You are lucky I did not slit her throat.”

A red haze began to creep into Wes’ vision and it took all of his strength not to blow the fucker away. But, they were outnumbered and he couldn’t save Ellie if he and his team were dead. Instead, Wes clenched his teeth together and forced himself to breathe. To focus. To harness all of his energy into finding and rescuing his wife.

“One of you killed my son. For taking his life, I took yours. Or thought I had.”

“You missed.” Wes clenched his fist.

“Actually, he didn’t,” Chaz said. “He shot you twice, but his aim sucked, so all good.”

“What do you want?” Brand asked, cutting to the chase.

“I want the nuclear warhead laying on the bottom of the sea, and I know you have its location from the laptop you stole.”

“Westole?” Lex echoed. “I think you’ve got that backwards, pal. We just gave it back to its rightful owner.”

The pirate ignored Lex. “You have the equipment at your safehouse to bring it up. We saw it. So either go get it or the woman dies. Then all of you die.”

“Harsh terms, but we’re willing to set up a trade,” Brand said.

Wes was looking around, searching for any sign that Ellie might be near, but his gut told him she was being held somewhere else.

“You bring us the warhead, we will bring you the woman.” Nayvadius pointed to the clock on the wall. “You have three hours before I kill her.”

“Fucking touch her and I’ll gut you like a fish,” Wes snarled, his voice seething with vengeance.

“Try it,” the man challenged, tilting his head back to maintain eye contact with a much taller Wes.

Wes stepped closer, right into the pirate’s space, and pinned him with a glare full of hellfire. “I won’ttryanything. It’s a goddamn promise.”

The pirate took a step back and Wes took another step forward, narrowing his dark eyes. If looks could kill, this asshole would be dead ten times over and buried six feet under. Wes wasn’t done yet, though. Not even close.

“You touch one hair on her head and I end you and all of your men. Then I’m going to burn this fucking island to the ground and watch it sink into the sea. You wanna see your son? Hurt her and I will make sure it happens before you can fucking blink an eye.”

Beside him, he heard Brand mutter a curse under his breath.

“I am not scared of you,” the pirate insisted, puffing out his measly chest.

“You should be,” Wes hissed.

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