Page 17 of Judgment Day

“Sorry,” Nik muttered before shoving his hands into his pockets. A few seconds ticked by and then Nik added, “Thanks, by the way. For doing that.”

“You’re welcome,” Seven told him. Seven nodded to the table. “You’re bleeding. Letisha is going to have a fit when she sees your knuckles.”

Nik smiled. The first smile Scar had seen on his face in days.

“You’re probably right,” Nik agreed. “She’s a nurse, though. She’ll bandage me up.”

Seven nodded, then went back to looking at the computer screen. And just like that, Nik had calmed down a bit, and the tension in the room dispersed. Arson and Skye leaned back in their seats. Scar looked over at Exa to find her smiling at Seven. She had every right to smile. She’d trained her youngsters well.

Garrett resumed going over the dispatch details. Scar’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Leaning to the side, he pulled it out as he listened to Garrett. A text message had come through. He opened it. It was from Judge Bailey.This bitch.This wouldn’t be the first message he’d gotten from the judge.

During the two weeks, he was out cold, he’d received numerous messages from the bastard. Liam had checked them all but hadn’t responded to them. A few days after Scar awakened, Liam waited until he was alone and showed him the messages. The messages had started off cordial enough. Some had read...

“How is the assignment going?”

“Please, check in.”

“Have you found her?”

“Is she not willing to meet with me?”

“I can come to wherever you are.”

“If you’ve found her, don’t engage. Tell me where she is, and I will take it from there.”

After Scar hadn’t responded, the messages changed.

“I’m assuming you’ve found her. Is there a problem? Is the pay not enough?”

“I know you’re not dead. I would’ve seen something on the news by now.”

“I’m assuming she’s said something to confuse you and make you rethink the assignment. Don’t listen to her. She’s bipolar. And she has numerous other mental issues. Aligning yourself with her will get you killed. She’s tried this before. Those who fell for her ploys are now dead.”

“Bring her to me, and I’ll make you richer than you can imagine.”

“Have you broken your contract? If so, don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Scar knew what came next. He knew what happened to those who broke contracts. He’d hoped to end the judge before it could come to that. Zian had fucked up that plan. Leaning back in his seat, not wanting Exa to see who the message was from, Scar opened the text.

The latest one read,“You have one week to bring her to me. Or I will send a team after you and her. I have enough money to keep them coming. You nor her will ever rest again. Don’t consider hiding from me. I know people in high and low places. When I’m done with you, you’ll regret the day you were born. And when I’m done with her, well, I’ll never be done with her. Let that sink in. One week. Don’t lose your life over a woman. It is not worth it.”

The judge must have never loved anyone other than himself. The right woman was worth dying for. His gaze was drawn to Exa, the right woman. She must’ve felt him watching her. She looked his way briefly, blew him a kiss, then returned her gaze to Garrett. Not only was the right woman worth dying for, she was also worth living for.

Scar exited out of the message. He had one week to end the judge before the bastard sent trouble their way. Judge Bailey probably thought sending that message would strike fear into Scar’s heart and make him quickly turn over Exa. Instead, the judge had activated the timer on his own demise.

Within a week, Judge Bailey would be dead.

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