Page 54 of Falling Fast

“Bring him here,” he said to the men holding Jamie. They jerked him to his feet and dragged him forward.

Charlie’s heart lurched as they stopped and spun him around to face her. Staring back at her, Jamie gave a subtle shake of his head, as though trying to warn her not to tell Baker anything more.

Well, tough shit. They were both bound and helpless, and one of the goons had a fucking gun shoved against Jamie’s temple.

Baker’s voice was calm and clear, the underlying steel in it unmistakable. “You’re going to give me answers, Charlie, or your partner will suffer the consequences. My men will start with a bullet in each of his knees, and work their way up. If that doesn’t get me what I want from you, the last one will be in his head, and then they’ll start on you.”

“No, don’t,” she protested, the words bursting out of her, the pressure in her lungs unbearable. “I’ll tell you. But first, let him go.”

At that, Baker’s eyebrows shot upward. A slow smile lifted one side of his mouth. “Look at you, being all noble even though I can smell from here how fucking terrified you are. But no, not a chance.” He signaled at the concrete trucks. The engines fired up and their big drums started turning.

Then Baker nodded at the men holding Jamie.

Jamie kicked and struggled with the hired muscle, until one of them slammed the gun down on the back of his neck. Jamie went limp and the man tossed him backward, down the earthen ramp into the pit.

Charlie let out a shrill scream and lunged forward as Jamie toppled out of sight, heart in her throat. A strong hand grabbed her by the upper arm, fingers squeezing tight as he hauled her backward, pinning her against his solid frame with both arms around her chest.

Baker stared back at her with dispassionate eyes. “He’s still alive. Unfortunately. How many holes are you going to allow us to put in him?”

“What do you want?” she gritted out, fury lashing through her. It felt a hell of a lot better than the choking fear. If she’d been free she would have flown at the son of a bitch and attacked him with her bare hands.

“Who are you working for?”

She glared back at him, letting him see the raw hatred and loathing she’d been suppressing these past few days.

Baker’s gaze shifted to the man beside him and he gave a slight nod. The goon pointed his weapon into the pit and fired at Jamie.

“No!” Charlie screamed, yanking against the restraining hold around her arms. Jesus, they’d shot him. She didn’t know where, didn’t know how bad it was. And they’d just keep doing it until Jamie was dead.

She refused to let Jamie suffer more than he already had.

“Who,” Baker demanded, the calmness in his voice making him sound a hundred times scarier than if he’d screamed it.

Charlie swallowed convulsively, locked her knees to keep them from shaking even though her entire body was quivering. Lying was pointless now. “The DEA.”

His mouth tightened. “The DEA,” he repeated, his tone and expression dripping with disgust. “Are you an agent?”

She shook her head, mind spinning like bare feet on a slippery floor. Racing and getting nowhere. She didn’t see any option but to keep answering, try to keep him talking, and his attention away from Jamie. “Computer analyst.”

“And him?” he nodded toward the pit to indicate Jamie.

There was no way she’d tell him that Jamie was a FAST member. “Agent.” She was so scared, didn’t know how badly he’d been injured by that bullet, or if he was even conscious. Right now, she was his only hope.Theironly hope.

Baker’s jaw flexed. “Is there even a Spider?”

She nodded, the motion stiff and jerky, her heart clattering against her ribs. Maybe if she could feed him enough truths, it would show she was willing to give him information and it would buy them time. So they could…she didn’t know what.

But Easton and the others would know by now that something was wrong. She was sure they’d mount some kind of rescue attempt, since she and Jamie hadn’t shown up to the secondary rendezvous point. “Yes, she’s real.”

“So in order to use her to get to me, it means you must have been working with an informant. Which means one of my own betrayed me.” His nostrils flared, that hard stare boring into her. “Who is it?”

Oh no…Her stomach dropped. He’d think she was lying, but she told him the truth anyhow. “I c-can’t remember his name.” Tom? Tim? “I never had contact with him. Just m-my superiors did.”

“Is that right.” After a long, taut moment, he squared his shoulders, and something about the change in posture made Charlie’s heart stop beating. “Throw her in there with him,” he said to the man holding her. “They’re going to die together.”

“N—” Charlie’s legs felt numb as the man bulldozed her toward the edge of the pit. No matter how hard she twisted and fought, she couldn’t break free. Couldn’t stop what was coming.

Her hair whipped into her face as she thrashed, trying to sink her teeth into the man’s arm or hand. She caught a glimpse of the dirt ramp, the smell of it strong in her nose, then was shoved forward.

---