Page 67 of Fast Fury

Yet that wasn’t the most important reason why she shouldn’t be here.

The man who had surprised her at the motel last night had texted her about an hour ago, saying she was being watched. She hadn’t given him her number, so the fact that he’d contacted her scared her. He’d made it clear that she was being watched. That she was to await details about the location of the dirty DEA agent, Kai. She didn’t much care why the man wanted the agent dead. Once she got her next two victims, she was to find and kill him too.

Well, too fucking bad for her mysterious shadow. Instead of following his instructions, she’d come here instead because this was abouthermission, and she was determined to take out Ling and the woman. They were softer targets than the DEA agent, likely without any training, giving her a higher chance of success.

Killing the DEA agent wasn’t her priority, and it likely wouldn’t happen anyway. As soon as she pulled her weapon and fired at Ling and the woman, it was all over. She would never make it out of the hotel before they captured her. Or if she did, she wouldn’t get far.

Diane accepted that, and was willing to pay the price. There was no way she would be able to pull off a murder here and walk away, not even with an accomplice helping her. As long as she could shoot both NextGen targets, she was willing to go to prison now, and live the rest of her life with the vindication of knowing she’d made at least a few key people pay for Bailey’s death. At least then she would be able to sleep better at night.

And if she was killed, well… Then her agony would be over for good.

She jolted when her phone buzzed in her purse. Several people around her gave her disapproving looks, then went right back to watching Ling. Releasing a quiet breath, she opened her purse and peered at her phone, skimming the text there.

Target is at Grand Wailea. Find him and report back after. We’re watching you.

She snapped her purse shut, surprised and jarred by the news. The DEA agent was here? Probably coming to see the blonde bitch. Well, if so, he was about to watch her die, and then Diane would shoot him too.

She looked back up. The audience was still listening attentively to Ling’s speech. All the tables were full, and it was standing room only around the sides and back of the expansive room.

Ling made his closing remarks, finished with a few words that he no doubt saw as rousing, then gave a nod and a smile that set Diane’s teeth on edge. To her disgust, the room erupted into a cacophony of applause. People even stood while they did it.

Tears burned her eyes. A standing ovation for a monster like him?

Goddammitshe wanted him dead. For what he’d done to her and her daughter. For what he’d done and would continue to do to his nameless victims, all in the name of money. For deceiving all of these so-called intelligent and respected physicians and industry insiders. Fuck them all.

Moving fast, she blinked away the tears and ducked out the side door into the hallway just as people began to spill out of the room, focused on tracking Ling and the woman. She stayed against the hallway wall, watching both doors anxiously. Hundreds of people streamed out, soon blocking her view.

Her heart began to pound, sweat dampening her palms. She couldn’t miss them. Not now. This was her only chance to do what she’d come here to do.

Just when she’d begun to despair that she’d lost them, a flash of platinum blonde hair caught her eye through the crowd. Diane pushed her way toward it through the crowd, a bolt of relief surging through her when she spotted the woman’s lavender dress.

She was talking to someone. A man. He moved aside a moment later, and Ling appeared in Diane’s field of vision.

She stayed where she was, watching them both while people flowed around her, heading for the lobby or out the doors that led to the grounds.

Come on, come on, she urged them silently, impatience making her jittery. The longer she stood out here in the open, the higher the chance that someone would recognize her or hotel security cameras would give her away.

To do this she needed to corner her targets in at least a semi-private place. It was the only way she’d have a chance to pull it off. She had to be even quicker this time than last night, or when she’d killed Bradshaw. Her weapon had a full mag in it, and she had an extra one tucked inside her purse just in case.

Finally, when increasing anxiety and doubt threatened to erode her courage, Ling started for the exterior door, the woman beside him. Diane hurried after them, leaving a good distance between them so as not to arouse suspicion.

Pushing open the door, she stepped outside into the balmy tropical twilight. Her gaze immediately found her two targets walking together down the sidewalk, heading toward the pool area.

Diane’s pulse tripped, her breathing speeding up. Taking a deep, bracing breath, she followed them, reaching her right hand into her purse to curl her fingers around the grip of her pistol.

Chapter Nineteen

“You did really well this week,” Walter said to Abby as they strolled down the lit walkway toward the main pool area.

She tossed him a smile, filled with a sense of relief and pride. It had been a long week. Even longer because she’d been away from Kai far more often than she wanted to be, especially over the last twenty-four hours.

Now her work here was all done. The conference had gone better than she’d expected. She’d made personal connections with many of their best clients, along with other company executives and experts within the industry. Her chance of promotion looked good, her future bright.

A future she hoped would include the extraordinary man who had completely won her heart and made her realize that she didn’t want to keep her walls up any longer. Not with him.

“Thanks. And thanks for asking me to come,” she added, giving him a playful nudge in the ribs with her elbow.

“You were the logical choice. Don’t tell anybody back at the office, but you were a shoe in. Dan and I both decided on you weeks ago.”

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