Page 46 of Indecent Demands

I could hear the quotation marks around ‘might’. Obviously the sniper didn’t want to officially confirm anything, otherwise he might be on the hook for breaking client confidentiality later.

“Thanks man. I appreciate it. I know these guys are sticking their necks out a little.”

“Yeah, well, the money’s already paid so if the guy’s arrested, what’s he gonna do? Rat out his sniper to get his money back and admit he paid for a hit?” Dark humor laced Bryce’s voice. “Yeah, right. And I know you won’t use that testimony to nail him.”

No, I wouldn’t. All I needed was to know what it was for so I could assess Damien’s threat level. “I appreciate it. Tell your friend’s buddy I owe him one.”

“He likes Johnny Walker.”

I grinned. “Will do.”

I hung up and gunned the engine. Damien was willing to hire someone to take out two people. Ariana had made a list of people, and that list had consisted of college staff and administration, Damien’s parents, and the family of Damien’s friends Brian and Jackson. I didn’t think anyone in the college staff would be the target, but I would have to look at their financials just in case they had a bump in income they couldn’t explain.

That left Damien’s parents, or his two friends. Or, just possibly, the parents of one of those friends. Jackson’s father was a rich man. He’d provided the capital they needed to get Smirtech going. Could Damien hope to eliminate Jackson’s parents so that Jackson would inherit everything and pour it all into Smirtech?

The money had been paid, so there were really only two ways for me to find out: either the sniper would do his job and I’d know when I read the damn obituaries, or I’d get it out of Damien first and call the sniper off. I didn’t relish the second since it would blow my cover, but I’d rather do that then let two innocent people die.

My biggest worry was Ariana. Hiring a hitman was one thing. Rich people got used to being able to order whatever they wanted and have it done for them. Killing someone up close and personal was different. It took a particular kind of determination. Would Damien be able to hurt her if he got wind of her suspicions?

I finally pulled into the parking structure after what felt like fucking ages, even though I knew I’d broken quite a few speed limits getting here. I took deep breaths as I got out of the car and made my way to the lobby. I had to stay calm. Nobody could suspect that anything was wrong.

This wasn’t usual for me. I should be calm automatically. How many times had I been in a bad situation? How many times had I made a tough call under pressure? You learned how to manage the adrenaline and instinctive panic or you didn’t pan out in the military or as a security team of any real caliber. Why was I so damn anxious?

I crossed the lobby, and my heart leapt as the doors of one elevator opened and Ariana stepped out.

Thank fuck.

She looked a bit shaken but otherwise fine. I hurried to her and grabbed her by the arm. She jolted and I saw her mouth open to scream—only for it to snap shut as she saw it was me.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I hissed, the words slipping out of me before I could stop myself.

“I’m sorry!” she whispered.

“C’mon. We’re leaving.” I practically dragged her back down to the parking garage. “What were you thinking?”

“Damien is up to something!” Ariana insisted as I continued to lead her towards my car. “I didn’t like deceiving you but I had to find out what it was!”

“Well, you found out, I’m guessing. You look spooked. Are you okay? Do he do anything to you?”

“He didn’t do anything, he just ran into me,” Ariana replied. She sounded shaky but annoyed—with me or herself for being shaken, I couldn’t tell. Maybe both. “But Damien—he’s hired a hitman. He’s going to take out Jackson and Brian, the two others he started the company with.”

A muscle in my jaw flexed. “We don’t know for certain those are the two he’ll go after.”

“Oh, it is,” she insisted. “Jackson’s dad made it so that Damien can’t have sole control of the company. He can’t kick his two buddies to the curb—like he did everyone else. So he’s getting rid of them the only way he can. Jackson won’t ever sign over his portion of the company, or at least that’s the word on the street.”

Fuck. “And right before he’s about to go public would be the perfect time to shuffle funds and stocks to consolidate power.”

It would have to be carefully done so the deaths didn’t look suspicious, but if the assassin was worth their salt (and for five million a head, they should be) then they’d make it look like tragic accidents and they’d get the timing right. Damien Harcourt would simply suffer two losses right around the time of the public offering, and everyone would feel bad for him, and he’d have to take control during such a turbulent time in his company after all, and that would be that.

As long as nobody saw fraud, they wouldn’t look too closely, and fraud wasn’t the issue here. So what else was there to find?

Once we arrived at my car, I practically shoved Ariana inside.

“Now this feels like a proper kidnapping,” she muttered as she got in.

“Don’t even start.” I started up the car and tried not to peel out of there like we were running away after robbing a bank. “If he suspects that you know something he could kill you.”

Ariana chewed her bottom lip. “I know,” she said softly. “It was terrifying to run into him.”

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