Page 63 of Hot for Hostage

My jaw clenched, and I rubbed it. My pop’s stinginess was causing problems, which was just the tip of the iceberg. Lorenzo wouldn’t look elsewhere without a reason, and he claimed Zain had made a better offer. But loyalty meant everything in this city; money alone wasn’t enough for men to stray.

It didn’t add up.

“Tell him it’s business as usual,” I said, leaving it at that.

Malcolm didn’t bat an eye at leaving Seb out of the loop, but he’d always been more loyal to me.

He nodded and took off down a side path to the security building, while I headed for the pool near the main house.

If I was lucky, Sadie could still be swimming.

As soon as I reached the tree line, a happy bark and an odd sight stopped me in my tracks.

I had to be hallucinating, because there was no way Vince was playing fetch with a dog.

But after blinking twice, I could still see Sadie’s giant hellhound running full speed with a stick in his mouth toward my second-in-command.

Baffling me further, Vince easily took the stick from Bear and flung it back across the lawn.

Bear took off like a bullet, chasing after it, while I slowly approached Vince.

“What the hell am I looking at?” I asked him, still not convinced he was willingly playing fetch.

He crossed his arms, and for the first time in my memory, I could swear big bad Vince waspouting.

“Your girl stuck me with dog-watching duty,” he grumbled.

At the mention of Sadie, I looked across the yard to the pool, but there were no signs of any naked pint-sized hostage-taking bakers snorkeling in it.

Pity.

“I thought you worked for me,” I said, amused. We both watched the dog thrash the stick around instead of running back. “Since when do you answer to Sadie?”

He sent me an unimpressed side-eye. “Have you finished cracking Lorenzo yet?”

“Just did. Not who I expected,” I admitted. Part of me hoped we were wrong, but all the proof was there. “Zain Ali got to him.”

Vince’s brows shot up. “No shit? Zain’s already making plays? That was fast.”

It was. Too fast, even.

“Acting this soon means he’s not thinking straight.” I slipped both hands into my pockets.

“All the better for us. He’ll make mistakes.” Vince scowled at the dog, who’d come back and plopped on the grass at his feet. Bear happily gnawed on the stick. “What’s the play?”

“We need to remind Zain why it’s a bad idea to target us.” I wasn’t too concerned. We’d nip this in the bud, and the kid would learn. Part of the job was keeping the ankle-biters in line. “What doesn’t sit right with me is how easily Lorenzo let himself be paid off. Zain can’t protect him from us.”

Vince grunted. “Maybe he didn’t think he’d get caught?”

“Or he wasn’t alone.” I glanced at the security building, frowning. “Have you heard any of the guys complain about pay?”

Vince shook his head. “Nothing. Not even a whisper.”

Lorenzo swore he was the only one working with Zain, but I’d let him spend more time in the shed before I believed that. He’d hold out as long as possible to not snitch on a friend.

“Keep an eye on Seb for me,” I told Vince. “He’s been more unpredictable than usual lately.”

“You got it, boss.” He pulled out his phone and typed something. “Who are you sending to watch Zain?”

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