Page 6 of Hunted Innocence

“Offshore?” He sounds like a mixture of confused and impressed, all at the same time.

I chuckle. He somehow thinks we aren’t capable of this shit or something. We run a security firm, the best on the East Coast and possibly in the country, if I’m being honest—and maybe a little cocky. Which I am, but I also know it’s the fucking truth.

We also have his sister, who is an out-of-this-fucking-world hacker, along with Lucille. Together, they could probably rule the entire free world. None of us had any idea about Nadine’s skills, which she explained were something she’s always been really good at. Computers were a constant in the chaos of her childhood, and she has continued to dabble with them, which is a fucking great thing for us, although she kept it a secret for far longer than she should have.

“Handled unless he has something else or money somewhere else we don’t know about.”

“So how are you going to get this done? It’s been months,” he grunts. “I’m ready for it to be over and done with.”

I didn’t know I was on Brody Ashford’s fucking timeline. I don’t say that, but it’s exactly what I think and how I feel. But this man is much like me and my brothers. He’s used to being in control, being in charge, and it’s killing him that he’s not involved in the inner workings, especially since it involves Nadine.

“You won’t like it,” I state.

He snorts, crossing his arms over his chest and dipping his chin to connect his gaze to mine. “Enlighten me.”

Instead of telling Brody to fuck right off, which was my original intention for this conversation, I rock back on my heels and turn away from him, walking straight toward the kitchen, where I take a bottle of whiskey out of the freezer. It’s peanut-infused, and I’ve been saving it for something special. Not sure what, but it doesn’t matter.

I think today would be a good time to bust it out. After pouring us each a glass, I hand him one, then jerk my chin toward the living room. He narrows his eyes on me for a moment before he walks over to the couch and sinks down into the leather.

I do the same, choosing to sit in the chair beside the couch. We each turn to face one another, lift our drinks to our lips, and take a sip. “I’m waiting,” he says.

I let the liquid burn my throat for a moment, then close my eyes and let out a heavy sigh before shifting in my seat. I don’t necessarily feel like I owe him anything, but I have his sister under protection. And I want to fuck her. So, there’s that.

Clearing my throat, I shake my head a couple of times before I respond to him. “Unfortunately, it’s time to use Nadine as bait.”

Silence surrounds us. It’s palpable. Both of us take a sip of our whiskey as we wait. Arching a brow, I wait for his response. I’m not sure what he’s going to say. It could go several different ways.

One being that he tries to kill me for using Nadine as bait. The other is that he thinks it’s a good idea. That’s all the options we have going on at this point, but since I’m not sure how he’s going to react, I wait.

Then Brody lets out a snort, and his gaze searches mine before he shakes his head once. “Use my sister as bait?” he asks. “But then you nail this fucker to the wall.”

It’s a statement, not a question. We nail this fucker to the goddamn wall.

“That’s the plan. And he’s so fucking broke he won’t be able to hire an attorney.”

Brody lifts his drink to his lips again. I watch him, waiting. He’s mulling over my words, no doubt trying to decide how he feels about the fact that Nadine is going to be bait. I don’t tell him that I will protect her with my life and that I adore every fucking part of her.

He doesn’t need to know how I feel about her.

At least not yet.

Maybe eventually.

“I want him to bleed,” Brody states.

I do, too. But I don’t say that. “We need everything we can get on him as insurance.”

Brody sets the glass down on the side table and then rises to his feet. He stands in front of me, no doubt attempting to appear intimidating, but he doesn’t intimidate me in the slightest.

And if he knew anything about me, anything about the other men in Securus, he would know why that is—we are unintimidatable.

“Get it done, or I’ll take matters into my own hands.”

“Is that a threat?” I ask.

He snorts. “It’s a promise.”

“You’ll end up in prison,” I point out.

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