Page 72 of The Primary Pest
I will start with your eyes…
“No, listen. I want to say how much I love you guys. How lucky I feel—” His voice broke. “No, listen. Listen tome, now, Dad. I love you both. So much. And Grandpa. Do you understand? You are awesome parents. And I’m so goddamn proud to be your—”
Peter jerked the phone away and fiddled with it before lifting it to his mouth. “That’s enough.”
Chet huffed a sigh of relief tinged with displeasure. Dmytro could very well believe shit just got real for him.
Had Chet never killed a man in cold blood? Made him beg for his life when he knew it was going to end anyway? Had he nevertortured someone for information? Or because they stole from someone who could afford to make them pay?
“You got that?” Peter shoved Ajax back toward Chet. “Then release the money. You know what to do.”
Dmytro’s eyes snapped to Peter’s.
Jesus.It wasn’t a cash drop. There was no second boat, or if there was, there was no cash on board. The ransom drop was a wire transfer.
The rendezvous is a ruse!
Peter grinned with unholy pleasure. “Surprise.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ajax
Ajax cried.He couldn’t help it. He cried and he kept on crying, even though Chet and Peter were shouting and Dmytro looked like someone had just murdered his girls right in front of him.
Had Dmytro thought he could control the situation? Ajax didn’t know what was going on, but seeing Dmytro at a loss was like hearing his father cry on the phone.
Or if El Capitan crumbled to dust.
Without moving a muscle, Dmytro told him everything he needed to know: They were fucked.
Ajax couldn’t look at him. Or maybe he should. Maybe he should go to Dmytro and they should both admit the jig was up, and if they were lucky, they’d get the chance to hold each other once more before Peter and his little pal shot them and threw them overboard.
Because that had to be his endgame. It had to be.
So why didn’t he get it over with?
Because if there was the tiniest bit of hope for them to get away—even if only for Dmytro—if he could keep himself alive and get back to his girls, Ajax Fairchild would not ruin it for him.
“Get out. Move onto the deck.” Peter killed the engine and dropped anchor. “Chet, bring the tape.”
Jesus. Jesus. This was it.
It had all come down to this.
Now Ajax was sure he knew whatbeing realmeant. It wasn’t about how you livedordied. It wasn’t about surviving a fall or being heroic or fighting some enemy.
It was only about being in this one moment.
About being fully alive in the time you had. And if he’d known that sooner…
What?
What would he have done differently if he’d known these were his last few minutes on earth?
He’d have told Dmytro he loved him. “Dmytro—”
“Shut up, Ajax.” Dmytro turned away.
