Page 42 of Bound to a Killer
“Good.” I nod, mostly to myself. His leg keeps bouncing beside me as the junkyard fence creeps into view. “We’ll leave as soon as this is over.”
“Do you really think this will work?”
We near the barbed fence. The crookedNo Trespassingsign is close enough to read now.
“The IDs or the meeting?” I ask.
His laugh is dry, fizzling into a resigned sigh. “I’ll never know what it is about her.”
“What are you talking about?” I step on the brakes and steer past the sign, my eyes darting across the littered cars in search of Antonio’s Range Rover.
The silence is eerie.
My heartbeat hammers as I ease off the gas pedal, buying us a couple more seconds.
Tanner snaps in my direction, leaning against his seatbelt strap. “Don’t do that to me. You know damn well what this is really about.” His eyes flit forward for a second before landing back on me. “It’s because of that girl.”
My knuckles blanch. “Fucking pull yourself together, Tanner.”
“Right, because I’m the problem?” He jerks back into his seat, dismissing me. “Always, Mr. Know-It-All. Well, since you know every little fucking thing, why don’t you go ahead and tell me why the hell we’re driving into a damn junkyard this early in the goddamn morning without a single fucking clue what it’s about?” Spit flies out as his anger boils over. “Oh, I’ll tell you why. It’s because they fucking know we botched the mission.”
I twist my mouth into a scowl. “Okay.”
“Okay?”he parrots, a sharp, bitter breath flaring from his nose. “That’s it?Okay?”Then, out of the blue, he lifts his knee and slams it into the glove box.
Oh, he’s really done it now.
“You know what I think?” I ask.
His head bobs with agitation. “Yeah, you go ahead and tell me.”
“Fuck you, Tanner—no, really. Fuck. You. I’ll tell you what I fucking think. I think you’re just pissed that I decided to do something without your damn approval. That’s it, isn’t it? None of this is about the mission or the girl. Just the fact I didn’t ask for your majesty’s fucking blessing.”
“You’re out of line,” he snaps. “I’m literally risking everything right now to stand by your side. Don’t you see that?”
I clamp my jaw and breathe instead of punching the wheel like I want to. What are we doing?
We’re turning on each other, and we’ve got seconds to rein it in.
“I know,” I say carefully, keeping the frustration out of my voice as the Range Rover comes into view, sunlight glaring off its brand-new paint. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I fucked up, but I can’t move us forward and right things if you keep berating me over it every chance you get. We’re supposed to be a team. And right now we need to work together if we’re going to get through this.”
He stays tense, eyes fixed straight ahead. “Fine. Let’s just focus on getting through this. There’s no dodging it now.”
The silence between us is our agreement.
Antonio steps out of the driver’s seat. I unclench my jaw and center myself. We can’t go in looking frazzled.
A second door swings open.
It’s not his usual henchman. He’s broader. Heavier. And with a mean glare shooting in our direction as he slams his door shut.
“Who the fuck is that?” Tanner asks.
Shit. This isn’t good.
I turn off the engine and unbuckle. Tanner lags a few seconds behind me, but quickly follows suit. “Doesn’t matter. Just stay calm.”
It could just be a new member he wants to assign us to. Either way, if things spin out of control—which they won’t, but if they do—it’s two against two. We’ve got nothing to fear.
