Page 30 of Witness Protection

“No, please. I won’t do it again.”

As soon as he turned his back, he’d bet his last dollar she’d try the same damn thing. “I should teach you a lesson, show you what happens when you pull shit like this.”

Her lips parted, but no words escaped.

He fisted his hand into the hair at the base of her skull, making her neck crane back. She squinted from the pain but refused to make a sound. He lowered his head until only a breath away from her lips. “One minute you’re ready to kiss me. The next you want me dead. Which is it, princess?”

She didn’t answer. The sound of her heavy breathing dominated the room.

The buzzer sounded, loud and grating from the main doors of the factory. That bastard Ricky was quick. Cayden stared down at Sophia for another minute, making no move to answer the door despite the repeated buzzing. He ever so slowly released his hold of her hair. The tension in her shoulders eased, and she exhaled once the pressure was gone.

“I’ll deal with you later. Sit and keep quiet.”

Once she was on the sofa, he darted up the staircase to the main level and let Ricky inside. Business must have been good because the Italian’s gut was twice the size.

Ricky followed behind him through the factory, each step punctuated from the mess of broken glass and scrap metal on the ground. “How’s life been treating you, Cayden?”

“Same shit, different day.”

“I was sorry to hear about Frank and his family. That was messed up.”

“Yeah.”

He opened the door to the basement, half expecting Sophia to be ready to bolt, but the staircase was clear. She was sitting on the sofa where he’d left her. He ignored her and sat on his chair, rubbing the spot where she’d hit him.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” asked Ricky.

“What’s the code?” he asked.

Ricky gave him the code, and he entered it into his encrypted program. The details of the contract appeared on his screen. It was a quick find and eliminate. His favorite. And it was only half an hour away. He scanned through some of the details.

“Hey, gorgeous. My name’s Big Rick.”

Cayden turned in his chair. Ricky was only a few feet from the sofa. “Don’t talk to her.”

Ricky put up his arms at the elbows in mock surrender, taking a step back.

As he continued to read through the file, he frowned. “Why did you bother driving out here to give me the code? You could have used our secure line.” He hadn’t seen Ricky in the flesh for years. There was no need.

Ricky walked to the other side of the room near the stairs, motioning for Cayden to follow. “Listen, Cayden,” he whispered. “I have a sweet deal. How’d you like to split three million dollars?”

He smirked. “What’s the catch?”

“Here’s the beauty of it. You don’t have to do jack shit. Just give me the girl, then carry on your day.”

The girl?

He froze.

That wasn’t the answer he expected.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Give me Vasily’s girl, and I’ll wire you your cut within twenty-four hours. You know I’m good for it,” said Ricky.

Cayden turned and glanced at Sophia. She looked out of place, fidgeting with the decorative metal studs on the edge of the sofa. “Who the hell would pay that for her?”

“I’m not sharing my contact.”

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