“That wasn’t the plan.”

“Screw the goddamned plan!” My ankle was throbbing. “Just tell me what you want. Money? I’ll get it for you.”

“I’ve got plenty of that. I charge a lot in my line of business.”

I coughed. So this man wasn’t my enemy. He was simply a hired killer. Someone Rodney Cates had employed. But Rodney Cates was a college professor. He wasn’t a rich man. Gina had said her upbringing was modest. Hired guns didn’t come cheap, at least as far as I knew.

“Who hired you?” I gasped out, wincing at the pain in my ankle.

“I’ve had enough of your talking. Shut up, or I’ll duct-tape your fucking mouth!”

I pinched my lips together. No, he couldn’t take away my ability to scream. I needed that. It might be my only tool once this was underway.

He tied my ankles together with rope instead of duct tape, and I grimaced and groaned again at the pain.

“Hurts, huh? That’s your own damned fault.”

I wanted to scream at him, but I remembered his threat about the duct tape. I needed my voice.

“Funny thing. These days, with modern cars, it takes a damned long time to die this way. Newfangled catalytic converters reduce carbon monoxide emissions by quite a bit. This old thing, though… You won’t be so lucky.”

It was a big garage, and that was in my favor. I’d have to stay as high as I could, where the air would remain clearer. The room was bare but for some old metal shelving. I’d climb on the shelving if I could somehow get myself unbound. If my ankle would support me.

If I couldn’t get unbound, I still had my head. Surely my head was hard enough to break a window. But if I knocked myself out, I’d lose consciousness and die anyway.

The man finished binding my ankles. “Time’s running out, Doctor.”

“How long does it take?” I asked. “To die, I mean.” I knew the answer to that question, of course, being a doctor. But I needed to stall.

“Each case is different. How long do you think it took Gina Cates to die?”

Always the knife, every time someone mentioned Gina. Every damned time. “I don’t know.” And I didn’t, though I could surmise.

“Doesn’t really matter now. She’s dead. A fucking corpse because of you.”

“Did you know her?”

“Fuck, no, I didn’t know her.”

“Then why does this matter to you?” Of course I knew why. Money. But he was talking, and that was good.

“Not your concern.”

“Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll double it.”

“Sorry.”

“Are you saying you can’t be bought?”

That got a laugh out of him. “You know better than that. But I wouldn’t stay in business for long if I weaseled out of a job for more money. No one would trust me.”

A hired gun with ethics. Interesting.

“Besides,” he continued, “you don’t have any money. You’re bluffing.”

I was bluffing. I made a good living and had a good retirement account started, but I didn’t have the kind of money he wanted.

However, Jonah Steel did.

Would he give it to me to ensure my safety? He was obviously mad at me for running out on him, but he’d wanted me to stay.

I let out an audible sigh. I had no way to get in touch with Jonah. His number was in my phone, but I didn’t have it memorized. I couldn’t call him even if I had the capability. The masked man certainly wasn’t going to help me.

I was on my own.

Alone.

Just like Gina had been as a child. Just as Talon had been, in that dark, cold basement.

The masked man opened the car door and started the engine. Instinctively, I took a deep breath—my last breath of clean air.

He reached toward the passenger door, locked it, and then stood, locked the driver’s side door, and slammed it shut. “Time’s up, Doctor.” He pushed me toward the car.

I fell against the driver’s door, unable to keep my footing. I slid down, the door handle jabbing into my back, and ended up on the floor, my ankle burning.

He stared at me from the door leading to the house. “All locked up tight. Good-bye. See you in hell.”

The door shut and clicked quietly.

I closed my eyes and inhaled, going back to the essence of life…breathing, and—

No! This was one time when the essence of life wouldn’t help me. The more I breathed in, the quicker I’d lose consciousness from the carbon monoxide.

I trembled, still lying on the concrete floor next to the car. No time to panic. I had to act, and I had to act quickly. My ankle still throbbing, I scooted on my ass toward the shelving on the other side of the garage.

And then I saw it.

Chapter Three

Jonah

“What the fuck?”

A chill pulsed through me. Melanie’s door was roped off with police tape and locked with a padlock. What the hell was going on? Had her home been burglarized? I hoped that was it. She had to be all right. I quickly pushed the doorbell.

No response.

Don’t panic, Joe. This didn’t necessarily mean anything. She could be at work. Her office wasn’t too far from here. No—she wouldn’t be at work. She had taken a three-week leave of absence. She could be out on an errand. Or—

A swift spike of envy gored me. Maybe she was out with Oliver Twist.

I shook my head. God, yes, I’d rather she be out with Oliver than in some kind of trouble. As much as I didn’t want to face it, police tape meant trouble. Was she hurt? Was this why she hadn’t returned my calls?

I’d thought she was punishing me for not returning her first call. What had she expected when she sneaked out of my house after I’d invited her to stay? Hell, I’d wanted her to stay. I heaved a sigh and then pounded on the door. No one answered, but a door several yards down the hall opened.

“What’s all that racket?” A young woman with short hair stood in her doorway, wearing jeans and a T-shirt that said “Kiss me, I’m Irish.”

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I’m looking for Melanie Carmichael. Do you know what’s going on here? Why is her door taped off? What happened to her? Is she all right? Have you seen her?”