Page 3

Bishop

Her words sent me into autopilot. I grabbed her arm and dragged her to the passenger side of the car. She struggled against my grip, so I lifted the gun.

“Don’t try me.” My voice was flat. “Get in the car.” I leaned past her and opened the door, keeping my gun trained on her until she climbed in. “Stay put.” I pushed the button on the keys to lock it and stop her bolting while I moved around to the driver’s side.

She still attempted to flee when I unlocked it to climb in, but I lunged across and grabbed her arm again.

“I will fucking shoot you. Do not make me chase you.” The gun touched her temple. “Decide fast. I have to be at the airport in ten minutes.”

She stared straight ahead, lips compressed into a thin line.

“You said you were looking for me. Why? ” I pulled back the safety and she flinched at the sound it made. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

My cell blared, and she jumped. Without taking my eyes or gun off her, I reached into my pocket and pulled it out, then tapped connect. “What?”

“Are you running late?” My friend, Wade, asked. “We have to be in the air within the hour, Bish. What’s keeping you?”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. I had to make a slight detour, but I’m on my way.”

Thankfully, we had a little bit of leeway on the flight schedule. But not much. I stared at the woman, who refused to look at me.

“If I brought company with me, would that be a problem?”

“Company? You? No, it’s not a problem.”

“Okay, good. See you soon.” I ended the call.

“Guess you’re coming with me.” That got a reaction.

She twisted in the seat and swatted the gun away from her face. “I am not .”

“You said you were looking for me. Well, congratulations, sweetheart. You’ve found me. But I have somewhere to be, so if there’s something you want from me, you’re going to have to spit it out or tag along.”

I started the engine, drove the car back to the hotel and parked up beside mine. The woman beside me didn’t speak for the entire drive.

I cut off the engine and glanced at her. “Ready to talk yet?”

She shook her head.

“Then you are giving me no other choice. I can’t leave you here. I’ve just killed two men because they think I’m helping you.”

She gaped at me for half a second before rallying and snapping her mouth closed. “You found me tied up in the trunk of a car !”

I shrugged. “Could be a ploy to lower my guard. For all I know, you’re involved with the men who dragged me out of my room in the middle of the night.” I lifted the gun. “Let’s go.”

“No.”

“Do you think this is a toy?” I tapped her temple with the gun and her face drained of color. “Or maybe you think I won’t use it? If you have been searching for me, like you claim, then you know what I do. Get. Out. Of. The. Car.”

Her throat moved as she swallowed, but she stayed put.

“Okay then.” My voice was soft. I threw open the car door and climbed out.

She bolted the second my back was turned. Not unexpected. I lifted the gun, took aim, and fired. The bullet hit the ground near her feet. She skidded to a stop.

“That was your only warning. Get in my fucking car.”

She turned slowly to face me. “I heard about you from a friend. I wanted to hire you, but I’ve changed my mind. I thought you were just a … a middleman … I didn’t expect someone to jump me when I was walking to your hotel room. I want no part of whatever it is you’re involved with.” The words merged together in her haste to share them.

“Three.”

“What?”

“If I get to one, and you’re not in my fucking car, I’m going to stop being nice … Two.”

“You’re not being nice.” She hurried toward me. “I don’t want to go with you.”

“If you were looking to hire me, you’d end up going somewhere with me.” I threw open the passenger door of my car. “In.”

She shot me a dark look but bent and scrambled into the passenger seat. I slammed the door and went around to the driver’s side.

“Why were you looking to hire me?”

“I need to disappear. Just for a little while.”

“The people who hire me disappear for life, not just a little while .”

“My friend said you helped people.”

My eyebrow shot up. “Oh? And who is your friend? ”

If it was someone who’d hired me then they’d broken the one rule I have— no one talked about it. The whole point of disappearing was not to talk to anyone about your past life.

“She said you don’t know her, but you helped someone she knew disappear.”

“Why do you need to disappear?” I kept my eyes on the road. I could find out who had been talking another time.

“I … My ex-boyfriend is stalking me.”

“Report it. Get a restraining order. That’s what the police are for.”

“He is the police.” She blurted the words. “He’s a detective. We dated for a year. He was … Well, it wasn’t working, so I ended it. He won’t leave me alone.”

“How long has it been going on?”

“Four years.”

Her answer surprised me. I’d expected her to say a couple of months.

“I’ve moved twice. He finds me every time. He even transferred to a new precinct to be closer to me.”

“And … your friend … how did you meet her?” I turned onto the road leading to the private airstrip.

“I didn’t, as such. I’m in an … ummm … an online group for people who are dealing with similar situations.”

“I see. And this person told you about me? Out of concern for a stranger on the internet?”

“She gave me a number to call and leave a message. She said someone would contact me with a time and location to come and meet you.”

“That’s not how I work.” The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Someone was fucking around. “Did you get a message?”

“Yes. I was to book a room in the Swallow Falls Motel in Dallas and wait for you to contact me.”

“And that’s what you did?”

She nodded. “I got a call tonight that you were staying at the Dallas Spring Hotel, and I was to meet you at eight in room six-three-two. I got there a little early, and there were three men outside. They grabbed me.”

“Hmmm.” I’d never heard of the Dallas Spring Hotel.

“Do you believe me?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” I pulled the car into a space and turned to look at her. “Let’s pretend for the moment that I do. What did you think you were contacting me to do?”

“To help me get away from my ex-boyfriend.”

“Let’s say I’m open to being hired. For me to be effective, I’d need you to do exactly what I say without argument. Can you do that?”

“If it means I’ll be free from him, yes .”

I stared at her, making no secret of the fact I was assessing whether or not I believed her. She held my gaze.

“Okay,” I said finally. “First thing you have to do is come with me. We’ll call this our assessment meeting. You’ll fly with me to New York, and tell me everything about the situation you’re in. If, at the end of the flight, I decide this isn’t the job for me, we part ways.”

“New York?” she whispered.

“If this is the point where you tell me you don’t have the money to pay for your flight back to wherever you’re from, then I should inform you now that you won’t be able to afford my fees, either.” I climbed out of the car. “I’ll give you a few minutes to decide.”