Page 42 of Play Dirty

“No. We’re not doing that again,” Madi said. “Last time we played chicken with a murderer, Jonah got shot and Cas nearly got himself killed.”

“I was fine,” Sadie said, taking a bite of her apple. “Not that anybody ever asks.”

Az chuckled at Sadie’s casual statement, but it faded as he realized they were no closer to a solution. “So, we need another plan.”

“No,” Cas said. “We need another person on the inside. One who Azrael hasn’t shot in the face.”

“Cas,” Madi warned.

“The only people who’ve been going in and out are his security team. They’ve all been with him for years, and they’re surprisingly loyal. He’s stopped sending in his housekeeping staff, his cook, everybody.”

“Well, this is the opposite of helpful,” Madi grunted.

Cas grinned. “I’m not done yet. There’s only one person going in or out, and that’s his psychologist.”

Sadie snorted out a surprised laugh. “The sociopathic trafficker has a shrink? Those sessions must be interesting. Who’s his doctor? Hannibal Lecter?”

“Why are you two so obsessed with Hannibal Lecter?” Jonah muttered.

Cas ignored Jonah. “No, Dr. Tobias Eastman. He has two PhDs from Harvard. One in psychology, and the other in evolutionary biology, and he has a very, very bizarre specialty.”

When Cas didn’t elaborate, Madi sighed heavily, “Which is?”

“Psychopaths. He studies and counsels psychopaths and other deviants almost exclusively.”

“So, a sob story won’t work on this guy,” Jonah said. “There’s nothing we can tell him about Bennington he probably doesn’t already know. You two are going to need leverage.”

“We’re open to suggestions,” Az said, studying Madi’s profile.

“He has no family ties that I can find. Both his parents are dead. He was an only child. All of his relatives are distant. It’s just him and this tiny teacup yorkie in a townhouse in Summerville. He drives an hour each way to get to Bennington, which means he’s well paid, so we can’t use that.”

“Kidnap the dog,” Sadie said around a mouthful of apple before crunching loudly.

The four men stared at her before Caspian shook his head. “You can’t just kidnap a dog. That’s crossing a line. No kids. No dogs. They’ve made threeJohn Wickmovies about why you never mess with dogs.”

“They killed the dog inJohn Wick. We’re just going to borrow him,” Sadie said.

Az and Madi exchanged glances. Then Az shrugged. “She’s right. We would never harm a dog. It might work. Right?”

Madi gave a begrudging nod. “But that leads to problem two. How do we get the dog? We can’t be seen in public right now. If we pop our heads up, one of Bennington’s goons is going to lop them off. Sadie?”

Sadie’s feet dropped to the floor as she sat upright and leaned into the camera. “I’m still a day’s drive away. What about Ronin? He’s still local, and I’m, like, ninety-five percent sure he won’t kill you for the bounty on your heads.”

“Ninety-five percent?” Madi said. “There’s a five-percent chance he’ll kill us instead of help us?”

Sadie shrugged. “If he were going to kill you, he knows where you are. Besides, there’s a five-percent chanceImight kill you.”

“Yeah, she’s right,motek. I think we have to risk it,” Az said. “Ronin can get the dog while we make an appointment to see the doctor. If he likes psychopaths, then two must be better than one, right?”

Cas chuckled. “I’ll get you two on the doctor’s schedule. Sadie, can you contact Ronin and ask him to do a little dognapping for us?”

“Yeah, I’m on it. This has been a real blast but I gotta go. I’ll see you at the safe house tomorrow. Try not to get dead.”

Sadie clicked out of the meeting, leaving the four of them to stare at each other. Cas leaned into the camera. “So, you’re the guy who Madi’s crushing on, huh? You’re not at all what I was expecting. I figured he’d go for a blo—”

Madi reached out and punched the key to disconnect. “Goddamn, he drives me up the wall.”

Az chuckled. “He’s just staking his claim on his man. I’m assuming there’s a story there?”