Page 118 of Storm Warning

Her man caught her eye and inclined his head toward Nathan. “Want some water, Nathan?”

He glared at her.

“You’re sweating like a pig, and you’ve screamed for at least half an hour. Your throat must be raw from imitating a little girl.”

“I won’t trust any water you give me.”

“No sweat.” She snorted. “No pun intended. I’ll have Elias give you the water, all right? We’ll break the seal in front of you so you’ll know we didn’t tamper with it.”

He studied her for a moment as though weighing her sincerity and truthfulness and finally nodded.

She hopped down from the stool and circled the counter to the kitchen’s refrigerator. With Nathan watching her every move, she grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Elias, who broke the seal in front of Nathan.

“Satisfied?”

The other man nodded. After Nathan had guzzled half of the bottle of cold liquid, he turned his head to show he was finished. The exhaustion was clear on his face and in every line of his body. “What do you want to know?”

Andre looked at Riley.

She gave a slight nod. Yes, indeed, her old boss was finally telling the truth.

Elias shoved his hands into his pockets. “What do you know about Joe Rutland?”

Nathan’s jaw muscles flexed.

Excellent. He realized he couldn’t withhold the information but was reluctant to do what he’d told her never to do. Talk.

“He’s hired muscle.”

Andre rested his hand on Nathan’s shoulder, a silent reminder of what was to come if he didn’t fully cooperate.

Nathan tensed. “He likes to hurt people, all right?”

“Why did you hire him?”

“I didn’t.”

Andre shifted position enough to make Nathan shy away.

“No, wait. Please. I’m telling you the truth. I didn’t hire him.”

“Who did?”

Nathan grimaced. “Sam Cowan.”

“Why send Rutland?”

“We needed to talk to Riley.”

The three operatives stared at him. “You’re serious?” Elias rolled his eyes. “Dude, haven’t you ever heard of a phone? Holy smoke, man. You and your crazy buddy could end up in jail if Riley presses charges. If you sent those goons after me, I’d press charges and hire the sharpest lawyer out there to win me a pot of money to spend while you waste away in prison for the rest of your life.”

Another glare at Riley from Nathan. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you had cooperated with the talent we sent to retrieve you.”

“Call next time.”

Andre scowled. “There won’t be a next time, or I’ll drop Berkley into a pit of vipers.”

Brilliant tactic there. Andre had skimmed the information she’d put together on Nathan. Since being bitten by a snake as a child, her old boss was deathly afraid of snakes.