Page 158 of Storm Warning

Growing more concerned by the minute, Riley turned toward the hallway. The next room to clear was her office. If Andre wasn’t in there, she’d try calling him even though that was a risk to his safety if he was in a dangerous situation. But this wasn’t like him. Andre didn’t play tricks on people, especially not on her.

She crossed the hall to her closed office door. Riley frowned. She never closed the office door. Did the crime scene team close it?

Pressing her back to the wall, Riley reached over, twisted the doorknob, and pushed the door open. Darkness greeted her. Great. Light switch time. She hated the dark, and it looked as though her night light had burned out while she’d been in Mexico. She felt for the switch and flipped it up.

As soon as light flooded the room, Riley froze, a nightmare playing out in real life in front of her.

Andre knelt in the center of her office floor, wrists and ankles cinched together with zip ties. Blood dripped steadily from his scalp and ran down his right cheek and neck, staining his shirt.

Carlos Jimenez, Abby Dale’s boyfriend, stood behind Andre, holding the muzzle of a pistol to Andre’s head.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

RILEY AIMED HERSig at Carlos. “Can’t say I expected to see you in my home, Carlos. What are you doing here?”

He snorted. “Isn’t it obvious?” Abby’s boyfriend jabbed his pistol against the back of Andre’s head. “He’s pathetic, Riley. You should have someone worthy of you. This clod isn’t the right one.”

“Really?” She pretended to think about that for a moment while slowly shifting her position to have a better shot if given the opportunity. “Do you have any suggestions for me?”

He smiled, his expression smug. “Me.”

Her eyes widened. “You? But you’re dating Abby. I don’t poach on another woman’s man.”

“Baby, whether I date her is my decision. You should take a chance on me.”

“And if I don’t?”

His smile faded. “I’ll have to return to my original orders.”

Riley eased a step closer. “Which are?”

“Kill Andre, then kill you.”

“Who sent you, Carlos? I deserve to know that at least.”

“Who else? Obsidian Storm. I work for Mr. Garcia.”

“Good old Javier.” Riley shook her head. “He just doesn’t know when to quit, does he?”

The intruder tightened his grip on the gun and shifted the muzzle toward her.

Excellent. At least she didn’t have to worry about Carlos shooting Andre by accident. “You shouldn’t put your faith in Javier Garcia, Carlos.”

“Why not? He’s a great man, who will make me wealthy. He promised.”

“Do you know what happened in Izabal overnight?”

He stilled. “No.”

“We gutted Obsidian Storm.”

Carlos glared at her. “That’s impossible. Obsidian Storm has hundreds of members. You’re lying, Riley, and I don’t like liars.”

“I’m not fond of them myself. Unfortunately for you, I’m telling the truth. We had more than one black ops team in Mexico. Do you know what your glorious leader planned to do?”

“I’m not supposed to discuss that. It’s a secret.”

“If it’s a secret, why do I know about it?” She eased closer to Andre. “I know what Javier and Diego planned to do.”