Page 86 of Torched Spades

“Not particularly, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t take the expressway there before living up to your end of the deal.”

“Fuck your deal,” I growl as he rises to his feet. “I don’t care about it anymore.” The words themselves nearly knock me backward because—holy shit—I mean them. Finishing what I came here to do means nothing to me now. If it all ends tonight, then so be it. I’ll take my last breath with a goddamn smile on my face.

My revenge has a new face.

Owen’s face darkens, and he takes a step toward me. “You don’t mean that.”

“They got to her,” I admit, the truth still cutting at the gaping hole in my chest. “Right in the goddamn parking garage outside your office.” I shake my head, every ounce of humanity spilling to my feet. “I’m not dealing with this again.”

There’s a flicker of sympathy in his eyes. “I heard.”

The two words explode like a bomb inside my head. Drawing my gun, I aim it between his eyes, only to find I’m staring down the barrel of an identical one.

Owen and I stand motionless in my living room, both of us with an arm extended, ready to fire.

“Youheard,” I repeat, my escalating volume exposing my unraveling control, “and you didn’t think letting me know would be a good idea?”

“So you could what, Johnny?” he demands, his tone sharp. “Do exactly what I came here to stop you from doing? I had no clue the woman attacked at the courthouse was Dr. Brennan until I spoke to her receptionist.That’swhy I kept quiet. I knew you’d see her today, and I hoped six days would’ve been enough healing time for you not to let guilt push you into throwing everything away.”

“It’s not guilt.”

“No, it’s much worse; it’s guiltandobsession. Do you think I’m fucking blind? That I don’t see what’s going on right in front of my face?”

“Chivalry?”

“A fuck load of secrets. Am I supposed to not question why you suddenly know who attacked Dr. Brennan when no one else does? You’re going vigilante because you ignored every damn word I said. I warned you to ‘lay low.’ Two fucking words. How hard is that? But no, Johnny does whatever the fuck Johnny wants. You got too close to George Reese’s daughter and made yourself a target. Now you’re using this vigilante bullshit for Becca’s attack as an excuse to absolve yourself of what happened to Victoria.”

“Don’t fucking say her name,” I warn darkly.

He tosses me a snide sneer. “Which one? The woman you’re killing for or the one you actually killed?”

Half a second.That’s all it takes for me to lunge forward, the force of my hand against his chest causing him to stumble backward into the wall. Before he realizes what the fuck just happened, I’ve shoved the muzzle of my gun deep into his forehead. “Don’t think I won’t pull this trigger.”

“They’d give you the death penalty.”

“You already did.”

“Fuck you, Johnny,” he hisses. “Don’t act like any of this is my fault. I’ve done nothing but bust my balls for three months to keep you from destroying everything, including yourself.”

“The tapes,” I bite out between clenched teeth. “Are they still missing?”

“Yes.” He nods begrudgingly.

“And no one has any clue how audio recordings just disappeared,” I prompt, my grip on the gun turning to iron. “Just one day they’re gone along with every electronic copy. I’m supposed to believe that just happens on the government’s watch?”

“I have friends on the inside looking into it.”

“I have friends, too,” I challenge.

“No. Hell, no. Don’t even think about it. Not when we’re—”

“This close,” I mock, getting in his face while narrowing my eyes. “We’ve been ‘this close’ for three months now, and it seems that margin keeps widening. Which makes me wonder, Owen… How long until the cage door opens?”

“That won’t happen.”

“Right.” Removing my gun from between his eyes, I give him a hard stare, daring him to move as I re-holster it, then charge toward the door.

I’m reaching for the doorknob when he calls out from behind me.