“That’s an excuse I haven’t heard before.”
Ryker ignored my snarky comment. “She and I were close,” he said. “She was an excellent source and loyal to only herself, not Leo. When I went away, that was the end of it.”
“Yeah, but you’re back now,” I replied. “And it looks like she wants to take up where you left off.”
“McCrady.”
We both turned to see the woman we’d been discussing standing a few feet away. Her eyes narrowed when she saw me.
“Leo’s here,” she said to McCrady, her eyes still on me. “He’s asking for you.”
“Leo’s here?” Ryker asked. “It’s the middle of the day. Why is he here?”
Branna just shrugged and nodded at me. “Who the hell is this?”
“Just an ex,” Ryker said. “I was just showing her out.” He tugged on my arm, but a voice stopped him.
“What do we have here?”
Dread filled my gut at the familiar voice, and sure enough, Leo appeared behind Ryker.
“Looks like we have quite the party going on, thanks to you, McCrady,” he said. “Bring the girl back, too.”
I could tell Ryker was pissed, and I didn’t know if it was directed toward me, or Leo, or the whole situation. Either way, he didn’t have a choice and I followed Leo, some guy who was standing with him, and Ryker down the hallway. Branna brought up the rear.
A stairway was nearly invisible at the far end and we went down and into another short hallway. A door was standing partially open and we went inside the brightly lit room.
It was an office, a nice one, done in plush carpeting and with comfortable furniture, including a sofa that sat against one wall and a heavy wooden desk with two armchairs in front of it.
Leo sat in the chair behind the desk while the guy who was with him stood to the side, facing us.
“So I thought you and this one broke up,” Leo said. “That’s what you told me last night.”
Ryker shrugged. “I can’t help it if she’s having trouble accepting that it’s over. She followed me here. I was just trying to get through to her when you walked in.”
Okay, I didn’t really like the picture he was painting of me being some lovestruck, needy female who couldn’t let him go, but I didn’t have a choice. So I kept silent.
“Perhaps I can help with that,” Leo said. “We can even kill two birds, so to speak.”
“How’s that?” Ryker asked.
“There’s the matter of your sudden reappearance,” Leo said, “and your loyalty. Some members of my … organization … have expressed doubt that you are who you say you are.”
I thought one of those “members” was probably the man standing next to him, judging by the look he was giving Ryker. My stomach twisted into knots. They didn’t believe him, and he had no backup. If Leo decided to kill him right then, there was nothing anyone could do about it.
“So I’m proposing a test,” Leo said, sitting back in his chair. “Something that will prove to me, and my people, that you’re on the up and up.”
“What kind of test?”
Leo reached inside his middle desk drawer and pulled out a handgun. He held it out to Ryker, butt first.
“It’s an easy test, especially for someone like you,” Leo said. “All you have to do”—he looked at me—“is kill her.”
For one wildly hopeful moment, I thought he meant Branna. Then I realized … nope, he meant me.
I instinctively took a step back, but Branna was behind me and there was nowhere to go.
“You want me to kill my ex-girlfriend?” Ryker asked, skepticism in his tone.
“It would solve my problem, and incidentally, yours as well,” Leo replied.
“She’s just some secretary I picked up at a bar and fucked a couple times,” Ryker said. “She’s got nothing to do with this.”
Okay, now I was obsessive and easy. I shot him a glare that he didn’t see.
“Then you should have no trouble doing your job.” Leo nodded at the weapon he still held and Ryker finally took it. Now I started to panic.
“Hey, listen, I just met this guy and we seemed to hit it off, but you don’t want to see me anymore, that’s fine,” I babbled. “I’ll just be on my way and let bygones be bygones.” I took another step back toward the door, but was stopped in my tracks by Leo’s sidekick pointing a gun at me.
“You kill her,” Leo said. “Or Johnny here will do the honors. Either way, she’s not leaving here alive.” He glanced at me. “Sorry, honey. Don’t be offended. It’s nothing personal.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” I snapped.
“McCrady, make up your mind,” Leo said. “Kill her … or I’ll have serious doubts as to your level of commitment.”
I eyed the gun in Ryker’s hand as a cold sweat broke out all over my body. “If you think I’m just going to stand here and let you shoot me—”
“That’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Leo cut me off. “McCrady, decide.”
Ryker raised the gun, its muzzle pointed directly at my head.