“Fuck you, man,” the wounded man gasped out. “This ain’t no game show.”
“Just hear me out. Before anyone else gets hurt.” Noah rose slowly, letting the gun dangle from his spread fingers as he stepped into the doorframe, hands up.
A bald man with a black and silver goatee crouched against the wall. Blood coursed down his face. More leaked from his boot. He’d slashed Caro’s restraints, and pulled her down on top of himself as a shield. He held the gun to her temple and held Caro clamped against his chest. Blood trickled down in long rivulets between her breasts. A knife lay next to them on the floor. The blade was bloodied. He’d been using it to cut her.
The bastard was pretty fucking quick, for an unmod. But there were claw marks on his face. Caro had done that. Good for her.
She looked up at Noah. Her lips tight, but her eyes were clear. Her sig was ablaze.
“Take the ammo out of the gun,” the thug commanded.
“Don’t hurt her,” Noah said.
“I swear to God, I will cut her throat right now if you don’t empty that gun and kick it over to me.” The blade dug in deeper. Blood pooled in her navel.
Noah pulled out the magazine, dropped it to the floor, kicked it.
“Take out the chambered round,” the man said. “Toss the bullet over here. And slide me the gun. Now, fuckface.”
He did as he was told. The bullet bounced and rolled right into the puddle of blood at the man’s feet. The gun rattled across the plywood floor.
“Don’t hurt her,” Noah said again. “She’s the only one who can open Olund’s safe. She doesn’t know what’s inside it. But I do. Major money. You in?”
“Shut up, asshole, or she’ll feel it.” The guy whacked Caro in the side of the head with the gun butt. Noah buzzed on the raging edge of a supernova.
Not now. Not yet. Not with a gun to Caro’s head. Not. Yet.
“You must be the son of a bitch who fucked up my team yesterday,” the man snarled. “I’m not doing any goddamn deals with you.”
“Hear me out,” Noah said. “I hate that psycho prick, and I want him dead, preferably slowly, and screaming. But I have nothing against you . . . yet. There’s no reason you and I couldn’t cut a deal.”
“You are so full of shit.” The man shoved the gun barrel against Caro’s face. She winced as it dug into her cheek. “What the fuck would I need you for?”
“Getting the job done right,” Noah said calmly. “You’d have to take down Mark on your own otherwise. It’ll be a whole hell of a lot easier to do with me.”
“Oh, God,” Caro said shakily. “No! No, you can’t—”
“Shut up and do as you’re told,” Noah said curtly.
“Talk fast,” the bleeding man said. “I’m getting bored.”
More like about to pass out from shock. The wound was serious. But the guy was tough. “Mark never told you what was in that safe?”
He watched the guy’s sig carefully, filtering out Caro’s overlay.
“It’s not my fucking business what’s inside,” the guy growled.
Noah read defensiveness, conflict and anger. The man holding Caro really didn’t know what was in the safe, and he was curious, even if he was afraid of Mark. He was smart, and his survival instincts were good.
“So you’re that kind of guy,” Noah said softly. “You toe the line. Take what you’re given.”
The other man gripped Caro tighter, making her catch her breath. “Right now, asshole, I have the gun, and you have jack shit. Tell me what’s in the fucking safe.”
“Bearer bonds,” Noah said. “Eighty million bucks worth. Half are yours.”
“I don’t believe you,” the man hissed.
Noah smiled thinly. “That’s a forty million dollar payday. Why else would I be here?”
“You tell me.”
“To get rich. So how much did Mark pay you to pick up this chick? Fifteen thousand? Twenty thousand?”
“More than that.”
“Chump change,” Noah said. “You call that money?”
“Yeah. With benefits. Like this.” He squeezed Caro’s breast. She gasped sharply.
Noah’s hands clenched. “I need her alive and functional. She set the biometric parameters on the vault. Only her brainwaves can open it. The safe is programmed to destroy anything you try to extract by force. Kill her, and you kill the money.”
“Hmmm.” The thug ran a meaty, bloodcaked hand over Caro’s tangled hair, and cupped her head. “Brain waves, huh? You could just shave off all this pretty hair, stick on some electrodes. Record the brainwaves. Crack the safe with a playback. Beats hauling this whiny bitch around.” He yanked hard at her hair. “Then you’d look like me,” he crooned, licking her throat. “Only scared.”
The rage almost ran him over. Noah forced it down. He’d make that piece of shit pay in blood for every humiliation. Later. When Caro was safe.