The Pawn (Shattered Series Book 1) (32 page)

This time, it was Javier’s chance to pass him a warning glance, and he conceded by looking away.

“No one lays a hand against me---no one!” Clint shouted, cocking the gun, and aimed it towards him. “You’re lucky that you’re still alive. But, I intend to live up to my promise of fucking you up, pretty boy. Ah the oxymoron, there shall be natural beauty in my actions, but pure ugliness in the result.”

Tensing, he returned the assassin’s bold stare. “We’ll see about that.”

Turning away from him, Clint swung towards Tomas. “Did you make sure that the shack was clean? No prints left behind or any trace of our good fellas, here? The cleanup better have been good.”

Staying silent, he watched their exchange with interest. Apparently, there was already a breakdown with their allegiance, one that was flimsy at best.

And that’d certainly work in their favor…

Staying silent, he watched the captors.

“Did the best that I could, considering the circumstances,” Tomas complained with a deep whine, spreading his hands out. “How long are you going to keep ragging on me about it? It was your lame-brain idea to go all psycho on them while we were there.” He blew an exasperated breath. “Don’t know what you’re complaining for. Who’s doing all the leg work?
I’m
the one that lured them both there so that you could kill them. And since I’ve done more than the job originally called for, I want a bigger cut.”

The annoyance showed on the assassin’s face and in his voice. “What?”

Bingo, he thought silently, eyeing the captors.

Time to intervene…

“Surely, Tomas, a man of your caliber won’t fall for this SOB’s scheme so easily. Are you that stupid? While you look it, I hardly think that you are,” Jarrod interjected, arching a brow. “Do you really think that he’s going to pay up or let you live? Come on, man, think. You’ll be an accessory and accomplice to cold-blooded murder. Once this gig is done, he has no further use for you. You’ll be just as dead as we’ll be.”

Face pinched in a frown, Tomas mulled the words over.

“Don’t be a damn fool and listen to him,” Clint ordered, fighting to hide the exasperation in his voice. “He’s trying to trip you up.”

“No. Sabatino’s right.” Narrowing his gaze, Tomas eyed the assassin. “How
do
I know that I can trust you?”

The pointed question was like striking a match, igniting another verbal match between the captors. Momentarily forgetting them, voices rising, the captors sparred with vicious venom, making him wonder who’d lose control first.

He passed another look in Javier’s direction, and upon meeting his gaze, received a subtle nod from him in return.

In the darkness, his machinations weren’t even noticeable, and Javier’s poker face was probably the best yet.

With that knowledge, he added more fuel to the verbal fire. “How much did he offer you?” Jarrod inquired, inclining his head in Clint’s direction. “Bet it’s not even a fraction of what he’s going to get for the job.”

Frowning, Tomas crossed beefy arms along his chest. “Not that it’s any of your damned business, but, we’re splitting the $100,000, 50/50---”

“$100,000?” he scoffed, and then laughed. “Hate to break it to you, buddy. But, you’re getting played like an all-day sucker, and big time.” He nodded in Clint’s direction again. “This old cat’s making more than a hundred grand. I’d say that he’s shorting you the real deal which is $500,000.”

“You’re lying,” Tomas accused, but then, his eyes flickered uncertainly before landing on Clint. “Isn’t he?”

“Of course, he’s lying. I told you that he’s only trying to trip you up,” Clint reasoned. “Don’t listen to that bastard---”

He slipped a fast glance at Javier.

Done
, Javier mouthed silently.

But, what’d be their next move, especially since they were so close?

It’d have to be efficient and fast…

“Think about it,” Jarrod interjected, looking at Tomas again. “A high-profile mafia kingpin intent on murdering a billionaire… Do you actually think that he’s only going to offer up $100,000? Again, you can’t be that stupid. He’s playing you.”

Clint’s eyes shot daggers. “Shut the f---”

“It’s true, isn’t it? That’s why you don’t want Sabatino to talk,” Tomas said accusingly, tightening the grip on the handgun as he faced Clint. “You
are
trying to get most of the cut.”

“Hell, man, I was going to save that as a surprise,” Clint reasoned, flicking a subtle glance at Tomas’ handgun. “But, of course, he had to ruin it. Just a short while ago, Addison’s informants dropped an additional $400,000 into the account. I was going to mention it after we offed these two.”

“And the $100,000 that we were already splitting, you said that it was close by.” Tomas aimed the gun fully at Clint. “Take me to it. I want my cut now, and then later, I want what’s due to me from the rest. My job’s done here. You can do whatever in the hell you want with these two. I don’t care.”

Of course, Clint was the master manipulator, he mulled, watching the different emotions ranging across his face. And the assassin realized fully that he was dealing with an amateur wannabe hit man.

“Are you sure about that?” Clint asked, arching a brow, and then purposefully sighed. “Come on, man. Put the gun down. This fool is just getting you worked up because he’s scared for his own life. Let’s take a walk. Okay?”

A smooth criminal, no doubt, he deduced again, taking in the assassin’s cunning machinations. Unfortunately, Tomas was too inept at knowing that he was about to become a murder victim.

“I hope you don’t take me for an idiot, Clint. I have some leverage against you. Those details, I will share with you and Addison. I’ll hang both of you SOB’s up to dry if you try to con me. Besides, how do I know this Addison fellow even exists? It could be someone that you’re making up. I want to talk to him myself, right now,” Tomas said, waving the gun as he spoke. “Then, we’ll be straight on the cut and everything else.”

Bingo…

Opportunity time, he mulled, passing Javier another secretive look. Again, their mutual nods were unnoticeable.

“If you insist,” Clint shrugged innocently. “But, there’s no cell reception this far in, and we’ll have to walk back a few---”

“I don’t care!” Tomas snapped. “Let’s just do it.” He passed a look at him and Javier. “What about these two fools?”

“They’re hogtied, so they’re not going anywhere. We’re good.” Shrugging, offering a false smile, Clint faced the other captor. “If you’re that intent on talking to Addison, let’s go. Lead the way.”

“No.
You
lead the way,” Tomas instructed, pointing the gun at him. “That way, I can keep an eye on you. Try anything and there will be consequences.”

With a quiet look, Jarrod eyed the criminals. It was apparent that a death was imminent, especially since both men were on edge. But, if he were a betting man, he’d place his wager on Tomas meeting an untimely demise.

  “Damn dude, why are you acting like this? Alright, we’ll do this your way,” Clint muttered, raising his hands innocently, though he was anything but. Yet, he was already turning away, venturing toward the beaten path again. “The sooner we take care of this side of business, the better. Who knows, maybe we can become partners after this. I’m thinking long term, man. It wouldn’t take many hits for us to benefit.”

                 “It’s definitely something that I’d consider,” Tomas added, following behind him. “Perhaps we can run that idea by Addison to see what he thinks. If not, there are other cats that need professional hit men. And I’ve wanted to leave this forsaken island forever. So, I’m game.”

              Tense, Jarrod watched as the men veered down the path, and when they were out of clear sight, he summoned Javier with a quick nod.

            The silent directive was enough to send Javier into action. With one swift cut, he freed the bondage from his ankles and then scampered across the ground.

            “This has been one helluva day, hasn’t it?” Javier breathed, slicing the rope from his wrists with one swift cut. “We can never say that we haven’t had our share of adventure. But, this one ranks at the top of the scale.”

             “And we will live to tell about it,” he asserted, throwing a cautious glance towards the beaten trail again. They definitely weren’t out of danger yet. Once he was totally freed, he came to his feet. “I’m guessing that we’re about a mile or so away from the shack. If we head south---”

            A shot rang out.

              The flying bullet chipped the bark from the tree, narrowly missing them. With a hard thud, they both dropped to the ground and scurried across it. When they reached, the low hanging bush, one that concealed them well, they huddled behind it.

           A few hundred feet away, Clint yelled out, “Damn you! You’re not getting away from me that easily!”

After a string of violent curses, the assassin fired another shot, and his movements could be heard as he charged through the jungle.

          “We need to split up,” Javier suggested fast, shooting him a side look. “If you watch him from this point, I’ll try to get a defensive stance from the south angle.”

He nodded. “Good idea. That way, we’ll have a better chance at overtaking him. It’s anyone’s guess how many rounds of ammo he has. Let’s stall him and make him fire.”

“Great minds think alike,” Javier chimed in. “Then, we’ll have no choice but to move in on him.”

“Whichever one of us has the better shot---we have to take it. There’s too much at stake for the both of us. And there’s no way in hell that I’m going to lose against Addison---not now,” he vowed. “Good luck.”

After a firm nod, Javier scurried away.

Crouching low, Jarrod stayed hidden, watching as the assassin met the clearing.

Out of breath, eyes wild, the captor skidded to a halt, all the while holding the gun steady. “Fuck!” Clint shouted, kicking the ground hard, sending a flurry of dust upward in the process. “I’ll be damned if you’re going to cost me 500 grand!” With a careful eye, he glanced around. “Let’s not do this the hard way, Sabatino. The kill will be even more gruesome now. If you want me to have the least amount of mercy, I suggest that you show yourself.”

He felt along the moist ground.

A jagged log, just small enough for him to hurl across the space---

Keeping a close eye on the criminal, he closed a hand around it, being extremely cautious with his movements.

“You know what, Sabatino? Maybe we can strike a deal,” Clint went on, looking around carefully. “A cool $2 million will ensure that you live, and hell, I’ll even give your homeboy a passage to life. So, what do you say?”

From the shadows, he watched the assassin.

“Oh, not a tantalizing enough offer, huh?” Clint said, arching a brow. “Ok, then. How about this? I’ve learned your secret, one that I haven’t even revealed to Addison, and if he knew it, only heaven knows what he’d do to you then.”

He froze.

“You know what? If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead right now. Do you actually think that I’d drag you all the way out here for nothing?” The criminal’s cold smile lingered. “No. There’s something in it for me, and it depends on your answer. So, listen close, real close.” His words were purposefully slow. “
I know your secret.
”

No, Jarrod raged inwardly, gripping the log with a bone-crushing hold. There’s no way that the captor could possibly know about Olivia.

But, not even the dark shadows could mask the darkness of his heart.

The feeling of dread---

Self-loathing and disgust at his own actions---

The emotions converged into one entity, flowing through him like a rising tidal wave. With unrelenting force, it drowned the remnants of flowing life from his soul.

In his conscience, like a holographic visual, her sweet image played before him, and he was faced with the truths of his deception.

How could he deceive her?

Or lie to her the way he’d been doing for the past year or more?

And wasn’t it, he mulled, feeling the pressure tighten in his chest, all due to one fact?

A desperate truth that he’d been running from for months on end, one that he was violently afraid of---

I love her
, he whispered inwardly, anguished, and the hot tears burned his eyes.
I love her
.

When the criminal spoke again, he snapped back to the present.

“
I know your secret. I know your secret,
” Clint taunted in a singsong voice. “Don’t they have a funny way of coming out? A place like this, it’s hard to keep them.” He shrugged. “It seems that you have a female traveling companion.”

Although he kept his expression blank, the criminal’s words hit home.

“One that bears a striking resembling to Matt Addison’s dead fiancé, Olivia Lange,” Clint chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. “You poor bastard---you’ve written your own death sentence. If Duke Addison’s loser son knew that she was alive and that you were over here getting the nookie from her, he’d kill you dead himself. Now, aren’t you glad that I’m here? How much is the bitch worth to you? Again, pay me $2 million and your secret’s safe with me. We all benefit. Or,” he said, stressing the single word. “We can handle this the hard way. I kill you and your friend. Then, I’ll kidnap Ms. Lange,” he smiled nastily. “And I’ll have my way with her first in anyway that I want before handing her over to Addison.”