Retribution - Book 1 - Sample Only

Chapter One

The phone in my front pocket vibrates. Checking it is the only thing I want to do right now. I shift in the metal chair and keep my hands clasped on top of the aluminum conference table that has seen better days.

The warehouse is deserted except for the six of us. It's a weird setup, but I learned a long time ago the right questions to ask and the ones to avoid. At least there's a table. This is a negotiation, not a confrontation. The table is important.

My heart thumps a violent rhythm in my chest, but I've gotten used to that too. The erratic heartbeat is my tell, and I'm thankful the people I work with can't hear it, even when it pounds in my ears. I've been well-trained for this double life, at least on the outside.

"Look," I let impatience seep into my voice. "Carys is going to be pissed when she finds out you guys are screwing her over." My first indication this meeting wouldn't be lucrative should have been the lack of heat in the building. It's so cold that each time I speak, I wonder if I'll see my breath. Teddy is too cheap to pay the prices we need to make this deal worthwhile.

"Next time, she comes to the meeting herself or we'll be taking care of business in a different way." The metal of Teddy's gun twinkles at me as he flips his suit jacket with false casualness.

I give him a mild glance and suppress my eye roll. Guys who have this burning desire to whip out their gun as a substitute for their dick piss me off. You got a gun. Good for you. I have four. The one up the sleeve of my leather jacket would nail him between the eyes before he even unholstered his archaic piece of crap. It's no wonder he's searching for an arms deal.

"I have a feeling she's not going to want to do any business with you after this stunt." I keep my features neutral. This is a wasted opportunity, and frustration eats at me. "Call me when you're serious about working with us. Maybe she'll still be interested." I nod to the two men who came with me, and they mirror my movements, ready to follow my lead.

"What's she paying you, Kim? I'll double it." Teddy readjusts himself under the table.

Ambling toward the exit, my throat fills with unease. My brain should be engaged in this conversation, but I can't stop thinking about the message on my phone. I call over my shoulder, "You couldn't afford me, Teddy. I'm above your pay grade."

"You got balls of steel." He chuckles when I keep walking. The warehouse is large and has too many of his steel products lying around which doesn't absorb his voice. His voice echoes, drawing my attention even when I'd prefer to ignore him. I'm not sure what he wants with Carys, but I doubt it has anything to do with guns.

Pausing before the exit, I shake my head, half turning back to him, flanked by Carys's two burly men. "I'd take a pussy made of diamonds over balls of steel any day."

Teddy's grin fades, and his chair screeches across the concrete when he stands. The two men with him are like shadows. "You want diamonds? I can arrange that."

"Forget you know my number." I push the emergency exit door, and it pops open. "Unless you have money for the deal."

The door slams behind my last man as we head to our black SUV waiting in the deserted gravel parking lot. The sky is blue-black, and the snow on the ground is melting, creating puddles in the potholes. Spring is on the way, but it isn't here yet. At some point, we'll get another blast of winter.

"What a waste of time." I pull out the phone in my pocket as it vibrates again.

"That Carys?" Jay raises his dark eyebrows as he opens the rear passenger door for me. His close-cropped brown hair is ruffed by a sudden breeze.

"Could be." I duck down, folding my almost six-foot frame into the car, but I don't take the phone out. Why am I being contacted? The FBI programmed the phone with a unique vibration for agency texts. When it went off in the meeting, I worried someone would notice my reaction. Creating suspicion in any of the people I work with could get me killed—shot dead without hesitation.