CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jericho stared out the window of the building and had a feeling of dread and foreboding. Madsen was a killer in every sense of the word but he’d been showing cracks in his armor for a while now. Especially around Judy and the kids.
Thank goodness Judy was a stone-cold bitch with no heart at all. It had taken years to get the formula recreated and in a liquid formation. Now, he no longer needed her. As the feeling grew, he knew he needed to leave.
There were two other businesses in the building, although he had no idea what they did. No one had names on their doors. Just numbers. It wasn’t that kind of office building.
Gathering his notes and recreated information from the lost notebooks, he shoved them in his briefcase and then grabbed the stacks of cash in the safe. Walking out, he locked the door and exited to the rear where his vehicle was parked. As he started to pull out, Judy was pulling back into the lot.
“Where are you going?” she asked through her driver’s side window.
“I’m heading back to the hotel,” he said calmly. “Since we don’t have a child to evaluate, we can start thinking about a new research location. Maybe we should go to another location in the city or maybe move out of state.”
“Why the sudden change of heart?” she frowned.
“Just a feeling, Judy. I’ll see you at the hotel.” He closed his window and pulled away.
Judy parked the car, still pondering her conversation with Jericho. In truth, her mind was on Benjamin. Yes, they argued all the time but it always turned into amazingly hot sex. The anger and feistiness came through in their lovemaking, making it brutal and aggressive. She loved it.
Now, he was gone and she was needing a fix. Maybe she’d find someone in a bar near the hotel and have a hot night with a stranger. She and Jericho were fuck buddies when they both needed a release but truth be told, he was boring and lacked any sort of creativity in the bedroom.
Opening the door, she stared at the messy desk that Jericho always hid behind. She was about to take a seat and review the communications with their next victim when her eyes caught the open safe.
“What the hell?” she muttered. She counted the envelopes of cash and realized he’d taken more than his fair share. “That bastard!”
Gathering the remaining items, she shoved them in her bag and then walked behind the desk. The notes were gone.
“No. No.” She dialed his number but he refused to pick up or was unable to pick up. Knowing she needed help, she called Benjamin.
“What?”
“Benjamin, I need you,” she said.
“You don’t need me. Right about now, you need a prayer.”
The phone went dead and she stared at the blank screen. Gathering anything she thought was valuable, she started to come around the desk and then stopped, gasping in shock.
“Who are you? We’re closed,” she said staring at the dark face.
His hair was laced with fine strands of silver, tucked neatly into a top-knot on his head. He was clearly indigenous and it appeared there were several others who looked just like him. Even in her state of surprise, she could imagine all these big hunky men taking her one at a time or all together.
“I said we’re closed,” she said moving toward the door.
With a force she didn’t know existed, she felt someone behind her, gripping the back of her neck. How had someone gotten behind her?
“Good to see you have clothes this time, Juan,” smirked Hawk.
“It’s new,” he smiled.
“Wh-what do you want?” she said through the strangled voice.
The dark face moved closer to her own, the blackness of his eyes reflecting his heart and soul. For a woman who was rarely frightened of anything, Judy was terrified in this moment. She knew her life was about to end.
“Easy. Redemption.”