His jaw hardened. “That guy is not your friend.”
“Billy was scared. He thought he would die. When people are scared, they do desperate things.”
“He traded your life for his without a second’s hesitation. I wouldn’t do that. Know it.”
She…did. “What am I going to owe you for this?”
He fired a fast glance her way. “What are you talking about?”
“The price for the forty-eight hours. When this is over, what will I have to pay you?” He’d said Dylan was paying him twenty grand. She didn’t have that kind of cash lying around. Maybe War would let her do some sort of payment plan?
“We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. Right now, we have other issues.”
“Right.” They had lots of issues. “Like finding the killer. Getting good evidence to lock him away. Like—”
“Like the asshole who has been tailing us ever since we left Billy’s.”
She started to whip her head around—
“Don’t. Don’t look back. We want him to think he’s catching us off guard.”
Her heart thundered in her chest. He had caught her off guard. She’d been way too distracted when they left Billy’s.
“I’ve got a plan.”
“Wonderful to know.” Her gaze cut to the passenger side mirror.
“If he wants to follow us, then we’ll lead him into a trap.”
Seriously?
“My bar is empty right now. We’re taking him there.”
And it wasn’t too far away. Yes, okay, but… “Don’t you dare get hurt.” An order that blurted from her.
He gave a low, rumbling laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ll be the one doing the hurting.”
***
The bar hadn’t changed much. Granted, it had only been a little over a month since she’d last stepped inside Armageddon, so it wasn’t as if Rose had expected something major. Nestled in the entertainment district of downtown Pensacola, Florida, the bar had become a hotspot shortly after opening. Rough, dark, and with the best whiskey in town, people had flocked to get inside.
But one memorable night, only she and War had been there. He’d shut the bar down for them. Lifted her up on that long, gleaming, wooden counter. Shoved her skirt up high—
“We need to move, Rose. I left the door open so he’d have easy access.”
Her gaze jerked away from the counter. “You left it open? Was that a good idea?” It sounded like a terrible idea to her. Worst. Ever.
His fingers curled around her wrist, and he eased her toward a small hallway. He pulled her into the hallway just as she heard the squeak of the front door’s hinges.
War had her caged with his body. His hand lifted, and he put his index finger to his lips.
Her head moved in a quick, jerky nod. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, and she found that she could not look away from his dark gaze.
But over the thunder of her heart, she heard…footsteps. Slow. Uncertain.
The guy had taken the bait. Whoever their tail was, the man had followed them inside of Armageddon.
War slid his hand behind his back. Then he pulled out a gun. He’d taken that gun out of his glove box and tucked it behind his shirt before they’d gone into the bar. “Stay. Here.” He mouthed the words.
She’d thought the plan was for them to stick together. She didn’t remember any version of this situation where he was supposed to leave her and go without—
He was already gone.
Rose flattened her body against the wall. She barely breathed as she waited to see—or rather, hear—what would happen next. And then…
“Don’t take another step.” War’s cold command. Loud. Clear.
Then, equally loud…but terrified, “This is a mistake! A big mistake!”
“Absolutely,” War agreed. “And you’re the one who made it. You never should have walked into my bar, and you damn well should have never hurt her.”
Chapter Seven
The man standing in front of War cried out, “I haven’t hurt anyone!” His hands were up, palms out, and his wide, watery eyes were terrified. “Look, please, let me just show you my ID…” His right hand began to lower.
“Don’t.” War shook his head. “You do not want to be reaching for something right now. Not when you just followed me across town. Not when you just broke into my bar—”
“The door was open!”
“And not after you tried to kill my girl last night—”
A gulp. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I did not try to kill anyone! Look, I’m a PI! Just like you.”
War’s gaze swept over the guy’s khaki pants and tweed coat. Tweed? Who the fuck wore tweed? “You are nothing like me.”
“Dylan hired me, too! He was afraid you wouldn’t report to him, so I was supposed to tail you. I swear, I haven’t hurt anyone, now put the gun down!”
“Yeah, you’re not giving orders. You’re going to keep your hands up. I’m going to come to you, I’ll reach inside your ever-so-interesting coat pocket, and I’ll check your ID. Then we’ll see where we go from that point.”
A quick nod. The man with the dark red hair kept his hands up.
Taking his time, War crossed to him. He reached inside the coat pocket. Pulled out the wallet. Studied the driver’s license. And the PI license. “Gary Strom. I’ve heard about you.” The name was familiar. The face had been, too. But War had still wanted to see the ID. “Don’t you usually spend your hours taking photos of cheating spouses?”
Gary sniffed. “I help people who have been betrayed. There is nothing wrong with that sort of work.”
He put the ID back in the wallet and shoved it into Gary’s coat pocket. “And now you are tailing me.”
“I’m looking for her.”
“Her?” He let his brows climb as he stepped back.
“I saw you come in with her. You have Rose.”
War glanced around the bar. “Do you see her? Because I don’t.”
“I know she’s here. Just so you’re aware, before I even came inside, I texted Dylan to let him know, too. I was not about to be cut out of my 1k.”
“A thousand? That’s what he’s paying you to tail me?”
“He didn’t think you’d turn her over like you said. Guy is worried about his station’s reputation. Said she’d seduce you and get you to help her.”
“She could certainly try,” War allowed. I would love to see that. “If she was here, the woman would be welcome to seduce me all she liked.” He was sure Rose would hear those words.
“Look, I—”
“Get the hell out of my bar, Gary.”
Gary spun and ran. War followed him, a lot more slowly, and he turned and flipped the lock at the door once Gary was gone. Consideringly, he tilted his head and ran through possibilities.
“If that guy contacted Dylan, he’ll be showing up here soon.”
War stiffened at the sound of Rose’s voice. Then he slowly turned to face her.
She stood near the bar. One hand slid nervously along the edge of the wood. He stalked toward her. Put the gun on a nearby table. Finished closing in on her.