Mag made a choked sound around his gag.
“Your brother’s been trying his hand at gambling, Ms. O’Connor. He owes me a hundred thousand dollars.”
“What?” I felt like the floor heaved under my feet. I couldn’t process it. A hundred thousand dollars?
Mag barely held down a part-time job. He usually picked up odd jobs here and there. He didn’t have that kind of money. I didn’t have that kind of money.
My brother made another sound, and looked at the concrete floor, not meeting my gaze.
“Can you write me a check for that?” Mr. Shadow asked.
My throat was so tight it felt like I was being strangled. Damn you, Maguire. I stared at the top of his bent head. I was going to kill him myself…if we got out of this alive.
I squeezed my eyes closed. “No.” My voice was a scratchy whisper.
“Until I get what I want, your brother’s life is mine.”
I opened my eyes. “What do you want?” I asked woodenly.
“I want you to get something for me.”
My stomach dropped. I should have known.
I felt a familiar weight slam down on me. No matter how hard I tried to escape the past, it always dragged me back.
The muck was deep in my skin, and it would never wash off.
I could get a college degree, own my own business, work my butt off, but I could never get free of my family’s murky legacy.
Resignation made me feel so damn tired. “You want me to steal something.”
“Your brother has told us that you’ve inherited your father’s unique skills. In finessing safes. In fact, he thinks you’re better than your father.”
I glanced at Mag. He was looking at me now with pleading gray eyes the same color as my own—full of misery and sorrow.
I looked away, staring at the scarred walls—I felt too raw to comfort him right now.
“I get this thing for you, you set my brother free and unharmed. Then you’ll never contact him again.”
“Yes.” Then shadow man shrugged. “Although, if he comes looking for a game…”
“You’ll never see him again.” I dragged air into my burning lungs. “What do you want me to steal?”
God, I felt like I was going to be sick. I’d vowed, for years, to never, ever turn into my father.
“The Phillips-Morley necklace.”
My chest tightened. I hadn’t heard of it, but no doubt it was priceless. “I’m guessing that’s worth more than a hundred thousand dollars.”
“That’s the deal.” There was iron in the man’s voice.
I rubbed my temple. “Where is it?”
“Being purchased tonight at a charity auction by Zane Roth.”
Oh. Shit. One of New York’s billionaire bachelors.
“He’ll be storing it in his new safe. A Rivera 3000.”
Now I really was going to be sick. “No one can break into a Riv3000.”
The man touched Mag’s neck and my brother jerked. “Your brother’s life depends on it, so you better make sure you can, Ms. O’Connor. You have one week.”
Yep, I was going to kill my brother.
Zane
The hit slammed into his gut, driving the air out of him.
With a grunt, Zane dodged, but his attacker followed. The front kick sent him staggering.
Fuck. Zane whirled and swung his arm, keeping his palm flat. The side of his hand chopped into his attacker’s neck.
The wiry man spat out a curse and stepped back on the mats. Then he straightened. “That was better, Roth.”
Simeon was all lean muscle, had a face with a ragged scar down his cheek, and gray hair he kept buzzed short. The trainer never pulled a punch…or a hit or kick. He didn’t care that he was training billionaires. He taught them Krav Maga, and claimed he’d been in the Israeli military. Zane had his suspicions. If anyone was a former Mossad spy, it was this crusty guy.
Zane rubbed his gut. “Did you have to kick me so hard?”
“You weren’t paying attention.” Simeon raised a brow. “You told me you didn’t want a bodyguard following you around, so you need to pay attention to your surroundings. And practice your skills.”
Zane had security on call, but he hadn’t wanted some bodyguard with him twenty-four-seven. Liam and Mav felt the same. They all paid a small fortune to secure their businesses and properties, and they also paid Simeon a lot of money to beat them up a few times a week, so they could all hold their own in a fight.
Simeon wiggled his fingers. “Again.”
With a growl, Zane attacked. They crossed the mats, kicking, blocking, hitting, and deflecting. Zane got behind Simeon and grabbed him in a chokehold. Now, if he could get the man down—
Bam.
Zane found himself flat on his back on the mats, staring at the ceiling of the large gym. Simeon had tossed him over his shoulder.
Chuckles broke out nearby.
Turning his head, Zane took in Mav and Liam. Both men were in harnesses and halfway up the massive climbing wall.
“That’s going to bruise,” Liam called out.
Mav just laughed.
“Fuck you,” Zane muttered. “He’s tossed both of you on your asses plenty of times before.”
Simeon held out a hand and Zane let the trainer haul him up. He crossed to the bench at the side of the mats, grabbed a towel, wiped his face, then slung it around his neck. Next, he grabbed a bottle of water. As he drank it, he watched Liam and Mav get to the top of the wall.
Liam moved like the wind—easy, light, like he was weightless. He dared some risky jumps to out-of-reach handholds, and looked like magic doing it. Mav was bigger and bulkier, and was an aggressive climber. He used his strength to power up the wall.
Zane blew out a breath, feeling a strange restlessness. He shrugged his shoulders to release the tension. Work was good, he had nothing to complain about.
He also had the necklace for his mom, and had helped out a great charity in the process.
“You okay?”
Zane looked up to see Simeon watching him.
“I’m fine.”
“Heard you broke up with that latest woman you were seeing?”
Zane shrugged. “It wasn’t serious, and it was no loss. She liked my money more than me.”
Simeon grunted. Across the gym, Liam and Mav were back on the mats and unclipping their harnesses.
“You need a good woman,” Simeon said.
Zane laughed. “What do you know about good women?” He imagined that Simeon lived in a dark cave, lifting weights and gnawing raw meat.
“I have one. Married for thirty-five years. Best thing that ever happened to me.”
Zane blinked. “You’re married?”
A smile lifted the corners of Simeon’s lips. “Yes. When it’s the right one, she makes everything better.”
Liam and Mav joined them, but Zane kept his gaze on the older man. “I don’t know, success seems to have made it harder to find good people.”
“You don’t find the right woman, Zane, it just happens.”
That sounded awfully Zen and new age for his grizzled Krav Maga trainer. Beside them, Mav snorted.
“How did you know your wife was the right one?” Zane asked.
Simeon slammed a fist against his hard stomach. “You feel it here. I knew the first moment I set eyes on my Talia.” Simeon’s gaze turned inward, his smile widening. “We crashed our cars in a parking lot. She rear-ended me. Wasn’t watching where she was going.”