Page 77 of Fracture

“It looked like she handled herself.”

The boss snorted. “She got lucky. If he wasn’t such a bumbling fool, it would have been a different story. How many people can’t take out a woman on crutches?”

“Did you send him there?” Nina asked.

The boss looked at Nina. Her wide eyes said Nina was shocked the boss could do something like that. Why, that was a mystery.

“Of course I did.”

“Why would you send him there? You don’t know that woman. She has nothing to do with us.”

The boss shook her head, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. She pushed it back and focused on Nina. “This is how I build my organization. I’ve lost employees lately.” She shook her head. “Stupid men who can’t follow orders. I need to refill the ranks.”

“With a man who kidnaps and rapes women?”

The boss turned to face Nina. “He’s already trained. I don’t have to do much to get him up to speed. Of course, him being on the FBI radar already could be a problem.”

“Discretion is key.”

“Always. You’re learning.”

Nina smiled under the boss’s praise. One day, she might have the potential for more. She was still too innocent, too naïve. When she came to the company, to the boss, she was broken and lost. She needed a place where she felt like she was valued and contributing.

The boss gave her all of that and more. She gave Nina a home, a future. Nina was like a sister, someone she was going to take care of forever.

Everyone knew Nina was the most important person to the boss. She was the closest thing to family. Her only family.

Just like the boss was Nina’s family. The only family she was allowed to talk about. The boss made sure of it.

“Hopefully he can evade capture, but if he doesn’t get his head in the game, he’s not going to have an option to continue his employment.”

“But you told him where to find that woman. Why would you tell him if you were going to get angry at him for going after her?”

“If he’d succeeded in capturing her, killing her, he would have had the job without question. But since he failed, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You’re not going to give him a chance?”

“I gave him a chance. What would you do?” It was a test. To see if Nina was starting to understand how things worked.

Patience and understanding were not the way to run a business. Not at all.

Nina considered the question for a minute, then shook her head.

The boss fought the quirk of her lips. She was proud, but giving Nina too much praise was not good for her. She needed to always be looking for approval.

“Like you said, he didn’t succeed. But also, the FBI is watching him. He’s too much of a risk.”

“I agree. What would you suggest we do?”

“Do?”

The boss quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, do.”

“What do you mean?”

“He knows more than most people who don’t work for us. He had exposure to parts of the business he shouldn’t have.”

“Which means?”