Page 5 of Ruthless

“You’re pushing me,” I warned her, my voice in a low-pitched growl.

She raised an eyebrow at me, not even flinching. “I’m still not convinced that you’re not all bark and no bite.”

Fuck her.

I put my gun away and lunged at her, my hands slamming down on the edge of the chair, just to the outside of her hips. “You think I’m opposed to slitting that pretty throat of yours and dumping you in the ditch? Think I haven’t done it before?”

Her fiery eyes met my gaze, and for abriefsecond, there was a flash of fear—but had I not been trained to read people, I never would’ve noticed. “You don’t scare me,” she said, a smile creeping across her face. “You can slit my throat and leave my body for the birds, but you won’t break me.”

The words felt like a challenge. The hair on the back of my neck stood as I leaned in closer to her, pushing away every fucking ounce of excitement that ran through my core. “If you want to make this into a dare, then I’ll happily accept it,princess.”

She glared at me through slitted eyes. “Well then, Ghost Eyes, Idareyou.”

Chapter 3

Rachel

My heart pounded with anxiety and anger as he stomped up the steps, though relief rolled through my body as the door slammed shut, leaving me alone. I took in the room again now that I was alone. I knew that I was being held in a basement. It was easy to tell based on the lack of windows and the subfloor above me. However, what wasnoteasy was keeping my cool while being absolutely petrified and furious. It was a dangerous combination.

Also, I hadneverbeen kidnapped before.

At a minimum, I had gotten into some bad situations growing up in the cartel, and they had been enough to harden me, but this was entirely different from my past. Facing the man with ghostly gray eyes was terrifying, infuriating…andexhilarating. I knew that last emotion might ensure that I end up in a ditch much quicker than Lucas could find me too. I pushed Ghost Eyes, and while he didn’t hurt me, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t.

I let out a sigh, wishing like hell he would’ve undone the binding on my wrists and ankles. They ached, and while I wiggled my fingers and toes as much as I could, the circulation was waning. My calves were also cramping from the way the wooden leg of the chair was digging into the muscle, and I bit back a cry when I tried to adjust, worsening the Charlie horse.

Stupid fucking Chaz.

Hadn’t talked to my brother in five years, but I was still paying for his crimes. It had always been that way, though not quite to this extent. I had bailed my brother out more times than I could count on all my fingers and toes.

And deep down, I wasn’t sure he would do anything at all to save me.

“You gotta ask for double what he owes, because this shit is inconvenient,” a muffled voice above me caught my attention. I tuned my ear into the conversation the best I could, not recognizing the voice.

“He’ll never fucking pay double,” Ghost Eyes growled back. I shivered at the depth of gravel in his voice, and wondered what the rest of his face looked like under the mask he wore. No part of his body—not even his hands—had been revealed, yet based on his eyes and the olive skin around the gray irises, he had to be beautiful.

And evil.

And Lucas would murder me himself if he knew I was thinking like that about my captor. I had to keep reminding myself that Ghost Eyes would probably make good on his word when it came to killing me. Whoever these men were, they were sophisticated, having thoroughly vetted me before taking me, and Lucas had mentioned that Chaz was in bed with somebadpeople.

I was pretty sure these guys were them.

The conversation above me had grown quiet, but the footsteps hadn’t, and I braced as I prepared for the visitor. The door unlocked, and the sound of footsteps headed down the stairs again. Though, before I even saw who it was, I knew that it wasn’t Ghost Eyes. He had a way of trudging, and whoever was coming this time had lighter steps.

“We’ll let you out of those as soon as you tell us where your brother is.” Green eyes met mine, the same ones that held a minor amount of sympathy.

I pursed my lips, intrigued by the notion that they might be playing good cop, bad cop with me. “I don’t know where Chaz is,” I answered honestly. “I haven’t talked to him in about five years.”

He let out a heavy sigh and dragged a chair from the corner of the room. Sitting it right in front of me, he straddled it, resting his arms on the back of it while he stared at me at eye level.

“That’s the truth,” I added, feeling less anxious in front of this one. I wasn’t sure if it was the hint of humanity he was giving me, or just the fact that I didn’t feel the need to clench my thighs around him.

“Why did you have a burner phone then?” Green Eyes asked, his tone staying calm and even. Unlike his partner, he didn’t act like he might blow his top every five fucking seconds.

“Well…,” my voice trailed off, trying to decide just how honest to be. Transparency would either get me killed sooner or save my life, and there was no in between. “I work as a private investigator,” I finally said, opting to stray from the truth.

“So you have to have a burner phone for that?” he mused, letting out a chuckle. “And why do you need that?”

“You’d be surprised the lengths we have to go to sometimes,” I said with a shrug, my body relaxing further into the chair. I liked this man’s interrogation much better. He didn’t get me all worked up.