“So how did it happen, Nadia?” he continued. “Did he come to take a break at your lodge? Needed a little R&R after blowing up innocent people? It’s a stressful job. But you know that, don’t you?”
He paused only a split second now, as if he wouldn’t wait long enough to give me any satisfaction.
“It wasn’t easy finding out who your friend was,” he said. “When you managed to outwit two hitmen and disappear a middleman, I started suspecting you had some experience in the field. It was a long shot, but it paid off . . . after employing all of my extensive resources and a good deal of money. I tracked down a rumor about a hitman and a woman he’d taken under his wing.” Koss glanced down at the photos. “Or maybe that’s not the right phrase.”
He looked over at me. “Is that what happened, Nadia? Your new boyfriend shows you a way to make some extra cash? You’re an ex-cop. You’re a champion distance shooter. You already had the skills. And you already had the experience, with Wayne Franco.”
I just sat there, letting him talk.
“I caught a lucky break the other night.” He paused. “Well, not so lucky, given that you’re still alive. And, I’m sure, not so lucky for that poor sap you killed. But before he disappeared, he sent me those photos. And after he disappeared, I passed them to my contact to confirm that this did seem to be the Jack he’d heard the rumor about. He also very helpfully told me where I could go for more information. Another middleman. The same one, it turned out, that I’d hired here in Chicago.”
Duncan.
He continued, “I tracked the old boy down, but he really wasn’t feeling chatty. Fled to his cabin. I followed. We had a talk. He didn’t give quite as much as I’d hoped for. A tough old bastard. Loyal to his friends. You don’t see a lot of that with these criminal types. Admirable, even if it didn’t help him, in the end.”
He fingered the photos again. “So I know who your friend is, Nadia. And I’m pretty sure I know who you are. Dee, that’s your professional name, isn’t it? Nadia—Dee—not terribly imaginative.”
A rap at the door made me jump. Koss only smiled.
“It seems we have guests. Should we invite them in?”
CHAPTER 49
The door opened as he was talking. The first thing I saw was Jack and my brain stuttered. There were people I could imagine sauntering into a standoff. Evelyn, for sure. She’d stroll into the room and throw her opponent for a loop and shoot him before he recovered.
But Jack didn’t have the ego to take such an unnecessary risk.
That’s when I saw the man behind him, with a gun pointed at the back of his head, and my brain didn’t just stutter—it seemed to shut down altogether.
Not possible. Not fucking possible.
Wasn’t it? Jack’s been distracted. Off his game. Was it impossible to believe he was so caught up in worrying about you that he forgot to pay attention?
Yes. It was.
Koss laughed and I glanced over to see him watching me. Watching me react to Jack being brought in. Watching Jack react, his gaze down, ashamed.
“That’s what happens when you’re fucking your partner, Nadia,” Koss said. “He’s not a world-class hitman anymore. He’s just a guy worried about his girlfriend.”
The man holding a gun on Jack smiled. I looked at him. He was in his late thirties. Former military. The short dark hair didn’t give that away—his bearing did, and the way he moved from the door as quickly as possible, getting his back from it.
“This is Henry,” Koss said. “Henry, you’ve already met Jack. This is Dee, the hitwoman who’s been the cause of my current dilemma.”
Henry turned his cool gaze on me in a contemptuous once-over.
“Jack? Go stand by your girlfriend,” Koss said. Then to Henry, “He’s been disarmed, I presume?”
“Yes,” Henry said. “I found two guns and a knife.”
As Jack came over to me, I shifted, letting my jacket fall open. His gaze caught mine and he nodded, almost imperceptibly. I had a gun, but couldn’t get to it, not without taking my hands off the table. He’d been disarmed, so they weren’t paying attention to his hands. As he passed, though, he murmured, “Wait.”
Jack took up position behind my chair. I glanced back at him, but he kept his gaze up, over my head, fixed on Koss.
I looked at Henry, standing beside Koss, hands behind his back, feet apart.
“So, Henry,” I said. “You work for Contrapasso, too. It seems their screening process isn’t quite up to snuff.”
Henry’s chin lifted, just a fraction, enough to know I’d surprised him with my guess . . . and enough to tell me I’d guessed right. Behind me, Jack grunted. Confirming it?
Damn it, I really needed more information here. Time for me to get chatty. If nothing else, it might distract them enough for Jack to do . . . whatever Jack planned to do, because I was certain he planned something.
“Your mistake was renting that car under their name,” I said to Koss. “Oh, I’m sure you rent them all the time. The group wouldn’t have thought twice when it came up on the monthly billing, and if someone else tried to trace it, it would lead to a dead end. Unless the person tracing it knows what the Contrapasso Fellowship is and has a way to get in touch with them.”
“True, it was an oversight. But we weren’t the only ones who didn’t consider all the possibilities.”
I nodded. “Like the one where you aren’t the only scumbag hiding in Contrapasso.”
Henry stiffened. Koss only smiled, bemused.
I continued. “Henry heard that you’d been made. That Contrapasso was coming for your ass. He tipped you off, so you were ready for them. And ready for me to make a hasty play to get to you before they did.”
“Not bad for someone who barely got her high school diploma,” Koss said.
He smiled at me, as if he’d repaid me for the scumbag comment with the worst insult he could imagine. And there I saw his weakness. Sebastian Koss was a twisted, sadistic son of a bitch. And he was damn pleased with himself for pulling off his double life—for having the intelligence to pull it off. That’s what put him above mere thugs like me and Jack.
And Henry? Ah, poor Henry. He might consider himself an equal partner, but Koss had no equals. No partners.
“Do you think he’s such a good idea?” I said, jerking my chin at Henry.
Koss lifted his eyebrows. I paused, waiting for some sign from Jack that this was not an avenue I should pursue. But he stayed motionless behind me.
“You said earlier that sleeping with my partner isn’t a good idea,” I continued. “But it does have its advantages. We’ll fight for each other. Without that, well, it’s every man for himself eventually. Now, in the military, you’re taught to protect the guy beside you, to trust the guy leading you. Henry isn’t in the military anymore. Those rules don’t apply. He’s on the other side of the law, where no one gives a shit about loyalty.” I looked at Koss. “As you yourself just said about Duncan, it’s a rare trait. And yet, apparently, you trust Henry.”
“He’s like a feral dog. Intensely loyal, as long as I keep feeding him. And I feed you very well, don’t I, Henry?”
The man’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s true,” Koss said, conversationally, as if he had no idea how much he was insulting his partner. Or he just didn’t give a damn. “As you guessed, I joined Contrapasso for the same reason I made my living fighting for justice for women. It’s not just a smoke screen but an unbelievably rich source of information and opportunity. Henry’s more like you. He has ethics, damn it. And morals. Unfortunately, those ethics and morals don’t play nicely with his compulsions and obsessions, do they, Henry?”