The basement was dark and heavy with tension. Walton’s patience was slipping fast.
“I told you to grab the woman. Why’d you bring him instead?”
“I showed you her picture,” Walton snapped, his frustration boiling over. “I wanted the woman. I wanted Dorothea!”
The tall, wiry guy just glared, sulking in the shadows. “She never even got in the car. What was I supposed to do? Doesn’t matter who I snatched. As long as we get someone, it’s the same, right?”
Walton paused. Honestly, he had a point.
If Dorothea had been the one tied up in the next room, he’d be staring down Latham as an enemy. There’d be no guarantee he’d see a cent. And if the deal went south, it’d be his neck on the line.
He shoved a stack of cash at the guy. “Here. We’re done.”
But the guy wasn’t finished. Greed sparkled in his eyes. “Not enough. I did my homework. That man you’ve got is the boss at The Stephens Group. You’re offering me a lousy hundred grand for this?”
Walton didn’t expect him to get so bold. “Oh? How much do you think you deserve?”
The answer came without even a blush. “A million. That’s fair, right?”
Walton smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Fair? Not at all.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife, then drove it into the man’s chest, quick and merciless. “Too bad you won’t live long enough to spend it.”
“Try picking on someone else in your next life,” he muttered.
The guy’s eyes went impossibly wide as he hit the floor, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. Maybe he never expected it to end so suddenly, not like this.
Walton stuffed the body in a sack and dragged it into another room. He wiped his hands, then went to check on the other hostage. Latham was still out cold. Just to be sure, Walton added a few more shackles, making it impossible for him to get away. That finally settled his nerves.
He’d already killed once tonight. Might as well tie up all the loose ends. If nobody made it out, there’d be nobody left to hunt him down.
All at once, he was ready for more blood.
***

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