Stone faked a sigh. “As I am sure you can imagine, I’m a busy man. What do you want?”
“It’s not what I want, it’s what you want.”
He took the bait. “And that would be?”
I made him sweat a few seconds. “To live.”
“Sounds preferable to the alternative.”
Fast-talking fuck. “Simple truth,” I mimicked him. “I live, you live. I die—” I nodded at Neil. “He comes for you.”
Stone didn’t hesitate. “Done.”
“I’m not finished.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
I was losing patience with the egotistical prick. “You’ll tell whoever’s left in Maldonado’s organization that you were behind the hit. You take all responsibility.”
The sick fuck smiled brightly. “Planned on it,” he said happily.
“And Miss Archer no longer has any affiliation with the Lone Coasters or any member in the organization. An infringement on that will be treated the same as a threat against my life. Questions?”
His expression sobered. “May I rise?”
I inclined my head.
“Thank you.” Stone stood and brushed at his knees before returning his gaze to mine. “Despite what you may think, I have a business to run and you…” He waved a hand dismissively. “Are not part of my equation.”
“I’ll be a big fuckin’ part of your equation if you fuck with me.”
He chuckled. “I misspoke. For tonight, you’re part of my equation. But in general, you’re not on my radar. Yes, there was, shall we say, a blip yesterday but that minor occurrence was only a means to an end for one of my many daily transactions. That being said, I’ll agree to your terms with the exception of Miss Archer. She and I have a—”
“There is no you and Miss Archer,” I ground out.
Stone looked momentarily taken aback then quickly covered it. “I’m sure you can understand the delicate nature of the situation.”
What the fuck? “What situation?”
Stone rocked back on his heels. “Interesting.” He dragged the single word out. “She hasn’t told you.” It wasn’t a question.
“Told me what?” Motherfuckingshit. What the fuck was he talking about?
“Ask her.” He nodded toward Siren.
I didn’t dare look back. “I’m askin’ you.”
He fucking laughed. “Let’s just say it’s in her best interest to do what I say.”
I raised my gun and aimed at his head. “She’s done with you and your son.”
“I’m not sure she’d agree,” he said smugly.
I lost patience. I stepped forward, jammed my gun into his temple and made my voice low and controlled. “You speak her name, you think about her, or your son so much as looks in her direction, you’re both dead. There’s no longer a Nicole Archer in either of your vocabularies. We clear?”
“Well.” He inhaled. “Now that you’ve pissed in the sand, I’ll be on my way. Best of luck to you and Miss Archer.” Stone leered at Siren as she stood by Neil’s truck. “She’s quite the catch.” He backed up toward his SUV. “Are you keeping my driver, or should I take him with me?”
Neil took his foot off the driver and he scrambled to his feet.
For a second, Stone lost all his decorum and sneered at the driver. “Get behind the wheel.”
The driver lurched toward the SUV and glass crunched as he crawled behind the wheel.
Stone walked to the passenger side. “Gentlemen, a pleasure.”
“Hey,” I barked.
Stone raised his eyebrows.
“You tell Carter what I told you.”
A smile of pure delight broke out across his face. “I hear he’s dead. Maybe I have you to thank for that?” A sickening laugh filled the night as Stone yanked his door shut. The driver floored the gas, the tires spun a few times before gaining purchase, then the oversized vehicle lumbered onto the pavement and sped down the road.
Neil gestured toward my right arm. “You’re hit.”
The adrenaline that’d been keeping the pain mostly at bay dissolved and a stinging burn spread across my entire arm. I glanced down at the graze wound. It was the least of my worries.
I turned to Siren. Her breath was coming too fast and the ashen look of fear was stealing all her coloring. I wanted to take it away more than I wanted to take my next breath but I needed to know what the fuck Stone had over her.
“What was Stone talkin’ ’bout?” I demanded.
“Please. You don’t understand.” Her voice cracked. “I can’t—” She never got the rest of her sentence out.