Page 24 of Point Blank

“I’m here. Now tell us what the fuck you want.” Milo’s voice boomed through the garage.

“Ah, Milo. You’re looking well.”

Milo’s hot, hard chest against her back anchored her. His hand came around her waist, and the tremble that had been threatening to shake her soul diminished in strength.

“Relax. My demand is nothing new to either of you. You’re going to steal ten million dollars worth of diamonds from Titus Phillips.”

Serena froze.

Her whirring pulse banged against her eardrums.

They know Titus is my client.

They’d been watching her. Dani’s kidnapping wasn’t about something Dani had done. The kidnapper targeted her.

Milo gripped the phone to stabilize it. “Why don’t you do it yourself? Why go to all the trouble to kidnap Dani and force us to do it?”

“Because your sexy little bitch is one of the best thieves out there. Don’t you think we’ve attempted to steal from Titus before? He’s impenetrable.” The thin lips that peeked through the hole of the mask stretched until their corners disappeared behind the material. “Besides, Serena knows his house better than any of us.”

The air in the stale garage grew thick. Milo’s corded muscles jumped against her spine. His hot breath blew on her temple.

Serena shook her head and laughed derisively. “Yes, I’ve been inside his home and you’re right—it’s impenetrable. And I haven’t stolen a thing in years. If you failed, I will too.”

“You’re not going to fail, Serena. You love your sister too much. Besides, we’ll provide blueprints and up-to-date details of his schedule. With your experience, it’ll be a cinch.” He turned the camera, and Dani’s image filled the screen. Duct tape covered her mouth, and one eye was swollen shut. Her hair was plastered to her head and ropes surrounded her upper body, knees, and ankles.

The blood left Serena’s head and plummeted to her feet. A whimper escaped her mouth, and she clamped her hand across her lips to stifle any further sound. The screen moved closer to Dani’s face, putting every cut and bruise on display.

The need to reassure her sister, to pull it together to give her strength, vibrated through Serena, but her brain couldn’t form a single word. Then the kidnapper’s covered face replaced Dani’s.

“We’ll do it.” Milo’s steady voice rumbled against her spine.

“Good. Text me your email address and I’ll send the information. You have twenty-four hours.”

The screen went black.

Chapter

Six

Milo half carried, half dragged Serena into the house. Hell, he was far from close with Dani, but seeing her beaten and limp in a chair had shaken the fuck out of him. Serena rooted herself in the hallway despite his urging her to the sofa.

“Twenty-four hours? That’s impossible.” She shook her head. Milo studied her face. Her lips were almost as pale as her skin, and dark half-moons had formed beneath her eyes. She needed sleep, but convincing her of that was going to be a pain in the ass.

“We’ll make it work.”

She snorted. “How? It takes months to plan a job—and one of this magnitude is even more dangerous.”

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and gently moved her up the stairs with him. “If he’s sending the blueprints and surveillance data, that’s half the battle.”

Christ, who was he kidding? They’d be trusting a criminal’s homework, and the likelihood of it being conducted to either of their standards was slim. Regardless, Milo sent his email address to the kidnapper’s number. The phone was undoubtedly encrypted, but he made a mental note to have Rhett investigate it anyway.

“How do you know Titus?” He hated to change the subject, but when the bastard on the phone had dropped that piece of information, Milo had felt as if a bomb had been blasted inside his head. Serena claimed to be on the straight and narrow, and everything he’d heard about her until she’d shown up at his bar had supported that. But her having any kind of relationship with a man like Titus tore her valued reputation to shreds.

She turned away and rubbed the knuckle of her index finger across her forehead. “He’s a client.” She made a sound halfway between a hiss and a snort. “Well, not exactly. I’ll find out Sunday if he’s going to sign with me. Not that any of that matters anymore.”

Milo stopped beside her at the top of the stairs and shoved his hands into his front pockets to prevent himself from touching her. From the moment she’d stepped into the bar, that’s all he’d wanted to do. And it was a damn dangerous habit to get into.

He rolled that information around his mind and relief replaced some of the tension that had taken hold of his muscles. Silence flowed between them. She peeked up at him, waiting.