Page 86 of Bronson

I squint my eyes, getting a closer look.

He looks like… Paige.

He spots me. His eyes lock on mine.

They are big brown eyes. They are Paige’s eyes.

“Holy mother of God,” I breathe. Fury like I have never felt before races through my body.

Don’t do anything stupid, Bronson.

I want to torture him. Inflict more pain on his body than anyone has ever felt.

I want him to pay for the agony he has caused me.

The agony he is causing his daughter.

I want to take my gun from my belt. To shoot him between the eyes.

Has a more selfish man ever lived?

What he sees in my face makes fear flash in his.

I’m over to him in a few long strides.

My voice is so dark, I barely recognize it as my own. “Where is she?”

“Bachman?” his trembling voice asks.

“Where. Is. She.”

He looks as if he will piss his pants. I take another step toward him.

He gulps. He straightens his spine, rising to his full height. He tries to feign confidence. “Give me the money first, then I’ll tell you where she is.”

I almost feel pity for him.

But I want to kill him too badly.

I lean in. My gaze burns into his. “There are fifty men surrounding this pier. The boats behind you have armed men, their scopes trained at the back of your head. There are sharpshooters. Right this moment they have their guns focused on you. Ready to pull the trigger. A bullet will rip through your skull, your brain bursting from within. Bits of your sticky face ruining my tux. Wouldn’t that be a shame? To ruin the groom’s tux—on his wedding day, no less?”

With every word I speak, the coward shrinks back further.

I hiss between clenched teeth, “Bring her to me, now. Or I give the signal. The one that makes them all shoot at once.”

He gives me a long, hard gulp.

He turns, going to the van door.

How I long to shoot him in his back.

I won’t do that to Paige. Knowing her, no matter what this prick has put her through, she wouldn’t want him killed.

The door opens.

Paige!

She runs into my arms. I drop the bag, flinging my arms around her. Holding her so tightly I can feel her heaving breaths expanding her ribcage. Her heart beats against her chest.