Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Chicago

R ubbing his chin contemplatively, Kevin reviewed the list of things he still needed to do. Getting the girl to talk wasn’t even on the list, but he needed it to happen. And soon.

Sure, he could’ve forced her to talk that first day. She’d been weak and sick. And it wasn’t like he didn’t have experience in extracting information. He’d grown up watching his old man torture and maim numerous people before he’d practiced the art himself. He knew how to get intel. She would have been easy to torture. But he had been kind. Given her a bedroom fit for a queen—in his home, no less. And how had she repaid him? With cold silence.

The doctor who’d examined her had cautioned that the drug dosage his people had used had been for a much larger person. She could have died from an overdose, and he never would have gotten this chance. His men would pay for their carelessness, but that would have to wait. He had an agenda, and he would stick to it.

What would he do if her silence continued? He had a plan for that, too. His tactics would change drastically. Blatant disrespect would not be tolerated. She would learn her place and her purpose, and she would severely regret her lack of cooperation.

Her silence wasn’t the only thing that bothered him. There was too much mystery surrounding the girl. Why was she going by a fake name? Had she been in hiding all this time? Why did she have weapons on her? Both weapons, a Smith & Wesson CSX handgun and a small, wicked-looking knife were professional grade and extremely pricey. How did a girl who dressed in bargain-store clothes own such weapons? And how did a tiny woman fight and almost win against four men twice her size?

Who was this girl really ? He knew her real name, but she had been missing for years. Where had she been? What had she been doing?

Nothing was going like he’d planned. Not only was the girl uncooperative, his own wife was giving him misery. The last time they’d talked, she’d asked weird questions, as if she suspected something. He was going to have to figure out a quick way to get rid of her, because if his son realized he planned to off his mama, things were going to get bad fast. She had mollycoddled the boy all his life, and he was totally devoted to her.

The relationship he and his son had was adversarial at best. That used to piss him off, but not anymore. With the boy’s insistence on walking the straight and narrow, he’d turned his back on his legacy. As far as Kevin was concerned, he didn’t have a son.

The girl could change all that. She could give him so much, including a new family. As young as she was, she could provide him with several sons. And she’d never get the chance to spoil them. He’d made a mistake with his first one and had learned his lesson. He’d create his own dynasty and have everything he’d ever dreamed.

He just needed to stick to the plan.

The door opened, and Oscar walked in, wearing an unusual worried frown.

“What?” Kevin barked.

“That fellow that was with her at the restaurant. He’s still alive.”

Shit, was anything going to go right?

“I thought you hired a pro.”

“I did. He missed. He hit another man that was with him, but missed his target.”

Being surrounded by incompetence was both infuriating and exhausting.

“Our man followed them to the hospital but couldn’t finish the job because of cameras. Said the guy is now surrounded by a dozen or so people.”

“Tell your hired man to get his ass out of the city. The target is no longer important. He has no idea how to find the girl, or he’d have found her by now. She’s all ours. He doesn’t matter.”

Oscar nodded. “All right. What’s next?”

Even though Kevin had no doubt about her identity, he’d ordered a DNA test. He would need absolute proof to show the others. As she was almost identical to her beautiful mother, her physical appearance was compelling, but he would need more than that. However, there was no doubt in his mind, especially after he’d called her by her name. She hadn’t been able to hide her shock. She was definitely Jasmine McAlister.

“The DNA results will be available soon. Until then, she’ll stay here. Then we’ll see.”

Apparently hearing something in his tone, Oscar said, “What happened?”

“She won’t speak.”

“Maybe she’s scared.”

That wasn’t the impression he got. Even though she’d been in pain and was suffering from the effects of being drugged, he’d seen the fire in her eyes. Admittedly, people could hide behind a facade. He did it every day. But his instincts were usually on the mark. This girl was keeping secrets, and he intended to get to them all. He couldn’t let her spoil his plan. She would give him everything he’d ever dreamed of having, or she would die. Those were the only two options she would be allowed.

He settled on a solid plan. “Once we get the results and confirm her identity, I’ll have another talk with her. If she’s still stubborn…” He shrugged. “Perhaps I’ll let her see what happens to people who don’t cooperate with us.”

And he had just the location in mind.