Free I Spy a Dark Obsession by Jo Davis Page A

later.”
    After she was gone, Michael turned his attention back to his friend. “You still insist on staying?”
    “Yep. I’m good.” He stood and walked around a bit to demonstrate, his movements stiff but basically functioning near normal. At least on the surface.
    “You’re going to be really sore by tomorrow,” Michael observed. “Maybe too much to dance.”
    His friend shrugged. “We’ll see. If nothing else, I’ll watch. But I’m not about to stay home like Cinderella while you guys shake your booties.”
    “You mean Cinder fella .”
    “You are such an asswipe.”
    Katrina chuckled, following them out of the hospital area as they continued to bicker like a couple of old men. Beneath all the bluster was a real love that shone through between them, something she wasn’t sure they even realized. And she wanted in on that, however possible. Maybe it wasn’t going to happen, but bad odds had never stopped her from trying.
    Their “date” couldn’t get here fast enough.
     
    Five hundred miles away, Robert Dietz paced the dingy motel room, hands clenched into fists to still their trembling. Rage, his ever-present companion these past few weeks, slithered under his skin and expanded, threatening to split him wide open.
    It was almost a separate entity, demanding retribution for the empire he’d held so briefly in his hands and lost.
    No, it wasn’t lost , as one would lose a wallet or a set of car keys. It was taken by Michael Ross. Starched, uptight Michael. Patriot, law-abiding citizen, everybody’s fucking hero. No shades of gray in his narrow world, no room in his tiny brain to understand that sometimes greatness could be achieved only by veering off the path.
    Three bullets at point-blank range should’ve killed the bastard. By the time I’m done screwing with him, he’ll wish they had.
    Maggie’s death had been a good start. Robert should’ve been more patient, played with Michael longer before reaching for the prize. Nothing for it except to rectify that mistake, starting with Bastian Chevalier.
    A key scraped in the lock and he spun to see Tio enter, shutting the door behind him. “Well?” he demanded. “What’s the word?”
    The big, ugly Mexican shook his head. “Our man failed. He’s in custody at SHADO, and Chevalier hardly got a scratch on him.”
    “Goddammit!” The rage exploded, and he swept the lamp and phone from the top of the nearby desk. They hit the floor with a clatter and he stood panting, hands braced on the surface. He needed to destroy something vital, but he was neutered, stuck here in this shithole, hundreds of miles from his target and depending on imbeciles to do his job.
    At least he had the money to pay them, thanks to bounty from false investments funneled into his account by his former partners, Augustine Kosta and Ralph Meyer. While the pair had been arrested and a few of the accounts seized, thankfully not all of the money had been traced.
    Tio was unperturbed, as usual. “What now?”
    He thought for a few moments, reaching for calm, and then slowly straightened. “Continue to have our other contact monitor Chevalier’s movements and wait for an opportunity. Then he’s to strike immediately, make it look like something it isn’t.”
    “Like a bashing?”
    “Exactly. But tell them to leave a special calling card, one Ross won’t fail to identify as my work. Understand?”
    “Yeah.” Tio grinned.
    “And, Tio? I want Chevalier dead,” he said coldly. “If it isn’t done, I’ll be forced to take matters into my own hands. And that will get very messy for everyone .”
    Even Tio would’ve paled, had he been capable. Robert never dirtied his own hands if he could help it.
    To chip away at Michael’s soul until he begged Robert to end him? He’d make an exception.
     
    “Bastian, wait!”
    Bastian stopped and turned at the sound of a familiar, welcome voice and smiled at Katrina, who jogged to catch up with him. “Hey, Red. What can I do for