Free Ties That Bind by Elizabeth Blair

Innocent people.”
    “Not so innocent. Otherwise they wouldn't have taken the job,” she tried to reason. “Besides, most people in your position don't think twice about shooting someone.”
    “I am not most people,” he growled.
    “I’m learning that. So you know, they were heroin dealers from the East Side. You did the world a service.”
    “Don’t patronize me.”
    “My brother does the best he can to keep me from the dark side of our world. But I’m not an idiot, Mitch. Despite your current opinion of me, I did this for him.”
    “Really? How does that work exactly?”
    “He doesn’t realize it, Mitch. You said it yourself - our security is in shambles. But he’s so fucking worried about me that he doesn’t realize it. Business is suffering. I’m sure you know that from word on the street. Not enough it can’t be absorbed, of course, but it’s not changing. We’re getting to be known as the trouble-makers.”
    “Can’t imagine why.”
    “If it took something like this to open his eyes, to make him face up to what the hell is go on around us then so be it. I’d do it again if it means keeping him alive.”
    “So you want me to believe you did this to keep him safe?” Mitch queried. “To keep the business safe? That’s it?”
    “Yes.”
    “You lied to him, betrayed him, for his own good?”  Mitch leaned forward, his eyes glinting. “Are you sure that’s the story you want to stick with?”
    The response caught in her throat. “Yes.”
    Mitch exhaled. Leaning back in the chair, he watched her. He was unnerving her, he could tell, but to her credit she remained silent and accepting of the non-verbal rebuke he was giving her. “I’ll do the security revamp. If only to protect him from you, Ashli.”
    “I can accept that. I deserve that.”
    “I don’t kill for your amusement. I don’t kill because someone pissed you off. But nor will I kill because you took some random guy to your bed and Jimmie wants him gone. Understood?”
    She nodded.
    “The whole point in what I do is that killing is no longer necessary. Jimmie’s safety, and yours for that matter, shouldn’t be contingent on how well someone can aim. You should feel safe at all times. That’s my job. Not anything else.”
    She nodded.
    “I cannot stress this clearly enough. No more feds. Not one. Nodding doesn’t work for this one.” In a swift move, he pinned her into the chair, his grip tight on her legs. His eyes locked with hers and his voice was a low growl. “You will not ever bring a fed into your bed again. Promise it.”
    She nodded but Mitch didn’t move. Instead, he tightened his hold on her. Her eyes brimmed with pain filled tears but she met his gaze. “Yes. I promise I will not ever bring a fed into my bed.”
    “We are clear?”
    “Crystal.”
    Mitch let her go, heard the thick exhale of air she’d been holding. He could see her body shaking and, for a moment, considered leaving her to stew in her fear. Instead, he stepped behind her, dropping his lips to her ear. “And for the record? Red lace? Not my style.”
    “I’ll work on it.”
    “You do that.”
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    Mitch insisted on interviewing all 412 employees in the executive building personally. It took weeks but each one was scrutinized - their childhoods, their marriages, their rankings at the golf course or bowling alleys - all at issue. Complaining resulted in immediate dismissal (that was Jimmie’s decision) and any failure to show was met with a guarded security escort at the employee’s front door. The result meant only a skeleton crew was left and, as Mitch had anticipated, Jimmie soon knew each one by name. When it came time to start hiring new crew, Mitch demanded Jimmie make each decision personally - relegating Ashli to bystander status. Even worse (in her eyes), he’d saddled her with a trio of bodyguards that were old enough to be her grandfathers.
    “Do you ever take a night off?”
    “Do