Heart of the Wolf by D. B. Reynolds Read Free Book Online Page A

“This will do nicely.” He ejected the
DVD
and dumped it back in the case, slipping the whole thing into his pocket. “How much?”
    “That’s a copy, of course,” Westgate said gently.
    “Of course. So how much for the original?”
    “Well, no need to be greedy, I suppose. On the other hand, Kathryn is now a very wealthy woman, and I’m sure—”
    “How much?”
    “Ten million cash.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Westgate, no one has that much cash. Ten million electronic.”
    “Well. It is quite the video, isn’t it? Ten million electronic, then, to a bank of my choice.” Westgate couldn’t quite conceal his glee that Ren wasn’t dickering over price. The truth was he could have demanded ten times that amount and Ren would have agreed. The little weasel was never going to enjoy a dime of it, anyway.
    Ren kept his face carefully blank. Leave the man his delusions. For now. “I’ll have to verify with my client, of course.”
    “Naturally,” Westgate murmured.
    “You understand we’re purchasing the original and all copies. I trust you’ve been discreet, that there are no copies out of your possession.”
    “I’m still being discreet, Roesner,” the lawyer said in a cold voice. “I didn’t need to go to Kathryn first. The press would have paid millions for this video.” He sniffed prissily. “But as I said, there is a matter of loyalty to Preston .”
    “Right,” Ren said shortly, feeling unclean just standing next to the scummy bastard. “I’ll be in touch.”

    * * * *

    On his way through the outer office, the secretary caught his eye. He nodded brusquely and then waited outside, forcing himself to calm down before she appeared a few minutes later.
    “Dom brought you in,” she said. It wasn’t a question, which confirmed his earlier assessment. “Listen, Avinger met with someone here right after he got really sick. Not his usual class of person—much rougher around the edges and carrying a gun. I didn’t get a name, but they signed some sort of agreement. Westgate did it up on the computer himself, which is what really made me suspicious. That asshole doesn’t hold his own dick when he pisses. Anyway, the thing is, I never saw the guy again until two days after Avinger died. And now suddenly someone’s shooting at Kathryn.”
    Ren eyed her carefully. “Do you have access to the safe in there?” He jerked his head at the office.
    “No. There’s a larger safe in a second office where he keeps most of the client documents. That’s the only one I can get into and there’s nothing there. I checked.”
    “What about a home safe?”
    She frowned. “Maybe.”
    “All right, give me his home address, and I’ll pay him a little visit.”
    She gave him a vicious grin and said, “I’ll write it down for you. Let’s hope you have to beat the truth out of him.”
    Apparently, Westgate hadn’t endeared himself to his secretary either.

Chapter Nine

    Ren entered Kathryn’s building from the garage, giving the uniform in the lobby a nod in greeting before stepping into the elevator. He’d driven himself over after a brief stop at his apartment to change into clothes more suitable for the evening he had planned—a turtleneck sweater and black denims, leather jacket and heavy boots. Westgate’s house was across the bay in one of the pricier suburbs of the city and, bad weather or not, Ren wanted to get there tonight. But he had to see Kathryn first.
    Marla opened the penthouse door before he could knock, alerted by the doorman downstairs. The housekeeper was still a little twitchy but less nervous of him than she’d been the other night. Maybe because she understood he meant to keep Kathryn alive.
    “I’ll tell Mrs. Avinger—” Marla started, but Ren interrupted her.
    “Don’t bother. I’ll walk myself back.”
    Marla’s protest went unheeded. Tommy was waiting around the corner.
    Ren approached the big man carefully, not wanting to make a scene. So far, Tommy and Marla