Inferno by Adriana Noir Read Free Book Online

someone else’s bases. Tell him to spit out what he knows or I will have his head on a goddamn stick.”
    Josh winced at both words and venomous tone. “Okay, Baas. Just try to calm down a little bit here, would ya?”
    Sebastian cocked his head, his eyes narrowing into thin slits as his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. “Someone tried to kill Taylor and you’re asking me to calm down ?”
    The harsh angles of Josh’s face shifted with his pained grimace. He tensed in his seat as if expecting Sebastian to spring. “I didn’t mean it like that. Look, Baas, all I’m trying to say is that we don’t know that for a fact. For all we know, it was just some weird manufacturing default in her car. We can’t just go after this guy and pump him for info. Not without knowing the whole story. We’ll get there, buddy. I promise. You just gotta give it some time.”
    “What about the video surveillance from the grocery store?”
    “I’m working on it. The prick wasn’t exactly sympathetic when I whipped out my badge. He’s demanding warrants. We’ll get the tapes. It’s just going to take a day or two.”
    Sighing, Sebastian sloughed a hand down his face. He wondered if his features looked as haggard as they felt beneath his palm. “I don’t have that kind of time. If Marx was behind this we’ll never find anything,” he muttered, his voice carrying a hint of defeat. “He’s too smart for that.”
    Josh leaned back, his face contorting. “Hold up. Do you honestly think he was involved in this?”
    “What makes you think he wasn’t?”
    “It’s just not his style. It’s too subtle. If Marx wanted her gone, she would be. He wouldn’t try to hide it. The asshole would flaunt it and bask in your misery.”
    “Not his style, Josh?” he asked, fighting to keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten what he did to my family the last time he perceived them as a threat.”
    The none too subtle reminder drew a muttered curse from his partner. Ignoring him, Sebastian dropped onto the padded office chair behind his desk. The leather cushions expelled a soft hiss of air beneath him as he frowned and adjusted his weight.
    “I am just being truthful, Josh. You have no idea what he is capable of or what sort of things he would hide from us. None of us do.”
    “So we are getting back on that tangent again?”
    “Which one would that be?” Sebastian asked, raising a tawny brow.
    “The one where Marx is a double-crossing bastard who can’t be trusted.”
    He opened his mouth to speak then closed it. After pouring himself a drink, he swirled his tumbler, watching the rich amber liquid ripple across the deep beveled cuts of crystal. His gaze landed on his partner, studying him. Josh’s muscles were taut, his brow drawn, and his arms crossed in a defensive fold. As much as he wanted to tell the man what he knew about their leader and Project Blue, everything about his partner’s body language warned that now was not the time.
    His gut burned with an intensity beyond the pleasant warmth of the alcohol, and an ulcer threatened to flare. Blue wasn’t something he could sit on forever. Soon, Marx would want to make a move, but divulging that sort of bombshell to his team put him on very dangerous ground. If he spoke too soon, they would think he was insane. Blowing out a deep breath, he seriously started to wonder if that wasn’t the case. As horrible as it was, he actually preferred that option over the one he currently faced.
    Josh shook his head. “Look, I know you need a place to lay the blame. All I’m asking is for you to sit tight for a few days and trust me. Focus your energy on Taylor, where it needs to be, not some hate-fueled headhunt. Jumping to conclusions right now is only going to get you hurt or killed. You damn near crossed that line today, Baas. Don’t make that mistake again.”
    Sebastian mulled those words over for a few minutes. His troubled gaze shifted beyond his