KILLER INSTINCT (A Mafia Bad Boy Romance Novel) by Julia Gardener Page A

drew his gun.
     
     
    Colman wasn’t in the immediate vicinity.
     
     
    The apartment looked luxurious enough. However, I could tell it hadn’t been cleaned in some time. I guessed that Colman had requested no one enter the suite, including the cleaning staff.
     
     
    I scanned the room for any signs of life. There was a window washing scaffold just beyond the window to the side. It blocked much of the outside view but no one seemed to be using it.
     
     
    I worried that Colman had given us the slip. However, we heard the clatter of keys on keyboard. There was someone here.
     
     
    Jackie heard it as well and we followed its source. He was like a bloodhound following a scent trail. I felt like a hunter trying to keep up with his pace.
     
     
    Finally, we saw Colman craned over a keyboard. Despite being in the lap of luxury, it didn’t look like he was having the time of his life. His hair had grown long. He looked gaunter from the last time I saw him.
     
     
    He didn’t seem to even notice us. I readied my handgun with my finger just off the trigger. It felt a bit heavier than usual due to the suppressor.
     
     
    Suddenly, Colman stopped typing. He didn’t turn around. Instead, he slowly moved his hand off the laptop’s mouse.
     
     
    “You reach for that gun under the table and you’re a dead man,” Jackie growled, aiming his gun at Colman’s back. “Hands where I can see them.”
     
     
    My father’s killer did as he was instructed. After pocketing Colman’s gun, he made Colman stand up. With a gun still pointed at Colman, Jackie pushed him against the wall and did a search on the man. The hitman found a penknife in his pocket which he handed to me. Otherwise, we had him dead to rights.
     
     
    Satisfied, Jackie turned him around and said. “Hello, Mr. Colman.”
     
     
    He shuddered in terror. “Did Gregori send you?”
     
     
    Jackie laughed. “No, we’re something much worse. Well, we will be if you don’t cooperate.”
     
     
    Colman’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw me. “Wait, I know you! Your hair is shorter but your Chambers’ girl. The one everyone’s looking for!”
     
     
    The man looked like he had seen a ghost. Worse, the ghost in question had a gun aimed at his heart. “You killed my father.”
     
     
    “I didn’t mean to,” he said in his defense. “It got out of hand-”
     
     
    “Shut up!” I yelled. Colman immediately recoiled in fear. “Tell us where Gregori is.”
     
     
    “No, anything but that!” he said, trembling where he stood. “He’ll torture me before executing me!”
     
     
    “You’re a dead man either way,” Jackie warned. “Between us and Gregori, we’re the softer option. Now talk before we decide to give you to Gregori and cheer him on.”
     
     
    It was a bluff but Colman didn’t call it. “Okay, all of it is on my laptop over there. It has a list of all of his safe houses and when he enters them. It has everything! Just let me live!”
     
     
    Jackie glanced over at the laptop. “Kelly, you’re on him. I’ll check out if he’s telling the truth.”
     
     
    I aimed my gun at him as the hitman searched the laptop. “One wrong move and you’re dead.”
     
     
    Colman gulped.
     
     
    Jackie didn’t have to search long to find pay dirt. “We hit the jackpot. This thing has the safe houses Gregori switches to on a weekly basis. I have the times his security rotates and what weapons they carry. It even has the time and location for when his private jet departs.”
     
     
    My ears perked up at that. “Do you know how long he’s staying in the United States?”
     
     
    “He’ll be in the country for another two weeks. After that, he’s cutting his losses and heading home. The man will gather his remaining fortune and head to some private airstrip in Russia.”
     
     
    Colman gave a nervous laugh. “See? I told you the truth. I was collecting it for the CIA but you can have it! Now, please let me