Chapter 17
—Entitlement is a delusion built on self-centeredness and laziness.—
Max slid his earpiece in as he steered into the parking lot of the local feed store. “Yeah?” he answered on the second ring. There was only one man who had this number. Well, not really a man, but a man-child. A moron, but Max wasn’t picky about who hired him. The only thing he cared about was getting paid.
“Give me some news,” Man-Child snapped.
This guy was impatient, but that was usually the way of it. Guys like this had to hire guys like Max because they were pussies and couldn’t handle shit themselves. Max glanced around the parking lot to survey the other patrons. It was half full, which was good for him. He’d be leaving this vehicle here tomorrow after he’d wiped it down. “I’m in the process of getting to her. I should have her soon.”
“I’ve heard that before.” There was a tremor to the man’s voice now. Probably because he was high. “And no one has delivered!”
“Well you should have hired me first.” Max knew why the man-child hadn’t, of course. He cost more. But Max was also better at his job. Mainly because nothing was ever personal to him. He viewed things with a critical eye and didn’t make emotional decisions. Because the only thing that mattered to him was the bottom line. This kind of shit wasn’t personal to the people he kidnapped or killed. They were just part of a business arrangement. Except this client was a pain in the ass. Everything for Man-Child was about emotions. Entitled moron.
Even going after this target was stupid. But it wasn’t Max’s problem. He’d do what needed to be done, drop her off to the client, and get his money.
“I’m not going to be available for communication for the next twelve hours, possibly twenty-four.” Normally he didn’t go into that much detail, but a client like this one needed his hand held. Max could adapt to the situation.
“Why?”
He held back a sigh. “Because I’m going to be doing my job. Taking her is going to be tricky now that she’s gone to ground.” And he was assuming she had since she wasn’t at her place and her phone wasn’t traceable. “I’ll contact you when I’m in Miami.” And not a moment before because that was not how he worked. He might hold this guy’s hand a little, but he wasn’t going to cater to him. He was doing a job and that was all that should matter to any client.
“Fine,” the man snapped. “If you try to double-cross me—”
“You know my reputation.” He cut the fool off. “I always get the job done.” Of course there had been a few exceptions to that rule but the people he had decided to double-cross were all dead. So there was no one to ruin his pristine reputation. “Have you had contact with the others recently?” He needed to know if anyone else was going to get in his way. He’d simply eliminate anyone but he liked to know what he was up against.
“No. All three of them have gone radio silent.”
That was interesting. This guy had gone off half-cocked because his pride was injured and he’d hired men without the correct skill set to kidnap someone. Not complete amateurs but not the best either. Not that Max was the absolute best either. He knew his limitations and only took jobs he thought he could do. Hadley Lane was a challenge only because of who her family was. He’d been getting a little bored, so he was actually looking forward to this job. “If you bring anyone else in to this job in the next forty-eight hours, I will hunt you down and kill you. And I won’t be quick about it.”
The other man cursed then said, “Understood.”
The guy might be a fool but he wasn’t completely stupid, Max thought as he ended the phone call. Then he took the battery out. He’d toss it out the window once he left here. First, however, he wanted to check out this feed store.
He’d figured out that the girl must be at her family’s ranch. It was the most secure place and if he was hiding from someone, it was where he would choose to go. He hadn’t been able to find out much about the brother other than he seemed to have a few business interests but mainly ran the Alexander Ranch. The girl hadn’t posted anything on social media lately, so no leads there.
Her father, Douglas Alexander, was supposedly retired but still seemed to keep a finger in many of his businesses. And the man had just returned from Miami so Max’s money was on him being at the ranch too. Maybe because he was concerned for his daughter? Who knew. The only thing Max knew was that if he wanted to grab the girl, he had to get on that ranch. Because all three of the men that had been hired to kidnap her were now missing or at least out of contact. That couldn’t be a coincidence. So either Douglas Alexander had paid them off or he’d killed them. Which meant he might be waiting for a full-on attack.
Max was at the feed store because the Alexander Ranch got their deliveries weekly from it. And he was going to be on the next truck that made its delivery to them.
Sometimes the easiest way into any impenetrable fortress was the one that people tended not to pay attention to. Hired help often blended in. And he always used that fact to his advantage.
No one would expect this type of entry. And if he got this right, he’d get onto the ranch, get the girl, and get out. Of course, things rarely worked out so easily, but he wasn’t afraid to do what was necessary to get a job done. And collateral damage was sometimes a reality.