Found Wanting (55 page)

A scream from the beach -- Dayle! -- choked off.

Meg tried to fall back from the man who'd grabbed her, saw over his shoulder the third man racing toward them. He had something in his hand. A gun?

A fist smashed into her jaw, and Meg hit the sand, her head striking the ground with a dull thud. Grit crunched in her teeth as she lay still, stunned.

Fingers curled into the front of her shirt and hauled her into a sitting position. Battling a wave of dizziness, she tried to focus on the face thrust near her own.

"Slater's gonna be happy to see you, Margot."

Meg fought the tide of blackness that welled behind her eyes. And lost.

* * *

"Let her go!" Ryan aimed the gun at the guy's leathery face. His hand was shaking and he was out of breath after the mad dash from the wall, where he'd been trying to discreetly follow the two women. He'd noticed the two men behind them, had watched incredulously when they'd made their move. He hadn't thought after that, had just reacted.

Now, one of the women, the blond one, was slung over the shoulder of the other man, who stood several feet away, silent and wary.

The woman Ryan was interested in was unconscious, her assailant's fingers still curled into the front of her tank top, her head lolling on her shoulder. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her attacker glared at Ryan. "This isn't any of your business, mister."

Ryan cocked the gun. "I'm making it my business. Let her go and keep your hands where I can see them."

The guy released her, letting her fall back into the sand, and raised his hands in a placating gesture. "You don't want to do this, man. Believe me."

"Too late."

"My boss is going to be really pissed if you don't back off," the man said. "You don't want this guy pissed at you." He nodded at the woman on the ground. "Ask her."

Ryan glanced at her, saw her chest rise and fall, then focused on her attacker. "So you're working for someone. You and your friend aren't just out here looking for a little fun."

"Right. We're on a job." His weathered skin wrinkled as he smirked. "Retrieving the one that got away."

"Well, I'm not backing off."

"Maybe we can work something out."

"Seems to me I'm the one holding the cards here," Ryan said, gesturing with his gun.

"My friend back there, he's got one of those, too. I'm pretty sure he could get to it faster than you could shoot."

Ryan looked at the other man, narrowed his eyes in a dare. "Go for it."

No one moved, and Ryan's lips formed a satisfied smile even as his stomach constricted. "The deal is this: I want to meet with your boss. All I want is answers. He tells me what I want to know, he can have her. If he fails to show, I turn her over to the feds and she can give them the answers they're looking for."

"You're nuts, man. You don't know what you're dealing with."

"Then I'm about to find out, aren't I?"