I was up to boiling him alive in the blood of his own murder victims when Larimore appeared on-screen again. “He’s sending someone to escort you to his office.”

“I know the way.”

“And he knows you. Sit tight.” Then the screen went blank again, and again I was alone with my thoughts—a situation I found increasingly less comfortable with every occurrence.

A couple of minutes later, the door swung open into the hall, and David scowled at me, a strip of medical tape over his broken nose, dark bruises circling both eyes.

Great.

I stepped into the hall and the door swung closed behind me. David crossed both thick arms over his chest. “Make one suspicious movement, and I have permission to drop you where you stand.”

“I think we both know how well that worked out last time.” I turned to the right and headed for the staircase. “How pissed was Jake about you lying down on the job?”

David growled, and when I reached the top step, his footsteps stopped behind me. “You know, I could just kick you down the stairs and say you fell.”

I shrugged and turned to face him, careful not to grip the railing, which would make me look scared. “You could. And even if I don’t manage to take you down with me, I’d be dead at worst, hurt and pissed at the least. Either way, that leaves you to explain to Jake that with me out of the picture, he’s lost all the headway I’ve made recruiting Ian Holt. And you know how Jake deals with bad news.”

With that, I made myself walk down the stairs, trying not to look like I was worried about being shoved with every step. Because I knew from experience that logic doesn’t always trump anger and humiliation, and I’d fed David heaping helpings of both.

In the foyer, he grabbed my arm and pulled me close. “You look like you might be about to run off,” he said, and I realized this was a power play. He wanted to be seen hauling me through the house like he’d caught me making trouble. I wanted to laugh. His little show wouldn’t make the damage to his face look any better.

Jake’s office was just off the foyer, and when we got there, before David could knock on the double glass doors, I spun and pulled my arm from his grasp, then punched him in the nose. Again.

David howled, and blood poured from his face. Again. While a couple of housekeepers came running with disposable towels and bleach, I knocked on the door and waited for a response. When Jake called for me to come in, I pulled open both doors and stepped inside, while behind me, two women in simple black uniforms tried to staunch the flow of blood from David’s nose.

“What happened to your escort?” Jake asked as I pushed the door closed behind me.

“Ran into something.” I dropped into one of the chairs in front of his desk. “I bet he’d be a real hazard on white carpet.”

“Would your fist happen to be what he ran into?”

“Could be.” I pretended to examine the blood on my hand. “My knuckles are suddenly sore.”

Jake chuckled, and I exhaled silently in relief. “I always could count on you to test the weak points in my security.” He handed me a wet wipe from the carton on his desk and I scrubbed the blood from my knuckles, then tossed the tissue into the gas fireplace, where he incinerated it with one press of a remote control button.

There would be no consequence for busting David’s nose. No consequence for me, anyway, because Jake was in a good mood. Or because he was already pissed at David. Or maybe because his horoscope said he’d find humor in unexpected places today.

As for David… He’d been taken down two days in a row by an unarmed women five inches shorter and eighty pounds lighter. That meant he wasn’t pulling his weight. I wouldn’t be surprised if he found himself on much lighter duty in the very near future.

Jake leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I assume you’re here to report that Holt is eating out of your hands?”

I shrugged. “Well, he hasn’t bitten off my fingers yet, so it’s looking pretty good.”

“Does he like you?”

“Yeah, I think he does. But I’m actually here to report something else. Cavazos made a play for him this morning. Two low-level musclemen in broad daylight. It was insulting.”

Jake frowned. “On the west side?”

I nodded. “Less than half a mile from the hotel.”

“Casualties?”

“None. Like I said, they were in over their heads. It looks like they found out where he was staying and waited for him to show up on the street. They may even be recon guys who just saw an opportunity and grabbed it. Cavazos will try again, though, and the next team will be more competent. I need a weapon, Jake.”

“No, you don’t. Cavazos won’t send anyone he can’t afford to lose past the river, so just stay out of the east side.” Jake’s brows rose in challenge. “Or should I assign David to protect you?”

“I don’t know, he’s kind of delicate,” I said. “I’d hate for him to get hurt again.”

Jake chuckled, but his eyes weren’t laughing. “So you can handle this on your own, then?” he said, and that question only had one acceptable answer.

“Of course.”

Sure, I could walk all over downtown in possession of the second most valuable piece of human commodity in the city, armed with nothing but quick fists and a sharp tongue. No problem.

Jake watched me, and I was careful not to fidget or to look away, or to give him any nonverbal hint that I was less than sure of myself. Appearing confident is half the battle with Jake.