“Shoot him, Shaun,” Jeb pleaded. He would have done it himself without a second thought if he hadn’t been occupied in staunching the flow of blood from his nose. Wrath bubbled inside him, a cauldron of hate about to spill. It had been a trying day.
“No. Too noisy,” Shaun said, ducking as Erik took a swing at him.
Jeb scanned the courtyard quickly. Other buildings had windows overlooking it. Grudgingly, he conceded that Shaun was right. While Kat’s screams hadn’t attracted attention yet, it was foolhardy to invite it. Trembling with rage, he took his right hand away from his bloodied face, reaching inside his sock for a silent weapon.
Erik was absorbed in his fist fight with Shaun, having evidently decided Jeb posed no further threat to him. That was a big mistake.
The flick-knife slipped swiftly out of Jeb’s sock, where it had lain flush against his heel, and into the palm of his right hand. He waited for Erik to stay steady for a few seconds. If that meant his boss was thumped another couple of times first, too bad. Shaun was hard enough. He’d forget as long as Jeb delivered results.
Jeb flicked the blade open. It glittered in the sunshine. Jeb noticed Erik focus on it, but too late. With a single deft swipe, Jeb cut the man’s throat from ear to ear.
“Nice one, Jeb,” Shaun said approvingly.
Jeb grinned. His anger was dissipating in the pride of a job well done. Adrenaline coursed through him now. His quarry was near. It was imperative to kill Kat before she could tell Shaun the truth.
He set his cigarette lighter aflame, and applied it to one of the glossy shrubs flanking the doorway. The plant’s woody stem began to scorch, acrid smoke rising. Jeb chuckled with excitement. “Let’s set the place on fire,” he said.