“That she should trust you, of course.” She went on tiptoe to give him a quick kiss before rushing off after Arizona.

Humbled by her faith, Jackson stood there a moment before he realized how Spencer stared after Arizona. Like a man unsure of which goal to pursue, he looked very undecided.

“Make up your mind fast.” Jackson would give him back his gun once they were ready to part ways. “I can handle it just fine without your involvement.”

Pensive, Spencer said, “If I don’t bring them in alive, I don’t get paid.”

Somehow, Jackson thought money didn’t factor into Spencer’s involvement. “That concerns you?”

Finally Spencer drew his attention away from Arizona. “Not really, no.” Unflinching, he studied Jackson. “You?”

“Dead or alive, I want them gone.”

Glancing back at Arizona one last time, Spencer nodded. “Good enough.”

“Tread carefully.” Jackson folded his arms over his chest. “She’s been through a worse hell than you can imagine.”

“You’d be surprised what I can imagine.” Something in Spencer’s voice told a deep, dark secret. Face devoid of emotion, he headed for the door. “I’ll wait out front.”

Just then, Jackson heard the argument erupt, and he went to investigate. Arizona tried to insist on leaving, and Alani was just as insistent that she not.

“You’re going with us,” Jackson told her, putting an end to it. He wouldn’t have his plans screwed at this late date.

Defiant to the bitter end, Arizona squared off with him. “I have my own car.”

“I’ll have someone get it.”

Her small body vibrated with tension. “I have stuff in my trunk that I need.”

“Then we’ll collect it first,” Alani told her.

That didn’t convince her. “I need my gun back.”

To maintain control, Jackson refused. For now. Later, he’d probably feel better knowing she was armed.

It took a lot of coaxing and an inordinate amount of patience on his part to finally get Arizona out to the parking area. When she stomped ahead of them, Jackson caught her arm and drew her back.

Seeing Alani as the more compromising of the two, he whispered to her, “Stay behind me.”

She gave him one startled look—and did as requested, urging Arizona to do the same.

And wonder of wonders, Arizona complied.

Even in the middle of a carefully wrought plan, Jackson couldn’t miss the importance of that. Arizona might pretend that Alani had no impact on her, but like him, she’d already been drawn in.

Alani had that effect on everyone.

With the women cooperating, Jackson let out a breath, but he wouldn’t be completely at ease until he got them both back to his place.

One look at Spencer, and he knew he felt the same.

“Give me back my gun.”

They were out in the open, but darkness had fallen. His apartment complex had good security, and bright lights kept the immediate area well-lit. But that only made them more of a target to anyone hiding in the shadows beyond. It was a quiet area, far enough away from the actual building to make him uneasy.

As the women got into the car, Jackson handed over the semiautomatic to Spencer. “Don’t you want to know where to collect your bounty?”

Pulling the slide partially back, he found a shell in the chamber, the gun still loaded. Satisfied, he looked around the area. “Something’s not right.”

Perceptive. But then Jackson had already guessed that. “Ride with us.”

Eyes narrowing, Spencer said, “All right.”

When Spencer climbed into the backseat with her, Arizona caught on. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“Marc Tobin called.” Neither Spencer nor Arizona asked for details, but Jackson supplied them anyway, keeping the explanation of Tobin’s relationship to Alani brief and to the point so as not to embarrass her. “He remembered that one of the people who had him was a woman.”

In the front seat beside him, Alani frowned. “A woman? Could it have been the woman I saw at your apartment?”

“The one who drugged me.” Jackson hated coincidence. “They had him blindfolded, so he couldn’t see her, but she was there while they worked him over. He says he could tell by her laugh that she was female.”

Breathing a little faster, Arizona dropped back in her seat. “Her laugh,” she repeated in a barely perceptible whisper. And then, voice stronger, “What did she look like?”

Jackson deferred to Alani. Something troubled Arizona, something beyond the idea that he could have been hurt. “Mid-thirties. Brown hair—”

“And brown eyes.” Shooting forward in her seat again, Arizona struggled for breath. Spencer started to reach for her, but she already had her door open. She lurched out of the car and stalked several feet away.

Shit. “I’ll get her,” Jackson said to Alani, then opened his door and stepped out. He didn’t approach Arizona, but then he didn’t have to. She only went so far before turning and storming back. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Her lips trembled, then firmed. Stopping short of reaching him, she stiffened her spine and jutted out her chin. “She was my height?”

Alani had gotten out of the car, too, but stayed near her door. She spoke to Arizona over the roof. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t remember. I was…shocked to find Jackson with a woman.”