“No deal, Royce. I’ve already given this company my sweat and personal life for five years. I draw the line at my soul.”

Royce opened his drawer, and a second later, Hannah was staring into the muzzle of a gun. He came around the desk and stood in front of her. “Then I guess I’ll have to ensure your silence in another way.”

“Now what, Royce? You can’t shoot me in your office.”

“I’d rather not, but I can if I must. The walls are well insulated. My secretary has gone to lunch, and the construction on the other side of the building will cover any loud or unusual sounds.” Royce cocked his head.

“Have you always kept a gun in your drawer?” she asked. “It’s almost impossible to get a carry permit in the city limits.”

“Herb called me and gave me a bit of warning.”

Bastard.

“Do you really like the Sig?”

“What?” Irritation and confusion lined Royce’s forehead.

“I know a lot of people love the feel of the Sig’s solid metal frame, but I like the lighter weight of my Glock, especially for concealed carry.”

Royce tilted his head. And that moment of distraction was all she needed.

Hannah’s hand shot out. In the same smooth movement, she turned her body out of the line of fire. Grabbing the slide bolt on the top of the gun, she redirected the barrel and twisted the gun out of his grip. It was like disarming a kindergartener. “Next time you pull a gun on someone, practice with it so you look half-competent.”

She eased the slide back a half inch and checked for a bullet in the chamber. “All this time, you could have helped me find that girl. You paid her pimp to set up one of our clients with underage prostitutes. That’s human trafficking, you bastard.”

Royce shrugged. “They’re just whores.”

“They’re children! You are as sick and depraved as the men who lust after schoolgirls.”

Anger sharpened Royce’s eyes. “It’s a hard world out there, Hannah.”

And she was sick of it. “The client gets what the client wants?”

“That’s how it works.” Sweat beaded on Royce’s forehead. “You can’t prove anything.”

“Oh, please. If there wasn’t a trail of some sort, you wouldn’t have pulled this little number on me. It’s nearly impossible to keep an activity under the radar in this day and age. Technology has its price.” Hannah gestured with the gun. “I do like the feel of this grip.”

Suddenly everything was clear. “Sending me to that neurologist, that was all part of it, wasn’t it?”

“I wanted you out of the way for a while.”

“Why? I was going to London. Isn’t that out of the way enough?” Mental head smack. “The girls were for Timothy.”

Royce took a step forward.