Hijacked (A Retribution Novel) by Cindy Stark

didn’t know if it was the way he dressed or commanded himself, or the way the others often deferred to him with their gazes, but she didn’t doubt he was the man in charge. The white tank he wore showed off massive muscles and tattoos including a snake that wrapped around his arm and an interesting star tattoo near the base of his neck.
    Gideon seemed momentarily frazzled by the leader’s comment, but he quickly hid it and turned to the gun-wielder with a frown.
    Dickhead put away his gun, but the rest of the men stayed wary of her as she made a quick assessment of the intimidating group who seemed like one massive threat.
    “Mr. Hardy, this is my smart as hell, beautiful lady lawyer, Ellie.” Gideon gestured toward her, the tip of his marijuana cigarette glowing. “Graduated from UCLA, magna cum laude. Top of her class.”
    “Eliana.” She corrected Gideon on her name, but didn’t bother with her university.
    All in all, Hardy looked like a terrifying motherfucker of a man. Worse than most she’d encountered on the streets, and, between her youth and looking for her brother as an adult, she’d seen more than her share of bad people.
    “Eliana Conway. Harvard University. Junior Partner at Stanton, Stanton, and Price,” Mr. Hardy recited as his piercing eyes bored into her psyche. “Did I get that right?”
    “That’s correct.” A shiver of fear threatened her composure. The man obviously had connections and access. If the absence of any sort of light in his eyes was any indication, he was a very dangerous man. She wondered if it was already too late for her to back out of her arrangement with Gideon and to trust the police to do their job.
    “Harvard. UCLA. Who gives a fuck?” Gideon shrugged.
    Hardy kept his narrowed gaze on her. “She does.”
    She gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. She didn’t want to piss him off, but she also had the impression he would drill a coward into the ground.
    Hardy stood and walked toward her, circling around behind. “She also gives a fuck to your brother.”
    Iced terror consumed her as he returned to stand in front of her, but she refused to show it.
    “Isn’t that right?”
    She met his gaze with a cold, calculating one of her own. She’d perfected the skill of hiding her panic back when she was five and her parents would purposefully torment her with spiders or the ends of lit cigarettes. The more she screamed, the more delight they’d taken. “Twice,” she answered.
    “ The fuck ?” Gideon seemed angrier about that than having Hardy mock him. He strode across the room until he was inches from her face. “You fucked Christian?”
    The scent of weed clung to his breath, nauseating her. “Who I sleep with is none of your business,” she said, keeping a certain amount of disdain in her voice. “You hired me as an attorney. You have no claim on my personal life.”
    Hardy scoffed and nailed Gideon with a sarcastic look. “You sure you want to trust her now?”
    She slid a sideways glance full of piss and vinegar toward the ringleader, but remained silent. She was in deep and had no choice but to bluff.
    “It was two one-night stands. Meant nothing other than sex.” She kept her voice as unemotional as she could.
    “But you wouldn’t sleep with me,” Gideon accused.
    Eliana was surprised Hardy didn’t strike him down right then for showing weakness. “I never mix business with pleasure,” she said. It was as good of an excuse as any.
    Gideon exhaled a frustrated breath but seemed to accept her answer.
    “Most of her clients are victim cases,” Hardy continued. “Abused women and children.”
    “So?” she challenged him, but he didn’t spare her a glance.
    “She’s weak. Look at her. She’ll crack under pressure.” Hardy spoke as though she wasn’t in the room, or, worse, like she wasn’t worthy of his words, which pissed her off even more. Son of a bitch . It was his fault Howard was dead, along with too many others. Possibly even her