Read Scandal Exposed (The Lust List: Kaidan Stone #4) for Free Online Page B

apparently satisfied, and nods to Beefy #2. His hand closes around mine, and I let out a cry as he rips the necklace from my grasp.
    “That’s mine!”
    Carlos hands it back to Luis, and Luis gives me a look of disgust. “Oh, didn’t I mention? I’ll be keeping this.” He drops the diamond into his jacket pocket and gestures to his men.
    I glance around at all of them and manage to look at the entrance. Empty. Rowan’s not here. No one’s here yet, and these assholes just took the money and my diamond. And now they’re leaving.
    I can’t let Luis leave with the necklace. Rage courses through me. I’m not even thinking as I lunge toward Luis.
    I don’t get very far. He grabs me by both arms and whirls me around. His arm presses against my throat. I flail and manage to scratch my nails down his face before he can stop me.
    The cold barrel of a gun presses into my temple.
    “You shouldn’t have done that,” Luis hisses into my ear. “It appears you’re a loose end.”
    He crushes my throat, and I struggle to suck some air in. Black dots dance around in front of me. He’s going to knock me out. Then take me somewhere and kill me. This is it. I fucked up. This is the end. I try to kick my feet, but the gun against my head is a warning I can’t ignore.
    And then I’m sliding toward darkness.

“Let her go.”
    The voice sounds like it’s coming down a tunnel, and my vision’s hazy. But that was Kaidan’s voice.
    Luis lessens his chokehold, and I take a pained breath. My vision returns, and I focus on the scene in front of me.
    Kaidan is standing there with four of his personal guards right behind him, dressed in their usual black, including Charles. And all of them have their guns trained on the drug dealers.
    Then Rowan appears at Kaidan’s side. He’s royally pissed off, and he’s got his gun pointed at Luis. “Drop your fucking gun.”
    Luis loosens his grasp on me but doesn’t let go. “Fucking cunt.” His guards haven’t had time to pull their weapons, and they’re looking at my rescuers warily.
    “Let her go,” Kaidan says, his voice hard. “The rest of you. Bullets on the ground. Then the weapons.”
    Sweat beads up on my forehead. You could hear a pin drop in the silence. The thugs stare at my rescuers but don’t follow Kaidan’s orders. They’re waiting for Luis to make a move.
    “Do it,” Luis says.
    Carlos and the others take out their weapons and empty their cartridges on the concrete floor. The pings echo in the silence. Then they place the guns on the floor. Rowan and Charles kick them far out of reach.
    After another tense moment, Luis finally lets me go and empties and lowers his weapon to the floor. I stumble forward a step, but the second Rowan kicks that gun away, I whirl around to face Luis.
    My knee connects with his groin, and the look of shocked pain on his face makes everything worth it. He sinks down on the floor, grabbing himself, his face twisted in a livid grimace.
    I give him a smile and pluck the diamond from his jacket pocket. “Oh, didn’t I mention? I’ll be keeping this.”
    I saunter away from him and stand next to Rowan. The diamond cuts into my damp palm, and I’m suddenly heady from the adrenaline and maybe my almost blackout.
    Rowan retrieves the briefcase full of money from Carlos and passes it off to Charles. Then he holsters his gun and, without warning, slams a fist into Beefy’s face.
    I purse my lips and watch, unflinching, as bright red blood gushes from Carlos’s nose. He looks like he wants to attack Rowan, but with all the guns trained on him, he can’t.
    “That’s for Hayley. And me,” Rowan says.
    “You shouldn’t have gotten involved,” Luis spits at Kaidan. “I know who you are. You’ll pay for this.” He looks like he’s in pain as he stands up.
    Kaidan steps into Luis’s space and leans close. “If you know who I am,” he says, his voice low and threatening, “then you know I have far more friends than you