“Meaning you can work with us, or else you’ll suffer the consequences.”
“Work with you? Doing what?”
Nash glanced at the door to the bedroom. “Okay,” he said.
Victoria Steers appeared there.
When Temple saw her, he immediately took a step back. “Son of a bitch! I spent all this time and money trying to get away from her, and you just ruined everything. Well, my turn to do the same to you, asshole.” He called out to Steers. “Hey, guess what, he’s Walter Nash. The guy you’ve been looking for all this time? He’s right there, lady. I found him, just like you asked me to. So I am out of here for good. Bye-bye.”
However, Nash blocked his exit.
In a tone of disbelief, Mindy exclaimed, “You’reWalter Nash?”
Steers stepped fully into the room and looked at Temple. “This I already know.”
Temple shot Nash a look. “She knows! What the hell is going on?”
Nash said, “Things have changed.”
“Meaning what, exactly?”
“You want a get-out-of-jail-free card?” he asked.
“No, what I want is to kick your ass. And now I can.” He swung a haymaker at the other man’s jaw.
Nash ducked under it and let the momentum of Temple’s attack carry the man right into the wall. He bounced off it and came back at Nash, swinging and kicking.
Nash blocked every blow. “This is counterproductive, Rhett,” he said.
“You’re not the only one with muscles and moves now, bro,” retorted Temple.
He kicked once more at Nash but Nash caught the leg, forcing Temple to hop on one foot.
“Are you going to listen to reason or not?” asked Nash.
“I’m done listening,” said Temple. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun.
The foot caught Temple on the side of the head. Nash let go of his leg at the same time, and Temple spun around and dropped to the floor unconscious, his gun falling to the floor. Nash scooped it up.
Mindy looked at Steers, who had struck the blow, and exclaimed, “Holy shit. You’re like some kind of kung fu girl.” Mindy then smiled broadly. “That was awesome.”
Steers looked down at the senseless Temple, strode into the bathroom, came out with a glass of water, and dumped it on Temple’s face.
Gagging and sputtering, he came to and sat up, looking around in a daze.
He glared at Nash. “You sucker-punched me.”
“I did nothing to you. She did,” added Nash, pointing at Steers.
She said, “Do you want to live or do you want to die, Mr. Temple? That is the question you have to answer.”
He scrambled to his feet. “Of course I want to live, who doesn’t?”
“Then you must listen to Walter.”
“Is it just Walter, or Walter-san?” Temple said sarcastically.
Nash sat on a chair and said, “We know you murdered your father. We know you were going to kill Mindy tonight.”