Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,18

to his ear. So he’d been going for a phone and not a gun. Good to know. “Devlin? Yeah. There’s a cute brunette holding a gun—your gun—on me in your bedroom.”

The fact that Saber thought I was cute shouldn’t relieve me, but it did just enough to steady my aim. “Get out of my way. So far, today has been peaceful, and I’d hate to have to shoot you, Saber.” My voice quivered just a little.

He listened, and then his gaze raked me. “Frilly tank top, flip flops, and really short shorts.”

“Hey. These aren’t that short,” I protested, wildly wondering if I could survive a jump from the second-story window from Aiden’s bedroom. Probably not. “Get out of my way.” Slowly, I lowered my aim to his left leg. “I will shoot you.”

“If you shoot me in the leg, you still have to get by me to reach the outside door and freedom,” Saber said reasonably. He listened to the phone for a minute. “Can I have her?” Then Saber’s face fell. “Fine. I won’t touch her so long as you’re making a claim.” Hand to truth, he looked sad. “What do you want me to do with her until you get here?”

“I have a gun,” I bellowed, shaking it wildly. “Get out of my way, Saber!” Was he touched in the head?

He listened and then nodded. “I have a message for you, lady.”

I figured. “What is it?” Hopefully Aiden once again would tell me to get the heck out of there. Right now, I was on board with this plan.

Saber frowned. “I don’t want to say that. The chick has a gun on me.” Then he listened some more. “Fine.” He cleared his throat, his gaze drifting to the gun. “First, and the most important thing, is that Aiden said not to shoot me.”

I put my other hand to the gun to steady my aim. “Aiden isn’t exactly on my list of people I’m listening to right now.”

Saber swallowed. “All right. He says that he’s just a few minutes away and would very much like for you to stay here and wait for him since you’re here already.” A loud ruckus erupted on the phone, and Saber winced before pulling it away from his ear.

“What did he really say?” I asked, the adrenaline flooding my body making me feel lightheaded.

Saber shook his head. “Point the gun somewhere else.”

“No,” I said. “Now tell me what he really said, or I’m aiming for your foot.” I lowered the barrel of the gun.

Motorcycle pipes ripped through the day.

“Thank God,” Saber said, sliding the phone into his back pocket. He hesitated. “Devlin’s pretty mad. You seem like a nice girl, even though you won’t put down the gun. I hope you understand him.”

“I don’t,” I admitted. “What about you? You’re obviously a new member. Why become a Lorde and move to Idaho?” If Aiden had just arrived, there was no way I could get out of there, so why not dig for information?

Saber rubbed the scruff on his chin. “He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Wonderful. “I don’t know what that means. Where are you from?”

“California,” Saber said.

I tilted my head, lowering the gun even more. “You were in a club that got patched over? By a group that barely had any members?”

Saber shook his head. “Nope. I’ve never been in a club. I love to ride, though.”

So Aiden was recruiting new members who weren’t even in clubs? How did that make any sense? “What kind of an offer did Aiden make you?”

Saber smiled again, but his gaze didn’t move from the gun. “Not a lot motivates me, pretty lady. But a guy hits an age when comfort matters, you know?”

“So, money?” I asked. “What are you guys into these days?”

Movement sounded, and Aiden suddenly stood behind Saber. He’d shaved off the beard but already had a five o’clock shadow. “Leave,” he said.

Saber gave me a sympathetic wince, turned, and quickly exited the apartment. When he closed the outside door, silence descended.

Aiden’s chin lifted. “You have one second to put that gun down.”

I was a woman who should live in a bubble. Surrounded by family, still living close to where I grew up, working hard in a secure job. But one moment years ago had blasted that bubble apart, and I knew it was all a mirage. Danger could be anywhere, whether you lived in a bubble or not. Right now, it was standing right in front of me. “I think I’ll