Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,80
see such gates in forested areas, and most were maintained by Fish and Game, at least in Idaho. This one was alarming because of the man standing to the right of it holding an automatic rifle. One of the big and black ones that probably had initials for a name.
Pucci waved, and the guy lifted the arm for the gate. We drove through and kept going to another manned gate, which opened and then we drove toward a compound.
I looked at the main lodge and the surrounding quaint cabins. “Is this where you do your wilderness training?”
“Yep,” Pucci said.
It was kind of charming—except for the armed guards at the gates. There was no reason for them to be there if all Pucci was running was a business training folks how to survive. I kept my thoughts to myself for now.
Pucci parked in the dirt next to the rough hand-forged wooden lodge. “No tourists right now. Everyone here is one of my people in the organization.” He looked over the seat at me. “You’re gonna want a collar on her unless she wants to play.”
My entire body jerked. A collar? I reared up and Aiden clamped a hand on my thigh hard enough that I jumped. Any words I had been about to say stuck in my throat.
Pucci laughed. “This is gonna be fun to watch. We party hard, lawyer lady. The chicks here are here on their own will to play and have a really good time, and you are more than welcome to join in. In fact, Devlin, I wouldn’t mind trading for a night.”
My ears heated and my stomach rolled.
“I don’t share. Thought I made that clear,” Aiden said, sounding bored again. “That’s absolute, Pucci. Let your men know it, because if anybody so much as breathes on her, I’ll gut them right there and hang the entrails from the nearest tree. It’s important to feed the squirrels, you know. Winter will be here in a few months.”
I could actually feel the color drain from my face, leaving my skin cold. This was so out of my experience. Out of my world. I wanted to look at Aiden for reassurance or guidance, but I also wanted to appear cool, when I so was not anywhere near okay with any of this. My legs tingled as a panic attack threatened. I snuck a sideways glance to watch him.
“I’ll spread the word,” Pucci said, opening his door. “But you’re gonna want to lock her down when the party starts at night, just in case.”
“I have plans for her,” Aiden said carelessly. Or at least it sounded careless. But the way his body was on full alert, and the way his gaze roamed the full area around us was anything but that. He pulled me toward him and stepped outside, keeping me at his side. “Cabin?”
Pucci pointed to the third one from the main lodge. “You can have that one, but your men will have to stay in the main bunkhouse unless they hook up with someone who has a cabin.”
“Good. I’ll get her settled.” Aiden took my hand and moved toward the cute little cabin.
“Same. Let’s meet in ten in the main lodge,” Pucci called out.
Aiden kept walking and I did the same; my kitten heels solid on the firm dirt trail. Trees rose all around, and a campfire was already going a little beyond the lodge. A lazy river wound behind the cabins, visible as we approached.
Two identical looking men strolled, or rather patrolled, right by us. They both stopped and looked me up and down. Aiden stiffened and set his stance.
“She’s pretty, Devlin,” the first said. “I get first dibs tonight.”
His twin smiled and showed a gap in his front teeth. Okay. They weren’t identical. My mom had told me that everyone was beautiful in their own and unique way.
She hadn’t met these guys.
They had to be in their early forties and had both cut their hair short, dyed it red, and had used enough mousse to spike it up through the rapture. Their eyes were a beady brown, their noses too big for their slender faces, and their clothing dirty. Like they hadn’t showered in a month.
Aiden sounded bored again. “I don’t share. Pucci is spreading the word, but feel free to try me. I haven’t gutted anybody in a while, Rhino.”
The guy with the gap in his teeth was nicknamed Rhino? Seriously. The men didn’t back away like any intelligent human would have.