Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,97
his eyes. “Yeah. I know. Yours.” He shook his head. “Just be here in an hour with the cash.” He paused. “Fine. I’ll give you the extra hours, but we’re leaving at first dawn. And Devlin? If you don’t show up, I’m taking the lady lawyer with me.” He clicked off.
I sat at the campfire next to Pucci and ate my steak, wanting to keep my strength up. A full moon illuminated the entire camp, although the floodlights set all around didn’t need any help. It might as well be daylight. I’d been there for three hours and had tried to escape twice, until Pucci just up and tied me to a porch. Now that had gotten boring. He’d finally fetched me for a very late dinner.
“I like your spunk,” he said, eating his steak with a plastic fork.
“Gee. Thanks,” I muttered, taking a sip of my soda. My balance wasn’t quite back, but my headache was now only a dull throb. “I have to ask. Aren’t you even a bit sad to be leaving Krissy? She really loves you.”
He snorted. “She’s not half the person I thought she was, and I’ll replace her easy enough. Well, not easy. But I’m better off without her. Never hitch yourself to a weak link.”
Great. More philosophical advice from Rich Pucci. I took another sip. “Did Danny figure out you were running guns? Is that why you killed him?”
Rich paused with a beer almost to his mouth. “Kill Danny? He was my cousin. I didn’t kill him.” He scratched at a mosquito bite on his hand. “Danny was all in on the business and ready to make his fortune. I think his plan was to woo your sister with his millions.” He shook his head. “Oh, I will find out who killed him, and when I do, they’re dead.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Aiden is a suspect, you know.”
Pucci scoffed. “I’m aware of that, but believe me, if Devlin had killed Danny, he wouldn’t be a suspect. Chances are we wouldn’t even have a body.”
Ug. All right. The boulder-sized pit that landed in my gut hurt as badly as my head. I wasn’t so sure, but since Aiden seemed to be my last chance for getting out of this at the moment, causing tension between him and Pucci was a bad idea.
The moronic twins from before sat across the fire, both staring at me. In the moonlight, the red dye in their hair looked like blood. Rhino smiled at me. “What do you say, lady? Want a night you’ll never forget with me and Spark?”
I couldn’t help the shiver. “No.” Rhino and Spark. Their mama must be so proud.
The sound of several motorcycles rumbled up the long road, and soon Aiden, Saber, and Drag came into view.
The relief that slashed through me held heat. They all wore jeans, motorcycle boots, and black leather jackets with the Lordes cut on them.
Pucci whistled. “It’s a hot night for leather jackets. The boys are making a statement.” He took another drink of beer.
Aiden dismounted and his gaze swung instantly to me. Top to bottom and so intense my toes curled.
The other two flanked him as he strode toward the fire, the angry embers in his eyes hotter than any natural fire. “We’re here.”
“The money?” Pucci asked.
Drag and Saber both held saddlebags.
“I have three million now,” Aiden said, his gaze not leaving mine. “That’s for half, and we take a truck with the goods out of here. Along with my woman.”
I wanted to punch him—after we got out of there. So I didn’t say a word.
Pucci’s jaw jutted out. “That’s fair. Hand over the money.”
“Not until we see the guns and the converting kits,” Aiden said.
Pucci pointed to a large gray truck with a canopy. “We already have it all loaded. You either trust me, or you don’t.”
“I don’t,” Aiden said shortly. “I’m not giving you a dime until you show me all of it.”
Several guns emerged from the men at the fire.
Pucci stood. “You’re outgunned.”
“Not my first time in that position,” Aiden said easily. “We wore the cuts on purpose, as I’m sure you know. I have fifty members ready to ride if I don’t call in ten minutes, and we have a thousand affiliates preparing to jump on their bikes in several surrounding states and get here as fast as possible if the alert goes out. Are you sure you want to fuck with me?”