by Lia Ellison
I supposed he really only trusted Jo and himself with my safety.
“It’s fine.” She shrugged. “You have every right to be mad. Some of your men are clearly incompetent. Maybe you should send me out there.”
“No. I need you here.”
Jo glanced toward me, and there was something in her eyes. I had a feeling she wanted to tell Aiden that my being here was making things worse, because I was sure he would’ve already sent her to do this job for him without a second thought if he didn’t think she was needed here to protect me.
“Okay, but if you change your mind, let me know. I don’t like being idle, and I could really help you out there.” She headed for the door.
“I know. Thanks.” He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed once she was gone.
I made my way over to him and wound my arms around his neck. “Maybe you should send Jo to look for those Rito guys. I’m sure she could find them. She seems very skilled.”
“No. If the Ritos are in town, then I need her here. They might be planning an attack, because I bet it’s easier to find us here than it is for my men to find them.” His jaw clenched. “Their presence here completely messes up my plan too. I need to come up with another one.”
“Okay, but what’s up with those guys? I mean, I know your brother was supposed to make a deal with them, and that he somehow tricked them and stole something from them, so now they want revenge on your gang, but how come they’re so elusive?”
“They’re not a regular gang. A lot of their members are professional thieves.”
I arched my eyebrows. “Oh, so there’s such a thing as a professional thief? Why did no one ever tell me that when I was supposed to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up?”
A smile quirked his lips. “I just meant that they’re very good at stealing, and they banded together because there’s power in numbers. And when they have connections, it’s easier to find new targets, to evade the cops... Let’s just say they figured out they would earn a whole lot of money if they could all work together. So first they got the best thieves they could find, and soon they started accepting other people, so now a few of their members are assassins, drug dealers, and all kinds of criminals.”
“Wow. And who’s their leader? Is it like the best thief or something?”
“They recently got a new leader, and it’s one they voted for. But the most annoying thing about them is that they usually don’t move in a group. They meet once in a while to share their plans, and then they mostly disperse until it’s time for them to act. That’s why catching them is hard, because if I follow one guy, he likely won’t lead me to the others. I need to hit them when most of them are together. They have to be meeting somewhere, or maybe even staying closer together, because this isn’t their city, but my men...” He groaned.
“I guess you tried figuring out how they’re communicating. If they connect to their own network or use stolen phones or something, then maybe...”
“Yeah, my tech guys are already on it, but there are so many phones out there. It’s impossible to monitor everything and hack every network. If we knew their approximate location, then maybe we could pick up on their signal or something, but it’s possible they aren’t even using phones.”
“Then how do they know when and where to meet?” I frowned. “Even if they have a plan and predetermined locations and time, then what happens if something comes up? They can’t plan for everything. There has to be an emergency plan or something.”
“If there is, I don’t know about it. But yeah, all their meetings are planned in advance. Maybe if my men catch one of them, we can extract that info out of him.”
“Do you think they don’t care? I mean, if one of them gets caught, will they just keep going without him? If they’re just together for profit and benefits, then maybe no one else matters to them except the success of their operations.”
“No idea, but I don’t think all of them are super loyal to their gang. If I can capture the right people, they might be willing to tell me anything just to save their own ass. But it’s possible they have some kind of a code, and if one of them betrays them, they’ll come after him or after his family.”
“Right.” I’d never been too interested in gangs and criminals, but now I was hoping Aiden was going to find them soon so they’d no longer be a threat to us.
Although I was really glad Aiden was here with me, I didn’t like being locked up in the house. It was way too close to being held captive again.
“I’m sorry it’s taking this long,” he said. “Maybe I should go out there with my men to see if I can lure them out. It’s me they want. And since we don’t know the identity of all of their members, they might be watching us without us knowing. If they’re patient enough, they could just wait for us to lower our guard and attack when we least expect it.”
“Wait, don’t say things like that. You’re not going anywhere.” My eyes bored into his. “You can’t risk going out there. If you want me to stay safe here, then you need to be with me. There’s no way I’m going to let you be bait for those people when it’s unlikely you’d catch them. We can wait a little longer. As long as it takes. Your men will figure it out eventually, and the Ritos can’t hide forever. I mean, what are they going to do? Take up permanent residence in the city? Someone’s going to notice that, and if they want to keep stealing things and continue their business, they can’t just stay here.”
“You’re right. I just wish it was all over.”
“I know, but promise me you’re not going to disappear on me or anything. Even if you find out something and need to go out there to finish this fight, just tell me first, okay? Even if it’s in the middle of the night. I don’t want to wake up one day only to find out you’re gone and that something happened to you, and...”
He rubbed circles on my back. “Hey, I’m not going anywhere. I promise I’ll tell you everything.”
I gave him a brief nod, and then I pressed my lips against his.
Maybe being trapped in this house wasn’t all that bad as long as Aiden was with me.
“Oh, I was thinking that maybe we could do something fun.” I offered him a small smile.
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
I had a plan and knew just how to distract us both from all the gang drama. I just hoped that it was going to work.
Chapter 13
WHEN VERONICA HAD SAID “fun,” he’d never thought she’d drag him straight to the kitchen. But as she was busy preparing food, the whole thing kind of felt... nice.
“Here,” she said, turning toward him. “Chop this carrot for me.”
His eyebrows shot up.
“What? You don’t know how to chop a carrot?” she teased.
“I do.” The thing was, he wasn’t sure because he’d never done it before, but he supposed it shouldn’t be overly hard. “But I have people for that. You don’t have to do any of this. The cook can just prepare whatever you’d like. He’ll follow your instructions.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know you have people for everything, but where’s the fun in that? If you don’t want to chop that damn carrot, I will.”
“No, I’ll do it.” He took the carrot and the chopping board and then glanced at Veronica as he lifted the knife.
She was smiling at him, and then she rushed to one of the cooking pots that was about to boil over.
How is this fun again?
Maybe you should’ve taken her out.
She’s going crazy in here.
But she didn’t look like it, did she? In fact, she seemed weirdly relaxed, which was a good thing since she’d been tense these days, as if she was bracing herself for what was coming.
Living a life full of danger and facing possible enemy attacks was normal to him, but to her, it was all new. It would take some time for her to get used to it.
Does she have to?
He cut the carrot, wondering if maybe, once he was done with the Ritos, he could just leave every
thing behind and lead a normal life with Veronica.
Maybe he’d end up liking it.
Maybe he’d get used to it.
Or maybe you can turn it into a longer vacation. The boring and quiet life isn’t for you.
And Veronica?
What about her?
Is she going to get tired of your way of life?
“How’s it going?” She placed her hands on his waist, distracting him. “Looks like you’re doing great. Finish it up and toss it into that pot over there, okay?”
“What are you making?” He was used to having the cook prepare whatever he wanted, and if he didn’t have the time, then he’d just buy something on the way.
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.” She grinned.
“Okay.”
“Don’t sound so enthusiastic.”
He shrugged and then went to toss the carrot into the pot she’d indicated.
“Come over here.” She curled her finger, inviting him to come closer.
When he did, she tapped his nose with her finger, leaving flour behind.
“Hey!”
She laughed and smeared some more flour over his cheek.
“What are you doing?”
“I bet you can’t catch me.” She winked and darted across the kitchen.
He narrowed his eyes at her, and then grabbed some flour in his hand and started toward her. She circled around the counter as he tried to find a way to catch her. But every time he moved in one direction, she ran in the other.
And damn, how hadn’t he realized before that this kitchen was way too big and had way too many things in the way?
As if you ever paid any attention to kitchens. Anywhere.
She stuck out her tongue at him.
He faked rushing toward her, and when she backed away, he raced around the counter and caught her in his arms.
She wrapped her fingers around his wrists so he couldn’t raise them to her face. “No!”
“Okay.” He stopped fighting her, although he knew he could’ve easily overpowered her. As soon as her grip on him loosened, he quickly raised his hand and tapped her nose. “Got you!”
“Sneaky!” She turned around in his arms, shaking her head at him.
“So what do I get?” He flashed her a smile.
She wound her fingers into his shirt and pulled him to her. “This.”
Her lips covered his, and her tongue found his. When she let go of him, he was breathless and stumbled back.
Okay, he kind of liked these silly games.
It was a good thing no one was here to see what they were doing because he was pretty sure they’d judge.
But Veronica’s smile was so incredibly wide, her eyes sparkling with joy, and he would be as childish with her as she wanted just to see her so happy again.
Just admit to yourself that you like this too. There’s no shame in it.
But then his phone vibrated in the pocket of his pants, and her smile faded. He cursed his damn phone under his breath.
After wiping his palms on his pants, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Hopefully, it was nothing important, but he had to make sure.
“Boss, I have some bad news,” Jo said from the other end of the line.
She could’ve just come up here, but he supposed she hadn’t wanted to interrupt anything, or maybe she had no clue what they could be doing in the kitchen, so she’d decided it was safer to call.
“What now?” If someone had attacked this house, she wouldn’t have waited so long to tell him and the alarms would’ve already gone off, so there wasn’t an imminent threat. He was mad at himself instantly, because he should’ve been paying more attention to making sure Veronica was safer rather than...
What? Making her happy?
She’s safe. It’s fine.
“It’s the Ritos,” Jo said in a grave voice. “We found them, but it didn’t go over well.”
“Do you know where they are? The Ritos?”
Having their location would make things so much easier, and he was ready to go into action right away if there was a chance he could still catch them, but if Jo’s tone was any indication, that wasn’t why she was telling him this.
“Your men... The ones who found the Ritos... They’re all dead.”
He gritted his teeth.
“And that’s not all. The cops got to the bodies before we could.”
“Fuck!”
“What do you want me to do?” she asked.
“We need to find out where the bodies are and we need to get them. What about the Ritos? Any trace of them? Any clues? Anything?”
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing. It’s like they vanished into thin air. I’ll see if there are any cameras in that area that might be of help, but I don’t think we’ll find anything. It looks like the Ritos figured out someone was following them, so they led our guys straight into a trap.”
“Okay. Let me know as soon as you have any news.”
“Will do.” Jo ended the call.
Aiden ran his hand over his face. This was bad. His men should’ve been more careful. They should’ve immediately called for backup.
You should’ve been with them.
He leaned on the counter, wondering what he was going to do. He didn’t want to leave Veronica, but maybe that was what he should do.
She placed her hands on his shoulders, massaging gently. Her touch chased away some of the tension from his shoulders.
“It’s going to be fine. You’ll see,” she said. “Those Rito guys are good, but they can’t be that good, right?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.” He caught her hand and brought her fingers to his lips. “But don’t worry about it.”
“Why don’t you help me with the dessert?” she said. “It looks like you need a distraction, and maybe, after we’re done, you’ll have a solution to your problem. And if you don’t, well, at least we won’t be hungry.”
When he turned around to face her, there was a smile on her face.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe the only way to think this through was to take a little break from all of it.
Chapter 14
“WHERE ARE WE GOING?” I asked as Aiden opened the front door for me.
We usually didn’t go out of the house, so I wondered if he’d changed his mind about that. But as far as I knew, the threat was still out there, so we couldn’t exactly take a stroll through the park or go shopping or something.
“Not far,” he said, and I followed him into the yard. The guards were everywhere, and I had a feeling there were more of them than usual, but then something in the middle of the yard caught my attention.
Shooting targets.
They hadn’t been there before.
Aiden stopped and pulled out his gun.
“What are you doing?” I asked, unsure about what he was planning to do.
He offered me the gun. Since I was inside all the time, and there were plenty of guards, plus Aiden was with me, I didn’t really carry my gun with me, although it was in the holster on the nightstand so I could grab it quickly if I needed it.
If I’d known where we were going when Aiden had told me to come with him, maybe I would’ve taken it with me.
“You need to learn how to shoot,” he said.
I took the gun from him. “Um, I know how to shoot.” Kind of.
“Yeah, I’m sure you can aim and pull the trigger if you need to, but can you hit your target in the exact spot where you want to hit it?”
“If you’re asking if I’m a professional assassin or something, then no.”
“Then you should practice. Sooner or later, you’ll have to use your gun, and you need to be able to defend yourself efficiently. Just shooting until you’re out of bullets won’t help.”
“Okay. I guess I can try.” I checked the gun, and when I was ready, I lifted it toward one of the targets, aiming at it. “Isn’t this kind of too far? And won’t the guards think we’re under attac
k or something if I fire?”
“No, it’s not too far. We’ll move closer later. Don’t worry about the guards. They know about this. It won’t be a problem.”
“Right.” I pulled the trigger and frowned because the bullet just brushed the target. Well, hell.
“Don’t hold it like that.” He gently placed his fingers on my arm and guided my arm and hand into the position he wanted.
His breath tickled my ear, his proximity a little bit too distracting. “Okay, try again.”
This time, I managed to hit the target, but it wasn’t close enough to the center.
“Again.” Aiden’s fingers brushed my arm.
I aimed again and again. And when I was out of bullets, Aiden just had one of his men bring more.
My arm was already starting to ache, but Aiden wasn’t happy until I hit the center. When I finally did, I almost jumped up and down in delight.
But when I glanced at Aiden, his face was serious.
“That was good, right?” I turned toward him.
“It was okay. Now move over there and try again.”
I made a face. “Seriously? Do we have to do it all today?”
“No, of course not, but you haven’t even gotten to moving targets yet.”
“Moving targets?” I gaped at him.
“Yeah. You need to try different angles, and you need to be able to hit the target even while you’re both on the move.”
“Oh.” I supposed now wasn’t the right time to tell Aiden that I didn’t really like guns or shooting at all.
Defending myself with a gun was fine, but actually going after someone... I didn’t think I could do that.
Or maybe I could.
If Aiden’s life was at risk, then yeah, I’d want to know how to do this and how to save him.
“Ready to try again?” he asked.
“Yeah, I think so.” I took a deep breath, lifting the gun again.
Aiden kept giving me instructions, and bit by bit, I was getting better at it.
Not by Aiden’s standards, though, because his face was still serious.
“Okay, I need a break.” I sat down on the ground, unwilling to keep trying. We’d been practicing for hours, or at least I thought it had been that long. My muscles were sore, and my stomach was rumbling from hunger.