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Gasps filled the air when he informed them of my dad’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the promise he made us make. Many heads turned in my direction, but my focus remained on Alec as he continued to scold the town, telling them how disappointed he was in them.
He was going to be such an incredible dad.
“Earth to Quin.” River snapped her fingers in front of my face, bringing me back to the present.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “No, they haven’t found them.”
“So I guess we’re still stuck with your bodyguard?” She tilted her head in the direction of her man, who was smiling brightly at her from a corner booth.
I snorted. “Like having Rico here all the time is such an inconvenience for you.”
“Well, no. I just hate the reason he has to be here.”
“Yeah.”
We finished getting ready to open the store and before long, we were too busy to think about anything other than making a ton of tea and ringing up customers. I loved working for River. She was not only one of my best friends, she genuinely had a heart of gold. I swore the majority of the town came into the store to get their daily fix of her bright and sunny disposition rather than the latest herbal blend.
Four o’clock came fast and I was flipping the sign from open to closed on my way out the front door, heading to job number two, with Rico close on my heels.
We reached the corner of Main and Fifth, a half a block from Pete’s hardware store, when my skin started to crawl. Looking around, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I continued on. I was halfway through the intersection when Rico’s panicked shout stopped me in my tracks.
“Quin!”
Spinning around, I realized I’d gotten too far ahead of him. He’d apparently stopped to help an older lady whose bag of groceries broke open on the sidewalk, but he was currently hauling ass in my direction.
“Move, Quin,” he yelled, reaching behind him to pull a gun from his waistband.
That’s when I heard it. The loud roar of an engine pulled my attention back to Main Street where a familiar rusty truck was barreling down the road, headed straight for the crosswalk I stood in.
I was frozen, until fear for myself and my baby quickly overrode my momentary hysteria, allowing my feet to become unstuck from the asphalt. My shaky legs were churning, but the truck was too close.
Oh God. I wasn’t going to make it.
Thick arms wrapped around my waist from behind and the next thing I knew, I was airborne. The momentum launched us forward, farther than I could’ve ever imagined possible. Flipping midair, Rico took the brunt of the fall when we landed near the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street.
Black spots dotted my vision as I tried, unsuccessfully, to draw much needed oxygen into my lungs. My chest heaved, like a hundred-pound weight had suddenly been dropped on top of it. I barely heard Rico’s grunted “Fuck” over the roaring in my ears as he moved me off of him, gently setting me down on the hard surface below.
“Quin.” He grasped my chin between his fingers. “Breathe, sweetheart. It’s over. You’re both safe.”
I tried. I really did. But the last thing I heard before my world went dark was Rico’s muttered, “Fuck, he’s gonna kill me.”
CHAPTER 11
Allesandro
“WHERE THE FUCK were you?”
Rico opened his mouth, my right hook colliding brutally with the left side of his face before he even had a chance to respond. His head snapped to the side, but he stood his ground. It wasn’t the first time he’d taken a punch from me and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
Luc and I had been at Quattro with Keaton when we’d gotten the call. The jackass rubbed me the wrong way but according to Waverly and Duncan, he was an impressive investigator. I’d have to take their word for it since he’d been unofficially loaned to us for the next week. He was none too happy with his current assignment, but I didn’t give a flying fuck. His ass was mine for the next seven days.
“Goddamn, Fratello.” Luc intervened, blocking my path before I swung a second time. “Don’t you think he’s already beating himself up over the fact those cracked-out fuckers got a shot at your girl on his watch?”
“I deserve his reaction and more, Luc.” Rico nudged our brother to the side while wiping away a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth where I’d split his lip. “She should have never gotten that far away from me.”
“Damn right, she shouldn’t have.”
“You wanna hit me again? No one’s going to stop you.”
