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“I know what the fuck I said. I don’t need instant replay.”
I held up my palms in mock surrender. I must have really pissed him off. I honestly didn’t think it was possible. “My bad…”
Connor took a few deep breaths, a hand raking through his disheveled hair as he pivoted back towards me. I could only assume we lost whoever the fuck was following us. Either that, or lover boy had decided it would be easier to use me as a bargaining chip. Wouldn’t blame him for it. It was actually the smartest thing he could do right now.
He didn’t speak again until we were nearly toe-to-toe, and I could see the stress lines wrinkling his forehead. Fucker wasn’t just scared. He was terrified. I’d forgotten not everyone was as used to being shot at as I was. I actually couldn’t remember a time when there wasn’t a target on my back.
“Hey, I’m sorry for yellin’. My ma would be the first to tell you I wasn’t raised like that.” He reached out and cupped my jaw in his palms. Which were slick with sweat but I decided to keep that observation to myself. Connor lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me in a way that felt different from the few times before. I couldn’t put my finger on it. But somehow this was both sweeter and more possessive. Chaste with an undertone of something carnal. “I didn’t care about the fucking car, Dani. I don’t care about the fucking car.”
Now I was really fucking confused. “If it wasn’t because of the car, then why were you so upset?”
“I wasn’t upset. I was pissed the fuck off. I saw it in your eyes. You honestly expected me to pull over and leave your ass to the wolves. They were trying to kill you, Dani.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, it kinda comes with the territory, Connor. All part of the game.”
“For fuck’s sake, this stopped being a fucking game the moment those fuckers started shooting to kill. Why the fuck would you show up tonight knowing they were after you like that?”
Good question. I’d love to know the answer to that one too…
16
A FEW MINUTES PRIOR
I’d just pressed Dani up against the wall outside Mollies when Zeke came running up behind us. I could see the panic on his face and immediately knew I’d fucked up. It wasn’t just my own neck on the chopping block; it was his as well. And I knew more than I wanted to admit that I was being a selfish bastard.
I would love to say Dani brought that side out of me, that it wasn’t a bad habit of mine, but that would be a lie. My penchant for going with my gut meant I often ignored my brain. Which made it far easier for me to forget about how my actions affected others.
Not being able to control your impulses was a son of a bitch.
Zeke doubled over, trying to catch his breath as he gestured a hand towards the alleyway. “You need to get gone, and quick. They know she’s here, Mac. Pretty sure I heard Junior say something about strapping up.”
We both knew the kind of men we worked for. But knowing it and seeing it were two different things. The realization that we were part of a full-on mob war felt like a punch to the dick. Zekeand I were no strangers to the occasional bar fight—it came with the territory. And neither one of us got squeamish at the sight of blood. I mean, we’d spilled plenty of our own over the years. But as a rule, we didn’t fuck with guns. We couldn’t afford the high-price lawyers like the rest of 'em and my ass didn’t look good in orange.
It looked worse dropping the soap…
I glanced back to Dani, who of course appeared unfazed. Nope, not the right word… because, fuck, she was doing that staring into nothing thing again. I needed to get her the fuck out of here before Baby Mulligan took advantage of her in this state. That thought alone had my teeth grinding in my jaw, and my shoulders tense with pent-up energy.
But I’d have to run inside and grab my keys from my locker first. I eyed Dani’s riding gear. Something told me baby girl didn’t own a car. As if reading my mind, Zeke tossed a set of keys in the air and gestured for me to get going. I owed this guy more than my life. I owed him hers too.
I took two steps forward, my hand wrapped around Dani’s wrist, before pivoting back towards the club. “They’re gonna know you had something to do with this…”
Zeke shrugged, his way of saying:I know.
“Come with us,” I urged him, because something in the pit of my stomach told me this wouldn’t end well for either of us. He didn’t bother responding as he turned back around and disappeared through the side door. I knew it was pointless. They had his sister by the cunt and Zeke wasn’t about to leave her there to flounder, as much as I reminded him that it was her choice.
But you can lead a horse to water and all that. The stupid son of a bitch needed to figure it out on his own. Much like I did when it came to a certain chick with very similar problems.
We didn’t make it to the back lot before bullets were flying in our direction. No warning, no goddamn option to surrender—not that I would have but it would have been nice for the fucker to at least offer.
When a stray round ricocheted off a streetlamp, shattering the bulb and shadowing us in darkness as we navigated around the fresh scattering of broken glass, I had to wonder if they really had that bad of an aim or if these were meant to be warning shots.
It was hard to tell.
Dani still hadn’t spoken a word but her reflexes seemed to be working overtime while the rest of her remained stunted.
By the time my car was in view, I could make out the distinct sound of several pairs of boots crunching behind us.
“Rossi, ain’t it about time you stopped running? Why don’t you turn around, get that tight little ass of yours back here, so we can discuss things like civilized adults?” Junior’s voice was grating on my nerves more than usual.
