At least mine were more prominent than either of theirs. Plus I had two.
I scowled as I passed through, but he only smirked, his chest puffed up like he just won the lottery. Well, that was a pretty apt comparison, since having her by our side was the greatest prize I could imagine.
“There you are,” Francine grunted as she barreled past a crowd of people to get to us. “I just got off the phone with a fewof the other store owners. I’ve placed at least one person I trust at each motel to monitor things.”
“Thanks, Francine.” Merrick shouldered past me to wrap his arm around Giana before I could get there.
“There’s someone I want you to meet.” She crooked her finger and led us back through the crowd. They immediately parted for us, a mix of fear and awe in their gazes that I couldn’t begrudge them for. We might not be the Barones, but we were still just as dangerous.
We stopped in front of one of the rooms, and I frowned at the doorway. “I hate that we had to rent out the first floor too.”
“I know, but this isn’t exactly a hot tourist spot.” Giana took my hand. “Besides, we’ll have Sebastian’s guys keeping watch.”
“I know.” I pressed a kiss to her knuckles, loving how her cheeks pinkened for me. This woman, who could cut men twice her size down to their knees, was blushing because of me. I still had to pinch myself sometimes that she was really back with us, that we hadn’t lost her forever.
Spade rejoined us after putting the duffel bag back in the van, scowling at both Merrick and me. A calculating glint lit in his eyes and I knew he was already assessing how he could weasel his way in.
“Liam here has put cameras up at the stores.” Francine stopped by a man a few inches shorter than us. He’d probably be the same height as Giana without the heels. He pushed up his wide-framed glasses, a shy smile on his lips as he pulled out a tablet.
“I own the electronic repair store in town, so I went to the store owners and got their permission to set up cameras outside the storefronts and in the alleys.” He turned the screen to show us a grid of small videos, each recording live from the main street we just left. He selected one of the feeds to maximize it for us.
A few blacked-out SUVs were parked outside the stationery store. Luann and her husband were outside arguing as his men spread out, searching the storefronts, but everything was closed off.
“Here.” Liam held out the tablet, and Merrick took it. “I brought that tablet for you to use. You’ll need it more than we will.”
Giana pulled a stack of cash out of her bag and thrust it toward Liam. “Please, this will be a huge help to all of us. I don’t want the cost to fall on you alone.”
“I can’t.” He shook his head, hands up in protest as he stepped away. “You’ve done so much for all of us already. This was the least I could do.”
She frowned and let her hand drop at the determination in Liam’s gaze. Even Giana wouldn’t be able to convince him. Which was good because if the three of us had to deal with another man fawning over her today, one of us would snap. Probably Spade.
“If you’re sure...” she trailed off, putting the cash back in her purse. “If you need anything, you only need to ask.”
“I appreciate that.” A blush spread across his cheeks.
I narrowed a warning glare at him, making the color drain from his face in the next instant. He cleared his throat, his gaze darting around like he was searching for an escape. Nope, three of us were enough to contend with. There was no way we were going to let her charm another guy. Besides, he wasn’t violent enough for our little devil. She’d eat him alive.
“Let me give you my—”
“No,” Merrick growled. “He can have my number.”
Giana sighed but didn’t argue as Liam uncomfortably exchanged numbers with Merrick, his unease growing with each second he spent in our presence.
“Granny Franny,” a child shrieked as the door beside us burst open and a blur of strawberry-blonde hair latched onto Francine’s legs.
Liam took that opportunity to back away, giving Giana a shy wave and avoiding the rest of our glares as he slunk away into the crowd. Good. He was already testing his luck, judging by the way Spade was staring at his back in contemplation.
“Charlie,” Francine said and threaded her fingers through the boy’s hair. He was probably only eight.
Another woman followed him out, wincing as she looked from Francine to us. “Sorry. I asked him to wait.”
“It’s fine.” Giana grinned, waving off the other woman’s concerns as Francine hugged the boy to her.
“This is my grandson, Charlie. Charlie, these are our friends, the ones who are helping us.” She gestured to us, and he turned to peek at us, his face still buried in Francine’s thick wool sweater. “I knew them when they were only your age.”
“That must have been a long time ago,” he said, shocking a startled laugh from all of us.
“How old does this kid think we are?” Merrick whispered.
