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PIPER
Work keptme busy the next few nights, which was good. It gave me less time to dwell on Cesare. He’d texted a few times, but he’d seemed preoccupied and busy, too. Probably it would be best to just let things fade away.
Yeah, it was for the best, but it was also disappointing. But it was clear that Cesare was not boyfriend material. He wasn’t the type of guy a woman could rely on. His lifestyle seemed a little too dangerous. There was a pretty good chance of him getting killed out on the street. Yes, he’d treated me well the two times I’d seen him outside of work. Apart from the fact that he was a control freak and carried a gun, he was actually a pretty good date. Charming. Well-spoken. Polite as long as it was clear that he was the one in charge.
So yeah, it was a pity. I had met a fine-looking man, great at flirting, knowing how to treat a woman, but the life he had chosen for himself just didn’t agree with me.
Nevertheless, part of my mind couldn’t get over how good it had felt to be in his arms. To feel safe and cherished. And then there was the sex. I’d never had sex that good. Or orgasms that powerful. Hell, I’d never seen a man who looked as good as Cesare did naked. It made me wish that he were in a different line of work, but that was kind of like wishing that he was a different person, which made no sense. He was who he was.
I kept thinking about him, though, as my mind went around in circles. In the shower before work, I’d run my hands over my skin and remember how amazing it had felt when he touched me.
And my brain began to betray me. I began to wonder if giving up on the idea of Cesare as a suitable boyfriend truly meant giving up the sizzling-hot sex. After all, some men seemed perfectly fine with having sex without a relationship.
Maybe Cesare and I could be like that. We could enjoy each other’s bodies and make each other feel good without bothering with a relationship.
After all, one more time wouldn’t hurt anyone. It would just give me more memories with him. Amazing images I could go back to, every time I felt like it. Like after a long shift when I needed a little relief before bed. If I could make a few more memories with him, it would be worth it to me. It might even distract me from thinking about the gun he’d brought into my home.
Maybe.
13
MATTEO
A late-night fieldtrip to a state forest?
I hadn’t seen that coming.
Truth be told, I expected that the truck’s new route would go through more populated areas. To use some more crowded roads, with enough traffic to deter any wannabe robbers.
But thanks to Leonardo’s research, I’d been dead wrong. At least if what he’d learned was legitimate. Truth was, the new route gave me the creeps. I’d never been a fan of darkness. Cesare’s dad—my uncle—had died when we were young, and his mom went through a series of boyfriends who made Cesare’s life miserable. One who was a particular bastard would lock us in a storm cellar when he didn’t want to deal with us anymore. It was dank and dark down there, even after we’d learned to hide flashlights, food, and water down there.
So yeah, I wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore, but I also wasn’t its biggest fan. Still, we learned something after making the trip. The first thing was about the people who put the truck’s new itinerary in place.
They had to have been feeling invincible. They had to believe that no one would dare pull their truck over to rob it. That vehicle would be well away from civilization. It would be miles away from any witnesses and law enforcement agents for at least thirty minutes. This was plenty of time for a skilled crew to do anything they had in mind. So, whoever had ordered the driver of that truck to take that route had to have been stupid or too confident. They had too much faith in DeLuca and his men, if they were part of the backup.
My second conclusion had to do with Cesare’s so-called sweet spot.
Two hours into our recon, I started calling it the shitty spot instead. For more than three miles along that route, those were all I could get. The terrain around the road wasn’t level. All in all, it was a shitty place for a marksman. Huge trees would block the truck from view. Getting a clear shot at the driver would be next to impossible. And if we couldn’t take out the men in the truck first, it was all pointless. No matter how much we needed the money, I wasn’t going to stand by and let one of my buddies get shot again.
We huddled in the fucking trees in the dark and discussed every single option. We finally settled on the only solution that made sense—one of us would have to climb a fucking tree and perch up there like a damn deer hunter, waiting for prey to walk—er, drive—by.
Even just getting up there would require flexibility and lightness. Those weren’t qualities that tall guys like me and Cesare possessed. Leonardo was the lightest of the three of us, but he was also the worst shot. Not to mention he was still recovering from his wounds.
Shit. I was too old to climb a fucking tree. Still, it was either that or standing on the side of the road. Stealth was key in our operation. We didn’t wish to be seen by the driver or anyone else for that matter. Plus it was a battle tactic as old as time itself—maintain the high ground.
The next morning, we met at Cesare’s place to continue planning. His place was less than a mile from my own, so I decided to walk since the weather was nice.
When I neared his building, I became extra alert. We were on some pissed off people’s radar now, so I wanted to be extra careful. My eyes scanned the grounds for anyone who looked like they didn’t belong. Just when I thought it was all clear, I spotted someone who clearly didn’t belong.
The blonde was in skintight jeans and a white top. She had on black sunglasses and a huge purse that she was clutching like she thought it was going to get stolen. It took her a minute to place her, but then it hit me. She was that nurse, Piper something. The one who’d taken such good care of Leonardo in the hospital.
But we were nowhere near her workplace. What the hell was she doing out here?
As she neared, I couldn’t help admiring the way those long, shapely legs moved. Or the way the top few buttons of her blouse were undone at the top. She was gorgeous, there was no question about that.
But I had plenty of questions about why we were apparently heading toward the same place.
The following morning, I was back in Cesare’s neighborhood. We would draw straws to see which one of us would become a fool of themselves by pretending to be an ape. I locked my car, hoping in my heart it wasn’t going to be me. I didn’t have a problem pulling the trigger. I knew some people would have to be hurt in our wake. I just hated the idea of sitting on a tree branch and waiting for that truck to get close.
