Hers to Protect

by Nicole Disney

  * * *

  Gianna closed her phone and punched the dashboard. Anna stared at her from the passenger seat.

  “Fucking bitch!” Gianna’s pulse thundered in her ears. She turned to Anna. “Adrienne just showed up in the square with the cop.”

  “What?”

  “That was Christina,” Gianna said. “They’re sucking face in the square.” She started the car.

  “Whoa,” Anna said and grabbed the wheel. “They’ll be gone by the time we’re there. Let’s finish what we’re doing.”

  “I’ve been looking for her for days. I have to get them now.”

  “They’ll be gone.”

  “I’ll have Christina tail them.”

  “Gianna, if we don’t kill this judge, Marco will freak. If Adrienne thinks they can hang out in the square they either think we left town or they want to be found. Either way, we’ll find them later.”

  Gianna punched the dash again. “Fucking whore snitch mother-fucker.”

  “We’ll deal with her after we do this,” Anna said. “But right now we need to get back in Marco’s good graces.”

  Gianna grit her teeth. Anna wasn’t even in his bad graces. Anna thought she was being nice by acting like they were in the same situation, but it just pissed her off. She was the only one taking the heat for things going wrong lately.

  “We can do this any time,” Gianna said. “Adrienne could drop off again.”

  “We can’t do this any time. Marco’s court date is coming up.”

  “Fine.” Gianna put her gun in her waistband.

  “Gi.”

  “I said fine. Let’s kill the motherfucker and go. How long does it really take to shoot someone?” Gianna opened the car door and ran to the side of the house. Anna followed in a more careful crouch. Gianna powered ahead and punched out the window.

  “Damn, Gianna, look inside first!”

  “You coming or what?”

  She crawled in the window. Anna followed. The lights were out. The place was immaculate, sparsely decorated and easy to navigate even in the dark. Gianna pointed to the stairs. When she started up them a voice startled her.

  “I’m armed! Don’t come up here!” the voice came from the other side of a doorframe that was on the left side of the hallway at the top of the stairs. “The police are on their way. I suggest you run now.”

  “Shit,” Anna said.

  Gianna ignored him and ran up the stairs, gun drawn. A full sounding bang rippled through the air. He was armed. Maybe a shotgun. A warning shot.

  “Fuck!” Anna yelled, backing away. “Gianna!” Gianna ducked at the sound, hesitated, but then charged up the stairs.

  She rounded the corner the shot came from. Another huge blast sounded as she lunged to the side. A chunk of wood was dislodged from the doorframe, exploding into the air. She rushed the last of the space to him and pushed him over, pinning the shotgun safely to his chest. She punched him, then ripped the gun away.

  “Who are you?” he asked. “What do you want?” Gianna hit him again. “I have money.”

  “Shut up.” She wrapped her hands around his neck. A surge of strength from him surprised her. Adrienne used to surprise her too. People were always stronger when they were afraid, but he was old, somewhere around seventy and obviously sick. She overpowered him, squeezed harder. She pressed her weight on his throat, stopping the air and the blood. His hands clawed for her face but couldn’t reach. His eyes were wide and frantic.

  It all stopped suddenly. His hands fell, his eyes stopped searching the room. She let a good while pass before she let go. She turned. Anna was watching, frozen.

  “The fuck are you looking at, pussy?”

  “Let’s go.”

  Gianna took a picture of him and followed Anna out to the car. They rode away in silence. When Anna pulled into the square it was deserted.

  “Shit. I told you we were going to lose them.”

  “They’ll be back, Gi.”

  Gianna dialed Doug, the cop they’d bribed. He picked up.

  “What do you have for me?” Gianna asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “What the fuck do you mean, nothing? I throw down that kind of cash I want results.”

  “I found your safe house, but it’s useless to you now. They moved back out today.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. That information wasn’t part of the deal. They were there, now they’re not, and I have to go back to square one and find them again.”

  “I need that address.”

  “Trust me, I don’t want to do twice the work any more than you want to wait for it.”

  Gianna hung up on him. “Useless.” She turned to Anna. “I want these streets scoured. They have to be in town.”

  “I’ll spread the word.”

  “Anna.”

  “What?”

  “Never tell me what to do again.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I told you we needed to go get Adrienne and I let you talk me into killing that judge first instead. Now she’s gone just like I said. We tried it your way, but there’s a reason I take lead.”

  “Oh, fuck you. We did the right thing.”

  “Fuck me? You aren’t shit without me.”

  “You’re pussy whipped on Adrienne and it’s making you a fucking embarrassment. Marco said get the judge so we got the judge. I don’t care about your girl situation.”

  “She snitched on you, stupid. You’re the one who said ‘handle your bitch, Gianna.’ What happened to that, tough guy? You think this is all about pussy? Marco said get the snitch. He said get them both, and we could have had them both and the cop all tonight.”

  “Please, Marco doesn’t care about her. He told me. He just wanted to shut you up and keep you cooperative.”

  “Oh, you’re tight with Marco now?”

  “That’s right,” Anna said.

  “You’re a boss now, huh?”

  “Who do you think he gave your crew to when you had to go dark?”

  “You’re dark now too, stupid. That’s why we should be finding Adrienne. What don’t you understand?”

  “We will, but Marco cares more about the judge. What don’t you understand?”

  “Shut up, Anna, quit acting like hot shit. You wanted to bitch out when you heard the gun, and I saw you get squeamish when I strangled him. You can’t do what I do so stop acting like somebody.”

  “I didn’t even have to go with you to that,” Anna said. “Marco gave you that hit because you fucked up, not me. And don’t act like you don’t know about my body count, man. I’m no bitch. I’m Wild, hundred percent.”

  “Pulling a trigger ain’t nothing.”

  “What do you want, a medal for strangling an old man? That ain’t nothing either.”

  “You better get out of my car before you become a body count, bitch.”

  “Fuck you, Gi. You’re letting this girl make you stupid.”

  “Out.”

  “Fucking cry baby.” Anna got out of the car and slammed the door. Gianna left her on the curb and sped off in search of the blue Taurus.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kaia and Adrienne unpacked in the hotel room. It felt strange being with Adrienne in a third place together in just a handful of days.

  Kaia’s lips still tingled where Adrienne had kissed her. She couldn’t help but wonder if the kiss had been necessary, but she couldn’t deny it had done its job. Was that all it was?

  “I’m ordering pizza,” Adrienne said. “What do you want?”

  “Hawaiian.”

  Kaia double-checked the doors and windows while Adrienne ordered. They were the end unit on the second level of the strip motel. There was a sliding door that led to a small balcony that hung over the end of the building. The parking lot had a direct view of both the balcony and the front door. The wall opposite the front door was all floor-to-ceiling glass windows, but it faced the brick building next door with only a couple feet betwee
n the buildings and didn’t concern her. Kaia spotted the undercover cars watching over them from the permanently shut small window on the front wall. They were well disguised, but she felt like a sitting duck. Surveillance was boring. What if they fell asleep? What if they were distracted by a phone call? Adrienne and her life could depend on them. Not to say she hadn’t brought guns. She had plenty.

  Adrienne touched her side. A shiver went through her body. “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” Kaia said. “You?”

  “I’m great, actually. I know it’s more dangerous, but I feel so much better doing something.”

  Adrienne’s lips were distracting. Kaia kept flashing back to their times in bed together so long ago. Their first time. Kaia had been terrified to make a move, afraid she’d read everything wrong and would destroy their friendship. Adrienne had been the one to advance, and she made it seem effortless. She’d taken off Kaia’s shirt and teased her nipples until Kaia thought she would come. She’d licked and sucked until Kaia begged to be fucked, but the lovemaking had been gentle, the timid explorations of virgins. Now Kaia wanted to rip Adrienne’s clothes off and fuck her against the wall until her legs were Jell-O.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Adrienne asked. “We don’t have to do this if it’s too much.”

  “No, it’s fine. You were right. It’s a good idea.”

  “Thank you for this, Kaia. I’ve given you such a hard time, but I’ve never even thanked you. You risked your life for me even when I was being impossible.”

  “You’re very welcome,” Kaia said. Adrienne was standing close. Her eyes lingered like she wanted more. It was like she was begging Kaia to talk, but she didn’t know what to say.

  “I’ve always cared about you, Adrienne. Always will. I pretended I stopped thinking about you, but I never really did.”

  “Me either. I knew we’d meet up again one day. Even when it didn’t happen that time at the bar I still knew it would eventually.”

  “Adrienne, that kiss…”

  “Should I not have?”

  Kaia stepped closer. “You just need to know I can only resist so much.”

  “I don’t recall asking you to resist.”

  Kaia leaned in and touched Adrienne’s lips with her own. She pulled Adrienne close and let her tongue caress hers, rhythmically dancing in and out of her mouth. Adrienne wrapped her arms around Kaia’s neck and pushed herself against Kaia, begging to be touched. Kaia slid her hand over Adrienne’s skin, up her shirt, gently brushing her nipple with her thumb. Adrienne moaned quietly in response and pressed her breast into Kaia’s hand.

  Kaia teased her nipples, bit her gently on the neck. Adrienne’s body responded eagerly. Kaia backed her onto the bed and centered herself on top, pressing herself between Adrienne’s legs. Adrienne gasped and bunched Kaia’s shirt in fists. The thrill of Adrienne’s pleasure shot through her, making her desire almost unbearable.

  Kaia’s phone rang, her work phone with the ring she’d designated to the officers watching their hotel. They looked at one another, slow and drugged by desire. Finally, they processed it and jumped up. Kaia grabbed her gun and answered the phone.

  “You got something?”

  “Someone in a pizza uniform at your door in five seconds. You want us to grab him?”

  “No.” Kaia stifled the laugh she knew they wouldn’t appreciate. “No, he’s okay. Sorry.”

  Kaia mouthed “pizza” at Adrienne just as the knock came at the door. Adrienne covered her mouth and giggled.

  “That’s the kind of thing you warn us about, Sorano. Otherwise we end up making some kid shit himself and give ourselves away.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  She hung up as Adrienne collected the pizza and carried the boxes to the bed. Adrienne’s hair was a gorgeous brunette, wavy and tousled from their kissing. She looked at Kaia mischievously as Kaia joined her on the bed.

  “I guess we’re supposed to be treating this like work, huh?” she asked.

  “This is a damn good job if we are.”

  Adrienne smiled. “We can’t forget this is dangerous, though. Not on vacation anymore.”

  “You’re right,” Kaia said. “It would be awkward trying to put on clothes and run after Gianna at the same time.”

  Adrienne giggled. “Naked super cop.”

  “And her naked sidekick.”

  “I guess we’ll have to resist after all.”

  Kaia didn’t mind. She could play this game with Adrienne forever.

  “At least there’s pizza.”

  * * *

  Gianna went through Marco’s back door, greeted again by the same security guard. He barely acknowledged her, just nodded at the stairs.

  Marco was shirtless, lifting weights though his extremely thin frame gave no indication it was a habit.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “The judge is handled.”

  Marco set down the weights and walked over, shining with sweat. “Really?”

  Gianna handed him her phone with the picture of the dead man.

  “Strangled? Suffocated?”

  “Strangled.”

  “With?”

  Gianna held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. He raised an eyebrow. “Impressive. You stage it as natural then?”

  “Couldn’t. He had a shotgun, blasted the shit out of the walls.”

  Marco raised an eyebrow again, then shook her hand. “Shotgun, huh? Glad to see you in one piece, then. I sometimes forget how good you are. I’ll remember this one.”

  “Appreciate that.”

  “I have something for you,” he said. Gianna waited as he searched his pocket. He produced a piece of paper and handed it to her. She expected a name, a new identity, but instead found an address.

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s your little friend. It’s a setup, though. It’s guarded.”

  “This is where Adrienne is?”

  “Yeah. My eyes spotted them, but they sat on it. Good thing too. It’s surrounded. I don’t know how you’re going to get to her, but she’s there.”

  “Thank you, Marco.”

  He nodded. “Anna is mad about all this. She’s mad your girl ratted. She’s mad about something you two got into.”

  “Anna can go fuck herself. She’s letting my laying low go to her head. Thinks she’s some hotshot now, but she’s a pussy without me.”

  “I don’t really care,” Marco said. “I just need to know if it’s going to be a problem.”

  “No,” Gianna said. Sometimes she and Anna needed a good fistfight, but they’d never go further than that.

  Gianna held up the paper. “Thanks for this.”

  She called Doug from her car.

  The annoyance in his voice was clear the moment he answered. “Hernandez, get out of my ass, I’m working on it.”

  “Forget it. You’re too slow. I have what I need.”

  “Oh, okay then.”

  “I’ll be by to pick up my fifty K.”

  “What? No, half is paid up front for a reason,” he said. “I already took risks. I get paid to take risks.”

  “No, you get paid to produce results. You didn’t. You think I’m going to pay you fifty thousand dollars for nothing?”

  “You paid me to get involved in this shit. And now you’re paying me for silence.”

  “I can think of a cheaper way to shut you up.”

  “Don’t threaten me, punk. I told you there’s another side of me.”

  “I will be there in an hour. You can give me my money or I can take it. I don’t give a shit which.” She hung up.

  When she pulled onto his block there were three cop cars parked outside.

  “Shit.” She turned around and crept off. “Little crooked ass bitches.”

  She wanted to call the crew and come light the place up, but that was the last thing anyone wanted to hear from her right now. She’d have to deal with it another way. Every time she knocked someone off her kill list someone new m
ade it on.

  * * *

  Anna had never been alone with Marco. He didn’t let many people know where he lived. Most saw him at a party once or twice, but he rarely had a real conversation with anyone. Now she was here and had no idea why.

  “I heard you had a falling out with Gianna,” he said.

  “It was nothing,” she said. “It happens.”

  “Tell me, Anna. Would you describe Gianna as stable?”

  Anna shifted. She couldn’t imagine this was going anywhere good. “What do you mean?”

  “Gianna is loyal and ruthless, but she’s rash. Didn’t used to be, but these days she’s bordering on uncontrollable, wouldn’t you say?”

  “It’s just this Adrienne thing. She’ll be herself again after this.”

  “But if a girlfriend does this to her, when is the next time she loses it?”

  Anna couldn’t answer. She felt sick. A film of cold sweat covered her and she wanted to sit, but hadn’t been invited to do so.

  “Just tell me what you honestly think,” he said. He spoke quietly, as if that could make her miss the hungry look in his eyes. “She says you’re a pussy. Says you have no nerve without her, that you’re a dumb order-taker who just wants to be her.”

  Anna’s ears burned, her palms tingled. “She said that?” Anna couldn’t believe Gianna would say those things to Marco. To Anna, maybe, when she was mad, but Marco? Her chest hurt. “She has a temper,” Anna said. “When she loses it she does what she wants. No one else matters.”

  “I haven’t said much about those recruits that were shot. Gave her a good brass knuckled punch for each and she thinks that’s it, but I don’t forget these things.”

  “Gianna is loyal. She just killed a judge for you. She’s crazy sometimes, but she’ll kill for this gang. Or die for it.”

  “And you?”

  “Of course. Why do I suddenly have to prove myself? Just because Gianna was pissed and ran her mouth a little? There’s nothing Gianna’s done that I haven’t. I’ve spilled blood, done time, everything she has.”

  “Relax, Anna. I’m just trying to figure out what to do with the two of you.”

  “What is that supposed to mean? We fight every now and then, but you don’t have to do anything. It’s not a big deal.”