by Shayla Black
“Good. Come here.”
The guy hesitates. Does he understand that since I emerged from the room unscathed, I’m the badass here?
“I won’t shoot you if you fucking listen,” I say.
Nervously, he nods and sidles closer. Yeah, he’s a lot less brave without backup.
“Empty your pockets. Put all your weapons here.” I point to an old decorative table.
Vincenzo’s pal reaches into his cheap suit and pulls out a couple of semi-automatics and a tricked-out knife, then sets them down.
A glance verifies Kristi is still holding my Glock. “Cover me?”
She nods, and I search the wise guy. He looks so young. Is he even old enough to legally order a beer? I don’t think so, but at least he’s honest. His pockets are empty.
“Do something better with your life. This shit just leads to the big house, kid.” Then I push him into 810 with the others.
As he’s sputtering, I ensure the door is locked from the outside, then swivel back to Kristi. “The feds will be here in”—I glance at my phone—“eight minutes. One more stop.”
I let myself into 804. The girls follow. The room is dark. The little boy is asleep in the middle of the still-made bed. And he’s naked.
My chest clutches.
“Is he okay?” Kristi asks, her voice trembling.
I lift the child and hold him against my body. He’s still warm, still breathing. That’s something. The fact he doesn’t even move tells me he’s probably been drugged again.
Hang in there, little guy.
“Hopefully, he will be.” Since there’s no sign of his clothes, I need help. “Get the sheet off the bed, will you?”
She does.
Sammie rushes to help. “Oh, I saw that poor kid in the basement. I heard the short guy say he was a drug addict’s kid. Did that mafia guy really…?”
“Yeah, but we’re going to get him to safety.” Thankfully, Kristi and Sammie hand me the sheet, and I wrap it around his body, holding him protectively. “Let’s go.”
There’s no one waiting in the hall. And except for the mechanical whirl, the elevator ride straight to the lobby level—thanks to Donzelli’s private code—is jarringly quiet.
“Thank you,” Kristi mutters. “I didn’t think we were getting out of there alive.”
There were a few moments I was worried about that, too. But they’re behind us, and the future is what’s important now. “I was always getting out with you, Little Red.”
The elevator doors open, and we exit at the back of the high rollers’ area, where I snagged Kristi last night. It’s empty now, and the two thugs guarding the entrance haven’t gotten the memo yet that I’m the enemy. In fact, they don’t say a word.
“This way.” I lead everyone to a side utility entrance of the hotel.
My contact is waiting.
My buddy Ryan’s brother, Micah, along with a small army of feds from around the region, are waiting when we walk out the door and into the golden sunrise.
“Jesus, you cut it close,” my thirty-something friend with the buzz cut grouses. “We’re three minutes from busting in the door.”
“Sorry. It wasn’t easy. Get Donzelli first.” I rattle off his suite number. “He’s asleep. I secured him in his room.”
“Oh, you bet your ass I’m grabbing that motherfucker before anything else. Especially after that footage you sent.”
“This is the boy from the video. He needs medical now.”
“I’m glad you got him out.” Micah motions to an EMT standing by. Quickly, they confer, and the woman takes the boy away with concern all over her face. “And that motherfucker Donzelli is going down—hard. You did good.”
I’m going to get a huge payday for this, but that isn’t the only reason I did it. “You and Ryan have been like brothers. When you called, I was happy to help. Be advised I shot Rudy Pomelli before he could fire on another victim. This is Kristi Knolls.”
Micah rears back in surprise. “The girl Ryan has been watching for you?”
“You’ve had someone watching me?” She sounds somewhere between shocked and pissed.
“Red, I knew this was about to go down and that it would be ugly. I wanted you safe. That’s really important since we’re having a baby, and you owe me fifty years.” Before she can think of some sassy comeback, I turn back to Micah. “Sal Barone has a GSW to the abdomen. He might live. If you want him to, get him medical quick.”
Micah’s face hardens. “I’m not in a huge hurry to help someone selling people. Anything else?”
I tell him about Vincenzo and a few others, then shrug. “That’s it. We’re leaving.”
“Ridge… You know we’ll need to question these two.”
“Cut me some slack, huh? You can grill them after I get them checked out at the ER and Sammie is reunited with her mother.” And after I’ve had some quality time with the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.
His sigh tells me he isn’t thrilled, but Micah relents. “Fine. Call me when you’re ready.”
“You got it.”
“We’re heading in.” He sends me off with a nod that feels more like a salute.
As he and the other agents storm the hotel, I slip my arm around Kristi, then hand Sammie my phone. “Call your mom.”
She looks at me with big, grateful eyes swimming in tears. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And when we need a babysitter, you’ll be the first one we contact.” I wink.
“Sure.” But she’s not listening. She punches in a number with shaking fingers. “Mommy. It’s me. I’m okay!”
The girl starts crying, and Kristi sheds tears of her own. “You were amazing. You saved Sammie, me, and that poor little boy… When I saw you in action, I knew you were good at your job, but you’re going to be a great father, too.”
Since I had a fantastic role model and three awesome older brothers, yeah. “I think I’ll do okay, Little Red. Now that I’m about to be a family man, I won’t take on any more undercover jobs.”
That makes her cry even harder, but she hugs me tight, so I’m calling it a win. “Really?”
I dry her tears and drop a kiss on her lips. “Yeah. This was my last one.”
When I look up, Micah and a group of agents are leading Donzelli to an armored van in cuffs. He’s definitely going down. Prison won’t be kind to a pedophile like him.
It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
I smile. “Ready to head out, Red?”
Kristi flashes me a smile full of watery joy, accompanied by a sniffle. “Absolutely. We’ve got a future to begin.”
After easing Sammie, who’s still tearfully clutching the phone, into my car, I take Kristi in my arms. “We do. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Good. How soon can we get married?”
She laughs. “Impatient?”
Does she really have to ask? “Hell yeah.”
“I don’t have a job here.”
“Pfft. I’m not worried. You’ll find one.”
“That’s true.” Kristi sends me a chastening stare. “But I don’t have a ring.”
Is that her issue? “Yes, you do. It’s at my place.”
“You already bought it?”
“After I met you, I was really, really sure you were the one. I was going to finish this assignment and come after you until I wore you down and you said yes.”
“If you were anyone else, I’d think you were kidding.”
Thank god she knows better. “I’m not.”
Her smile widens. “How about next weekend?”
I scowl. Seven whole days? “How about tonight?”
She shakes her head. “Only you’re crazy enough to suggest that.”
“Are you crazy enough to accept?”
Kristi laughs, and I can’t wait to hear that sound every day. “Actually, I am.”
“Good.” I kiss her softly. “We should get started right away because fifty years
probably won’t be enough.”
Dallas, Texas
June 12
11 p.m.
Havana
“Having fun, babygirl?” my husband asks, wrapping his arm possessively around my waist as we stand backstage at the packed concert venue, watching Sophie Larsen, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, sing her heart out for her screaming fans.
It’s a dream come true since I’m a fan myself…but I’m keenly aware of Ransom’s burning fingers pressing into my hip, holding me excruciatingly close—his silent communication that he aches to strip me down and sex me up. Despite really enjoying the show…I’m tempted.
Marrying Ransom Garrison three months ago was the most impulsive—and best—thing I ever did. We don’t care about the sideways, sometimes snide glances we get because of our age-gap. We’re beyond happy together.
Being related to the super-talented pop princess by marriage is a bonus. But Sophie is also an awesome person, friend, and sister-in-law. In fact, my husband’s whole family is amazing.
Life is almost perfect.
“Tons!” I shout in his ear to be heard over the music. “She’s so talented.”
“She really is.” Ransom turns to his grown son. “How’s this for a send-off, Ethan?”
My stepson—it’s weird to say that since we’re the same age—has been supportive of Ransom and me since day one. I’ll miss him once he leaves tomorrow. But it’s time. He’s a man. He’s ready to begin his own life.
“Pretty fucking awesome.” He flashes his father a grin—but he’s eyeing a blonde a year or two older, standing with a group beside Sophie’s husband, Rand. “Thanks for including me.”
“Always.” I smile at him. “We’re family. Don’t forget that when you go to San Diego and become the awesomest marine ever.”
Ethan grins at me. “You got it. I’ll see you two later. I’m going to go and…be friendly.”
When he bobs his head in the blonde’s direction and winks, I laugh, waving as he goes. My husband grips my hip tighter.
I turn to him. “Behave.”
He kisses me like a man who loves his woman, and I melt. “Why? You like me bad.”
Oh, I do.
“Hey, you two. No taking away from Sophie’s audience by putting on a show of your own,” Ridge, my husband’s youngest brother, teases as he wanders over, clutching his wife’s hand.
Those two are never far apart. They’re so obviously in love, like me and Ransom.
Ridge and Kristi got married on the same day, in the same venue, in front of roughly the same guests as Ransom and me. That probably seemed odd to some of our attendees, but it was perfectly logical to us since we had the whole family gathered in Vegas. Ridge and Kristi went first because they’ve got a baby on the way. Sophie was kind enough to sing for both ceremonies.
“Shut the fuck up,” my husband grouses. “You two got checked in well before the show. Some of us were on a delayed flight and only got into our rooms soon enough to shower and hear you ‘resting up’.”
Kristi blushes and hides her face in her hands. “Oh, my god. I want to die.”
“It’s okay, Little Red. That’s not the first time Ransom heard us getting busy. He was next door to us the night Sophie and Rand got married.”
“I’m pretty sure I heard you two making junior there.” My husband points to Kristi’s swelling belly.
Kristi closes her eyes and shakes her head. “Never mind. I need to die. Now.”
“Ignore them,” I tell her softly. “They’re too busy slapping each other on the back to dwell on your embarrassment.”
“You’re right.” Kristi nods. “Thank you.”
Ransom’s fingers dig a little deeper into my hip, the tips all but burning my skin through denim. “We’ll be sure to return the favor later. I hope you weren’t counting on sleeping.”
I tsk at my husband, but don’t say more because it’s likely to be a long, steamy night. Ransom might be thirty-four…but he doesn’t behave his age in bed. He’s on me constantly, and I love it.
Kristi pats her baby belly, watching Sophie in between songs, both glowing and vibrant on stage. “How does she have the energy for this? If I hadn’t napped this afternoon, I’d already be face-first in my pillow.”
Vanessa, my other sister-in-law, strolls up with careful nonchalance, blond hair mussed and cheeks rosy. Rush looks like a very satisfied husband, complete with a relaxed saunter and a big smile.
That explains where they’ve been…
His super-sweet wife rights her dress, smoothing it over her abdomen where she’s just starting to thicken around the middle.
A pang of envy tugs at me. All of my sisters-in-law are expecting. Sophie’s pregnancy is the most high profile and the farthest along. It’s also the reason for her concert tonight. This is her farewell-for-now show. It sold out within minutes in all eight cities. Then she’ll head home to nest with Rand—and think about whether she wants to continue a career in the public spotlight after the baby. Her husband takes a lot of good-natured ribbing as a small-town police chief for his high-profile wife, but like all of my husband’s brothers, he’s completely smitten.
Ridge raises a brow at them. “Did you have trouble finding the bathroom, Vanessa?”
She turns rosier. “A little.”
“Rush ‘helped’ you, huh?”
Vanessa fidgets even more. “A little.”
“For the last twenty minutes?”
Finally, her embarrassment gives way to laughter, and she whirls on her husband. “I told you they would notice.”
Rush gives her a devilish smile. “Oops.”
As Sophie begins the last song of the show, Rand heads over, shepherding a teenage boy and his guy friends in our direction. The blonde he came with is deep in a flirty conversation with Ethan.
“I didn’t get to introduce y’all earlier,” Rand says to his brothers and the wives. “This is Dustin. He helped Sophie and me escape the parade after shots were fired. We promised him an up-close-and-personal payback for his help.”
“Thank you for everything.” Ransom automatically extends his hand.
Without Dustin’s assistance, Sophie and Rand may not have made it out of the crowds and chaos alive that fateful Fourth of July. Thankfully, they got to safety, and the police caught the shooter Sophie’s former manager hired to kill her a few days later. The evidence the investigators dug up among Dorinda’s effects helped to convict him.
Dustin shakes with my husband, looking at me a little longer than Ransom will like. Sure enough, the minute he pulls his hand free, he slides his arm back around my waist, fingers pressing urgently into my hip. The gentle bite of his grip is likely to leave a faint bruise.
I suck in a breath. My husband knows I love his marks on my body, so he leaves them every chance he gets.
There’s an important, nine-month mark he’d love to leave on you…
So far, I’ve put Ransom off. I’m only eighteen. We just got married. We have plenty of time for kids, right?
But he wants more children. You want them, too. Age is just a number.
Ransom introduces me as his wife. I know the expression on Dustin’s face. He wants to know why I married someone so much older. But Dustin doesn’t understand. Most people don’t—and that’s all right. We do. That’s all that matters.
Rand makes the rest of the introductions. The blonde with Dustin is apparently his sister, who’s a huge fan of Sophie’s…but she must like something about Ethan because she hasn’t taken her eyes off of him since he sauntered in her direction.
After some chatter, Dustin, his pals, his sister, and Ethan listen to the end of Sophie’s final number, then head out in the limo she hired for their fun.
“Wish you were going with them?” my husband asks.
I know they’re all my age, and they’re going to have a blast, but… “No. I’m right where I want to be. How soon before we can go upstairs so I can show you?”
“You’
re playing with fire, babygirl.”
I merely smile as Sophie exits the stage with one last bow and heads straight into Rand’s waiting arms. Rush and Vanessa both hug her next and commend her on a great set. Ransom and I join in, along with Ridge and Kristi.
It’s one of those shimmering moments of happiness that makes me know I’m exactly where I should be.
“Twitter is already saying how amazing you were,” Kristi tells Sophie. “People are losing their minds. I’m retweeting some of this stuff. It’s gold!”
“Thank you.” Soph flashes her a bright smile, arm still curled around her husband’s. “If you’re serious about changing jobs and becoming my assistant, you’re hired.”
“Tania really isn’t coming back?”
Sophie shakes her head. “She loves being a new mom. In fact, she loves it so much, she’s pregnant again. So…she’s decided to stay home with the kids. And I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have on my team more than my best friend.”
“Yes!” Kristi says so loudly the backstage crew turns to stare. “Seriously yes.”
The pop princess looks stunned. “I wish. But you’d have to move here…”
Ransom looks at Ridge, who stares back. They both nod. Now is the time.
“Funny you should mention that…” my husband says. “Ridge and I have been talking. Now that Ethan is out of school and leaving for training, there’s nothing holding us in Vegas. In fact, we’d both like distance between us and the remnants of the Donzelli clan, even though Sal is going down for life and Donzelli himself for much longer. The rest of the organization has scattered to the dark corners like the roaches they are. But we’d rather not tempt fate, and it was never really home for either of us.”
Ridge nods. “So we’re relocating and setting up shop here.”
Rand looks stunned for a moment, then his grin widens. “That’s the best fucking news I’ve heard in…well, since Soph told me she was pregnant. I’ll have two of my brothers nearby. Mom will be thrilled, and the kids can grow up together.”
Sophie takes Ridge’s hand. “Thank you for not separating me from my bestie.”
He sends her a rare expression of softness. “She didn’t want to leave you, either. How could I say no?”
