When her eyes widened, I said, “You’ll get Cristian’s cut if we succeed, and I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. You may have enough to get by, but it’s always nice to have more.”
Rose grinned. “I’ll take those odds.”
“You’d also have to manage the caterers at the wedding,” I said. “That was also part of Cristian’s job.”
“I’ll bring Chef Pierre,” Rose said. “I’m sure he won’t mind switching days with Stan.”
“Then welcome to the crew.” I gave her a hug. “Officially.”
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
?I pulled Gage aside after we’d all finished a round of whiskey to officially welcome Rose to her new role.
“Do you have a minute?”
His gaze flicked to Chloe, who was catching a ride in Emma’s Uber.
“No.”
“We both know you’re going to follow her home,” I said. “There are only two reasons why you would do so. First, you’re stalking her. If that’s the case, you’ll have to deal with me, and I am well versed in the punching arts, thanks to my brothers. I hit Kyle in the face so hard, he had a black eye for weeks. He had to take time off his IT job because he couldn’t see the tiny numbers on the screen. I also head-butted and kicked a mob boss’s son yesterday morning. So there’s also that.”
Gage gave me blank stare, but I knew my words were getting through from the twitch of his lips. “Not a stalker,” he said. “Also not scared of your weak-ass punches.”
“Well then, the second reason you’d be following her is that you like her. If that’s the case, you should tell her. She’s not a mind reader. I know you’ve been over there a few times already, but she still doesn’t know how you feel. Friday night is spaghetti night, and there is always more than enough to go round. If you show up at her door, I’m sure she would be happy to feed you, and then you can have a heartfelt conversation.”
“Again, noted,” he said. “But I’m not going in. I’m just there to keep her safe.”
“You gave her a top-of-the-line security system,” I protested. “You know she’ll be safe.”
“He’s been there three times in the last week,” Gage said. “I caught him on the security camera. He doesn’t park or get out, just does a slow drive-by and then he’s gone.”
My breath left me in a rush. “Kyle was there? Is he still angry with Chloe about the child support? Or about you beating his ass? We should call the police.”
“The police will just warn him and let him go,” Gage said. “They’re not gonna look after her and Olivia the way I can.”
I stared at Gage for a long time. I knew exactly how he would keep her safe. I’d seen his guns, watched him in action, heard about the way he’d bounced Kyle down the stairs. A few weeks ago, I would have been appalled at what I was hearing. But now, after all we’d been through, it didn’t seem so bad. I wasn’t afraid now to break a few rules, especially when it came to Chloe and Olivia.
“Make him suffer.”
“I will.”
His fierce determination to protect Chloe jogged my memory about another bad dude who deserved a taste of what was coming to Kyle. “What about the guy who is responsible for this whole mess? The online contractor who set her up? Do you think you could find him and hurt him, too?”
Gage gave me a curt nod. I liked that about him. There were no wasted words. No questions. No shock or horror that good girl Simi was now setting guys up to pay for their crimes in pain.
“Do you need me to get any information? Chloe remembers his handle, but I think the real thief is your best lead. He was in the museum, and he took the necklace to Angelini. He’d be easier to find than an online ghost. If we could identify him . . .”
“I know a guy.”
“Of course you do.” I hesitated, then said, “When you find the dude who set her up, could I have five minutes in a room with him before you do what you do?”
“No problem.”
“You’re good people, Gage. Go have some spaghetti.”
He grunted a response that I couldn’t decipher. Not that it mattered. Chloe was safe. And by the end of the week, if all went well, she’d be free.
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
?“I saw you talking to Gage. What was that all about?” Jack asked, following me to my basement suite, whiskey bottle in hand. I’d left some clothes and personal items behind, and I wanted to take them home before the construction started.
“I threatened him. I told him he’d better not hurt Chloe, or he’d have to answer to me.”
“I always knew you had a violent streak.” He sat on my bed, the only place left to sit now that the furniture had been removed and the floor stripped down to bare concrete. “It turns me on.”
“Everything turns you on.” Wicked and violent. Jack liked his girls bad.
“Only when it comes to you.”
I pulled open the closet and grabbed a sports bag from the top shelf. “I’m pretty sure he likes her,” I said. “What do you think?”
“I can’t even begin to try and understand the inner workings of Gage’s mind.”
“But you’re friends.”
“Of a sort.” He shrugged. “We’ve worked a few jobs together. Gage and I have a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ kind of relationship.” He leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. “Let’s talk about it some more after you’ve taken off your clothes and seduced me.”
“Seduction is the last thing on my mind now that you’ve told me you don’t know much about Gage.” My voice rose in pitch. “I thought you two were friends. I just told Gage to tell Chloe how he feels.” My words tumbled out of my mouth, unstoppable, unfiltered as my anxiety turned to fear. “What if he’s not a good guy? What if they hook up and she gets hurt? Chloe can’t go through that. Not again.”
Jack got up and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. “Gage would never let anything happen to Chloe. She is 100 percent safe with him.”
“You said you didn’t know how he felt,” I mumbled into his chest. His arms were warm and firm, his heartbeat strong and steady.
“I know he protects the people he loves.” His voice deepened, his arm tightening around me. “I know when a man meets a beautiful, smart, capable woman, especially one who dazzles him with her wedding/heist organizing chops, fierce loyalty, and mad fighting skills, he would do anything to keep her safe.”
“Humph.” My pulse kicked up a notch, but this time it wasn’t anxiety making my heart pound.
“Are we done talking about other men?” His lips eased mine apart for the slow, sensual sweep of his tongue.
“Maybe. If I were lying down, I’d be able to think more clearly.”
With a chuckle, Jack lifted me against his hips and carried me to the bed. “There’s only one name I want to hear on your lips.”
“Carsen? Oscar? Trey? Bryce? Nathan?” I should have known better than to tease when he was laser-focused on the task at hand. The look he gave me, carnal and intense, made me shiver.