“Part,” I repeat. “And then what? I owe you a favor and we just keep trading?”
“Don’t knock it till you try it.” He says it like he’s no stranger to trading favors. “Plus we could always use another boogeyman at our disposal.”
“Boogeyman?”
Nero snorts. “What? You think your name makes people think of fucking sprinkles and ponies?”
“Sprinkles and ponies?” Cassandra snickers.
I shake my head, then direct my attention back to the phone. “What exactly is your plan?”
“What makes you think I have a plan?”
“You wouldn’t be offering me a spot on the A Team if you didn’t already have some sort of plan.”
“Yesterday, you sounded like you knew where I lived.”
“I do.” It’s not a big secret. Nero is a rich business owner, as well as one of the leaders of The Alliance. He has a big house in a rich neighborhood not far from Minneapolis.
“Come over.”
I squeeze Cassandra’s hand. “My girl is with me.”
Nero makes a sound of dismissal. “And my wife is here. You’re not fucking cool.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not bragging. I’m trying to tell you that if you cross me and she gets hurt, I will end you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Death and destruction. I got it.”
I shake my head. “We gotta stop at my place first. Then we’ll head over.”
“Try not to get killed.” Nero ends the call.
CHAPTER 82
Cassie
Hans has been very calm since we left the hotel.
He casually drove us to an apartment building not far from where we live, and he had us get out of the pickup truck and into a Prius.
It’s the least likely car I could imagine Hans driving. But that’s probably the point since we’re driving back into our neighborhood, and no one who’s looking for either of us would look at this silver hybrid.
Hans makes a few turns and pulls over to the side of the street behind a giant pickup truck with the name of a construction company on the back.
I know we’re close to Holly Court, but I honestly don’t know all the little streets around ours to pinpoint our current location. With the thick trees between lots, it’s hard to tell sometimes.
The house we’re parked in front of is under construction, with half of a garage attached to the front of it. Through the partially framed walls, I can see a few guys milling around inside, but no one is paying attention to us.
Hans turns the car off, then faces me. “I don’t want you to come, because there’s a chance we might run into trouble. But I’m not going to leave you here alone, so you’re coming with me.”
I eye the house. “We’re going inside?”
“No, we’re going behind,” Hans says, then pushes his door open.
Well, that was cryptic.
I follow him out of the car.
Hans is back in his all-black getup, minus the gun holster and knife, and I’m in a pair of pink jean shorts and a worn boy band T-shirt. Both items of clothing I instantly recognized as things I’d misplaced months ago. I’d said a silent thank-you to my mom for teaching me to only keep clothing I like and to donate anything that doesn’t fit anymore. I can’t imagine what I’d do if Hans had packed a bag full of stuff that stopped fitting two sizes ago.
Meeting Hans on the sidewalk, I take his offered hand.
Side by side, we probably look mismatched. The girly girl and the intense assassin. But my palm fits in his perfectly.
CHAPTER 83
Hans
Circling the house without incident, I walk Cassandra to the far corner of the yard.
Like our houses, this one butts against thick woods. But this patch of forest is the same patch of forest behind the abandoned house at the end of Holly Court.
And the couple that lives here spends all their free time on cruise ships, so they don’t spend much time in their yard. And they’ve never ventured past their mown lawn. So they haven’t noticed the trail I carved, allowing a person easy access from one property to the other.
I duck under the low-hanging, untrimmed branches of the lilac bushes that line the back of this yard and enter the forest.
Tall grass brushes against my calves, and I make a mental note to grab the other bag I put together for Cassandra.
I love the way she looks in her tiny shorts, but my dick twitches at the thought of her dressed in matching tactical blacks.
“What is this?” Cassandra whispers from my side when she sees the narrow path in front of us.