resilient little lady with her gruff exterior was crying and hurt and I wasn’t there to comfort her and make things better. The memory makes my anger spike again and I’m forced to rein it in when Dyson nudges me and gives me a pointed look as the money changes hands and we take possession of missiles. The weapons only appear to be working but are actually duds being sold to us by one of my old buddies Fielding Jones, a CIA agent who has been deep undercover as a Russian mobster for about seven years now.
For whatever reason he agreed to help me, I’m just glad I’m not sitting with live freaking missiles in Cleo’s grubby, trigger-happy mitts.
“It’s all here, boss,” Fielding’s second says darkly and I let out a sigh when the missiles are quickly retrieved and stored away by Dyson and two of his cronies.
“Good to do the business with you, Mr. Lane. Tell your bosses that if they need anything else, I would be glad to provide it.”
My ass. The next thing Cleo’s got coming is a nice little cell with minimal sunlight and the knowledge that her life as she knows it is over.
“The pleasure is ours.”
The man smiles. If I didn’t know that he’s one of ours, I’d think he’s a weapons runner. I feel like I’m another person entirely, and I’ve only been at this for a few months. What must Fielding battle with daily, doing the things he has to in the name of God and country?
We leave as quietly as we came and I let the tension drain away when Dyson turns to me with a grin and a respectful nod.
“You’ve proven yourself admirably, Roman, and I know that Cleo will be quite pleased with the results. Maybe now she’ll stop her search for Melissa Dobson.”
I snort and throw him a knowing look, letting him see that I know he’s fishing and I don’t give a shit.
“I told you, she was just my way in with the chief. Do I want to see her die because I used her and her father was too chicken shit to protect her? No, I’m not a monster. But honestly, I don’t give a shit what Cleo has in store for the girl now that her usefulness has run its course.”
The words are like acid on my tongue, and it takes me a few swallows to get rid of the bile climbing up my throat.
That’s why I called her this morning and agreed to go through with the Fielding deal when I was vacillating. Cleo has a bug up her ass about little Mel and seems to think that she can use her to make me prove myself.
Like hell I’ll let them hurt her, but I’m not as assured of her safety as I want to be. She resurfaced when I told her not to, and now she’s making herself very public.
I know what she’s doing, and I’m proud of her grit and guts, but I can’t let her expose herself to danger this way.
What can I possibly do to get her to see reason and stay behind the estate walls while I get this done? Mel is stubborn, and now that she’s got it in her head to use her little band of outlaws to bring me home, I know nothing short of me tying her to my bed and gagging her would make a difference.
Having Will Sparrow on the case is going to fuck things up, I just know it is. That’s not just my jealousy talking, though I’m dying to beat him for even looking at her. Nah, my reasoning and annoyance is based on the plain fact that Will is one of the craziest, most reckless assholes I know.
The man shot at a deputy a few months back for daring to even step foot in a club bar. The only reason he didn’t see the inside of a cell was because Mel made me talk to the chief about it and the man buried the incident under red tape.
In other words, the case file got “lost.”
Did I enjoy saving that idiot from prison after the way he’s been trying to steal my girl right out from under me? No, but an angry Mel is not a Mel I want to ever meet. Ever.
So I towed the line.
“You still with me, Roman?” Dyson asks and I snap out of it to see him staring at me curiously.
“Yeah, man, sorry. I just didn’t sleep too well last
For whatever reason he agreed to help me, I’m just glad I’m not sitting with live freaking missiles in Cleo’s grubby, trigger-happy mitts.
“It’s all here, boss,” Fielding’s second says darkly and I let out a sigh when the missiles are quickly retrieved and stored away by Dyson and two of his cronies.
“Good to do the business with you, Mr. Lane. Tell your bosses that if they need anything else, I would be glad to provide it.”
My ass. The next thing Cleo’s got coming is a nice little cell with minimal sunlight and the knowledge that her life as she knows it is over.
“The pleasure is ours.”
The man smiles. If I didn’t know that he’s one of ours, I’d think he’s a weapons runner. I feel like I’m another person entirely, and I’ve only been at this for a few months. What must Fielding battle with daily, doing the things he has to in the name of God and country?
We leave as quietly as we came and I let the tension drain away when Dyson turns to me with a grin and a respectful nod.
“You’ve proven yourself admirably, Roman, and I know that Cleo will be quite pleased with the results. Maybe now she’ll stop her search for Melissa Dobson.”
I snort and throw him a knowing look, letting him see that I know he’s fishing and I don’t give a shit.
“I told you, she was just my way in with the chief. Do I want to see her die because I used her and her father was too chicken shit to protect her? No, I’m not a monster. But honestly, I don’t give a shit what Cleo has in store for the girl now that her usefulness has run its course.”
The words are like acid on my tongue, and it takes me a few swallows to get rid of the bile climbing up my throat.
That’s why I called her this morning and agreed to go through with the Fielding deal when I was vacillating. Cleo has a bug up her ass about little Mel and seems to think that she can use her to make me prove myself.
Like hell I’ll let them hurt her, but I’m not as assured of her safety as I want to be. She resurfaced when I told her not to, and now she’s making herself very public.
I know what she’s doing, and I’m proud of her grit and guts, but I can’t let her expose herself to danger this way.
What can I possibly do to get her to see reason and stay behind the estate walls while I get this done? Mel is stubborn, and now that she’s got it in her head to use her little band of outlaws to bring me home, I know nothing short of me tying her to my bed and gagging her would make a difference.
Having Will Sparrow on the case is going to fuck things up, I just know it is. That’s not just my jealousy talking, though I’m dying to beat him for even looking at her. Nah, my reasoning and annoyance is based on the plain fact that Will is one of the craziest, most reckless assholes I know.
The man shot at a deputy a few months back for daring to even step foot in a club bar. The only reason he didn’t see the inside of a cell was because Mel made me talk to the chief about it and the man buried the incident under red tape.
In other words, the case file got “lost.”
Did I enjoy saving that idiot from prison after the way he’s been trying to steal my girl right out from under me? No, but an angry Mel is not a Mel I want to ever meet. Ever.
So I towed the line.
“You still with me, Roman?” Dyson asks and I snap out of it to see him staring at me curiously.
“Yeah, man, sorry. I just didn’t sleep too well last
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